Flipkart enables cross-border trade for local Indian MSMEs; partners with Sastodeal in Nepal In a first-of-its-kind partnership for the company, lakhs of Flipkart sellers will now have access to Nepalese customers Sastodeal will host over 5000 product verticals from Flipkart Marketplace such as baby care & kids, women’s ethnic wear and sports & fitness, among others Chennai, August 21, 2020: Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, today entered into a strategic partnership with Sastodeal, a leading e-commerce company in Nepal, to initiate cross-border trade opportunities for its lakhs of sellers. Under the partnership, Sastodeal will host products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of babycare & kids, audio devices, men’s clothing, women's ethnic wear, and sports & fitness, among others, in turn opening access to Nepalese customers. Flipkart has constantly endeavored to create an inclusive e-commerce ecosystem and boost the growth of its seller partners in India. As MSMEs across the country bounce back and continue to look towards newer avenues for business growth, opportunities like these give them further confidence in the potential of e-commerce platforms. Flipkart currently has 2,00,000 sellers across India, with more than 50% of them coming from smaller cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Meerut, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad, among others. In line with its commitment to the ecosystem, the partnership with Sastodeal will build the long-term development of the e-commerce industry in both countries. Commenting on the partnership, Jagjeet Harode, Head of Marketplace, Flipkart, said, “The partnership with Sastodeal, a homegrown brand like ours, will not just open doors for a wider market reach to our sellers but also allow them to boost their business significantly. E-commerce business in Nepal has huge potential as more and more consumers take to online shopping. The trust a brand like Flipkart has amongst consumers along with the love of a local company like Sastodeal enjoys; makes the value proposition for consumers even more exciting. We are confident that new growth avenues such as this will boost the economic sentiment and growth prospects for local MSMEs in India.” In addition, Flipkart Private Brands- MarQ and SmartBuy will also be listed on the Sastodeal platform, with a focus on categories such as electronics, home appliances/home decor, and furnishings. Providing sellers partners yet another opportunity to manufacture locally and expand reach beyond India, Flipkart will enable sellers to make these private brands readily-available to Nepalese consumers, with the fulfillment promise by Sastodeal. “Flipkart’s Private Brands portfolio has always been about addressing consumer needs in the most effective value-driven manner. Given our understanding of what consumers need and focus on quality products; it was a natural step for us to expand this expertise and take our brands to markets beyond India. The preference of consumers in a country like Nepal is very similar to India. We are confident that the adoption of our Private Brands MarQ and SmartBuy will be strong. Our partner Sastodeal enjoys immense consumer trust in the Nepal market, which gives us further encouragement that consumers will love what we have to offer under the partnership,” said Dev Iyer, Vice President - Private Brands, Flipkart. According to Amun Thapa, CEO, Sastodeal, “The opportunity brought by Flipkart for Nepalese consumers is going to build a strong growth story for e-commerce in our country. Customers in Nepal increasingly look forward to products with best in class features and quality, and with a trusted brand like Flipkart, we can fulfill their requirements and enhance their experience on our platform. We are ensuring that customers get access to these products readily and hoping that together, this partnership can modernize the consumer landscape in Nepal significantly, especially in the current times.” Flipkart marketplace and private brand products are now available on Sastodeal. In the first phase, the partnership will see 5000+ products listed on Sastodeal.

 Flipkart enables cross-border trade for local Indian MSMEs;
partners with Sastodeal in Nepal

• In a first-of-its-kind partnership for the company, lakhs of Flipkart sellers will now have access to Nepalese customers
• Sastodeal will host over 5000 product verticals from Flipkart Marketplace such as baby care & kids, women’s ethnic wear and sports & fitness, among others

Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, today entered into a strategic partnership with Sastodeal, a leading e-commerce company in Nepal, to initiate cross-border trade opportunities for its lakhs of sellers. Under the partnership, Sastodeal will host products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of babycare & kids, audio devices, men’s clothing, women's ethnic wear, and sports & fitness, among others, in turn opening access to Nepalese customers.

Flipkart has constantly endeavored to create an inclusive e-commerce ecosystem and boost the growth of its seller partners in India. As MSMEs across the country bounce back and continue to look towards newer avenues for business growth, opportunities like these give them further confidence in the potential of e-commerce platforms. Flipkart currently has 2,00,000 sellers across India, with more than 50% of them coming from smaller cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Meerut, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad, among others. In line with its commitment to the ecosystem, the partnership with Sastodeal will build the long-term development of the e-commerce industry in both countries.

Commenting on the partnership, Jagjeet Harode, Head of Marketplace, Flipkart, said, “The partnership with Sastodeal, a homegrown brand like ours, will not just open doors for a wider market reach to our sellers but also allow them to boost their business significantly. E-commerce business in Nepal has huge potential as more and more consumers take to online shopping. The trust a brand like Flipkart has amongst consumers along with the love of a local company like Sastodeal enjoys; makes the value proposition for consumers even more exciting. We are confident that new growth avenues such as this will boost the economic sentiment and growth prospects for local MSMEs in India.”

In addition, Flipkart Private Brands-  MarQ and SmartBuy will also be listed on the Sastodeal platform, with a focus on categories such as electronics, home appliances/home decor, and furnishings. Providing sellers partners yet another opportunity to manufacture locally and expand reach beyond India, Flipkart will enable sellers to make these private brands readily-available to Nepalese consumers, with the fulfillment promise by Sastodeal.

