eBay tries to get on track through fashion acquisition attempts

eBay, the US-based marketplace, is reportedly looking to pick up fashion etailers to help it move forward in the queue. The company has apparently held talks with Fashionara and Jabong, neither of which have worked out.

Jabong did not appreciate being asked to change its working model, say sources familiar with the deal. A person in the know of the proceedings said,

“There were talks going on for a possible sale of Jabong to eBay a few months ago. However, they failed as eBay asked Jabong to completely change to a marketplace model that eBay operates. There has not been any such talk since then.”

eBay going downhill despite having the dough

Harminder Sahni of Wazir Advisors has gloomy thoughts on eBay’s situation,

“eBay seems to have simply lost the plot and watching from the side lines while everybody is doing whatever they are doing. These guys definitely have the pockets to do that. In a way, if they are able to pull it off through a couple of acquisitions, they will look much smarter than others. The other people burned money to create those assets and now those companies are available for almost free.”

“Wider choice for our buyers”

eBay has stated that it is looking at adding ammo to its existing stock across verticals; not just fashion. The company said,

“eBay India is focused on providing a wider selection and choice of products to our 5.2 million buyers. We have over 30 million listings across 2,000 product categories including electronic, lifestyle, media and collectibles. We remain committed to growing our lifestyle category, which includes fashion, home furniture and furnishing, baby products.”

The company surely has some serious catching up to do. While it may need serious planning and a lot of jogging to reach the pace that Flipkart and Amazon have set, eBay can focus on building an appealing image.