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<ul><li>Flipkart is opening its Bengaluru warehouse to the Indian Army. </li><li>The Indian Army will conduct tours of the warehouse to educate college students from Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;K) about supply operations. </li><li>The warehouse was recently upgraded to include 100 automated robots. </li></ul>Homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart has opened the doors of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/flipkart-announces-delivery-robots-automation/articleshow/68493938.cms">Bengaluru warehouse</a> to the Indian Army. The armed forces has been invited to conduct their ‘Confidence Building Tours’ for college students of Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;K) at the location. This is the same warehouse that was recently upgraded by the Walmart-owned enterprise to include 100 automated robots. These robots are to pick up objects from the conveyor belt, scan for their destination and drop packages down the respective chutes. This move hasn’t impacted the human workforce but has made operations more efficient, according to the company. As a part of the tour, the students will be able to learn about the company’s key supply chain functions. They will also see how technology is used to deliver packages from a metropolitan city like Bengaluru to some of India’s most remote locations. This initiative is a part of the <keyword id="8233376" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sadbhavana-Project">Sadbhavana Project</keyword> — a collection of various knowledge building projects for Jammu and Kashmir (J&amp;K) students — by the armed forces. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/flipkart-announces-delivery-robots-automation/articleshow/68493938.cms">Flipkart is bringing in robots to help it sort through packages</a>

Flipkart opens its robotic warehouse in Bengaluru to the Indian Army

New Delhi, Dec 11 () US retail giant Walmart and Flipkart on Wednesday said they will jointly invest in Bengaluru-based business-to-business (B2B) supply chain company, Ninjacart.
The three partners aim to help ensure better access to high-quality fresh produce for retailers and consumers across India while also creating economic opportunities for farmers, a statement said. 
 The company however did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.
 "Partnering with Ninjacart will help Walmart and Flipkart strengthen direct sourcing of fresh produce for Walmart India's Best Price B2B cash-and-carry stores and Flipkart's online grocery business Supermart," it added. 
The investment will also support Ninjacart to expand its customer base, reach new cities and gain exposure to global best practice to enhance the efficiency of the local fresh produce ecosystem, the statement added.
 Ninjacart was founded by Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Kartheeswaran K K, Ashutosh Vikram, Sharath Loganathan and Vasudevan Chinnathambi in 2015.
In the past, Ninjacart has raised money from funds such as Tiger global, Accel partners, Steadview Capital, Syngenta Ventures, Qualcomm ventures and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani. 
 Ninjacart connects farmers to retailers via a network of more than 200 collection centres and 1,200 warehouses across India. It moves over 1,400 tonnes of fresh produce per day.
It has over 44,000 farmer suppliers and a customer base of 60,000 kirana stores and restaurants across seven cities. 
"Developing Flipkart Supermart over the past year, we have focused on creating the right infrastructure, supporting local farmers, producers and food processors, and building sustainability into the ecosystem," Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said. 
 Thirukumaran Nagarajan, CEO and Co-founder of Ninjacart, said with the support of Flipkart and Walmart, the company sees new possibilities to improve the lives of its farmers, retailers and restaurant partners.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month. 
 "Ninjacart's focus on direct-from-farm sourcing resonates well with Walmart's commitment to supporting farmers in India. We are working towards our commitment of sourcing 25 per cent of produce in our Best Price cash-and-carry stores directly from farmers by 2023," Walmart India President and CEO Krish Iyer said.
The investment, he said, will help accelerate market access for farmers and reduce transportation costs. SR DRR

