Amazon India Marketplace Nets INR 830 Cr From US Parent

Amazon Seller Services, the marketplace business of Amazon India, has raked in INR 830 Cr from its US parent.

As part of this fund infusion, Amazon Seller Services has allotted 830 Mn equity shares to Amazon Corporate Holdings Ltd and Amazon.com.inc.

Earlier on January 19, the company invested INR 350 Cr in its fintech unit, Amazon Pay. This brings Amazon’s total investment in its India entities to over INR 1,000 Cr this year, ET reported.

In November 2021, Amazon Seller Services Private Limited received INR 1,460 Cr in a corporate round from its parent company.

The investment into the marketplace comes even as the US group has been focusing a lot more on investing in its cloud services arm, Amazon Web Services, than the core ecommerce business. 

Last June, CEO Andy Jassy announced an additional $15 Bn investment in India, targeting a total investment of over $26 Bn by 2030.

In December, reports indicated a restructuring of top management in India, with Noor Patel, former head of category management in India, moving to the US. 

The reshuffle could also lead to a new dual leadership structure under Patel and Amit Agarwal, senior vice president for India and emerging markets, sources told ET.

In the financial year ending March 31, 2023, Amazon Seller Services reported a 3.4% revenue increase to INR 22,198 Cr, while its loss widened by about a third to INR 4,854 Cr. 

In 2023, Amazon laid off between 500 and 1,000 employees in India as part of global job cuts and also shut down smaller businesses like food delivery.

The investment coincides with reports of Amazon’s entry into the logistics business in India, introducing a new vertical called Amazon Shipping. The company is set to debut in this space by handling non-Amazon orders. Amazon has initiated collaborations with direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, logistics aggregators, and other businesses that directly receive orders from consumers to kickstart this new venture.

In 2023, Amazon invested an additional INR 400 Cr in its Indian logistics arm Amazon Transportation Services.

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