Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of India's homegrown Flipkart Group, today announced its plans to more than triple its geographical footprint in India to close to 2,700 cities, with an aim to make business easier and bring prosperity to lakhs of small businesses and Kiranas across the country.
Launched in September 2020, Flipkart Wholesale has witnessed strong growth in the first half of 2021 spearheaded by the adoption of e-commerce by retailers and kiranas. E-commerce adoption by kiranas on Flipkart Wholesale doubled in January-June this year compared to last year. This is projected to see 180% growth in July-December 2021, as against the same period last year.
Flipkart Wholesale has also seen a surge in suppliers that have come onboard on the digital B2B marketplace. The supplier base is expected to grow 58% in 2021, which will further boost the local business ecosystem as well as livelihoods. The company recently rebranded its Best Price cash-and-carry business which it acquired from Walmart India in 2020, while staying committed to the growth and prosperity of kiranas in India through an omnichannel business model.
Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head - Flipkart Wholesale, said, "We launched Flipkart Wholesale with an aim to bring prosperity to the B2B retail ecosystem and solve local pain points of kiranas across the country. Despite challenges induced by the pandemic, we have seen a strong response from kiranas who are now realizing the benefits of digitization and warming up to e-commerce as the go-to means of purchase. We will continue to leverage the technology strengths from the Flipkart group and enhance livelihoods and local supplier ecosystems across the country."
Flipkart Wholesale witnessed 17% growth in its kirana customer base in January-June 2021 compared to the same period last year; reinstating the trust Kiranas have shown towards the platform. The kirana customer base is projected to further grow by 33% in July-December 2021, compared to the same period last year.
Kiranas will continue to be Flipkart Wholesale's most important customer segment and will get access to an even better product assortment at great prices, credit offers, payment options and end-to-end service via feet-on-street associates, app and cash-and-carry stores. The rebranding to Flipkart Wholesale will be seamless for kiranas who will enjoy the same convenience as before. With this, all Best Price touchpoints will now be Flipkart Wholesale making it an eminent omnichannel B2B player.
Flipkart Wholesale leverages the Flipkart Group's experience and prowess in the digital space and uses it to better serve kiranas and retailers who are increasingly adopting e-commerce as their preferred mode of purchase. Flipkart Wholesale serves over 1.5 million members across the country, which include kiranas, HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and cafeterias) and O&I (offices and institutions).
Flipkart Wholesale customers have access to an array of value propositions including a wide range of Flipkart-assured quality products, simple and convenient order returns and speedy product delivery directly to their shops with easy order tracking facility and better margins on every product. |
