Seattle-based online retailer Amazon has invested Rs 1,680 crore in its India arm as part of its $5 billion commitment to expand its business in the country. This is being seen as Amazon's move to conquer the Indian online retail market, which is currently dominated by home-grown e-commerce firm Flipkart.
Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd received the said funds in June as per the regulatory documents, which was filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in US and spoke about the brand's commitment to India. "Always impressed, energized by optimism and invention in India. Excited to keep investing and growing," Bezos tweeted.
Reiterating Bezos' vision, an Amazon spokesperson opened up on the recent investment and said: "We remain committed to our India business with a long-term perspective to make e-commerce a habit for Indian customers and to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem.
We are delighted and humbled by the trust from our customers, to lead in India things that matter to our customers in just four years of our business, while continuing to launch innovative India-first initiatives as well as completely new offerings like Prime and Prime video."
Last June, Amazon had explained that it would infuse an additional $3 billion in India after the initial investment of $2 billion was used up on marketing products, building warehouses and logistics units and increasing the variety of products available to buyers.
Meanwhile, Amazon's arch rival Flipkart is in talks with lossmaking online marketplace Snapdeal for a buyout deal. While Snapdeal's board members rejected Flipkart's $700-$800 million buyout bid on Tuesday, July 4, the two players are said to be negotiating for a suitable deal.
Flipkart had made the offer last week and it is much lower than its initial bid of $1 billion, which seems to have miffed Snapdeal. "The board is unhappy with Flipkart pegging the valuation nearly $200 million less, even though Snapdeal cleared the due diligence. The board is, however, hopeful Flipkart would reconsider the offer," Business Standard quoted a source as saying.
It is also being said that if the deal with Flipkart doesn't go through, Snapdeal also has an alternate plan ready, which might get its board's nod. As per Plan B, the firm may lessen its manpower and cut back on its operations until it finds a new buyer.
"The board might look at other buyers or finally give the go-ahead to Snapdeal's plan. The company might sell its sister concerns such as the logistics arm Vulcan Express and FreeCharge, run some of the operations and work towards an exit. It all depends on Flipkart's next move," the website's source added..
