Home-grown David: Flipkart hits $1 bn sales mark ahead of schedule

Here is another evidence that India’s e-commerce industry is red hot. Homegrown Flipkart has said it reached the $1 billion sales mark - a target it was aiming for in 2015.

“We are really proud and excited to announce that we have hit a run rate of $1 billion GMV (gross merchandise value) one year before our target. In March 2011 we announced that by 2015 we wanted to hit $1bn in GMV. At that point in time our run rate was $10 million,” a reportin TheEconomic Times quotedco-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal as saying in a statement.

Flipkart’s growth timeline seems to mimic that of US-giant Amazon, which also reached the milestone about 7 years after it’s formation.India’s e-commerce sector is booming, with several major international players like Amazon and eBay entering the country in the last one year. Clearly, indigenous players such as Flipkart and Snapdeal are giving their international counterpartsa run for their money.

More from Startups

Pune-based startup, Guruji on Demand, to launch online funeral management service in times of social distancing NASSCOM teams up with IoT, AI startups to provide low-cost solutions to combat COVID-19

Since its launch in 2007, the Bangalore-based e-commerce giant has raised over $500 million funding, including $360 million just last year when it was valued at $1.6 billion. South Africa’s Naspers and funds like Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Tiger Global and Accel Partners has pumped funds into the venture. It employs over 10,000 staff members.

Flipkart started an inventory retailer in its first avatar, focusing on books. But since then it has expanded into electronics, apparel and other categories, hosting vendors on its platform by implementing the marketplace model.

The company is only looking to grow from strength to strength, with its next target being Tier-II and -III cities. In an interview to_Firstbiz_ earlier this year, Sachin Bansal explained the company’s two-pronged approach to these markets. “One is to make sure that we have the products that those customers want. Second is whether we have a service level which is up to a standard that is acceptable to the customers in those markets.” He also said the company will focus on mobiles since he believes that will be the No 1 internet-enabled device in smaller towns and cities.

Research and ratings agency Crisil predicts that India’s e-commercewill triple to Rs 50,000 crore in three years.It expects the buoyant trend to sustain in the medium term, and believes the market willgrow at 50-55 percent CAGR to Rs 50,4oo croreby 2015-16.

Read the entire Economic Times report here.