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The Flipkart Group, owned by Walmart Inc, has bought electronics reverse commerce (or recommerce) company Yaantra in a bid to expand its reverse commerce business and to enhance after-sale offerings for its smartphone customers, Flipkart said in a statement on Thursday.
Yaantra, a brand that repairs and sells refurbished consumer tech products such as smartphones and laptops, will enhance Flipkart’s refurbishment business in the smartphone category and will provide an ecosystem that looks after the entire lifecycle of smartphones, Flipkart said. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Yaantra’s team will report to Prakash Sikaria, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart’s Growth Charter post the transaction, the company said.
“India is one of the fastest-growing markets for electronic goods, with smartphones being one of the most in-demand. There is a large set of consumers who aspire to own branded devices, but prices are sometimes prohibitive. This is where Yaantra fits in perfectly. Their recommerce value chain and refurbishment capability will allow Flipkart to create a very meaningful recommerce offering," said Sikaria.
Yaantra, founded by Jayant Jha, Ankit Saraf and Anmol Gupta in 2013, will provide Flipkart greater access to affordable refurbished smartphones and will offer value and convenience for the end consumers, Flipkart said.
“Through the acquisition of Yaantra, we are enhancing our capabilities in a domain that is critical for the growth of the digital economy in India, as well as developing a comprehensive service ecosystem to support its expansion," said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head - Corporate Development, Flipkart.
Flipkart is betting on India’s recommerce market, which, it said is growing at a rapid space. The Walmart-owned company said recommerce consumers have trust and convenience issues since the market is largely unorganised and fragmented. Yaantra’s expertise in product assessment and refurbishment, thus, will help Flipkart’s refurbishment capabilities, Flipkart said.
“At Yaantra, we have been able to successfully drive the smartphone recommerce to the next level with our deep understanding of the sector and technology. At this juncture, we are delighted to join forces with the Flipkart Group as we share a common objective of making technology affordable and available for all," said Jayant Jha, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Yaantra.
Flipkart said that the strategic acquisition was made through FK Group Entity, F1 Info Solutions & Services Pvt Ltd, which is engaged in the business of offering lifecycle management for various categories including mobility, consumer electronics, IT (information technology) and IT Peripherals, audio-video enterprise solutions, in the business-to-business segment.
