Flipkart expands B2B platform to a dozen new cities ahead of festive season

Walmart-owned Flipkart has expanded its digital business-to-business (B2B) marketplace to 12 new cities to strengthen its kirana-focused procuring platform Flipkart Wholesale as it prepares for the upcoming festive season.

Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Mysore and Meerut are among the cities where the platform will be functional, according to a statement. 

“Since the launch, we have partnered with several leading brands, and enabled ease of doing business digitally for SMBs and kiranas by helping them leverage micro-market level B2B and B2C insights from the Flipkart ecosystem to better understand customer demands specific to their area so that they can buy and sell the right products,” Adarsh Menon, senior vice president and head, Flipkart Wholesale, said.

Flipkart Wholesale launched operations early this month in Gurugram, Delhi and Bengaluru, a little over a month after the Flipkart Group acquired Walmart India to set up a wholesale business. It connects local manufacturers with retailers via a mobile app.

Currently accessible on Google Play, the platform sells footwear and apparel to retailers. It plans to expand into categories such as home, kitchen and grocery by the end of this year. The platform offers credit facilities, market insights, order tracking and return options, and product delivery directly to their shops.

In July, when the reverse acquisition took place, the Bengaluru-based company said it would leverage the wholesale capabilities of Walmart India, which operates a cash-and-carry business called Best Price. 

Best Price brand would continue to operate via its omnichannel network of 28 stores and ecommerce operations, with a customer base of over 1.5 million, it said.

In a separate statement on Friday, Flipkart announced a set of new initiatives to strengthen its furniture business ahead of its annual festive season sale, Big Billion Days.

The company has doubled its seller numbers in the furniture category to more than 10,000 sellers and increased its selection to over 3.5 lakhs products.

Flipkart has expanded its office furniture seller count by over 30% with brands such as Wipro and Featherlite. The company said it has increased pincode reach to 100% of the serviceable pin codes across the country for furniture delivery.