OdishaPlus Bureau
E-commerce giant Flipkart Group on Thursday acquired 100% complete wipe out stake in Walmart India, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business. Additionally, the group launched a new digital marketplace, Flipkart Wholesale.
The move is expected to give access to Flipkart to leverage the strong wholesale capabilities of the company and enable growth for kiranas and MSMEs. It will also strengthen the already competitive grocery business.
Flipkart Group Chief Executive Officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy said, “With the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, we will now extend our capabilities across technology, logistics and finance to small businesses across the country.”
Flipkart Wholesale will launch its operations in August 2020 and will pilot services for the grocery and fashion categories. On a positive note, Walmart India employees will join Flipkart Group and the home office team will integrate over the next year. The company has assured that the Best Price brand will continue to serve its 1.5 Mn customers through its omnichannel network of 28 stores and ecommerce ventures.
Last week, Flipkart Group said it is set to receive a fund infusion of $1.2 billion led by majority owner Walmart, along with a group of existing shareholders, for its e-commerce business.
The investment values the Flipkart Group at $24.9 billion in post-money valuation, with funds expected to come across in two tranches over the remainder of the fiscal. In 2018, Walmart Inc. invested $16 billion for a majority stake in Flipkart.
