Tata May Venture Into e-commerce

Drawing inspiration from the success of like Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart and Snapdeal, Tata Group might foray into e-commerce space, a newspaper report claimed.

Citing two sources, the newspaper said that Tata Group's entry into e-commerce will be through its subsidiary, Tata Industries Ltd. According to the newspaper, it is expected to be in 2015.

The yet-to-be-named venture is likely to be rolled out in 2015, and will initially showcase Tata's existing retail chain brands such as Westside, Croma and Star Bazaar. Tata is also planning to tie up with its partner Zara, which sells online only through its own sites.

Tata has a substantial presence in real-world retail, including joint ventures with Britain's Tesco, Spain's Zara and coffee chain Starbucks. Last month, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, bought a stake in Snapdeal.

Indian online firms have been raising funds to compete with bigger rival Amazon.com Inc and expand their reach.