Walmart, Flipkart invest in Bengaluru-based Ninjacart

New Delhi, Feb 27 () The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside the order of the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings against e-commerce major Flipkart. A three-member bench of the NCLAT released Flipkart from the corporate insolvency resolution process and directed the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) appointed by NCLT to handover the records and assets of the company back to its promoter immediately. Earlier, on October 24, 2019, the Bengaluru Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had admitted the insolvency plea filed by Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies, an operational creditor of Flipkart. "We set aside the impugned order dated October 24, 2019 passed by the adjudicating authority (NCLT) and the application filed under Section 9 by the operational creditor Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies Pvt Ltd, company petition is rejected," said NCLAT. It further said: "The Flipkart India Pvt Ltd (corporate debtor) is released from the corporate insolvency resolution process." NCLAT order came over a petition filed by Neeraj Jain, Director of Flipkart India Private Ltd. "Interim resolution professional will handover the records and assets of the corporate debtor to the promoter immediately, who will manage the corporate debtor," it added on its order passed on February 24. Flipkart's operational creditor Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies, which used to supply the e-commerce major imported LED TVs, had filed a petition before NCLT contending that Flipkart defaulted for an amount of Rs 26.95 crore. However, it was rejected by NCLAT saying that the demand notice delivered under Section 8(1) of the Insolvency &amp; Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was "not proper and was also incomplete". "The operational creditor failed to submit any documents to prove in existence of the operational debt and the amount in default," the appellate tribunal said observing that Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies also failed to submit the copy of invoices and copies of all the documents referred in the application. Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies had contended that Flipkart contacted it in selling its product of LED TVs and entered into a supply agreement on December 29, 2016. As per the agreement, it would receive the purchase order, after which it will import and procure the required quantities of LED TVs and deliver the same to Flipkart at its desired location. According to the operational creditor, Flipkart received delivery of the first few batches but after that it avoided taking delivery of the LED TVs on the ground of lack of warehouse space. It further submitted that later, Flipkart started delaying the collection of the LED TVs, and in some instances did not collect them at all. In an attempt to gain more profit out of the goods ordered, Flipkart was putting pressure on Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies to offer the already imported and warehoused LED TVs, at a discounted price. Later, the operational creditor demanded payment of the LED TVs procured and imported from October 11, 2017 to December 1, 2017, based on the import and the purchase order issued by Flipkart, which failed to collect more than 70 per cent of the stock as ordered by them till March 2018. It issued a demand notice on June 8, 2019. This was rejected by Flipkart, saying that there was no admitted debt or liability and an amount of Rs 85.57 crore was paid. Challenging the order of NCLT, Flipkart contended that the order was passed without appreciating the fact that Cloudwalker Streaming has not produced any documentary evidence as purchase orders, acceptance letters, invoices and proof of any intimation of sale to the end customers or any post-delivery services with specific reference to the amounts. Moreover, claim for damages cannot amount to an operational debt under IBC and hence it can not be treated to have committed default, contended Flipkart. Consenting to submissions of Flipkart, NCLAT said: "The operational creditor has failed to submit the relevant documents under which the debt has become due." On August 18, 2018 US retail major Walmart had completed acquisition of 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion, a deal which gave the US retailer access to the Indian e-commerce market. KRH DRR

NCLAT sets asides insolvency proceedings against Flipkart

New Delhi, May 5 () There has been a big spike in searches for items like smartphones, gas stoves and trimmers on Flipkart as the government has allowed delivery of non-essential items in orange and green zones via e-commerce route. The Walmart-owned company said it had seen an increase in searches for consumer electronic products, including personal grooming equipment such as trimmers. In the past fortnight, trimmers continued to be one of the top 10 most-searched products with a 4.5X increase in searches since the beginning of April. Search for gas stoves has more than doubled, while fans and air conditioners searches have seen similar trends as temperatures soared across the country, it said. "With e-commerce being allowed for essential and non-essential products in orange and green zones in specific states, we are seeing an increase in searches for products in categories such as laptops, consumer electronics (such as headphones), mobiles, air conditioners, coolers, t-shirts, and other essentials," Anil Goteti, Senior Vice President at Flipkart, said. He added that the company is working with lakhs of sellers and MSMEs across India, and helping them prepare their businesses and workforce to make products available for consumers in this time of need. "At Flipkart, we continue to serve our customers by providing them products at their doorsteps through a safe and sanitized supply chain. This is carried out via robust SOPs which are in line with the guidelines shared by the government and local authorities," he said. Under the first and second phase of lockdown, which lasted for 40 days, e-commerce companies were allowed to deliver only essential products like grocery and medicines. With these platforms now being allowed to ship non-essential items as well in select areas, people are thronging online marketplaces to buy smartphones, laptops, notebooks and other items to facilitate work and study from home. Industry watchers feel the trend could continue for sometime as people may not want to step out to make purchases. Given that only standalone shops have been allowed to operate, and malls and large markets continue to remain shut, people may turn to online stores to get products home delivered. Depending on the number of cases of coronavirus infections, areas have been divided into red, orange and green zones. In the red zones, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, the companies can ship only essential items like grocery, medicines and healthcare products. However, shortage of staff at warehouses and logistics hubs could result in delays in delivery of items, as per industry executives. SR RVK

Lockdown 3.0: Mobile phones, gas stoves, trimmers see spike in searches on Flipkart

E-Commerce giants like <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> are banking on their pilot projects and racing towards small towns and rural areas to build customer base. 
 
