5 ms·

Wow. Is this real? Does anyone know anything about this company? Wikipedia has the company's revenue at 200m USD as of January, making an operational loss. They

by netcan 12y ago

Wow. Is this real? Does anyone know anything about this company? Wikipedia has the company's revenue at 200m USD as of January, making an operational loss. They don't sell internationally. Is there some important part to this story that we're missing? Seems like there must be something worth knowing about here. On a slightly unrelated note, it's amazing that billions can be raised pre-IPO these days. It almost buries IPOs as a fund raising methods.I realize exit/liquidity was/is the bigger reason for tech IPOs already, but it seems somehow unnatural to completely abandon the role of financing. Not sure where I'm going with this.

gshahlot 12y ago
200m USD was in the FY 12-13. They hit $1B GMV around 4 months back.
- netcan 12y ago
  GMV?
  - swatkat 12y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_merchandise_volume http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_merchandise_volume
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- notahacker 12y ago
  That gives them 1/5 of India's entire ecommerce business (if the figures in the article about percentage of retail are accurate) which is not inconsiderable. On the other hand, since the gross margins on those sales won't be large, it also suggests that the volume of ecommerce carried out in India will have to grow by an order of magnitude (even if Flipkart can grow that large market share) if Flipkart is to earn a return on that huge investment. Bearing in mind the Indian middle class has been internet savvy for a while that's asking for a lot unless the investors are very patient.
  - seanflyon 12y ago
    Investors can afford to be "patient" because they don't have to wait for that money to come back as profit. They make money if they sell FK for more than the price they paid. This is not always a good thing, but it does allow investors to take into account long term value when investing.
    - notahacker 12y ago
      Sure, but there are not many people or investment funds willing to buyout $1 billion worth of equity in an Indian company, particularly not a pre-profit one whose assets are largely digital. Silicon Valley accounting doesn't apply, and a lot of restrictions on foreign investors do. If your fund needs to achieve the largest IPO in a country's history to achieve an acceptable ROI, your limited partners had better be patient, or your growth trajectory spectacular. In this case, since they apparently already own a huge percentage of the market, its a spectacular growth trajectory that involves getting Indians to buy a lot more online... which given that Indians with disposal income have had internet access for a while now might not be straightforward.
      - seanflyon 12y ago
        India is a rapid growth market. Amazon is worth $150 billion If FK can win that market in India and potentially expand to China as disposable income in the area grows, then these investors will see a large return. At $1 billion this seems like a big gamble, but it does not seem like a naive or short sighted one.
nell 12y ago
Flipkart is popular among youngsters in India. I've bought books for my dad from the US and got it delivered to him in India. The best part is we don't have to make a payment during the order. They take cash on delivery. I used to ask my Dad, why are real estate prices in India so high. You could buy a home in the bay area at the same price as it'd be in some neighborhoods in top metro cities. His answer was simple. There are a lot of people who can spend. India has a ton of youngsters and they'll increasingly spend money online.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
manojlds 12y ago
Flipkart is India only at the moment, and is very famous in urban areas here. Can be thought of as India's Amazon, though there is amazon.in.
jestinjoy1 12y ago
Indian here. Will give you an idea of whats happening here in India. This online sellers got an impact only 2-3 years back. Now its like local government are formulating rules to curb online sales. This is in part fueled by the influence of local sellers. Now people have moved to online stores for buying things, with local sellers feeling the heat. First it was thought that Amazon entry to India will bury Flipkart. Not it seems Amazon is in trouble. Things looks like going in the same way as of China. Flipkart started by IIT'ans the brightest minds of India. They recruit from top tech schools of India with hefty packages. They have a nice site and customer care. They also bought rival in Apparels, Myntra There is no reason one shouldn't buy from Flipkart. *http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/keralas-online-shoppers-feel-the-crunch/article6085358.ece http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/keralas-o...
- rtx 12y ago
  >They recruit from top tech schools of India with hefty packages. They are not among the best paying companies. >There is no reason one shouldn't buy from Flipkart. Except you are not buying from Flipkart. You are buying through Flipkart. They moved to a market place model and quality has gone done since.
- ishansharma 12y ago
  I'm not sure if they can compete with Amazon. They're losing money and competing with Amazon which has deeper pockets. Right now, their prices are higher and I can find (and have found) better deals on either Amazon or Snapdeal. Amazon has always delivered faster and the sellers are all the same on these sites now. Not it seems Amazon is in trouble. I think Flipkart is in real trouble here. Amazon can discount for long and eat losses (that's what they have always done) and though Flipkart has good ideas, they have made really strange moves (making a Tablet? Infibeam tried that back in 2011. Didn't work.)
  - sameerds 12y ago
    > Right now, their prices are higher and I can find > (and have found) better deals on either Amazon or Snapdeal I have the opposite experience. I check prices over a few days before buying, and Flipkart always comes ahead. Permanently gave up on Snapdeal after returning a pair of shoes (only one shoe in the box!), then its replacement (wrong size), and then again its replacement (wrong model).
chime 12y ago
> I realize exit/liquidity was/is the bigger reason for tech IPOs already, but it seems somehow unnatural to completely abandon the role of financing. Not sure where I'm going with this. This is a big deal. It used to be that small but growing companies would IPO and we could all invest in it and reap the benefits of our infused capital if the company succeeds. The risk was high but so was the reward for regular folks. Think of everyone who invested in Apple, Microsoft, and Google. But over the last decade, large investors realized that instead of letting the whole market absorb the benefit, they could just cherry pick the most promising companies and invest in them, and reap the real benefits when the company IPOs at a much higher valuation. This is what happened with Facebook. A $100B IPO does not mean Facebook is the most valuable company to IPO. It means the largest potential of growth that could be exploited, had already been exploited. Other than FB employees and pre-IPO investors, nobody got rich off FB. Similarly, nobody is going to get rich off Flipkart. The effect this has on the long-term economy will be huge. Large investors will continue to gain the most from burgeoning companies while common folks will continue to see moderate 5% gains in their 401k and investment portfolios. The days of savvy investor are over.
pskittle 12y ago
http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/flipkart http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/flipkart

