Flipkart is going to enter into a series of partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers and leading FMCG companies to spruce up its offerings in its weakest business area of essentials. On Thursday, it formed such an arrangement with Spencer’s Retail.
The Walmart-owned ecommerce firm is in advanced talks also with Hindustan Unilever and ITC to sell their essential products through its marketplace, and has approached other retailers like D’Mart. It is also trying to expand the presence with kiranas.
Flipkart had a limited coverage in FMCG and essentials. It is focusing on this area after the lockdown, announced by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19, has almost stopped its business.
As part of the deal with Spencer’s, the retail company will become a seller on the Flipkart platform and sell special packs of staples and FMCG products which will be delivered by Flipkart’s last-mile delivery network. This is probably one of the first such partnerships between an ecommerce firm and a retailer who otherwise compete against each other, industry executives said.
“We are in extraordinary times and this is quite a unique partnership where we come together to serve essentials to consumers,” said Spencer’s Retail MD Devendra Chawla. “In such times, building an ecosystem of partnerships will transition us to truly become an omni-channel business in serving consumers,” he said.
Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said the marketplace was committed to fulfilling customer needs amid the lockdown and was initiating various steps.
An ITC spokesperson confirmed discussions with Flipkart, while HUL and D’Mart declined to comment.
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