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I do not think it is about willingness. They tried and still trying whatever they could. It is just that economic realities of India put them in their place. S

by geodel 10y ago

I do not think it is about willingness. They tried and still trying whatever they could. It is just that economic realities of India put them in their place. Somehow the rather unfounded assumption was say they serve 50 million customers today and Indian population was 1.25 billion so there is opportunity to grow 10-20 times. The simple fact is 50 million might be close to maximum market size as remaining population simply do not have that kind of incomes to sustain e-commerce companies peddling frivolities. I say frivolities because if I am earning USD 5K/year equivalent in India I am in top 1.5-2% Indians. By Indian government tax data less than 3% people file income tax returns in India and remember those all who file returns does not necessarily means they pay income tax. There is of course no reason for Flipkart/snapdeal founders to admit basic facts as their companies made them fabulously rich.

shripadk 10y ago
When I talk about willingness I'm talking about expanding Internationally to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Alibaba (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-should-fear-alibaba/#15f36e2a1bde http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-...) is already doing that. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market but it has no where near peaked for Flipkart/Snapdeal to be content with. They just cannot depend on the Indian marketplace alone. Just because we are 1.25 billion strong and will probably adopt cashless means does not automatically make us a market for Flipkart/Snapdeal. They have to compete to get the marketshare. The market is dictated by one who is not just innovative but also caters to all sections of the diverse society. Sadly, only Amazon is able to currently provide a complete experience even though it's a late entry into the Indian marketplace. Flipkart/Snapdeal is already losing a major portion of their marketshare to Amazon and that decline is going to continue unless they expand and compete directly with Amazon in their own turf. Innovation alone cannot sustain Flipkart/Snapdeal. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. They do not have enough cash to compete with the likes of Amazon/Ebay who have a better inventory and provide access to the global marketplace.

by geodel 10y ago

shripadk 10y ago

When I talk about willingness I'm talking about expanding Internationally to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Alibaba (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-should-fear-alibaba/#15f36e2a1bde http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-...) is already doing that. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market but it has no where near peaked for Flipkart/Snapdeal to be content with. They just cannot depend on the Indian marketplace alone. Just because we are 1.25 billion strong and will probably adopt cashless means does not automatically make us a market for Flipkart/Snapdeal. They have to compete to get the marketshare. The market is dictated by one who is not just innovative but also caters to all sections of the diverse society. Sadly, only Amazon is able to currently provide a complete experience even though it's a late entry into the Indian marketplace. Flipkart/Snapdeal is already losing a major portion of their marketshare to Amazon and that decline is going to continue unless they expand and compete directly with Amazon in their own turf. Innovation alone cannot sustain Flipkart/Snapdeal. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. They do not have enough cash to compete with the likes of Amazon/Ebay who have a better inventory and provide access to the global marketplace.