Tata's Croma enters e-commerce space

Mumbai: Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata along with his designate successor Cyrus Mistry launched an e-commerce portal for the group's retail arm Infiniti Retail which runs the consumer durables and electronics chain stores under the Croma brand.

The move comes amidst the fast-growing e-commerce space attracting funds from private equity and venture capital investors.

"With the higher penetration of Internet connectivity, online sales are catching up in a big way. The e-commerce portal, 'cromaretail.com' will help us reach deeper into cities where we do not have presence so far," Infiniti Retail managing director and chief executive Ajit Joshi told PTI here.

Joshi added that the entry into the e-commerce space comes after receiving feedback from sister-concerns like Tata Teleservices, VSNL and Docomo which are in the business of selling Internet connectivity.

The new portal will enable us to reach 319 cities, 24 states and two Union territories, Joshi said, adding the platform has been developed by sister-company TCS.

Infiniti has tied up with global logistic firms like Fedex, Blue Dart, India Post and Tata Group firm Diesel.

Explaining the business model, Joshi said, "the USP of our business is the Tata brand. Therefore, unlike other portals, we will not have to offer any discounts. Also, we will not offer cash-on-delivery."

According to a report by industry body Assocham, online retail segment is likely to be worth Rs 7,000 crore by 2015 due to rising broadband availability and increasing Internet penetration, from the Rs 2,000 crore at present. It is growing at an annual rate of 35 per cent.

The leading e-commerce portals in the country today are Flipkart.com, Futurebazaar.com, Ebay.in, Homeshop18.com, Snapdeal.com, Indiaplaza.com, Starcj.com, Amazone.com, and Rediffshopping.com which are hawking range of wares.

PEs/VCs like Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners, and Accel Partners among others have reportedly invested close to USD 160 million since 2010 in the country.

Joshi said Infiniti Retail is also expanding its store network. "We plan to open another 14 stores by September to take the total count to 86," he said.