For instance, Amazon is seeing growth in the industrial town of Tumkur, northwest of Bengaluru, thanks to a month-old pilot. A dedicated rural e-Commerce distribution centre manned by local youth in the town has now reduced the delivery time from over a week to two to three days. 
 
"Unlike big cities where e-Commerce delivery guys spend hours on the road carrying heavy packages, life is much more simple here - I can deliver 12 packages in a couple of hours," said Doddaiah, who stays in a nearby village, and rides on his Honda motorcycle every day for delivery. 
 
Amazon, which started with an average of 10 packages daily, now ships around 150 packages in and around Tumkur. Other tier-II towns like Davangere and Hosur in Tamil Nadu too are part of the pilot. 
 
Likewise, Flipkart last year piloted a plan to sell Motorola phones to rural consumers by setting up local networks of entrepreneurs who marketed the product. 
 
One of the residents, Mohan Kumar, had ordered an HTC smartphone on Monday and was pleasantly surprised to get delivery of the product the very next day. "It's really fast now; my daughter will be thrilled," he told Economic Times, receiving the shipment from Doddaiah. 
 
The phone was shipped from Amazon's Hosakote warehouse located on the outskirts of Bengaluru city the same day it was ordered online. 
 
"We are trying to create a rural-urban bridge," Madan Padaki, the founder of Head Held High, a skills development and employment company which runs these centres in smaller towns and rural India for various eCommerce companies, told ET. "These centres will provide distribution, customer acquisition, lead generation and sales as a service to ecommerce companies," said Padaki. 
 
The demand from small towns and rural India can no longer be ignored. ET reported that in Sira in Tumkur district, Padaki found that out of 224 people surveyed, 57% accessed internet on their smartphones - like Mohan Kumar, the HTC customer - but only 4% had used it for ecommerce, quite unlike Kumar. 
 
"That's a huge opportunity. Essentially, you have people with internet on the phone. The next logical thing is to use it for commerce," Padaki told the financial daily. 
However, retailing in rural India has its own challenges. For instance, Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar, the retail arm of DCM Shriram Consolidated, had to restrict sales only to fuels in 2013 due to unpredictability of demand and losses. 
 
"Now companies only have very loose control over the seller distribution system in rural areas. So they will have to set up completely new models of distributing," Siddharth Singh, associate professor at Indian School of Business told ET. 
 
The financial daily reported Amazon had tied up with India Post to service 19,000 pincodes and Flipkart has been beefing up its delivery staff in over 1,000 cities. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Amazon and Flipkart are riding on pilot projects to capture market in small towns

New Delhi, May 4 () From laptops to apparels, people logged on to e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Paytm Mall and Snapdeal on Monday to place orders for non-essential items but lack of adequate manpower amid the lockdown could delay deliveries, according to industry executives. E-commerce companies have been permitted to sell all items in Orange and Green Zones starting from Monday, the first day of the third phase of the nationwide lockdown that began on March 25. Depending on the number of cases of coronavirus infections, areas have been divided into Red, Orange and Green Zones. In the Red Zones, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, the companies can ship only essential items like grocery, medicines and healthcare products. However, shortage of staff at warehouses and for logistics could result in delays in deliveries of items, as per the executives. An Amazon India spokesperson said the company saw demand for various kinds of smart devices, products related to electrical appliances, clothes and work from home enablers, among others. "Our consumers in Orange/ Green zones are buying other priority products that they needed the most. Thousands of sellers have received orders for the first time since the lockdown began in March and we are hopeful that this will help jumpstart the livelihood of many small sellers and their workforce," the spokesperson said. The company reiterated its demand that the list of priority products be expanded for customers in the Red Zone as well in order to revive economic activity while serving urgent needs and ensuring citizen safety in a high-risk area. Under the first and second phase of the nationwide lockdown between March 25 and May 3, the government only allowed delivery of essential goods, including grocery, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, through e-commerce platforms. A Snapdeal spokesperson said the company expects 80-90 per cent of its sellers in the Orange and Green Zones to become active over the course of this week. On an average, deliveries are being promised within 6-10 days and actual deliveries are likely to be completed in lesser number of days, the spokesperson added. "Thousands of our sellers received orders for non-essential products on Day 1... we have started picking up orders from sellers in Salem, Amritsar, Gurugram and Guwahati, amongst many other locations. "Some of the products supplied by our sellers today include steel utensils, apparel, footwear, notebooks and pens, and electronics like power banks, phone and laptop chargers," the spokesperson said. Paytm Mall Vice President Srinivas Mothey said consumer electronics, laptops, mobile phones, home, and fashion products are among the few categories that are doing extremely well on its platform. "... we believe this trend would continue for the next couple of days. As we have noticed earlier people are ordering the most for work and study from home essentials. Depending on the type of product we are offering delivery timelines between two to five days," he added. However, e-commerce companies are also facing challenges on a few fronts. An industry executive, who did not wish to be named, said lesser manpower at warehouses and those available as delivery staff could result in delivery timelines getting delayed. E-commerce companies could look at sharing delivery resources from other digital business like online food delivery to shorten delays, the executive noted. A senior industry executive said that apart from the guidelines issued by the Centre, there are rules specified by states and even districts. Given that the classification of Red, Orange and Green Zones is in a dynamic state, it could make operations difficult for online commerce platforms, the executive said. The classification of zone changes depending on the number of coronavirus cases in a particular area. Also, standalone retail shops -- irrespective of whether they sell essential or non-essential items -- have been allowed to operate in Red Zones while e-commerce platforms are not allowed to ship non-essential items to such areas. There is no level-playing field between the two modes, the executive quoted above said. Another challenge for e-commerce companies that follow the marketplace model like Amazon India, Flipkart and Snapdeal is that many of their sellers are either located or have their warehouses in Red Zones. The home ministry guidelines, issued a few days ago, remain unclear on operations of these marketplace sellers of non-essential products, who are in Red Zones. So, they are dependent on how local authorities issue their guidelines, the executive said. SR RAM

