Innovation

In 2007, India’s e-commerce startup story began with the rather dramatic sale of a book. Over the better part of a decade, Flipkart added a slew of shopping categories including mobiles and electronics, fashion, large home appliances, furniture, grocery, and more. Even as the Bengaluru-based startup captured the market in these categories, one business unit fell behind. Books, the mainstay of the online shopping platform in its early days, was elbowed aside by strategic priorities. In August 2017, the Books & General Merchandise business was reconstituted and tasked with winning back brands and customers that had drifted to the competition. In less than a year, the new unit effected a remarkable turnaround, not merely arresting losses but growing the market to claim a sizable share, while adding heft to sales figures during the Big Billion Days in October 2018. Read this awe-inspiring story of resurrection and growth, peppered with revealing insight from the team that achieved the impossible.