B2B platform ShopX acqui-hires phone retailer GabbarDeals

Bengaluru-based ShopX, a business-to-business e-commerce platform for small traders, has acqui-hired GabbarDeals, an omnichannel mobile phone retail brand, a company statement said.

The acquisition gives ShopX the assets, including stores and brand partnerships, of GabbarDeals, allowing it to expand its organised retail operations beyond Tier 1 cities in India. It will launch ShopX Edge, a chain of technology-powered mobile and electronic stores in Maharashtra, where GabbarDeals has a strong offline presence, the statement added.

“The launch of ShopX Edge signifies the brand’s foray in organised, omnichannel retail. We are working towards democratising e-commerce and creating a retail model for emerging economies which benefits retailers, brands and consumers,” said Amit Sharma, chief executive and co-founder, ShopX.

Niraj Raka, co-founder of GabbarDeals, will be appointed as senior vice president and head of organised retail at ShopX, the statement said.

“GabbarDeals envisioned making e-commerce easier for shoppers in Tier two and three cities and by ShopX acquiring us, we are moving a step closer to our vision,” said Raka.

GabbarDeals sold phones of different brands online and offline as well. It had stores in Pune and Jalgaon with digitally enhanced features. The company claims to have achieved gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 1,000 crore across five years for its mobiles and electronics products.

ShopX

Run by 10i Commerce Services Pvt. Ltd, ShopX was founded in 2014 by Sharma and Apoorva Jois, who had earlier founded Go Untucked, a startup in the fashion apparel segment.

The B2B venture helps local kirana stores and small retailers conduct transactions on a single platform. ShopX primarily operates in three categories, food and groceries, digital and electronic services.

Using ShopX’s retailer facing app, a small merchant can offer his customers a range of services including making mobile phone and DTH charges, booking travel tickets for customers, making bill payments and assisting e-commerce shoppers.

The company has more than 50,000 retailers on its network and currently is present in 300 towns and cities across India. It has three streams of revenue—a small, one time fee whenever a retailer signs up, a transactional margin on sales from consumer brands on their network and revenues from marketing and brand building activities.

Last year in August, it raised $35 million in fresh funding from Hong Kong-based Fung Holdings.

In December 2016, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani invested $5 million (Rs 33.9 crore then) in the startup. The former UIDAI chairman had earlier invested another $5 million in the firm.

ShopX is Nilekani’s biggest-ever bet on a startup.