Lockdown 3.0: People place orders online for non-essential items; staff crunch may delay deliveries

(Eds: Recasting overnight story) New Delhi, May 5 () From laptops to apparels, people are logging on to e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Paytm Mall and Snapdeal to place orders for non-essential items, but lack of adequate manpower amid the lockdown could delay deliveries, as per industry executives. E-commerce companies have been permitted to sell all items in orange and green zones starting from Monday, the first day of the third phase of the nationwide lockdown that began on March 25. Depending on the number of cases of coronavirus infections, areas have been divided into red, orange and green zones. In the red zones, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, the companies can ship only essential items like grocery, medicines and healthcare products. However, shortage of staff at warehouses and logistics hubs could result in delays in deliveries of items, as per the executives. An Amazon India spokesperson said the company saw demand for various kinds of smart devices, products related to electrical appliances, clothes and work from home enablers, among others on the first day after delivery of non-essentials resumed in orange and green zones. "Our consumers in orange/ green zones are buying other priority products that they needed the most. Thousands of sellers have received orders for the first time since the lockdown began in March and we are hopeful that this will help jumpstart the livelihood of many small sellers and their workforce," the spokesperson said. The company reiterated its demand that the list of priority products be expanded for customers in the red zone as well in order to revive economic activity while serving urgent needs and ensuring citizen safety in a high-risk area. Under the first and second phase of the nationwide lockdown between March 25 and May 3, the government only allowed delivery of essential goods, including grocery, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, through e-commerce platforms. A Snapdeal spokesperson said the company expects 80-90 per cent of its sellers in the orange and green zones to become active over the course of this week. On an average, deliveries are being promised within 6-10 days and actual deliveries are likely to be completed in lesser number of days, the spokesperson added. "Thousands of our sellers received orders for non-essential products on Day 1... We have started picking up orders from sellers in Salem, Amritsar, Gurugram and Guwahati, amongst many other locations. "Some of the products supplied by our sellers today include steel utensils, apparel, footwear, notebooks and pens, and electronics like power banks, phone and laptop chargers," the spokesperson said. Paytm Mall Vice President Srinivas Mothey noted that consumer electronics, laptops, mobile phones, home, and fashion products were among the few categories that were doing extremely well on its platform. "...We believe this trend would continue for the next couple of days. As we have noticed earlier people are ordering the most for work and study from home essentials. Depending on the type of product we are offering delivery timelines between two to five days," he added. However, industry executive also pointed out that companies are facing challenges on a few fronts. An executive, who did not wish to be named, said lesser manpower at warehouses and those available as delivery staff could result in delivery timelines getting delayed. The companies could look at sharing delivery resources from other digital business like online food delivery to shorten delays, the executive noted. A senior industry executive said apart from the guidelines issued by the centre, there are rules specified by states and even districts. Given that the classification of red, orange and green zones is in a dynamic state, it could make operations difficult for online commerce platforms, the executive said. The classification of zone changes, depending on the number of coronavirus cases in a particular area. Also, standalone retail shops -- irrespective of whether they sell essential or non-essential items -- have been allowed to operate in red zones while e-commerce platforms are not allowed to ship non-essential items to such areas. There is no level-playing field between the two modes, the executive quoted above said. "Another challenge for e-commerce companies that follow the marketplace model like Amazon India, Flipkart and Snapdeal is that many of their sellers are either located or have their warehouses in red zones. "The home ministry guidelines, issued a few days ago, remain unclear on operations of these marketplace sellers of non-essential products, who are in red zones. So, they are dependent on how local authorities issue their guidelines," the executive said. SR RAM ANSANS