by netcan 12y ago

gshahlot 12y ago

200m USD was in the FY 12-13. They hit $1B GMV around 4 months back.

netcan 12y ago
GMV?
- swatkat 12y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_merchandise_volume http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_merchandise_volume
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
notahacker 12y ago
That gives them 1/5 of India's entire ecommerce business (if the figures in the article about percentage of retail are accurate) which is not inconsiderable. On the other hand, since the gross margins on those sales won't be large, it also suggests that the volume of ecommerce carried out in India will have to grow by an order of magnitude (even if Flipkart can grow that large market share) if Flipkart is to earn a return on that huge investment. Bearing in mind the Indian middle class has been internet savvy for a while that's asking for a lot unless the investors are very patient.
- seanflyon 12y ago
  Investors can afford to be "patient" because they don't have to wait for that money to come back as profit. They make money if they sell FK for more than the price they paid. This is not always a good thing, but it does allow investors to take into account long term value when investing.
  - notahacker 12y ago
    Sure, but there are not many people or investment funds willing to buyout $1 billion worth of equity in an Indian company, particularly not a pre-profit one whose assets are largely digital. Silicon Valley accounting doesn't apply, and a lot of restrictions on foreign investors do. If your fund needs to achieve the largest IPO in a country's history to achieve an acceptable ROI, your limited partners had better be patient, or your growth trajectory spectacular. In this case, since they apparently already own a huge percentage of the market, its a spectacular growth trajectory that involves getting Indians to buy a lot more online... which given that Indians with disposal income have had internet access for a while now might not be straightforward.
    - seanflyon 12y ago
      India is a rapid growth market. Amazon is worth $150 billion If FK can win that market in India and potentially expand to China as disposable income in the area grows, then these investors will see a large return. At $1 billion this seems like a big gamble, but it does not seem like a naive or short sighted one.

