Global e-commerce portal Amazon.com has received the Indian government’s approval to stock and sell food and groceries in India, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The development gains significance amid the retail company’s competitive battle with local rival Flipkart. The international firm did not share any more details on the matter.
An official told the news agency that Amazon planned on investing $500 million (approximately Rs 3,370 crore) in the food segment in addition to the $5 billion (approximately Rs 32,263 crore) it had pledged toward its operations in India. On July 6, reports said the Jeff Bezos-led firm had invested an added Rs 1,680 crore in its Indian unit as part of its $5-billion commitment to expand its local presence.
While online shopping for gadgets and clothing has grown in leaps and bound, brick-and-mortar stores still account for the largest share of grocery sales in India. Amazon in collaboration with Cloudtail sells several packaged food products online. The service officers same-day grocery delivery through its Amazon Now app via a agreement with Indian retailers Big Bazaar, Star Bazaar and Hypercity.
Flipkart officials said the Indian company will also make its entry in the online grocery market, Reuters reported.
In June, Amazon said it was taking over organic food specialist Whole Foods Market, at a price of $13.7 billion (Rs 883.6 billion) in the United States.
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