Lockdown 3.0: People turn to e-commerce for non-essential items; staff crunch may delay deliveries

New Delhi, May 10 () Sales of non-essential items on e-commerce platforms in the first week of May were lower than last year on account of lockdown, but orders are scaling fast with people buying apparel, smartphones and grooming products among other items, according to industry executives. E-commerce companies have been permitted to sell all items in orange and green zones starting from May 4, 40 days after the nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25. In the first two phases of the lockdown, e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal were allowed to sell only essential items like grocery, medicines and healthcare products. Depending on the number of cases of coronavirus infections, areas have been divided into red, orange and green zones. However, in the red zones that include top e-commerce hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, e-commerce companies can still ship only essential items. While people are going online to buy items like chargers, extension cords, notebooks and pens to facilitate work and study from home, they are also picking up grooming products like trimmers, games like chess, monopoly and carom, and books across genres, a senior industry executive said. The person added that since delivery of non-essentials is still not allowed across the country, the volume is less compared to previous year. However, against March numbers (pre-lockdown), the growth is certainly healthy. Another challenge facing the industry is the availability of limited manpower for warehouses and delivery. "Our order volumes grew rapidly and swiftly reached 50 per cent of pre-lockdown volumes within five days of expanded operations. Compared year-on-year, the order volumes for the first 9 days of May 2020 was 52 per cent of volumes in the same period last year," a Snapdeal spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that another clear indicator of demand was conversions (from visitors to buyers), which was more than double of pre-lockdown average and even though demand estimation is a complex process right now due to multiple variables, the intensity and speed of demand restoration exceeded expectations. Home use category like utensils, mixers and grinders, mops and brooms, and mosquito nets featured high in both search and sales. Snapdeal gets more than 75 per cent of its business from non-metro cities. The spokesperson said locations like Panipat, Ambala, Panchkula, Amritsar in north; Udaipur, Valsad, Jamnagar and Goa in west; Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Tuticorin in south, Cuttack in India and Guwahati in North-East have emerged as current high demand zones. An Amazon India spokesperson said sellers on its platform have received orders for smart devices, electronics, kitchen appliances, clothes, toys and games and other work and study from home items. Paytm Mall Senior Vice President Srinivas Mothey said the company has seen demand for non-essentials steadily picking up in all the orange as well as green zones. "There has been a surge in searches and the sale of mobiles, masks, trimmers, laptops as well as other consumer electronics. There has been a 1.5X increase in sales as compared to March," he said. Northern region of the country, few cities of south and eastern region are doing extremely well for Paytm Mall and the company is increasing the number of sellers and suppliers to meet the demands, he added. SR RVK

E-commerce orders gradually scaling back to pre-lockdown level: Industry executives