“Flipkart’s Private Brands portfolio has always been about addressing consumer needs in the most effective value-driven manner. Given our understanding of what consumers need and focus on quality products; it was a natural step for us to expand this expertise and take our brands to markets beyond India. The preference of consumers in a country like Nepal is very similar to India. We are confident that the adoption of our Private Brands MarQ and SmartBuy will be strong. Our partner Sastodeal enjoys immense consumer trust in the Nepal market, which gives us further encouragement that consumers will love what we have to offer under the partnership,” said Dev Iyer, Vice President - Private Brands, Flipkart.

According to Amun Thapa, CEO, Sastodeal, “The opportunity brought by Flipkart for Nepalese consumers is going to build a strong growth story for e-commerce in our country. Customers in Nepal increasingly look forward to products with best in class features and quality, and with a trusted brand like Flipkart, we can fulfill their requirements and enhance their experience on our platform. We are ensuring that customers get access to these products readily and hoping that together, this partnership can modernize the consumer landscape in Nepal significantly, especially in the current times.”

Flipkart marketplace and private brand products are now available on Sastodeal. In the first phase, the partnership will see 5000+ products listed on Sastodeal.

MarQ by Flipkart launches Intel-powered ‘Falkon Aerbook’

MarQ by Flipkart launches Intel-powered ‘Falkon Aerbook’ Thin and Light laptop

• At 16.5mm, 1.26kg, 13.3-inch, form factor the laptop is set to disrupt the thin & light laptop segment in India
• Intel® Core™ i5 Processors power an ultra-sleek model
• Laptops to be priced Rs.39,990 onwards on Flipkart starting January 17

Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, announced the launch of the intel-powered ‘Falkon Aerbook’ Thin & Light series of laptops under its private brand ‘MarQ by Flipkart’. In collaboration with Intel and Microsoft, two of the biggest ecosystem partners, the laptops come with Intel® 8th Generation Core™ i5 Processors in an ultra-sleek, 13.3-inch, form factor. Inherently known for delivering great features at competitive prices, MarQ by Flipkart is branching out to laptops to address the  gaps between customer desires and current offerings.

Flipkart has emerged as a key destination for customers to buy laptops online. After analysing millions of customer reviews and studying the market, the company recognised consumer demand for sleeker and light form factors. This reflects the current demand trends based on advancements in processor and battery technologies. With this market shift in mind, MarQ by Flipkart, together with Intel and Microsoft, are looking to address this segment, keeping in mind the requirements of today’s users, who are constantly on the move by providing them laptops which address their demands at competitive prices.

Powered by cutting-edge technologies, unwavering customer-centricity and uncompromising quality standards, the laptops are designed specifically for young professionals and students, who are looking for slim and light on-the-go laptops. These laptops are consistent with Flipkart’s promise of great quality, tested rigorously to give users the best experience and value.

Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President – Private Brands, Electronics and Furniture, Flipkart, said, “Our private brand portfolio aims at creating and designing products that help customers fulfill aspirations without having to worry about budget constraints. Customers have left millions of reviews on our platform, letting us know their pain-points and the specs they desire. Through this, we have been able to develop the first MarQ by Flipkart laptop, designed specifically for Indian customers. The ‘Falkon Aerbook’ provides best-in-class features, creates a strong value proposition for our customers, and brings on-the-go computing within everyone’s reach. With the help of Intel and Microsoft’s expertise, we have developed a laptop that offers superior performance, designed to meet the needs of Indian consumers.”

Rahul Malhotra, Director – Retail, Intel India, said, “The incredible metamorphosis of personal computing over the last few decades has, to a large extent, been driven by customer expectations. Intel has been focused on working with ecosystem collaborators such as Flipkart to bring PC innovation to a growing, more technologically savvy customer base in India. We’ve worked on elevating the PC experience across the key vectors of performance, mobility, connectivity, intuitiveness and battery life. We are delighted that Flipkart has chosen Intel® Core™ processors to power their first range of thin and light MarQ laptops to deliver a high performance PC experience for on-the-go professionals and students with a broad spectrum of computing needs.”

Key specs:

• Design: The laptop comes with 16.5mm slim design and weighs a mere 1.26kg
• Display: 13.3-inch full high definition and in-plane switching display offers a great viewing experience
• RAM & Storage: 8GB RAM & 256GB SSD storage augments energy efficiency, faster boot times, faster application loading times and better system responsiveness. Dedicated SSD slot for expandable storage of upto 1 TB.
• Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 for superior computing on-the-go
• Sensors: Precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support provides seamless user experience
• Battery: 37 W-hr battery with a life of up to 5hrs optimized for daily on-the-go computing needs
• Warranty: Door-step warranty support with 10000+ pincode coverage, highly-skilled technical specialists and genuine spares replacement. With call centre operations supported 12/7 from 9 AM to 9 PM.

The laptop is the latest launch in a slew of the MarQ’s 15 product categories spread across 50 variants. The laptop industry is a Rs. 10,000 crore market in India. Customers are increasingly shopping online for laptops, and over the next two years online penetration of the category is expected to grow to 53%. The Thin & Light (TnL) segment ( <2kg, <20mm) is set to take over the industry from 18% to 65% in the next two years and is anticipated to be the new industry mainstream in the coming year.