nell 12y ago

Flipkart is popular among youngsters in India. I've bought books for my dad from the US and got it delivered to him in India. The best part is we don't have to make a payment during the order. They take cash on delivery. I used to ask my Dad, why are real estate prices in India so high. You could buy a home in the bay area at the same price as it'd be in some neighborhoods in top metro cities. His answer was simple. There are a lot of people who can spend. India has a ton of youngsters and they'll increasingly spend money online.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

manojlds 12y ago

Flipkart is India only at the moment, and is very famous in urban areas here. Can be thought of as India's Amazon, though there is amazon.in.

jestinjoy1 12y ago

Indian here. Will give you an idea of whats happening here in India. This online sellers got an impact only 2-3 years back. Now its like local government are formulating rules to curb online sales. This is in part fueled by the influence of local sellers. Now people have moved to online stores for buying things, with local sellers feeling the heat. First it was thought that Amazon entry to India will bury Flipkart. Not it seems Amazon is in trouble. Things looks like going in the same way as of China. Flipkart started by IIT'ans the brightest minds of India. They recruit from top tech schools of India with hefty packages. They have a nice site and customer care. They also bought rival in Apparels, Myntra There is no reason one shouldn't buy from Flipkart. *http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/keralas-online-shoppers-feel-the-crunch/article6085358.ece http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/keralas-o...

rtx 12y ago
>They recruit from top tech schools of India with hefty packages. They are not among the best paying companies. >There is no reason one shouldn't buy from Flipkart. Except you are not buying from Flipkart. You are buying through Flipkart. They moved to a market place model and quality has gone done since.
ishansharma 12y ago
I'm not sure if they can compete with Amazon. They're losing money and competing with Amazon which has deeper pockets. Right now, their prices are higher and I can find (and have found) better deals on either Amazon or Snapdeal. Amazon has always delivered faster and the sellers are all the same on these sites now. Not it seems Amazon is in trouble. I think Flipkart is in real trouble here. Amazon can discount for long and eat losses (that's what they have always done) and though Flipkart has good ideas, they have made really strange moves (making a Tablet? Infibeam tried that back in 2011. Didn't work.)
- sameerds 12y ago
  > Right now, their prices are higher and I can find > (and have found) better deals on either Amazon or Snapdeal I have the opposite experience. I check prices over a few days before buying, and Flipkart always comes ahead. Permanently gave up on Snapdeal after returning a pair of shoes (only one shoe in the box!), then its replacement (wrong size), and then again its replacement (wrong model).

chime 12y ago

> I realize exit/liquidity was/is the bigger reason for tech IPOs already, but it seems somehow unnatural to completely abandon the role of financing. Not sure where I'm going with this. This is a big deal. It used to be that small but growing companies would IPO and we could all invest in it and reap the benefits of our infused capital if the company succeeds. The risk was high but so was the reward for regular folks. Think of everyone who invested in Apple, Microsoft, and Google. But over the last decade, large investors realized that instead of letting the whole market absorb the benefit, they could just cherry pick the most promising companies and invest in them, and reap the real benefits when the company IPOs at a much higher valuation. This is what happened with Facebook. A $100B IPO does not mean Facebook is the most valuable company to IPO. It means the largest potential of growth that could be exploited, had already been exploited. Other than FB employees and pre-IPO investors, nobody got rich off FB. Similarly, nobody is going to get rich off Flipkart. The effect this has on the long-term economy will be huge. Large investors will continue to gain the most from burgeoning companies while common folks will continue to see moderate 5% gains in their 401k and investment portfolios. The days of savvy investor are over.

pskittle 12y ago

http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/flipkart http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/flipkart