India news and analysis

Having undertaken three major divestments in the last year and digital growth set to outpace sales through physical formats, a very different Walmart will emerge over the next five years. We highlight the five major changes to plan for. Business in transformation Walmart is the world's largest retailer, with activities spanning North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. It has emerged a...

Reliance Retail has recently acquired a controlling stake in Indian search and discovery firm Just Dial for US$469m. B2B marketplace that is free for users, but charges a fee for listings Market leader Reliance Retail has acquired a 41% stake in Just Dial, and plans to make an open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake later.  B2B marketplace Just Dial offers local search and ecommerce s...

Flipkart has recently raised an additional US$ 3.6bn in its first external funding since it was acquired by Walmart in 2018.  The deal now values the company at US$ 37.6bn. Walmart-owned Flipkart doubles its valuation in less than three years After Walmart has acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart for US$ 16bn in 2018, it has expanded its operations to smaller towns and cities, added more items ...

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is working together with Reliance Retail in India to launch an in-store vending machine for its home care products.  This machine allows customers to refill any bottle with Surf Excel, Comfort and Vim, enabling lower plastic usage in the country. Customers can bring their own bottle or purchase a recyclable container from Reliance Smart Several suppliers fin...

Walmart-owned Flipkart has launched Shopsy, a new social commerce platform.  It can benefit individuals and small businesses who can now resell products in their own networks, through social messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Free for individuals & small businesses, who earn a commission for selling Shopsy is a social commerce platform that will allow budding entrepreneurs to register on the ...

Pride month is observed across many markets in Asia, although it is not as huge as the celebration in Europe and the Americas.  COVID-19 restrictions have hindered plans to have physical gatherings for Pride month, but the pandemic has not stopped some retailers in Asia to launch virtual campaigns for this occasion. Philippines: Alibaba-owned Lazada recognises the LGBTQIA+ stigma  Man...

Vaccination to protect against COVID-19 is now more accessible in Asia, but the uptake has been sluggish.  To encourage more people to get the jab, some retailers as well as suppliers from the food and grocery industry are offering discounts and prizes for vaccinated individuals.  Hong Kong: ParknShop, Watsons and Sa Sa offer cash vouchers The CK Group has launched a lottery for Hong Kong r...

With the pandemic limiting peoples’ access to dental check-ups, they have had to rely on at-home oral care products to maintain their oral health. We explore five ways of how oral care brands have evolved their responses and strategies during the pandemic to help boost sales and transform the category to strengthen its prospects. 1. Transforming oral care into a premium beauty routine In ...

Speaking at the DbAccess Global Consumer Conference, Judith McKenna, President and CEO, Walmart International, outlined how Walmart adopts best practice technologies between various markets to activate its ‘Strong local businesses, powered by Walmart’ strategy. Refining its global footprint Over the last year, Walmart  has continued to refine its international operations, ensuring a st...

Amazon has launched miniTV, a free, ad-supported video streaming service within the Amazon shopping app. Available within Amazon’s app miniTV streams content across web-series, comedy shows, tech news, food, beauty and fashion. It is free to use and does not require a separate app, unlike Amazon’s Prime Video service which also requires a Prime subscription. Amazon said in a blog post: ...