Sachin Bansal, Co-founder & CEO of Flipkart, took questions from Outlook. Edited excerpts:
On FDI in e-retail sector: The government understands the country’s needs, is in the best position to decide what is right.
On looking for further acquisitions to grow: We are always looking for opportunities. We are actively looking at acquisitions—across spaces, supply-chain, technology, seller enablement. Consolidation is definitely the way forward to create the e-commerce ecosystem. However, there is still a long way to go.
On whether Flipkart will have an offline model: I don’t see us being an offline model ever. We want to be a large internet company that provides products across categories.
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On using exclusive arrangements to sell products: Exclusive brand partnerships have worked very well for us, not just in electronics but in other categories as well. We have huge plans on category expansion, especially in the coming months.
On moving to the marketplace model: We are a pure marketplace model. Opening up our platform for multiple sellers was a necessary evolution. And a win-win situation for everyone concerned—us, our customer and the sellers. We fundamentally believe that marketplace is the most scalable model.
On the future of Indian e-retailing: An immense opportunity is waiting to be tapped in Tier-I and Tier-II markets and the trends one sees in online shopping, like shopping through mobile phones, will come from these cities in the future. We will also see world-class practices in supply-chain coming to India.