Flipkart Global: Ecommerce Marketplace Ties Up With EBay To Reach International Markets

Ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has tied up with eBay to launch a new programme, ‘Flipkart Global.’ With this partnership, Flipkart will now allow users from about 200 international markets to purchase products on its marketplace.

Some of these markets where Flipkart will foray via Flipkart Global, include the United States, UK, Germany, Canada and Australia. As a part of the launch, the existing 25,000 retail export sellers on eBay India will migrate to Flipkart Global and start listing their products through the platform.

The company claims that the ‘Flipkart Global’ programme aims to push ‘Made in India’ products. The company will offer products like saris, jewellery, handicrafts, accessories, etc. – focussed on NRIs. The global programme is only available for sellers in the ‘Gold’ category. It will be extended to other sellers eventually.

“India has immense export potential and there are many SMEs who have unique products but don’t know how to make them available to global buyers. With the launch of Flipkart Global, we’re removing traditional growth barriers and giving them a platform to reach out internationally and expand sales,” Anil Goteti, Head Marketplace at Flipkart and Head of eBay India, said at the launch program.

Through this programme, Flipkart will have access to about 171 Mn active users of eBay, globally, in about 190 international markets. The orders will be shipped through eBay’s platform, but Flipkart will fulfil the orders in partnership with carriers. Flipkart Global will leverage the retail ecommerce export capabilities of the recently merged eBay India business for sellers to list their inventory across 35+ global eBay platforms. The ecommerce marketplace will also provide the necessary support in terms of shipping solutions, remittances, market trends etc. to its sellers.

Talking about the initiative Navin Mistry, India business head for eBay.in said, “Sellers who manufacture in India can leverage the global platform with a unique value proposition. If sellers are sourcing from other countries, such as China, they may not be able to compete with sellers already selling globally.”

Earlier this month, Axis Bank extended about $58.7 Mn working capital credit line to Flipkart. News also surfaced that the ecommerce marketplace was also gearing up to sell refurbished smartphones by Diwali, as part of a move aimed at managing the high return rates of handsets. The company also managed to raise over $2 Bn funding from SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

Earlier in April 2017, the company had raised a $1.4 Bn round from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. The investment was done at a post-transaction valuation of $11.6 Bn. At that time, Flipkart had acquired eBay India, and the Flipkart Global partnership is resultant of the same acquisition. With this move, the ecommerce marketplace is looking to increase its reach in international markets.

(The development was reported by ET)