Mukesh Bansal, Founder of Myntra and Head of Commerce & Advertising at Flipkart has quit the ecommerce company. Ankit Nagori, Chief Business Officer at Flipkart has also resigned.
While Nagori is going to start his own sports talent development firm, Mukesh Bansal is going to take a break before taking on a new venture.
“I will transition my role to Binny and will be available as long as required to ensure a smooth and successful transition. With this team in place and the momentum on multiple fronts, CP is in great hands and I feel confident that this is right time for me to move on to next phase”, wrote Mukesh Bansal in his goodbye letter.
Bansal will continue working until March end. And Nagori will work with Flipkart for the next three months. Both of them believe that it is the right time to leave and face new challenges.
“Sachin and Binny have shown full support. It’s heartening to see that, and it shows the confidence of the company that I have worked with for so long. I’m passionate about sports and I want to do something in that domain,” said Nagori.
He added,
“The kind of team that we have been able to build in the last 12 months is incredible. At the leadership level, we are doing well. And my team is doing great, too. There’s no end to this journey. I have an unfinished entrepreneurial agenda. The fact that it did not work out last time makes it even more important that I attend to it now.”
Mukesh Bansal’s exit has taken everyone by surprise. Just last month, major top-level reshuffle happened when Sachin Bansal passed the Flipkart CEO mantle to Binny Bansal and Mukesh Bansal was handed the additional responsibility of looking after its advertising unit.
This is said to be the real reason behind Mukesh Bansal’s exit. Insiders feel that ‘there was room only for one’ between Binny and Mukesh.
Mukesh is known for his maturity, problem-solving ability, cool & calm demeanor, clarity of thought and ability to effectively communicate his vision. Binny Bansal had admitted that acquiring Myntra helped Flipkart to snatch a bigger market share and compete better.
Mukesh said, “I always acted like it (Flipkart) was my own company, I had the mindset of a founder and an entrepreneur here.” Maybe that’s why not being entrusted with the CEO title compelled him to leave?
There are many other theories floating around. One of them is that Mukesh leaving Flipkart was inevitable and that his stint in the company was only limited to integrating Myntra successfully.
Stating that the resignation wasn’t a sudden move, Paula Mariwala, executive director at Seedfund said, “Having three founders at Flipkart makes the management overcrowded. I feel the Bansals of Flipkart have put the business interests in the fore and with consolidation the name of the game, it is but natural that someone has to move out. But Mukesh is a shareholder still.”
The ecommerce leader has announced some ambitious plans for their next phase of growth. But with integral members of the team leaving at this stage, it might get difficult for the company to concentrate on finding right replacements and implementing strategies.
Add to the mix investors’ concerns, criticism of buyers & sellers and intense competition.
Many people feel that Flipkart’s approach to conduct business is the root of all issues.
The company that couldn’t wait to get rid of discount model has now announced that it will continue to fund discounts. “As Flipkart, and the overall e-commerce industry continue to grow the business, we will continue to pass on discounts to the consumer,” revealed Sachin Bansal.
Investors want ecommerce companies to keep a check on its spends and start making profit. How can Flipkart achieve this goal now that discounts will continue to exist on their platform?
Sellers and buyers are unhappy too. The company’s Facebook timeline is filled with consumer grievances. And IndianOnlineSeller’s inbox is filled with seller complaints about Flipkart’s unfair policies.
Right from zero commission-selling platform, net-neutrality to app-centric strategy, every move of the company has been deeply criticized.
Instability on Flipkart’s turf has got people talking about the Indian etailer’s future. On the other hand American ecommerce leader, Amazon is slowing and steadily strengthening its Indian arm.
Amazon India too is spending a lot on advertisements, logistics, and discounts. And they too haven’t turned profitable yet. But the company has managed to create a good reputation in the minds of Indian consumers as well as sellers by delivering top-rated service.
Reacting to Flipkart resignations, an user, Jagadish Jain wrote on Facebook,
“As a seller on different marketplaces I can say Flipkart lags way long behind Amazon in terms of technology, resources and number of products. For sellers Flipkart is not as flexible as Amazon which restricts many sellers to list their products on Flipkart and less number of products means less sale. Amazon will soon beat Flipkart in sales figure very soon.
Flipkart needs to be more innovative and implement changes as time progress.”
In a short span of time, Amazon India has grown manifolds. Right from on-boarding 6000 Indian sellers to its Global Seller program, becoming biggest ecommerce marketplace, pumping Rs. 1,980 crores into India, the company has scaled faster than its Indian counterparts.
