Ecommerce giant Flipkart has set in motion a new project, which will benefit all the 4 parties involved– local sellers, international brands, buyers and the marketplace itself.
The company has floated a pilot project wherein it will bring premium licensed products online by connecting international brands and local merchants.
As of the now, these licensed products are largely available in the offline retail market. But with this new project, Flipkart plans to make big bucks by getting them online. The first company to enter this deal is Viacom with license of popular brands such as Peanuts, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Spongebob up for grabs for sellers.
While speaking about this seller initiative, Manish Maheshwari, VP- Seller Business & Ecosystem at Flipkart shared, “The licensor of the brands, which are being licensed, can be from any country and primarily they are looking at India as a market. So, they are looking at partners who they can work with to license these brands to the right sellers or manufacturers.”
Many international brands want to explore the Indian market. Also, many brands have been trying to make authentic products available to the masses and weed out counterfeits. This project by Flipkart will enable brand owners to work with Indian sellers and introduce their products in the Indian market without any hassle.
Gaurav Marya from LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association) said, “I think marketplaces in India have done a great job for the past three years and now they have to integrate and aggregate global brands. Due to high import duties in the country, brands will not be able to directly bring their products to India, because of which they will license them.”
Local sellers who want to join the online selling squad have an amazing opportunity to sell international licensed products.
“Today if a seller has to start a business, building a brand takes years. Through this process, they can choose to partner with a brand and can differentiate themselves and more easily to start getting sales”, explained Maheshwari.
Sellers can make healthy profits by charging a premium and Flipkart will get better margins. As of now, Flipkart sellers with good sales record, experience and ratings are being included in this licensing initiative. Merchants will not only have to pay anywhere between 7-12% royalty but will also have to keep the products online-exclusive.
Calling it a game-changer move, Maheshwari said, “By doing that we’re completely changing the whole game, not only for our sellers who can now get authentic brand licences to sell on Flipkart and create better experience for buyers, but it’s also a game-changer for all international brands.”
Will other marketplaces Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm start a similar project soon? Sellers, do you think such initiatives are helpful? Please share.
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