“Discussions are going on between Flipkart and Cleartrip, whose financial performance was hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said a person familiar with the matter. “Flipkart is eyeing different businesses such as financial services, insurance, and travel and sees it as a good opportunity to acquire travel firms during the pandemic.”
The move will enable Flipkart to take on travel companies such as MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Booking.com, and EaseMyTrip. Flipkart expects a boom in travel and tourism as the economy recovers from the pandemic-induced slowdown.
Apart from air travel, Flipkart would also be able to offer train bookings through Cleartrip, which has a partnership with IRCTC.
In 2018, Flipkart formed a strategic partnership with MakeMyTrip in the travel services segment. The aim was for MakeMyTrip’s multiple brands —including MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and redBus — to leverage Flipkart’s large customer base to drive online bookings in travel services.
In 2019, Flipkart strengthened its travel offering by introducing an enhanced native experience in partnership with Ixigo, a mobile travel platform. Last year, Flipkart’s rival Amazon India partnered IRCTC. Incidentally, last year, Amazon also partnered Cleartrip to add a flight-booking option to Amazon Pay.
Cleartrip reported loss of Rs 14 crore in FY20, a 53 per cent decrease compared with the previous year, and revenues of Rs 319 crore, according to Tofler.
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