On Thursday, Flipkart Group announced the acquisition of electronics re-trading company Yaantra for an undisclosed sum to strengthen its re-merchant business and improve after-sales service options for potential customers in the smartphone space. Flipkart Group said in a statement on January 13 that it acquired electronics distributor Yaantra to improve aftermarket capabilities for its smartphone customers. Founded in 2013 by Jayant Jha, Ankit Saraf, and Anmol Gupta, Yaantra will provide Flipkart with more affordable refurbished smartphones and provide value and convenience to end consumers, Flipkart said.
With the acquisition of Yaantra, Flipkart will provide greater access to refurbished smartphones at reasonable prices, offering the best quality and comfort for the best customers. According to the joint announcement, Yantras will help Flipkart build capabilities in the smartphone industry and expand its e-commerce plans. Their e-commerce value chain and restructuring capability will enable Flipkart to create a very meaningful e-commerce offering. As part of the acquisition, Yaantra employees will help Flipkart build capacity in this area and accelerate its expansion plans, the statement said. Last week, Flipkart received a $233 million (Rs. 1,736) new investment from its Singapore-based holding. The investment is believed to bolster its grocery business with social commerce firm Shopsy, which recently entered the grocery business to compete with BigBasket, Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, and others.
Flipkart has been very active on the takeover front, acquiring companies and technology businesses. With this acquisition, Flipkart will be able to provide its consumers with a complete ecosystem of services spanning the entire smartphone lifecycle. The acquisition is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its resale business and expand its after-sales customer service in the smartphone segment, the company said.
Co-founder, and CEO of Yaantra Jayant Jha, said in a statement that both companies share a common goal to make technology accessible to everyone. Mobile phones seem to be one of the strongest categories for e-commerce companies, including Flipkart. With this in mind, Flipkart has acquired a company operating in this field. In line with the acquisition, Prakash Sikaria, Flipkart’s senior vice president of marketing and development, said that Yaantra’s value chain for recommissioning and restructuring opportunities will enable Flipkart to create a highly meaningful recommender offering. CEO of Yaantra, Jayant Jha said, “At Yaantra, we have been able to successfully take smartphone recommerce to the next level with our deep knowledge of the industry and technology”.
With this acquisition, Flipkart is hoping to provide greater access to refurbished smartphones at a low cost and provide value and convenience to the end-users. The experienced team at Yaantra’s will help develop Flipkart capabilities in this particular area and accelerate the scaling of the business. Yaantra, a brand that repairs and sells refurbished consumer products such as smartphones and laptops, will improve the restructuring of Flipkarts’ business in the smartphone category and create an ecosystem that takes care of the entire smartphone lifecycle, Flipkart said. Flipkart said the acquisition will strengthen its existing business in the smartphone category. As part of the acquisition, Yaantra’s team will help Flipkart build functionality in this area and accelerate plans for expanding recommenders in a statement.