New Delhi, May 26 () Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has launched an online extension of its grocery business under JioMart brand across 200 cities. The service is being offered in all leading metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata), and even in smaller towns like Mysuru, Bhatinda and Dehradun. JioMart is now delivering in more than 200 cities, Damodar Mall, the chief executive officer of Reliance Retail's grocery business said in a tweet. JioMart last month started a pilot project serving users in three neighbourhoods surrounding Mumbai. Credit Suisse said, "The national roll-out provides customers with a useful alternative to existing players (BigBasket, Grofers) as online grocery orders have spiked, given the fewer store visits". D-Mart, it said, mentioned that April revenues are down 45 per cent year-on-year as nearly 50 per cent of the stores are shut or have very restricted hours of operation. Therefore, online orders should help offset some of the lower sales in physical stores. CLSA said as of now, the website will only use Reliance's offline grocery supply chain as its backbone and deliver to homes. "Success at its ongoing beta tests in Navi Mumbai, which also encompasses mom and pop stores and uses WhatsApp as a platform to order, will be later extended to pan-India," it said. Users can order from a full suite of grocery items by visiting the JioMart website. Products include fruits and vegetables, dairy and baked goods, staples, snacks and branded foods, beverages, and personal and home care. Reliance's private labels also featured prominently. "While it does not commit on a delivery timeline when ordering (due to the lockdown), it aims to deliver orders within a two-day timeframe," CLSA said. Eventually, like other online retailers, it is possible that Reliance integrates its entire retail offerings, including fashion, lifestyle and consumer electronics, onto one super e-commerce platform and mobile app. "This, along with a pan-India extension of partnerships with mom &amp; pop stores after a successful beta test and ramp-up of this new commerce venture is crucial in Reliance's grand plan of converting Jio's 400 million-plus subscribers into customers for its eCommerce and other offerings," CLSA said. Recent partnerships with Facebook-owned WhatsApp for JioMart will only help in increasing monetisation opportunities by increasing the convenience and reach of consumers. The grocery platform was previously piloting deliveries only in select areas of Mumbai. "JioMart has seen a 4x rise in online orders from a low base. With its pan India presence JioMart now directly competes with Amazon and Flipkart in eCommerce," Bernstein said in a separate report. Grocery is 70 per cent of the Indian retail market, 90 per cent-plus unorganised, driven by Kirana stores/small retailers. "Organised penetration is less than 10 per cent while online penetration for grocery is less than 1 per cent," it said. Facebook has made a bigger push into e-commerce with the launch of Shops. "The idea is to bring millions of small businesses online. This will allow free online storefronts for small businesses and retailers and expand Facebook presence across Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger," Bernstein said. "Facebook shops will be complimentary to WhatsApp business use to sign and onboard Kirana stores for JioMart (grocery app of Reliance Retail)." Credit Suisse said JioMart currently fulfills the order by own entity and kiranas likely to be on-boarded subsequently. "The platform lists all the major grocery categories like fruits and vegetables, staples, dairy and bakery, snacks, beverages, personal care, home care and baby care. "In terms of pricing, Reliance has extended the Smart promise of 'minimum 5 per cent off on MRP' to all products on JioMart. The discount is higher on its private label brands, and is competitive to branded products," it said. Reliance Retail had been piloting the initiative in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan among select population group. It was serving these customers through both Kirana stores and their own warehouses. It also set up Smart Points, which were acting as delivery points in neighbourhood. However, orders post the national launch are being serviced by Reliance Smart and Fresh stores, Sahakari Bhandar stores (owned by Reliance retail), and is not yet fully leveraging kirana network (as on-boarding of Kirana stores is still ongoing), Credit Suisse said. "Just prior to the national launch, Reliance Retail tapped the WhatsApp customer base in the three pilot regions to source orders. In our view, it was just a test phase of integration. The orders were available only for pick-up from nearby Kirana store, whose details were sent to the customer via WhatsApp. However, the national launch, so far, does not have integration with WhatsApp," it said. The brokerage said it placed an order on JioMart but the delivered order value was 55 per cent of the booked order value, due to inventory limitation in the nearby Sahakari Bhandar store. ANZ BAL

Reliance launches JioMart across 200 cities; analysts say co eyeing spike in online grocery orders

