In the recent past, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been swaying the market with different surprises. The retailer’s latest ambition is to storm the Indian market through India’s online grocer BigBasket. Sources have revealed that the two are already in talks. However, the talks are said to be early stage hence there are no conclusions yet of a possible sale.
According to Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos, the company intends to compete against local rivals in its efforts to gain ground in the fast-growing market. To meet this intention Bezos says that he will spend close to $5 billion (€4.5bn) in the coming years. The question is, will he meet the demand of the Indian market?
Could Amazon’s success in the country be a threat to other companies?
Amazon has been making big strides in expanding its operations. Earlier in the year, the company opened drive-in grocery locations in Seattle, a move, which will ease the purchase of groceries for its customers.
BigBasket is India’s largest online grocer with operations across 25 of the nation’s cities. Hence the move to team up with the e-Commerce giant is likely to be sounding a threat to other similar businesses. The likes of Flipkart Ltd. and Snapdeal are already rolling out a possible partnership perhaps in an effort to beat the looming Amazon’s success in the country.
Amazon invests in food supply
Amazon aims at increasing its product offerings and this is the reason it has been expanding its online food and grocery business. To this point, the company is reportedly seeking a partnership with the Indian government in the food supply. A government minister has confirmed that Amazon’s plan is to pour out close to $500 million primarily for online food retailing.
The company is now waiting for a license for food retail trading, which is issued by the government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Meanwhile, all eyes are on whether Amazon and BigBasket will agree. In the meantime, Amazon’s stock closed at $976.47 a fall of $4.32 or 0.44%.