Flipkart acquires electronics recommerce company Yaantra

Flipkart, India’s leading ecommerce marketplace, has acquired Yaantra, a recommerce company, for an undisclosed value.

Founded in 2013, Yaantra repairs and sells refurbished consumer tech products such as smartphones and laptops. For Flipkart, this acquisition is expected to enhance its service ecosystem especially for the smartphone category.

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As part of this acquisition, the team of Yaantra will help Flipkart build capabilities in this domain and accelerate its recommerce scale-up plans. The business will report to Prakash Sikaria, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart’s Growth Charter.

Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head, Corporate Development, Flipkart, said,

“Through the acquisition of Yaantra, we are enhancing our capabilities in a domain that is critical for the growth of the digital economy in India, as well as developing a comprehensive service ecosystem to support its expansion.”

According to a statement from Flipkart, the recommerce market in India is growing at a rapid pace but the Indian smartphone refurbishment market is largely unorganised and fragmented, which posed trust and convenience issues for end consumers.

Flipkart said the acquisition of Yaantra will enable greater access to affordable refurbished smartphones, offering value and convenience for the end consumers.

Prakash Sikaria, Senior Vice President - Growth & Marketing, Flipkart, said,

“India is one of the fastest-growing markets for electronic goods, with smartphones being one of the most in-demand. There is a large set of consumers who aspire to own branded devices, but prices are sometimes prohibitive. This is where Yaantra fits in perfectly.”

Jayant Jha, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Yaantra, said, “We believe this association will prove to be a game-changer in making the Indian refurbished market a success and creating an even better experience for our consumers.”

Flipkart has been very active on the acquisition front by acquiring technology companies and businesses. Prior to this acquisition, it had acquired online pharmacy marketplace Sastasundar.