Staff Feedback Gives Flipkart An Offline Retail Push

A push from staff has opened up a new avenue of growth for Flipkart in the offline retail segment.

Flipkart received many requests for company-branded T-shirts, coffee mugs and other items. The Bangalore store, which is open to outside customers too, has witnessed heavy footfalls. Encouraged by this, the company is planning to set up more such stores at its offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Flipkart had recently opened its first brick-and-mortar store called 'Fliptomania' in Bangalore following employees’ request for company-branded products on 'sticker' or employee feedback walls.

"Deliberately, these products come with a very nominal price tag just enough to cover the cost price," says Arathi Vedantham, director of internal communications, Flipkart. "These products instill a sense of pride and belonging among employees. Quirky things like even laptop stickers are a huge hit," she said. Some of the employee messages read, "Can we have more of Flipkart branded T-shirts. I want to gift these," added a company spokesperson.

"By owning a brand, in some cases, the market valuation of a company has risen by 1.6 or 1.8 times from its original valuation," says Harish Bijoor, brand expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Co.