KATHMANDU: Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce platform, has made its foray into the Nepali market partnering with Sastodeal, a leading domestic e-commerce company.
The two e-commerce firms have officially entered into a strategic partnership to initiate cross-border trade opportunities for its millions of sellers.
Under the partnership, Sastodeal will host products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of baby care and kids, audio devices, men’s clothing, women’s ethnic wear, and sports and fitness, among others, opening access of Indian products to Nepali customers.
“The partnership will also see Flipkart’s private brands’ products being made available in Nepal with a promise of next-day delivery, to be fulfilled by Sastodeal,”said AmunThapa, founding chief executive officer of Sastodeal.
According to Thapa, in the first phase starting mid-August, Sastodeal will be featuring Flipkart’s Private Brands such as MarQ and SmartBuy, among others, assuring best-in-class features and quality, at prices the Nepali consumers will love.
Historically, customers had to pay the high difference on Indian currency price whenever they wanted to purchase products from India but with this, customers can now enjoy the best quality products at a negligible difference from Indian prices. The products will be readily available at Sastodeal to ensure that customers enjoy the same or next-day delivery.
The partnership will also offer customers in Nepal 5000+ high-quality products under the cross-border partnership, with a delivery period of around 14 to 21 days, whereas the delivery period for Flipkart Private Brands —MarQ and FlipkartSmartBuy—will see the same or next-day deliveries with prioritized shipping, fulfilled by Sastodeal.com.
Commenting on the partnership, Dev Iyer, vice president, Private Brands, Flipkart, said, “Flipkart’s Private Brands portfolio has always been about addressing consumer needs in the most effective value-driven manner. Given our understanding of what consumers need and focus on quality products it was a natural step for us to expand this expertise and take our brands to markets beyond India.”
Iyer further stated,“The preference of consumers in a country like Nepal is very similar to India. We are confident that the adoption of our Private Brands MarQ and SmartBuy will be strong. Our partner Sastodeal enjoys immense consumer trust in the Nepal market, which gives us further encouragement that consumers will love what we have to offer under the partnership.”
As per Sastodeal’schief commercial officer,Amitesh Roy, Sastodeal is starting with Flipkart’s electronics and home decor/furnishing products along with Flipkart cross-border commerce that will enable Indian MSMEs to sell directly to Nepali consumers. “Sastodeal, in partnership with Flipkart, will continuously enhance its product range at fair prices, bringing the best value offerings to its customers,” he mentioned.
“The partnership with Sastodeal, a homegrown brand like ours, will not just open doorsfor a wider market reach to our sellers but also allow them to boost their business significantly. E-commerce business in Nepal has huge potential as more and more consumers take to online shopping,” said JagjeetHarode, head of marketplace, Flipkart.
“The trust a brand like Flipkart has amongst consumers along with the love of a local company like Sastodeal enjoys makes the value proposition for consumers even more exciting. We are confident that new growth avenues such as this will boost the economic sentiment and growth prospects for local MSMEs in India,” he added.
The star product from Flipkart on Sastodeal is a MarQ 49″ 4K SMART television with latest certified Android and in-built Chrome-cast with 4.4 customer-rating that is listed for just NRs 54,999. Customers will get next-day delivery along with free installations and a two-year warranty on MarQ TVs. Along with MarQ, customers can get the best value offers onFlipkartSmartBuy where they can expect great daily home products at reasonable prices. Harode also added that Sastodeal plans to introduce new sub-categories through Flipkart such as sports, fashion, furniture, essentials and many more in the coming days.
Tim Gocher, founding CEO, Dolma Impact Fund andSastodeal’s single-largest shareholder said, “This is a natural next step in Sastodeal’s remarkable growth story. It perfectly aligns with their customer-focused mission to offer attractive products and prices to consumers and businesses alike.”
Pratik Jalan, chairman of the board at Sastodeal, states that he is convinced that this will be a game-changer not just for the e-commerce industry but for the overall online shopping ecosystem.