Amazon’s $2 Billion Bet on India

Flipkart, India’s answer to American style eCommerce founded by two former Amazon employees, had almost 24 hours to enjoy their extremely lucrative billion dollar funding round before Amazon showed up to trump their announcement.
 
Amazon is making its stand in India now it seems, and has announced its intention to invest $2 billion to expand in India and go after India’s increasingly affluent and digitally enthusiastic shopping class. 
 
“We see huge potential in the Indian economy and for the growth of e-commerce in India,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement released yesterday.
 
The push comes a little under a year after Amazon first stuck its toe into the Indian market with web services that make buying books, DVDs, electronic goods and fashion accessories possible.  Amazon is prohibited by local law from selling directly to consumers as it is foreign owned, and instead makes it money off of fees it charges merchants who use its website, storage facilities and logistics network to sell and deliver their products.
 
Amazon plans to expand that logistics and storage facility network as part of its push into India.  Currently, the company has warehouses in Mumbai and Bangalore—it plans to open an additional five in the next year, reports The Wall Street Journal.  

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