Flipkart claims their Moto G deal is an exclusive
Flipkart along with Motorola Mobility today announced the launch of Motorola’s Moto G smartphone in India. The Moto G is priced at Rs 12,499 for the 8 GB version and Rs 13,999 for the 16 GB. According to Flipkart the smartphone will be available exclusively only on Flipkart. However, the phone has been available for pre-order on Snapdeal as well, which has reported over 1000 pre-orders.
Motorola, which was recently sold by Google to Lenovo, has promised full after sales support for the smartphone. The phone goes on sale on 6th February.
Will the Moto G work in India?
We spoke to Flipkart founders, Sachin and Binny Bansal on what this deal means for Flipkart, the trends in e-commerce in India and innovations by Flipkart.
What does a deal mean for Flipkart? Is the Google-Lenovo deal on Motorola likely to affect the sales of the Moto G?
Sachin Bansal: It’s the biggest the thing to have happened anywhere. The fact that a brand like Motorola only saw Flipkart as an option for launching in India shows where we stand.
As far as the Lenovo deal goes, I don’t see it affecting the sales and we believe that the Motorola brand is here to stay. We are the e-commerce platform that they have chosen to go with, so it shouldn’t really matter what happens at the backend (sic) where the Moto G sales are concerned as long as consumers are getting the product.
Binny Bansal: Moto G is an exceptional product. It is definitely a quality product from a big brand. We are very, very excited about the volume of sales that we are expecting from the Moto G. I don’t think something like the Lenovo deal will have too much of an impact on the sales.
The exclusive deal is definitely a game-changing moment for e-commerce, given that Flipkart is bringing a world-class product to India.
How has the response been to Flipkart in tier-2 and tier-3 towns?
Sachin Bansal: The response has been pretty good. We have done some targeted marketing in these towns. The number of consumers is lower in each tier-2 city than what you will find in, say, a major metro but the sheer number of tier-2 and tier-3 cities is so large that it makes sense for us to expand in these towns.
Which categories have seen the biggest growth in two-2 towns for Flipkart?
Sachin Bansal: Mobile and tablets continue to do very well and the growth rate has been great. The books category is also growing. The fastest growing category for us has been Fashion. Clothes, shoes, accessories are the biggest in terms of growth in tier-2 towns. We are, of course, planning to get some bigger fashion brands online as well
Binny Bansal: Tier-2 and tier-3 towns have shown some amazing trends. Laptops and clothing and footwear have got a very strong response. These are categories that are really picking up in these towns. Women’s clothing is doing really well. We’re seeing quarter on quarter growth in double digits in this category. It will be probably be one of the biggest businesses in the next 3 or 4 years.
What has been the response to PayZippy in India?
Binny Bansal: These are very early days and it’s still in a startup mode. We’re running a number of experiments with the product. But the response has definitely surprised us, we weren’t expecting the kind of response we’ve got. You’ll see many more innovations on payment modes from us in the coming days.
Where is Flipkart on the eBooks market, especially now that Amazon is also in India with Kindle and eBooks?
Binny Bansal: The eBooks space it is still very early days in India. Amazon, of course, captured the US eBooks market very well. In India, we are bullish about the market and see that as the future. For now, we think working on both eBooks and physical books strategy is the right way to go.
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