<ul><li>Fabelle launched its first chocolate boutique in Bengaluru and has today expanded to 15 boutiques across top 6 metros.</li><li>Its aim is now to grow its reach further in both the luxury and the <keyword id="6037459" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mass-premium-segment">mass premium segment</keyword>. It is ensuring it is available at all touchpoints to ensure a great experience for its consumers.</li><li> In a market where well-established players are also putting their best foot forward to woo consumers with their mass premium segment offerings, <keyword id="8251479" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anuj-Rustagi">Anuj Rustagi</keyword>, Chief Operating Officer, Chocolate, Coffee, Confectionery and New Category Development - Foods, <keyword id="186707" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ITC-Limited">ITC Limited</keyword>, tells us Fabelle's strategy to bite a bigger piece of the Indian market. </li></ul>It was back in 2016 that ITC ventured into the premium chocolates segment with the launch of Fabelle. The brand had been in the making for close to 10 years. To provide an ‘immersive, participative and engaging chocolate experience to consumers’, the brand launched its first chocolate boutique, a global format to retail chocolates in the country in the same year, starting with Bengaluru. The brand now has expanded to 15 boutiques across top 6 metros. Within the next two years, Fabelle extended its offerings to the mass premium segment. This move was in line with the brand’s endeavour to take its offerings to a wider audience. It was then that it made itself available at premium retailers like Nature’s Basket, Foodhall, Spencer’s etc. To further expand its reach, the brand has invested Rs 100 crore on a manufacturing facility. The brand is now on a mission, to bite a bigger piece of the country’s chocolate market that has well-established players like Mondelez, Nestle, and now even Amul putting their best foot forward with the launch of their premium chocolate ranges. Over the past few years, the brand has been using the power of digital to its advantage, to reach out to its target audience. <keyword id="441877" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="direct-marketing">Direct marketing</keyword> and word-of-mouth have helped it create a loyal base. We recently caught up with Anuj Rustagi, Chief Operating Officer, Chocolate, Coffee, Confectionery and New Category Development - Foods, ITC Limited, to understand how the brand is navigating a segment that has some strong players already and to understand its strategy to growing its footprint in the market. Excerpts: Q) Walk us through brand Fabelle’s journey from 2016 till today. What kind of growth have you witnessed and how do you plan to reach out to more consumers? Considering the scope and potential to grow the Indian chocolate market, we launched Fabelle in 2016. We launched our first chocolate boutique, a global format to retail chocolates in the country in 2016, starting with Bengaluru and has expanded to 15 boutiques across top 6 metros. After building credibility and consumer trust in the premium luxury chocolates segment, we extended our offerings to the mass premium segment in 2018 by taking our offerings to premium retailers in the country like Nature’s Basket, Foodhall, Spencer’s et al. We also invested Rs 100 crore to set up a greenfield state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Haridwar with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per annum. Further to this, we had also set up a cold chain in our warehouses, redistribution centers and also at retail touch points, to deliver our chocolates in the most pristine condition to our consumers. The company invested in the latest global cooling technologies and real-time digital monitoring systems to ensure that the cold chain is efficient and always functioning, so that there’s no product quality deterioration. Once the required logistics were in place, we leveraged ITC’s strong distribution network to expand our retails touch points and are currently available via 10000+ retailers in India. Currently, we are also amplifying our reach via the digital ecosystem through food delivery service apps like Swiggy, Zomato, ITC eStore, Amazon. Our business has grown much ahead of the category and our internal forecast. Q) Do you plan to come up with more 'massy' products with lower price points? We entered the mass premium/FMCG segment in 2018 with two unique formats – Fabelle Choco Deck and Fabelle Soft Centres. Earlier this year, riding at the back of encouraging consumer response which we received after launching Ruby Gianduja in the luxury segment, we extended the experience of Ruby Chocolate to the larger consumer base by launching Fabelle Choco Deck Milk &amp; Ruby Chocolate Our products are already available in 10 SKUs at popular price points, ranging between Rs 25 to Rs 350. Going forward, Fabelle will continue to focus on creating one-of-a-kind chocolate experiences in India that are highly aspirational and in line with global brands and possibly better. We will focus on expanding the presence of luxury segment across all relevant touchpoints with the right range and also build a portfolio of products that span not only in the luxury segment but also in premium mass retail segments under Fabelle. Q) Fabelle has a website but it's more of a discovery platform. Are there plans to start selling on fabelle.in too or will you continue only selling on other ecommerce platforms? Indeed Fabelle’s website is a discovery platform but I our offerings across the luxury and mass premium range are already being retailed through our own D2C ecosystem, which consists of a takeaway menu, ITC eStore, ITC Hotels App or ITC Store on Wheels for purchase. We're also utilizing the traditional e-commerce channels like Amazon, Big Basket, Flipkart to make the luxury range available and delivered to consumers. Emerging channels like EasyDiner, Dunzo etc are also being explored to enable people to buy chocolates. Q) You launched your first brand campaign earlier this year, almost 4 years after launching the brand. What kept you away from traditional advertising till now? Our media choices have been to sharp target our consumers in key geographies using digital as a key medium which also enables consumers to get more information and engage with brands directly, especially in the luxury segments. Besides digital, positive word-of-mouth has been a key part of our marketing communication mix in building the brand’s familiarity amongst the larger audience, alongside