Flipkart
Encyclopedia
Flipkart is an Indian online shopping company headquartered in Bangalore
, India
,which was established in 2007. It is among India’s largest online retail businesses.
and worked for Amazon.com
before quitting and founding their own company. Initially they used word of mouth
to popularise their company. A few months later, the company sold its first book on flipkart.com - John Woods' Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. Within two years through word of mouth of their services, Flipkart became one of the top 100 Indian sites and was credited for being India's largest online bookseller with over 7 million titles on offer. Flipkart broke even in March 2010 and claims to have had at least 100% growth every quarter since its founding. The store started with selling books and in 2010 branched out to selling CDs, DVDs, Mobile phones & Accessories, Cameras, Computers, Office supplies (Pens,diaries & Calculators) and other electronic items i.e Home appliances, Kitchen appliances, Personal care & Health care . As of today, Flipkart employs over 3000 people.
(in 2009) and Tiger Global Management (up to the tune of 10 million) (in 2010).
In this financial year(2011-12) Flipkart is set to cross the $100 million mark as Internet usage in the country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases online.
's Koramangala
neighborhood. Flipkart has offices, warehouse
s and customer service centers across India
. Warehouses are located in the following cities, often near airports.
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
,which was established in 2007. It is among India’s largest online retail businesses.
History
Flipkart,was established by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal both are alumni of Indian Institute of Technology DelhiIndian Institute of Technology Delhi
The Indian Institute Of Technology, Delhi , commonly known as IIT Delhi or IITD, is a college of engineering in Delhi, India...
and worked for Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
before quitting and founding their own company. Initially they used word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
to popularise their company. A few months later, the company sold its first book on flipkart.com - John Woods' Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. Within two years through word of mouth of their services, Flipkart became one of the top 100 Indian sites and was credited for being India's largest online bookseller with over 7 million titles on offer. Flipkart broke even in March 2010 and claims to have had at least 100% growth every quarter since its founding. The store started with selling books and in 2010 branched out to selling CDs, DVDs, Mobile phones & Accessories, Cameras, Computers, Office supplies (Pens,diaries & Calculators) and other electronic items i.e Home appliances, Kitchen appliances, Personal care & Health care . As of today, Flipkart employs over 3000 people.
Funding
Initially funded by the Bansals themselves with 4 Lakh, Flipkart has since then raised two rounds of funding from venture capital funds Accel IndiaAccel Partners
Accel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
(in 2009) and Tiger Global Management (up to the tune of 10 million) (in 2010).
Acquisitions
- 2010: WeRead, a social book discovery tool. The stated goal was to give Flipkart a social recommendation platform for buyers to make informed decisions based on recommendations from people within their social network.
- 2011: Mime360, a digital content platform company.
- 2011: Acquired the rights to Chakpak’s digital catalogue which includes 40,000 filmographies, 10,000 movies and close to 50,000 ratings. It has categorically said that it will not be involved with the original site and will not use the brand name. Chakpak.com is a Bollywood news site that offers updates, news, photos and videos.
Business Results
Flipkart's reported sales were 4 Crores (40 Million) in FY 2008-09, 20 Crores in FY 2009-10 and 75 Crores for FY 2010-11. On average, Flipkart sells nearly 10 products per minute and is aiming at generating a revenue of 1 billion by 2015.In this financial year(2011-12) Flipkart is set to cross the $100 million mark as Internet usage in the country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases online.
Locations
The company's headquarters is located in BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
's Koramangala
Koramangala
Koramangala is a locality in Bengaluru, India. Situated in the south-eastern part of the city, it is one of the largest, and a highly sought after residential locality with its wide tree-lined boulevards with a mix of luxury apartments, commercial structures and posh bungalows. It is largely...
neighborhood. Flipkart has offices, warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s and customer service centers across India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Warehouses are located in the following cities, often near airports.
- BangaloreBangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
- ChennaiChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
- DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
- HyderabadHyderabad-India:* Hyderabad, India, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh* Hyderabad District, India, a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh* Hyderabad State, the pre-1956 state* Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, a village in Uttar Pradesh...
- MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
- PunePunePune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
- KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
See also
- Online shopping
- Ecommerce in IndiaEcommerce in IndiaIndia has an internet user base of over 100 million users. The penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the US and the UK but is growing at a much faster rate with a large number of new entrants...