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10 years of Flipkart – A Timeline of Milestones

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Since starting up in a two-bedroom Bengaluru apartment as an online bookstore, Flipkart has grown to be India’s e-commerce leader. Explore this interactive timeline of the Flipkart decade

10 years of Flipkart – A Timeline of Milestones
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How much can you pack into a ten-year timeline? In 2017, Flipkart celebrates a decade of fulfilling the wishes of online retail customers in India, and solving for India’s dynamic e-commerce ecosystem. Since starting up in 2007 from a two-bedroom apartment in Koramangala, Bengaluru, Flipkart’s founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal have built an e-commerce bellwether that has held the torch aloft for a generation of Indian startups. Each year, Flipkart has fought off competition with path-breaking innovation aimed at solving for India. Strengthening its leadership position with every milestone achieved, Flipkart has built what is today arguably India’s most exciting company to work for, with a workforce whose average age is not quite 30.

Flip back the years with this timeline of Flipkart milestones.

2007 | The Flipkart story begins in a Bengaluru apartment

September 15, 2007

2007 | The Flipkart story begins in a Bengaluru apartment

On September 15, 2007, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who met in 2005 at IIT-Delhi, launch an internet business called Flipkart. The online bookstore promises to deliver anywhere in India. Within weeks, the first customer, a young bookworm from Mahbubnagar, places an order. Amid high drama, Sachin and Binny pull off the delivery. After 20 shipments that year, Flipkart is in business.

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2008 | Building blocks – Putting the Indian customer first

January 1, 2008

2008 | Building blocks – Putting the Indian customer first
  • Flipkart’s first office opens in Bengaluru at PIN code 560034
  • 24×7 customer service launched
  • Over 3,400 shipments delivered
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2009 | First employee, first funding, first pre-order

January 1, 2009

2009 | First employee, first funding, first pre-order
  • Flipkart hires its first full-time employee. Ambur Iyyappa, a veritable Human ERP, would go on to become a dollar millionaire
  • In September, Accel Partners invests $1 million in Flipkart
  • Opens offices in Delhi and Mumbai
  • First book opens for pre-orders – Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol 
  • Headcount leaps to 150
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2010 | Cash-on-Delivery and Ekart win over the Indian consumer

March 3, 2010

2010 | Cash-on-Delivery and Ekart win over the Indian consumer
  • Pioneers Cash-on-Delivery payment mode
  • Launches logistics arm Ekart, led by fresher Vinoth Poovalingam
  • Introduces 30-day return policy
  • Acquires social book recommendation portal WeRead
  • Expands categories to include Music, Movies, Games, Electronics and Mobiles
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2011 | Expanding the delivery network

March 8, 2011

2011 | Expanding the delivery network
  • Launches digital wallet
  • Expands shopping categories to include Cameras, Computers, Laptops, Large Appliances, Health, Personal Care, Stationery
  • Acquires Chakpak and Mime360
  • Launches 30-day replacement policy
  • Delivers to over 600 cities in India
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2012 | The Flipkart mobile app brings shopping to every Indian’s fingertips

March 6, 2012

2012 | The Flipkart mobile app brings shopping to every Indian’s fingertips
  • Launches mobile shopping app
  • Acquires electronics e-tailer Letsbuy
  • Receives PCI DSS Certification, allowing customers access to ‘Saved Cards’ feature
  • Launches Fashion, Perfumes, Watches, Menswear, Toys, Posters, Baby Care
  • Launches electronics private label DigiFlip
  • Launches Flyte MP3 for online music sales
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2013 | The rise of the marketplace

February 1, 2013

2013 | The rise of the marketplace
  • Introduces Next Day Shipping Guarantee
  • Raises $160 million in funding
  • Adopts marketplace model, opening up platform to sellers
  • Sells 1,00,000 books in a single day
  • Launches PayZippy, an online payments solution for merchants and customers
  • Launches Women’s Lifestyle category
  • Begins accepting international cards for transactions
  • Recruits a record 118 candidates from IIT campuses
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2014 | Myntra joins the family, Big Billion Day is born

October 6, 2014

2014 | Myntra joins the family, Big Billion Day is born
  • Becomes the first Indian internet retailer to register $1.9bn gross merchandise value (GMV)
  • Acquires fashion e-tailer Myntra
  • Acquires majority stake in Jeeves and ngpay
  • Launches Flipkart First and In-a-Day Guarantee
  • Launches Scheduled Delivery
  • Begins exclusive associations, starting with Moto and Xiaomi
  • Kicks off India’s largest online sale — Big Billion Day — in October
  • Introduces Same Day Delivery Guarantee
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2015 — Progressive maternity, paternity and adoption policies make Flipkart a great place to work

March 24, 2015

2015 — Progressive maternity, paternity and adoption policies make Flipkart a great place to work
  • Launches Home and Maternity categories
  • Acquires AdIquity and AppIterate
  • Launches Ad Platform and Strategic Brands Group
  • Brand Refresh – unveils the new Flipkart logo
  • Acquires payment services firm FX Mart
  • Launches Flipkart Lite
  • Launches progressive maternity and paternity policies for employees and introduces an adoption policy
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2016 – Flipkart crosses 100 million registered users

September 12, 2016

2016 – Flipkart crosses 100 million registered users
  • Binny Bansal takes over as CEO. Sachin Bansal becomes Executive Chairman
  • First Indian mobile app to cross 50 million users
  • Crosses the milestone of 100 million registered customers
  • Launches No Cost EMI
  • April 2016 – Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal named among Time 100 list of most influential people by TIME magazine
  • Acquires UPI-based payments startup PhonePe
  • Acquires Jabong
  • Launches Flipkart Assured
  • Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal named “Asian of the Year” by Straits Times of Singapore as part of the ‘The Disruptors’ group
  • Launches PhonePe, India’s first UPI (Unified Payments Interface) based app
  • Invests in Qikpod for locker deliveries
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2017 – Flipkart celebrates 10 years with biggest-ever round of investments

March 14, 2017

2017 – Flipkart celebrates 10 years with biggest-ever round of investments
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Also read: 

Flipkart raises $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay & Microsoft and acquires eBay India

#FlipkartBig10 – A Timeline of Talent

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