our new, trend setting launches like Ruby Gianduja, Trinity Truffles, Independence Day and work with chocolatiers like Billie Mckay, Sarah Todd etc which has given Fabelle the desired visibility. Direct marketing is also a key lever to engage with UHNI and HNI consumers and creating customised experiences in gifting and for self-consumption. As our brand presence extended across segments, across price points, we felt it was an appropriate time to include TV in marketing mix for our mass premium range while continuing focus on digital and earned media. Q) Other players are also strengthening their offerings in the premium <keyword id="6110187" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chocolate-segment">chocolate segment</keyword>. How have you been able to create a niche for yourself? Earlier, Indian consumers purchased imported brands that were available via alternate channels in a range of retail outlets across key metro cities as no major global premium chocolate brand operated officially in India. Erratic supplies, lack of product quality, authenticity, product range suited to Indian consumers, variety for self-consumption and gifting were some of the major concerns of Indian consumers with regards to the global brands available in India via alternate channels. International travel (prior to the pandemic), exposure to global food trends via social media, food blogs and sites, food programs (Masterchef) and an increase in purchasing power are redefining lifestyle choices of the upper middle class and elite consumers. Hence, India has become a key market for major luxury brands leading to a rapid rise in demand for gourmet food and the same is also seen in the chocolates category. Gourmet experiences in chocolates are defined as handcrafted, using finest ingredients, crafted by experts and those that engage all senses. Brand imagery has also become important as increasingly prosperous Indians are choosing brands that are in line with their aspirations of consuming premium global products/offerings while gifting has also emerged as an important trend in premium chocolates segment. With all of the above, consumers were also seeking an immersive experience. To address these need-based gaps, we launched our first chocolate boutique in 2016 which has now expanded to 15 boutiques. We are now looking at attractive markets like Amritsar to further extend our presence. The overall experience in the Chocolate Boutique led by Fabelle Master chocolatiers and boutique associates is aimed to create an engaging experience that not only makes a range of chocolate products available to consumers but also an experience that helps consumer know more about chocolates like the origins, chocolate processing techniques and appreciating the nuances of a luxury chocolate experience. Furthermore, we are the only chocolatier to offer 60+ diverse range of chocolate experiences through 5 varieties of globally popular hand-crafted creations. We are the only brand to retail all 5 types’ chocolates in the world - White, Milk, Dark, Ruby and a new type ‘Dark Milk’. Q) The premium chocolate segment is still a very small part of the chocolates business. How are you wooing more consumers, and increasing your market share? In the luxury segment, during the pandemic, we shifted our presence from physical to digital platforms to take luxury closer to consumers to wish to indulge within the safe confines of their homes. We enabled that shift through presence across digital mediums, e-commerce channels, food delivery sites like Swiggy and Zomato, enabled take-aways from our boutiques and tele-ordering. Our unique Fabelle on Wheels also visits residential societies for consumers to make direct purchase. Besides this, we have also focused on gifting during Diwali for Corporates and individuals alike with launch of innovative products like Continents Desserts Collection, Indian Desserts Collection etc. As normalcy gradually resumes, we have also opened operations at our boutiques while ensuring 100% adherence to safety and hygiene standards. In the FMCG space, we are expanding our distribution reach to all key touchpoints and ensure that the right price product is placed at the right channel. Product offerings which are at price points of Rs 25, Rs 40 and Rs 45 are available in small format outlets as well whereas in the large format outlets we operate in the price points of Rs 70 to Rs 350. As our brand presence extended across segments, across price points, we felt it was an appropriate time to include TV in marketing mix for our mass premium range while continuing focus on digital and earned media. Q) What is your growth strategy going ahead? Do you plan to take your brand to smaller cities? At the moment, we retail out of six major cities in India including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai in the luxury and the mass premium segment. Currently, our efforts are focused towards making our chocolates more accessible to consumers based out of these markets and we also plan to expand our presence in other Tier 1, Tier 2 &amp; rural markets.

How digital, direct marketing and word-of-mouth has helped Fabelle reach out to a targeted audience and expand its presence in 4 years

<keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword> is developing a complete <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> business model for its phones and devices. 
 
The company’s Indian Head Manu Kumar Jain it is actively considering investing in a few technology startups to develop an eco-system. Currently, a huge chunk of its profits comes from partners like Flipkart or Amazon or Snapdeal. 
 
"The investment will go into setting up our own e-commerce business (including setting up) warehouse and logistics. We also enable sales though me.com, which is our own ecommerce platform. We have not done any marketing for that (to promote the site)," Jain told reporters. 
 
He said the company is currently getting a few thousand orders a day, adding, they would also be investing in setting up a research and development centre in Bengaluru, a manufacturing facility and expanding exclusive sales and service network. 
 
Jain said they are in talks with several state governments for setting up plants. 
 
"We are actively talking to few other tech companies. They are startups and none of them are like the new ones who are looking for angel's money. They are established. They have raised one or two rounds of funding and generating revenues," Jain explained. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

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