With an aim to increase its top line, Flipkart, India's largest online retailer, is taking every opportunity to acquire or invest in smaller peers.
According to reports, Flipkart is said to be in talks to invest in multiple firms like online food-ordering and delivery service Swiggy, home services firm Urban Clap, online furniture retailer Urban Ladder, ticket-booking platform BookMyShow and even some financial technology firms.
This market consolidation move by Flipkart is in line with what big online Chinese counterparts such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu had done earlier, Mint reports.
With as much as Rs 26,000 ($4 billion) funds in hand, the indigenous online retailer is well equipped to combat global rival Amazon's growth in India. The Bangalore-based company is looking outwards for innovations and branch out into newer categories, reported the business daily.
The retailer has already acquired large companies, such as Myntra, Jabong and PhonePe in the past few years. The company stands out among peers in the number of acquisitions and investments made so far. It also enjoys the highest market share in online retail space.
Flipkart's next set of acquisitions are on the exploratory stage, but the firm's intent to go all out for consolidation is becoming clearer. Going forward, the company is looking for meaningful deals rather than acting like a venture capital firm as in the past.
Earlier the home-grown online retailer has invested in firms such as Zinka Logistics, Tinystep and NestAway, largely looking at gaining returns.
The company is backed by big names like SoftBank, Tencent and Microsoft, which place it at an advantageous position in making strategic investments.
Recently, the company invested Rs 180 crore in offline retailer Shoppers Stop to boost its expansion in the fashion category. The company also participated in the bidding process of online grocer BigBasket, a move that was deemed as its bid to develop its own grocery business.
