Walmart-owned Flipkart is in talks to rope in Reliance Digital Retail’s CEO Brian Bade as its senior vice president to lead electronics segment, as per a report
However, sources close to Reliance rubbished the report and said Bade will continue to lead the operations at Reliance Digital
This development comes days after it was reported that Dunzo cofounder Kabeer Biswas is set to join Flipkart to lead its quick commerce segment
Update | January 14, 18:35: The original report by The Arc has been taken down. We have updated the copy to add denial from sources close to Reliance Retail.
Original Story | January 14, 10:18
Walmart-owned ecommerce company Flipkart
At Flipkart, Bade will work with Ajay Yadav, who looks after strategy and growth of smartphones and appliance sales, The Arc reported. However, sources close to Reliance rubbished the report and said Bade will continue to lead the operations at Reliance Digital.
Inc42 has reached out to Flipkart and Bade for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on their response.
Bade, as per his LinkedIn profile, has been working with Reliance Digital Retail as the chief executive since August 2010, overseeing the growth, sales, distribution, marketing, and service of the company. Prior to that, he worked with other retail brands such as Big Lots and Circuit City.
The development comes at a time when Flipkart is facing increasing competition in the electronics and appliances segments.
Ecommerce brands like Flipkart and Amazon are also working to retain their consumers, given the rising popularity of quick commerce in the country. To counter this, Flipkart and Amazon have also ventured into quick commerce with ‘Flipkart Minutes’ and ‘Tez’, respectively.
This development comes days after sources told Inc42 that Dunzo cofounder Kabeer Biswas is slated to join Flipkart Minutes to lead the operations of the ecommerce player’s quick commerce vertical. However, the company has not confirmed the effective date of his appointment yet.
Furthermore, the ecommerce major is in talks to lead a $35-40 Mn funding in its fintech startup super.money, as per reports, with participation from external investors for the first time.
Notably, super.money roped in tech veteran Kaushik Mukherjee as its chief technology officer (CTO), a few weeks ago.