Flipkart parent infuses Rs 2,839 crore into wholesale B2B arm

Bengaluru-based ecommerce major Flipkart, owned by global retailer Walmart, has bagged of Rs 2,838.84 crore from its Singapore-based parent company. 

Flipkart India Private Limited, the wholesale arm of Flipkart, received the infusion and will use the funds to strengthen its B2B (business-to-business) operations.

Flipkart received the capital through an allotment of 8,115,761 shares at a premium of Rs 34,799, regulatory filings show. 

The latest infusion is the third into the unit this year, according to media reports, taking the total investment value to Rs 5,701 crore. The first infusion was reportedly in January this year of about Rs 1,431 crore into the wholesale unit, while the other one was in September, of around Rs 1,616 crore.

Flipkart is currently preparing for its last sale of the season 'The Big Shopping Days'. The company received the second infusion this year right before the 'Big Billion Days,” which was the start of the sale season.

With the current infusion, the company is likely to strengthen its inventory for its preferred sellers, media reports said.

Flipkart has so far managed to stay ahead of its rival Amazon India during festive sales. The company accounted for 51% of the overall gross merchandise value in 2018 while Amazon accounted for 30%, according to a Redseer Consulting report. 

The wholesale arm of Flipkart is the B2B arm, which buys goods in bulk from manufacturers and resells it to its partners and sellers who in turn list the products on the marketplace. 

Amazon India also runs a similar unit for wholesale, which is called Amazon Wholesale India.

In October 2019, Flipkart Internet, the entity that operates Flipkart's retail marketplace, widened its losses by 40% on higher employee benefits spends. Flipkart India also widened its losses by 86% at Rs 3,835.3 crore. 

In the same month, Flipkart registered a new subsidiary, FarmerMart, to enter into retail food segment. 

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