Amazon Injects Rs 830 Crore in Indian Unit Amid Intense E-Commerce Battle
Amazon Seller Services, the Indian arm of the e-commerce giant, has secured a funding infusion of Rs 830 crore (approximately $100 million) from its parent company in the United States. The capital injection involved the issuance of 830 million shares at Rs 10 each, with over 99.5% of the shares allocated to Amazon Corporate Holdings Pvt Ltd. A smaller portion was issued to Amazon.com.inc Ltd, according to regulatory filings.
This fresh investment aligns with Amazon's strategic plans for India. Recently, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the company's commitment to invest an additional $15 billion in India by 2030, bringing its total investment in the country to $26 billion. This comprehensive investment includes $12.7 billion earmarked by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for India by the end of the current decade.
The funding injection into Amazon Seller Services follows closely on the heels of Walmart's $600 million investment in Flipkart, a major Indian e-commerce competitor. Both Amazon and Flipkart are vigorously competing to capture a larger share of the growing Indian market.
In October, Flipkart introduced a loyalty program targeting customers similar to Amazon Prime, prompting Amazon to retaliate by launching a shopping-focused Prime tier. Analysts noted that non-Prime Amazon shoppers typically have an average order value (AOV) of around Rs 1,000-1,200, while Prime customers boast an AOV of Rs 1,800-2,000. This strategic shift towards more profitable customers comes as Amazon Seller Services reported an increase in losses by approximately a third to Rs 4,854 crore in FY23, despite a marginal 3% year-on-year revenue growth to Rs 22,198 crore.
