Anand Piramal, Executive Director of the Piramal Group, has invested an undisclosed amount in his personal capacity in e-commerce marketplace, Snapdeal. The last round of funding Snapdeal received was in May 2017.
“Anand’s investment comes as a significant endorsement for Snapdeal and the transformation the company has undergone over the last couple of years,” said Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal.
His appreciation for what it takes to build a company with growing revenues with good economics in a competitive market comes from his own experiences of building and operating large companies in competitive sectors like real estate and financial services. We are thrilled to have Anand on board this exciting journey, added Bahl in a statement.
Snapdeal decided to take the independent path in mid-July 2017 when it adopted the 2.0 strategy, after terminating all talks for a potential merger with Flipkart. This focus on achieving financial sustainability has allowed it to rapidly build a differentiated business, with a sharp focus on the largest segment in retail — value-priced merchandise.
Commenting on his decision to invest in Snapdeal, Anand Piramal said, “Snapdeal’s sharp execution in bringing great selection to the mass market segment in Tier 2-3 cities has been quite successful, leveraging the growing Internet penetration in these geographies. The company’s mission of enabling the success of hundreds of thousands of small businesses in India through its marketplace is commendable. Since 2017, Snapdeal’s revenues have grown rapidly with profitable unit economics. With hundreds of millions of first time e-commerce buyers yet to transact, Snapdeal is well poised to grow in the future.”
Snapdeal’s recently announced audited financial results for FY 2018-19 bear testimony to the success of its 2.0 strategy. In FY2018-19, Snapdeal’s revenue soared 73 per cent and its loss dropped sharply by 71 per cent.