Flipkart has cut down on made-in-China products, to focus on private labels

• Walmart-owned Flipkart has moved half of its manufacturing and sourcing from China to India.
• The move comes in to put a renewed focus on its private labels.
• These private in-house labels had accounted for 13% of Flipkart’s GMV in 2018.

Walmart-owned Flipkart has moved its manufacturing and sourcing from China to India, with increased focus on homegrown labels, as per reports.

Flipkart, which has over the years, built private labels like MarQ, Perfect Homes, Billion and Smart-Buy, is looking to source accessories for its labels, from the country itself.

“About two years back, almost 100% of our electronics came from China. Today, that number would be less than 50%. When we launched our furniture brand, the entire range was sourced from Malaysia – now that’s down to less than 50%,” Adarsh Menon, head of private label business at Flipkart, told ET.

Flipkart was has been in talks with Sansui, Nokia, Motorola, amongst others to build a private label business in electronics segment.

In May, Flipkart launched an in-house sports brand called Adrenex. The brand has over 200 products ranging from sports accessories like cricket or tennis balls to gym equipment.

These private labels also been raking in revenue for the company.

According to reports, six non-fashion private label brands from Flipkart account for 13% of its Gross Merchandise Volume. In 2018, the number of customers who opted for private labels also grew 17-fold, as per the report.