Indian Ecommerce Business: Weekly Report

Weekly Ecommerce Business Report

The endeavour is to provide a comprehensive update of the happenings in the Ecommerce marketplace in India.

News at a Glance:

Amazon in talks to buy Jabong for $1.2 billion
World's biggest online retailer Amazon is upping the ante against India's e-commerce poster boy Flipkart by reportedly initiating the acquisition of fashion portal Jabong.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Amazon-in-talks-to-buy-Jabong-for-1-2-billion-Report/articleshow/45296822.cms


E-commerce players gearing up for Google's online shopping festival
Many online sites are gearing up for a surge in business with a fortnight of discounts during the ongoing Google-led online shopping festival followed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday next week.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/e-commerce-players-gearing-up-for-googles-online-shopping-festival/articleshow/45302793.cms



'E-commerce companies far superior to Dotcom ones'
The quality of companies this time round is far superior to that in the past. Also, the e-commerce model today is a proven one. In developed markets, we see almost 30% of the retail sales happening online.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/45302965.cms?curpg=2&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Online Grocers Come up Trumps in India's E-Commerce Boom
Put off by snarled city traffic and a shortage of parking, more Indians are shopping for groceries online, helping e-tailers like Bigbasket.com and Localbanya.com turn in profits while supermarkets are struggling.
http://cooks.ndtv.com/article/show/online-grocers-come-up-trumps-in-india-s-e-commerce-boom-626726

Ecommerce Turns Hot
Domestic e-commerce scene is all set to turn hotter with Indian e-tailers latching on to American retail concepts of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales luring local ‘shopoholics’.Though the online shopping space is already engaged in a discount war, e-tailers are hoping to take it to the next level by bringing in the US phenomenon that offers mega discounts.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141128/nation-current-affairs/article/black-friday-grips-online-shoppers

Alibaba Spearheads Chinese Investment into India’s e-Commerce Market
Jack Ma, founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group and the richest person in China, has indicated that Alibaba is looking to invest more in India as it continues to expand its services.
http://www.india-briefing.com/news/alibaba-spearheads-chinese-investment-indias-ecommerce-market-9436.html

E biz hots up; Amazon looks to buy Jabong,Alibaba shows interest in Snapdeal

The Indian Ecommerce Market is abuzz with the news that the global ecommerce leader Amazon is looking at acquiring Jabong.com promoted by Rocket Internet while the new poster boy--China's Alibaba is keenly look at investing in Snapdeal, as I write this blog (quoted in VC Circle).

Amazon was in news this July when it announced a $2billion investment in Indian Ecommerce business sparking major speculation in the business circles. The Amazon deal is expected to be to the tune of $1.2 billion.

Facing stiff competition from ecommerce bigwigs like Flipkart and Snapdeal lately, Amazon is looking at strengthening its foundation in the country. Given the current scenario, inorganic growth seem the only option available for the ecommerce major.

According to a report in VC Circle, Amazon is interested in keeping Jabong as a separate property post the acquisition, which would be on the lines of Amazon's acquisition of Zappos in the US.

As for Alibaba, it is a little to early to comment.

Deal or no deal, it is certain that the Indian Ecommerce Market is hotting up. Going forward the industry is going to witness mergers and acquisitions. The fittest will survive while a large number of 'me too' outfits will shut shop. Watch this space for more.....

China's Poster Boy Jack Ma's intent to grab a chunk of the Indian ecommerce pie can make way for other biggies

The inevitable has happened. Finally Jack Ma has gone public with his intent of being seen and heard more in India (read more visits, more press interaction, hobnobbing with the e-railers, and greater presence in the indian ecommerce industry).

Good for our retailers(small scale traders)...if Ma can tweak technology a bit, make things easy for Indian suppliers to sell products on Alibaba good..... rejoice. However is that all that meets the eye? Is he is planning to buy a stake in one of the Indian Ecommerce success stories.

For one, our bigwigs need strategic alliance, expert knowhow and funds to remain afloat amid cut throat competition. We have been witnessing the big war between the biggies (read flipkart, snap deal, Amazon, and the likes).

What can our ecommerce players learn from Alibaba? Well to start with they can learn:
-How to stay ahead of competition
-How to remain profitability year-on-year
-How to innovate and realign with the exiting market conditions
-How to make consumers feel like a king

This list is endless. Following Jack Ma's lead, we may expect big announcements from other popular etailers across the globe as Indian consumers cannot be ignored anymore.

However currently we are waiting to hear about movers and shakers in the ecommerce industry. Mergers and Acquisitions no more look like a distant dream. Last but not the least....don't forget, Alibaba is scouting for Indian talent. Soon we may hear some shaking news....