Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

Das  Narayandas; Sunil  Gupta; Rachna  Tahilyani

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2015 (Revised April 2018)

Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

by Das Narayandas, Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

Abstract

In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India’s largest e-commerce company, are wondering if it is time to move from a hybrid model to a full marketplace. While Amazon runs a hybrid model, Alibaba operates a marketplace. In addition, Flipkart has been losing money since its inception and there was growing concerns among investors to see a clear path to profitability.

Keywords: marketplaces; online retail; e-commerce; Market Platforms; Online Technology; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; India;

Language: English

Format: Print

15 pages

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Citation:

Narayandas, Das, Sunil Gupta, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model." Harvard Business School Case 516-017, November 2015. (Revised April 2018.)

Related Work

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | April 2016

Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

Sunil Gupta and Das Narayandas

In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India's largest e-tailer, Flipkart, announced that the company would switch to a marketplace model and move its logistics arm into a separate company. At the time of the announcement, Snapdeal already claimed to be India's largest marketplace, and Amazon and other deep-pocket traditional retail giants like Reliance, Future Group, and Tata left no stone unturned to capture market share. Was Flipkart too late in switching to a marketplace model? Was such a move even desirable? Would it threaten Flipkart's competitive advantage of superior customer service?

Keywords: e-commerce; india; marketplaces; Market Platforms; Online Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; India;

Citation:
Gupta, Sunil, and Das Narayandas. "Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 516-095, April 2016. View Details

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Supplement | HBS Case Collection | April 2018

Flipkart (B): The Ongoing Battle for India's E-Commerce Market

Sunil Gupta, Das Narayandas and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2017, both Flipkart and Amazon claimed leadership position in India's recently concluded key annual festive season sale, but it was too early to declare victory. Amazon continues to invest heavily in India. Competition from newer players is increasing. Media reports hint that Reliance Industries, a large Indian conglomerate, is planning to extend its e-commerce offering beyond fashion to electronics, mobile phones, and even groceries. As the battle for India's lucrative e-commerce market gains pace, experts wonder—who will win? Is India a winner-takes-all market, or is there space for more than one player?

Keywords: Market Platforms; Online Technology; Competition; Retail Industry; India;

Citation:
Gupta, Sunil, Das Narayandas, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Flipkart (B): The Ongoing Battle for India's E-Commerce Market." Harvard Business School Supplement 518-097, April 2018. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2015 (Revised April 2018)

Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

Das Narayandas, Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India’s largest e-commerce company, are wondering if it is time to move from a hybrid model to a full marketplace. While Amazon runs a hybrid model, Alibaba operates a marketplace. In addition, Flipkart has been losing money since its inception and there was growing concerns among investors to see a clear path to profitability.

Keywords: marketplaces; online retail; e-commerce; Market Platforms; Online Technology; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; India;

Citation:
Narayandas, Das, Sunil Gupta, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model." Harvard Business School Case 516-017, November 2015. (Revised April 2018.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2020

Pattern Brands

Sunil Gupta, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

In March 2020, direct-to-consumer (DTC) company Pattern Brands needed to decide how to allocate resources across its different brands. Pattern Co-Founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine hoped to avoid the pitfalls faced by some DTC companies—such as inability to scale and lack of competitive differentiation—by relying on their previous experience running a successful branding and marketing agency. Rather than focusing on a single brand, they conceived Pattern as a “DTC 2.0” model—a portfolio of 5 to 10 brands that shared a common theme of activities related to the home and a common mission of helping millennials enjoy daily life. Since its founding in August 2019, Pattern had launched cookware brand Equal Parts and home organization brand Open Spaces. Although Pattern’s team still believed strongly in the benefits of a multi-brand strategy, Open Spaces’ sales and unit economics had significantly outperformed Equal Parts’ to date. Pattern’s leadership wanted to build on Open Spaces’ early momentum with new product colors and product lines, but they debated whether to act on the results of a recent customer survey indicating a positive response to an Equal Parts product redesign. Ling and Shine now had several decisions to consider. How should they allocate resources between repositioning Equal Parts and continuing to grow Open Spaces? How and when should they continue building Pattern’s portfolio by developing a third brand? How much should they invest in marketing parent brand Pattern? More broadly, did Pattern’s model represent the future of DTC brands?

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Model; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business Strategy; Diversification; Competitive Advantage; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; North and Central America; United States; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US);

Citation:

Gupta, Sunil, Elie Ofek, and Julia Kelley. "Pattern Brands." Harvard Business School Case 521-009, July 2020. View Details

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