Appario Retail to delist from Amazon’s marketplace by next year

Appario Retail, one of the largest sellers on Amazon India's marketplace, will delist from the ecommerce site in 12 months’ time, said top executives. The seller will delist from both the business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace as well as Amazon India Business, the wholesale online marketplace operated by Amazon in the country.

Appario Retail is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontizo Business Services Private Limited, a joint venture formed between Amazon Asia Pacific and the Patni Wealth Advisors in 2017. Amazon Asia Pacific holds 24% shares in Frontizo while the significant majority of 76% is held by the Patni Group. Appario Retail had raised $18.8 million from Frontizo in 2018, apart from an initial infusion of Rs 40 crore in 2017.

“Amazon and India’s Patni group owned Zodiac Wealth Management LLP have agreed to renew their joint venture, Frontizo Business Services Private Limited. Partners have decided that Appario Retail Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Frontizo, will cease to be a seller on Amazon.in, and Amazon.in/business within the next 12 months,” said a statement issued by an Amazon spokesperson.

The statement further added, “The partners will continue to explore new business opportunities, including helping businesses across India to scale up their online presence.”

It was not immediately clear which new lines of business Frontizo is likely to enter. According to people briefed on the matter, the five-year-old joint venture will be renewed and willcontinue to hold on to its current employee base. 

The delisting of Appario Retail follows Amazon’s decision to shut down its largest seller, Cloudtail India, in April this year. Cloudtail was formed as a joint venture between Amazon and Infosys Co-founder N R Narayana Murthy’s family office-backed business, Catamaran Ventures. 

This was done to comply with the government of India’s proposed regulations on ecommerce which prohibits online marketplaces from holding direct stakes in sellers on the platform. Further, not more than 25% of a seller’s total sales can come from a single marketplace, an advantage which Cloudtail and Appario held previously.

Apaprio Retail recorded total income of Rs 14,636.3 crore for the financial year 2020-21, registering profit after tax of Rs 53.83 crore.