Exclusive: Flipkart Receives $233 Mn Capital Infusion From Its Singapore Parent Entity

Walmart-backed Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart has received fresh investment of $233 Mn (INR 1,736 Cr) from its Singapore holding company. The investment has come ahead of its two major sales – Flipkart TV Days and Big Bachat Dhamal. Of the two sale events, Flipkart TV Days ends today and Big Bachat Dhamal to start from 7 January. 

As per the regulatory filing, Flipkart India has issued a total of 4,99,036 equity shares at an issue price of INR 34,800. 

The ecommerce marketplace is likely to utilise the fresh capital infusion to offer lucrative deals during these sales or invest in its social commerce venture Shopsy which has recently entered the grocery business to take on BigBasket, Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, among others. 

The surge in Covid-19 cases due to the spread of Omicron variants is likely to help ecommerce players such as Flipkart to boost its sales. As the cases rise, people shift towards online shopping to avoid contact. For instance, the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020 helped Flipkart’s revenue soar by 25% to INR 43,356 Cr from INR 34,586 Cr in FY20. 

During the same period i.e, FY21 (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021), the ecommerce giant’s consolidated loss after tax was INR 2,445.6 Cr, a 22% drop from INR 3,150 Cr it posted in FY20. 

As per a report by Bobble.ai, which has processed data from 50 Mn smartphones, Indian ecommerce business has surged 77% between 2020 and 2021 with more transactions happening in Tier II and III cities. 

During the 2021’s festive sale in October, Flipkart trumped its rival Amazon. As per a Redseer report, Flipkart dominated the festive sale with 64% market share, leaving 28% share to Amazon. Both Flipkart and Amazon saw a rise in customer base form Tier III and beyond cities. 

Founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal in 2007, the Bengaluru-based ecommerce giant is considered as one of the early Indian ecommerce platforms in the country. With over 150 Mn users in India, Flipkart competes against the US ecommerce major Amazon in the country. 

Flipkart which is also gearing for its potential IPO has received the largest cheque in the history of the Indian startup ecosystem worth $3.6 Bn in 2021. Flipkart is also one of the most valued Indian startups with $37 Bn valuation. 

According to analysis by Inc42 Plus, Indian ecommerce is expected to become a $200 Bn opportunity by 2026 from $84 Bn in 2021.