Flipkart is one of the leading e-commerce websites in India. It was started in the year 2007. The product categories are extensive, from electronics to fashion to groceries. Its innovations such as Cash on Delivery and easy return have transformed online shopping in India. Walmart bought Flipkart in 2018, and its services like Flipkart Supermart and PhonePe continue to expand.

The Absence of a Gigantic Indian Tech Firm

A lot has been extensive discussion about the American tech giants Google, Amazon, and Facebook.Does India have any such gigantic tech firm to boast about? We might have to think twice before coming up with a certain answer as there isn’t any to count as per the common man’s perspective!

To your knowledge, we have Flipkart from India to compete with American and Chinese companies!

Flipkart: An Indian Success Story

Although Indians do not fully own Flipkart as of 2022-23, every Indian must celebrate its past story.The mainstream media has done its part to make the story of Flipkart as heroic as possible.

The birth of Flipkart

• Flipkart came into existence in the year 2007 when two colleagues, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who were working at Amazon, thought of starting their own E-commerce firm based out of Bengaluru, India. Both were IIT Delhi Alumni and shared a similar vision about the future of the E-commerce sector in India.

• The beginning of the company was very humble. The founders invested a sum of just Rs. 4,00,000 from their own packets. They started the company from a small office rented out on the outskirts of Koramangala, Bengaluru.

• They hired two people to work for the firm. One for packing and the other for managing the orders overall.People say the second person was a chain smoker and wasn’t very effective at his job. The company hired him only because he owned an old laptop, which helped cut initial costs!

Initial Years Weren’t Colourful

When both Bansals kick-started their idea of launching an E-commerce platform they knew little about the predicaments awaiting them. They started the company as a Book-selling platform in the online world.

The tun out from the customers was meagre. The Internet hadn’t fully penetrated India then.. Only the so-called elite class had access to the Internet and the orders received from this group of customers weren’t enough to make two ends meet.

The company needed a huge investment!

Although the founders were fully optimistic about the potential of their idea, the investors they approached weren’t! Investors turned down each and every proposal made by the founders!

It took them almost 18 months to convince the first investor and scale the company to the next level.

The years that followed saw exponential growth

• The company was constantly receiving 100 orders per day in the year 2008 and by 2012 it went on to millions! In fact, during 2013-14 the website would crash occasionally owing to the fact that it wasn’t capable of handling the rush of millions of users from across the country!
• Flipkart gathered investments in millions of dollars during 2009-2014! The company had literally no competitors.
• On 6 October 2014, Flipkart announced the ‘Big Billion Day’ which received huge support from customers country-wide. The company significantly slashed prices to attract new customers, which worked very well.
• Within 10 hours, customers purchased goods worth 100 million USD! However, many felt frustrated due to insufficient stock to meet the high demand.

2013-2018– The period of experiments and Acquisitions

• Flipkart went through some major changes during this era. It went on to sell thousands of Items on its portal. Bansals made sure to make Flipkart stand out in each and every aspect.
• It was during this time that Amazon sensed the potential of the e-commerce industry in India and started its operations in the country in 2013. With the arrival of Amazon, Flipkart now had a real competitor to battle with.
• Amazon, the biggest name in the global e-commerce market, had no shortage of funds. To compete with Amazon, Flipkart needed further funding which according to them wasn’t difficult to acquire given the established name and fame it had in the market then.
• This was also the era when the company made some worthwhile acquisitions. Flipkart kept on acquiring multiple companies to strengthen their presence in diverse aspects of running an ecommerce business.

2018 – The year of major changes

In 2018, Flipkart entered discussions with the American retail giant Walmart to transfer its stakes. Walmart had been constantly looking for ways to get into the Indian market to effectively compete with Amazon, their main rival back in the US.

Flipkart happened to be the golden chance for the retail giant to enter the Indian market. Walmart acquired 77% of the stakes of Flipkart at $16 Billion. They valued the company at $21 Billion!

Impact of the Acquisition and Founder Exit

The contract required the company to list in the US stock market within four years at a valuation equal to or greater than the acquisition cost. Indeed, the thing is becoming true as Flipkart is all set to launch its IPO in 2023.

The selling of stakes also meant the withdrawal of the founders – Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal from the company after resigning from their official positions. However, the personal wealth they created with the exit was the topic of discussion for many days in all mainstream media.

A company started with a meagre 4 lakh Indian rupees earned its founders unimaginable wealth within 10 years! People look at this story with a heroic perception!

The company is taking off to the next level!

• This era saw an unimaginable amount of investment and direction from the retail giant- Walmart. Flipkart keeps acquiring new companies to diversify its portfolio. In recent years the company made some huge acquisitions such as Phonepay, Snapdeal, eBay, and Cleartrip.
• Every year, the e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon fight it each other during the Diwali season. Amazon named its shopping festival as ‘Amazon Great Indian Festival’ to compete with the ‘Big Billion Days’ of Flipkart.
• The company has also entered the web 3 space with its launch of Flipverse, the metaverse counterpart of Flipkart. The customers will have their Avatars and can shop for products just as if in a shopping mall.

Takeaway points for the readers:

The story of Flipkart is just another reminder that entrepreneurs should have a futuristic vision and be optimistic about what they believe in. The initial hardships shouldn’t force you to refrain from following your dream.

Don’t start your business with funds you cannot afford. Invest what you have and try to upscale it eventually!

The story of Flipkart isn’t inferior to any western tech giant!

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