Flipkart have recently announced the launch of their Made-for-India brand, Billion. Their new private label brand will specifically work to cater the unique needs of Indian customers.
Flipkart has teamed up with several domestic manufacturers around the country, with whom the e-commerce giant will co-produce products in partnership. The company will primarily focus on customer needs, and rely on the data and customer feedback obtained from their online marketplace to build the products, which would mainly target the Indian needs and sensibilities.
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Products Based on Customer Needs (The Indian Touch)
The company said, it will produce products, conceived and tested in the Indian conditions and will be backed by the product reviews, individual customer feedback and also research based customer behaviour insights. This initiative is to fill up the gaps of specific needs of Indian customers while maintaining the standard of quality. The products under the Billion brand will be manufactured in India, for the Indian market and will be available exclusively on Flipkart.
Partnership with Domestic Manufacturers
Till now, the company has claimed to have partnered with around 10 manufacturers around the country, and they are looking to partner with several thousands more.
Billion Brand Products
The Billion products will be specially designed based on the insights into the needs of the Indian customers. A few examples of Billion products shared by Flipkart in their press statement are as follows;
- Mixer Grinders – There are multiple repetitions with the cooking as Indian families are generally large, so the Billion mixer will have 25 per cent larger jars.
- Kitchen Appliances with Longer Cords – Indian kitchens generally don’t have multiple plug points, so there will be longer cords in the Billion brand Kitchen Appliances.
- Cookware – Billion brand Cookware will be specially designed with a thicker non-stick coating, which will help to withstand the Indian Cooking.
- Backpacks – Billion brand backpacks will be designed with more space and extra durability, as Indians generally like to carry more stuff.
- Home Accessories, Electronics and Personal Grooming – The Billion brand will co-brand with Flipkart’s other brand Smart Buy, which sells home accessories, electronics and a range of personal grooming products.
- Irons – The Billion brand Irons will be designed with a far better non stick coating, which will assure smooth gliding on any kind of cloth material used in India.
Other Brands Under Flipkart
The e-Commerce giant has several brands under its umbrella, and has been looking to increase their revenue through private brands.
- Smart Buy – Flipkart’s first private electronics label
- Divastri – Women’s Ethnic Clothing Line Brand
- Metronaut – Men’s Private Label Brand
- DigiFlip – Company’s first consumer electronics products brand (Dissolved Last Year)
AmazonBasics vs Flipkart’s Billion
Flipkart faces direct competition from Amazon. Amazon launched a similar private label brand, AmazonBasics back in September 2015. Now as Flipkart is focusing om expanding the consumer base based on customer needs, AmazonBasics already offers a wide range of high quality products at best pricing.
Flipkart needs to play the Billion Brand smartly to beat both, online as well as offline competition to achieve commercial success.