Flipkart acquires ANS Commerce, aims to strengthen India's ecommerce ecosystem

The Flipkart Group on Tuesday said it has acquired ANS Commerce, a full-stack ecommerce enabler that helps brands sell online. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Through this acquisition, Flipkart said it is continuing its efforts to strengthen the Indian ecommerce ecosystem by investing in the capabilities of technology enablers that will address the needs of the rapidly growing and evolving digital retail market in India. Post the acquisition ANS Commerce will continue to operate as an independent business under its existing leadership team.

In a statement shared by the company, Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head - Corporate Development at Flipkart, said, “Our association with ANS Commerce started last year when they were part of Flipkart’s tech startup accelerator programme Flipkart Leap and we are pleased to welcome the team to the Flipkart Group."

He added “At Flipkart, we are committed to developing and nurturing the internet consumer ecosystem, including developing and encouraging technological innovation that helps drive the Indian digital economy. Our efforts focus on ensuring that businesses, including MSMEs and smaller brands, can leverage the opportunities that ecommerce offers, to provide greater value and deeper experiences for Indian customers who are rapidly adopting digital commerce.”

ALSO READ

Flipkart eyes $70B IPO in 2023: Reports

“As Indian ecommerce grows, we see new-age brands building direct relationships with their customers. We're excited to bring new SaaS services via ANS Commerce, to help Indian brands on their D2C journey and look forward to launching new industry-leading SaaS services to businesses adopting digitisation,” said Anand Lakshminarayanan, Senior Vice President, Shopping Experiences and Commerce Cloud, Flipkart.

Launched in 2017, ANS Commerce built a full-stack offering for brands across the value chain, including brand-store tech, performance marketing tech and services, marketplace integrations and warehousing, and facilities maintenance capabilities.

It works with more than 100 clients across enterprises, mid-market, and D2C brands in different categories, helping them transition to digital commerce.

“ANS Commerce was created to enable businesses to leverage the massive opportunity of ecommerce in India. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a dramatic change in consumer behaviour, and as a result, brands have also pivoted in their approach on how to engage with consumers. We are pleased to now be associated with the Flipkart Group, as we continue our efforts to help brands leverage the power of technology to reach customers and deliver further value,” said co-founders Vibhor Sahare, Amit Monga, Nakul Singh, and Sushant Puri.

The company helps brands and businesses create digital brand-stores/storefronts on its Kartify platform, improve return on ad spends, and manage end-to-end processes covering logistics and warehousing.

A key focus for the company is the D2C segment, which is rapidly growing in the Indian market as brands aim to connect with their consumers who seek direct engagement with them.