The buzz around Indian e-commerce just does not seem to die down – the sector is witnessing lot of activity, especially from the funding side. Most recently, Flipkart’s big $1 billion round of funding made waves, which was followed by an even bigger number to the tune of $2 billion by Amazon. Yes, all e-commerce biggies are gearing up for the next level of competition. Flipkart wants to rule the Indian demographic, but Amazon has the money power and refuses to give in. Wait, there are others too, remember?
Snapdeal is among the most popular online stores in India. Founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl, its headquarters are located in New Delhi, India. Snapdeal has seen explosive growth since its inception. In fact, sometime in 2012-2013, it was briefly the e-commerce store with the highest traffic in India. Of course, Flipkart took over thanks to some clever marketing tactics (exclusive launches being among them), but that’s a story for another day.
Only last year, both Amazon and eBay were battling to scoop up a piece of Snapdeal. That round of funding was ultimately won by eBay. Snapdeal’s gross merchandise value is growing at 400% year-over-year, so Snapdeal’s huge funding seems to be inevitable too?
Infact, kunal Bahl, founder of Snapdeal, in an interview with ET, mentioned that post Flipkart’s funding, investors are besieging him with offers to accept money.
It seems that Kunal Bahl may already have made a choice. Rumors are rife that Ratan Tata, the 76-year old ruler of the massive Tata empire, might buy out an early investor in Snapdeal through a closed sale. Tata might go beyond just buying out the early investor, as reports suggest that the iconic man is looking to make a massive personal investment into Snapdeal.
At present, Snapdeal has crossed over $1 billion in gross merchandise value, which places them second only to Flipkart. Of course, Snapdeal has bigger things to worry about, namely Amazon. Its fight to retain No. 2 spot and climb higher towards Flipkart levels of glory will be an uphill battle.
To fight that battle, Snapdeal needs money, and what better place to get it from than the man who lead India’s largest private sector conglomerate.
With Flipkart and Amazon already geared up, bringing out the big guns, Ratan Tata’s reported investment comes in at a time when Snapdeal needs its own arsenal up and running for the upcoming e-commerce mega-war.
The turf? The entire Indian consumer community of course.
[…] we had reported that Ratan Tata may invest in Snapdeal on a personal basis; the news just got […]