The 152-year old Tata Group is chasing its e-commerce dreams as competition rises from JioMart, Amazon, and others

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The 152-year old Tata Group is chasing its e-commerce dreams as competition rises from JioMart, Amazon, and others
Tata Group/Facebook
  • After reports of Tata’s partnership with Walmart to build a super app, it now plans to bolster its e-commerce play with a 50% stake in BigBasket.
  • The deal could also see the Tata Group buy out Chinese giant Alibaba’s stake in BigBasket, said a report by Economic Times.
  • India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani also has big dreams in the grocery sector with his e-commerce bet – JioMart.
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The 152-year conglomerate TATA Group is racing ahead with its e-commerce dreams as the Indian online retail market grows by leaps and bounds. After reports of Tata’s partnership with Walmart to build a super app, its plans to bolster its e-commerce play through acquisitions are getting stronger.

The BigBasket chase

According to a report by ET, Tata is now eyeing a 50% stake in BigBasket – India’s leading online grocery startup. With the reported acquisition, the Tata group could shell out $500-$700 million and could also potentially buy out Chinese giant Alibaba’s stake in BigBasket, said the report. BigBasket has not yet officially commented on the reports.

According to reports, BigBasket was also looking to raise $300-$400 million in funds as demand grew for online grocery. BigBasket, the first grocery unicorn in the country, has seen a massive uptick in orders and users during the coronavirus lockdown. BigBasket saw a 3-6 fold increase in demand, its CEO Hari Menon had said on Twitter in April.

A majority stake in BigBasket would give the Tata Group enough ammunition to take on major players like Amazon and JioMart. Meanwhile, the group is also said to be in talks with Walmart for a possible $25 billion infusion from the American retail giant to build a super app.

Everybody wants a piece of the pie
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India’s online grocery market, which was worth $1.9 billion in 2019, is expected to hit $18 billion by 2024, said a report by RedSeer.


One of India’s hottest sectors currently, the online grocery market is seeing increased competition.

India’s major e-grocery drivers
JioMart – supported by Reliance Retail and its acquisition of Future Retail
Amazon – Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pantry, investment in retail outlet MORE
Flipkart – Flipkart SuperMart, investment in Ninjacart
DMart – DMart Ready
BigBasket – Recently acquired DailyNinja
Grofers

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has big dreams in the grocery sector with his e-commerce bet – JioMart. Although Reliance’s acquisition of Future Retail is currently on hold due to a legal battle with Amazon, Ambani and Future Group are confident of closing the deal to conquer India’s retail segment.

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The sector also sees rising competition from India’s second richest man Radhakishan Damani whose retail venture DMart is set to ramp up its e-commerce offerings. Damani has also shut down two of its massive stores in Mumbai and converted them into fulfillment centres to speed up e-commerce deliveries.

Meanwhile, the online race is heating up with the likes of Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and Grofers, looking to garner a bigger share of the market with acquisition and expansion plans.

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