Snapdeal owner Jasper Infotech reports Rs1328 crore loss
1 min read 20 Jan 2016, 01:27 AM ISTSnapdeal's loss has grown five-fold in the 12-month period as it spent heavily to maintain its market share amid growing e-commerce competition
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New Delhi: Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, which runs e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal.com, reported losses widening to ₹ 1,328.01 crore for the year ended 31 March from ₹ 264.6 crore in the previous year as it spent heavily to maintain its market share amid growing competition from Amazon and Flipkart.
In December, Snapdeal’s closest rival Flipkart reported a loss of about ₹ 2,000 crore (for the two main entities controlled by it) for the year ended 31 March, compared with a loss of ₹ 715 crore in the previous year.
According to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, Snapdeal’s loss has grown five-fold in the 12-month period. It did not reveal revenue numbers. Snapdeal had reported actual sales of ₹ 168.1 crore for the year ended March 2014.
In August, Mint reported that Snapdeal had seen a four-fold jump in gross merchandise volume (GMV), or value of goods sold on the site, for the year ended March 2015. The numbers were reported by Snapdeal’s largest investor SoftBank Corp. Snapdeal was estimated to have touched an annualized GMV of roughly $2 billion in March.
GMV refers to the value of goods sold on a site, but does not account for discounts or even returns.
Cash rich e-commerce companies Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India are engaged in an aggressive discounting battle to win and retain customers in the country. Right from offering discounts to spending heavily on television and print advertisements; e-commerce companies are doing everything to build the brand and keep the consumer engaged.
In August, Snapdeal raised $500 million in fresh funds largely from Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and existing investor Softbank Group. The deal valued the Delhi-based firm at about $4.8 billion post money.
Founded in 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal as a deals site, Snapdeal has become the biggest local rival to Flipkart. The company has more than 150,000 sellers and about 15 million-plus products across 500 plus categories listed on its platform. Snapdeal currently delivers goods to over 5,000 cities and towns in India.
