Flipkart sales beat that of pre-Covid era

Digbijay.Mishra@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: US retail major Walmart said its international sales was hit due to Covid-19 lockdowns in India as Flipkart’s business was down for half of the second-quarter ending in June, 2020. But since the opening after mid-May, Flipkart’s gross sales, or GMV, has exceeded pre-Covid numbers, staging a fast recovery.
During the quarter under review, Walmart’s international net sales was down by almost 7% at over $27 billion.Markets like Africa and central America were also affected, impacting its overseas business. “In India, Flipkart re-opened in mid-May, after which we saw GMV exceeding pre-Covid levels,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. In its July 10 edition, TOI had reported both Amazon India and Flipkart are seeing high growth of 120-140% in online sales, accelerated by the pandemic.
During the post-earnings call with analysts, McMillon said recent capital infusion in the local e-tailer was to make sure it had enough cash to operate at a time when the size of the prize in India is so significant that he is not “hung-up” on the valuation, in the short run. Last month, Walmart said it will invest an additional $1.2 billion in Flipkart, valuing it at almost $25 billion.
“We want to make sure we’re on our front foot, being aggressive. Over time, everybody will understand just how valuable that business in India is — whether it’s Flipkart portion or PhonePe portion,” McMillon added, responding to an analyst query.
In the US, Walmart saw its highest ever e-commerce growth of 97% during the quarter, which sent its share prices jumping by 6% soon after it announced the earnings. Like in the US, Walmart, via Flipkart, is fighting against Amazon in India to get a piece of the growing e-commerce market here.
Amazon has also said India remains its biggest market in terms of investments outside the US. Last week, TOI reported that Amazon India, for the first time, had surpassed Flipkart’s market share in smartphone sales for the quarter ending June.