Flipkart Acquires Re-Commerce Firm Yaantra to Enhance After-Sale Offerings

Flipkart Group on Thursday announced the acquisition of Yaantra, an electronics re-commerce company, for an undisclosed amount as part of efforts to strengthen its re-commerce business and enhance after-sale offerings for its customers in the smartphones segment.

The acquisition has been effected through FK Group Entity, F1 Info Solutions and Services that is engaged in the business of offering comprehensive lifecycle management (repairs and refurbishment) for various categories including mobility, consumer electronics, IT and IT peripherals, AV and enterprise solutions, in the B2B (business-to-business) segment, according to a statement.

Yaantra, incorporated in 2013 by Jayant Jha, Ankit Saraf, and Anmol Gupta, repairs and sells refurbished consumer tech products such as smartphones and laptops.

With this acquisition, Flipkart will provide a comprehensive service ecosystem to its customers that takes care of the entire lifecycle of smartphones, the statement said.

Flipkart will enable greater access to affordable refurbished smartphones, offering value and convenience for the end-consumers, it added.

The re-commerce market in India is growing at a rapid pace. However, the Indian smartphone refurbishment market is largely unorganised and fragmented that has posed trust and convenience issues for end-consumers.

As part of this acquisition, the team of Yaantra will help Flipkart build capabilities in this domain and accelerate its re-commerce scale-up plans, the statement said.

The business will report to Prakash Sikaria, senior vice-president and head of Flipkart's growth charter, it added.

"India is one of the fastest-growing markets for electronic goods, with smartphones being one of the most in-demand. There is a large set of consumers who aspire to own branded devices, but prices are sometimes prohibitive. This is where Yaantra fits in perfectly," Sikaria said.

This will not only help Flipkart further its commitment to addressing consumer needs but also reduce the negative impact of overproduction on the environment, considering the company's strong focus on sustainability.

Flipkart Senior Vice-President and Head (Corporate Development) Ravi Iyer said the company continuously strives to find new ways to be more relevant to consumers and address the growing consumer internet ecosystem in India.

"This approach includes strategic acquisitions and investments that broaden the scope of our current offerings for customers to become the one-stop destination for their digital needs.

"Through the acquisition of Yaantra, we are enhancing our capabilities in a domain that is critical for the growth of the digital economy in India, as well as developing a comprehensive service ecosystem to support its expansion," he added.

Jayant Jha, co-founder and chief executive officer at Yaantra, said the company shares with Flipkart a common objective of making technology affordable and available for all.

"We believe this association will prove to be a game-changer in making the Indian refurbished market a success and creating an even better experience for our consumers," he added.