India’s biggest e-commerce player Flipkart has started co-creating products in partnership with domestic manufacturers, as it looks to push its new brand `Billion’ as a made-in-India option for its users. Group chairman Sachin Bansal said that the brand will make products aimed at addressing Indian needs based on data and customer feedback from the platform.
The products under the Flipkart-owned Billion brand will initially include mixers, electrical appliances, backpacks, mixer grinders, cookware, irons, and will gradually extend to more categories. The process to launch Billion started a year ago, when Flipkart put together a team for research on customer data, and few products have already been tested on the platform over recent weeks.
Some of Billion’s unique features compared to products already in the market will be its attention to India-specific needs, Bansal said. Billion backpacks have been designed with extra space, Billion mixers will have larger jars for a typical Indian family size, and irons with super-coating for all materials.
“Billion is inspired by the Make in India initiative of the government as well,“ Bansal said.ET had reported in November that Bansal is working on a Make in India range of products. The online seller community, however, has raised concern about Flipkart’s Billion products.
Flipkart’s Billion brand may also jostle for customer attention along with its SmartBuy brand, which it launched in December to offer affordable electronic accessories and home plastic products.
Industry experts are, however, skeptical of Flipkart’s latest private brand, after the ecommerce company had less than successful attempts with brands like Flippd and DigiFlip.
By Baishakhi Dutta
