In today's episode of the Business News At A Glance, we talk about data and e-commerce. Read about the possibility of Flipkart going public in 2021 with a detailed analysis. Also find out how and why another bank, HDFC, has received an RBI notice. Finally, read about the role of data analytics in digital marketing.
Today's Highlights:
Synopsis
According to informed sources, Walmart is planning to sell at least 25 per cent in Flipkart which is likely to go public as early as next year at a valuation of $45 billion-$50 billion. The retail giant has picked up Goldman Sachs reportedly to raise nearly USD 10 Bn via initial share sale of its Flipkart unit.
The festive online sales in India beat industry estimates to clock $8.3 billion (nearly Rs 61,253 crore) in the October 15-November 15 period -- an impressive growth of 65 per cent (year on-year), according to homegrown consulting firm Redseer.
Read the article to learn more about a Flipkart IPO in the offing. Or read our analysis below!
How does this help you, the MBA student?
Well Flipkart going public would be like the beginning of a new era in Indian business. Not only is Flipkart a recruiter at top Indian b-schools, it is also a company many students aspire to join. Knowing about the world of Bus, start ups, etc. is a crucial part of the MBA journey. No matter whether you specialise in finance, marketing, HR, operations, consulting, this is a topic it'll be good to know about.
So here goes. How can Flipkart go public in 2021 given that we're in the middle of a pandemic. Well, simply put, India's digital footprint has been expanding. A few ecommerce companies saw huge growth in the last quarter. There is an upswing in e-commerce transactions this year, with more robust unit economics. This means more and more people are shifting online. Flipkart's monthly active users has also increased significantly and continues to grow.
It also needs to be noted that Mercado Libre and Sea Ltd., 2 Hong Kong based e-commerce players too have seen an increase in share prices and have been profitable, seeing a higher growth compared to Flipkart. So the question is, is a USD 40 Bn tag a possibility? Recently there was also news of Reliance Retail going public with talks of investors pouring in. But that too had a valuation of USD 57 Bn. And that seems to have gone poor due to fierce competition from Amazon and Flipkart. So why is Walmart so keen on a Flipkart IPO at this time? Is it an easy exit strategy? Is it because India's FDI policies are friendly to domestic players? Is this perhaps a sound and timely exit strategy?
What do you think? Do you think we'll have a Flipkart IPO in 2021? Are we ready to have an e-commerce company go public? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
____________
In Other Highlights
Why Did The RBI Ask HDFC Bank To Stop Digital Launches, New Credit Card Sourcing - Explained
The Indian banking sector has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The latest bank to get a regulatory notice from the RBI is HDFC. A market leader, especially in the Credit Card industry, HDFC has been asked to stop all digital launches of products, especially acquiring new credit card customers. The reason? Power outages, loss of data and inconvenience to the consumer. Read this article to understand more in detail.
Evolving Role Of Data Analytics In Digital Marketing
As per the recent report of IAMAI, there are over 500 million active internet users in India. This leads to humungous amount of digital footprint, enabling the marketers to put their best foot forward by analysing the customer behaviour. In this article, read how data analytics is becoming more and more crucial to digital marketers.
You might also want to look at:
Why Did Trump Supporters Storm The US Capitol? | Business News At A Glance Ep.18