Flipkart partners with Sastodeal in Nepal

Walmart-owned Flipkart on Friday said it has entered into a strategic partnership with Nepal's Sastodeal, a move that will help lakhs of Flipkart sellers get access to the neighbouring country's e-commerce market.

Under the partnership, Sastodeal will host over 5,000 products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of babycare and kids, audio devices, men's clothing, women's ethnic wear, and sports and fitness, among others, in turn opening access to Nepalese customers, a statement said.

Flipkart Private Brands - MarQ and SmartBuy - will also be listed on the Sastodeal platform with a focus on categories such as electronics, home appliances/home decor and furnishings.

As MSMEs across the country bounce back and continue to look towards newer avenues for business growth, Flipkart said opportunities like these give them further confidence in the potential of e-commerce platforms.

The partnership with Sastodeal will build the long-term development of the e-commerce industry in both countries, it added.

Flipkart currently has two lakh sellers across India, with more than 50 per cent of them coming from cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Meerut, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad, among others.

"The partnership with Sastodeal, a homegrown brand like ours, will not just open doors for a wider market reach to our sellers but also allow them to boost their business significantly," Flipkart Head of Marketplace Jagjeet Harode said.

E-commerce business in Nepal has huge potential as more and more consumers take to online shopping, he said, adding that new growth avenues such as this will boost the economic sentiment and growth prospects for local MSMEs in India, he added.

With Flipkart's private brands also being made available on Sastodeal's platform, seller partners will have another opportunity to manufacture locally and expand reach beyond India, as per the statement.

Flipkart will enable sellers to make these private brands readily-available to Nepalese consumers, with the fulfilment promise by Sastodeal, it added.

"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. 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," Dev Iyer, Vice President - Private Brands at Flipkart, said.

Amun Thapa, CEO at Sastodeal, said the opportunity brought by Flipkart for Nepalese consumers is going to build a strong growth story for e-commerce in Nepal.