Amazon Strengthens Electronics Biz With Investment In Quess Corp

Jeff Bezos-led tech giant Amazon has invested $7.43 Mn (INR 51 Cr) in Bengaluru-based technological and business services provider Quess Corp.

The development came to light with the BSE filings by Quess, which showed that Amazon is picking up a 0.51% stake in the company. Quess Corp’ss board approved the preferential issuance worth INR 51 Cr of 7.54 Lakh shares at INR 676 per share to Amazon.com NV Investment

Amazon is investing into Quess’ subsidiary Qdigi Services. QDigi, earlier a subsidiary of HCL Infosystems, is an after-sales service provider for product categories such as mobile phones, consumer electronics and consumer durables in the customer lifecycle management space.

With this, the company is looking to expand its value proposition to customers across the entire lifecycle of electronics from sales to after sales to repair services. Qdigi has a service network of close to 80 walk-in-centres and 200 authorised service providers across India. Also, as a part of the deal, Amazon has also taken certain rights in Qdigi. This includes a right of first refusal that gives it the option to be the first to purchase or buy in Qdigi before Quess tries to sell it to a third party, non-compete and a right to acquire it in the future.

Electronics and large appliances have been a major revenue generator for ecommerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart. In 2014, Flipkart acquired Jeeves, a player in the after-sales service and installation business. Later in 2017, Flipkart also acquired F1 Info Solutions, an electronics service providers that specialized in repair and refurbishment of mobile phones.

Amazon has earlier invested in Indian startups such as Acko to further enhance its value proposition for the customers. In December 2014, Amazon made its first investment in India by investing $10 Mn in Bengaluru-based gift card technology and retail startup QwikCilver Solutions. Then it acquired Noida-based payment gateway firm EMVANTAGE Payments Pvt Ltd, for an undisclosed amount in February 2016.

Amazon was also one of the investors in Chennai-based financial marketplace BankBazaar, which raised nearly $110 Mn. In April 2018, SAIF Partners and Sequoia India-backed online lending platform Capital Float raised $22 Mn in a follow-on Series C funding round from Amazon Inc.