Straightline ties up with Patton, Lafarge for e-retailing
Thursday, 20 September 2007, 19:30 IST
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Kolkata: Straightline, one of India's largest e-commerce companies, has tied up with industry leaders Patton International Ltd (PIL) and Lafarge India Ltd in a bid to penetrate the construction retailing sector, it was announced here Wednesday. The collaboration would create a channel for selling the products through e-retailing, initially in West Bengal and then in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Sikkim. "We are targeting small and individual builders in urban and semi-urban areas and also SMEs (small and medium enterprises). Since the construction industry in India is growing at nine percent per annum, we are trying to develop our pan-India presence," Straightline managing director Viresh Oberoi told reporters after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PIL. He said that the company is also eyeing 100 percent year-on-year growth in the next three years. Straightline is the e-retailing initiative of Mjunction Services Ltd, a joint venture between Tata Steel and the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). It is a distribution channel that directly connects manufacturers and customers through an electronic platform. "The concept of e-commerce is evolving. Already we have transformed traditional steel and coal supply chains by selling online over five million tonnes of steel and 20 million tonnes of coal," Oberoi said, adding that construction industry is totally untapped in terms of e-retailing business. "Keeping in mind the global growth rate of e-commerce, which is 175 percent year-on-year, we have decided to enter the construction retailing market," he said.
Source: IANS
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