Flipkart says small business owners shine bright this festive season

New Delhi: The Flipkart marketplace is more than a platform to purchase and sell goods, as it endeavours to empower and elevate all facets of our society, the e-commerce platform said Friday. 

With millions of Indians shopping online during The Big Billion Days (TBBD), small business owners and craftsmen have had a great opportunity to expand their visibility on the platform, showcase their skills and ‘Make in India’ products through a wide range of products, and achieve business goals, the Walmart owned e-comm giant said in a statement.

Early this year, Flipkart introduced an array of industry-first marketplace policy-changes and established new capabilities to build a more inclusive e-commerce ecosystem that contributes to the growth, prosperity, and empowerment of our seller partners spread across the length and breadth of India. 

The platform shared a few success stories of entrepreneurs that showcased the true potential digital transformation can bring to local businesses.

Kanika Chalwala who hails from Delhi, is the founder of Lashkara Essentials, which offers home improvement essentials. Kanika is a woman driven by a strong sense of purpose, which motivated her to start a business on her own. She has always prioritized her educational pursuits and has successfully completed a degree in Bachelors in Commerce and MSc, post which she served as a lecturer in Delhi University for over 5 years. Eventually, Kanika was driven to take a plunge into starting a business of her own, in 2019. 

At the nascent stages of establishing the business, Kanika single-handedly started Lashkara Essentials with three to four products, from a small almirah at her home. With the help of Flipkart’s timely support and necessary guidance provided by the product managers, Kanika expanded her online presence and today she has a team of 14 members working with her. She has also been able to establish 4 warehouses in Delhi itself in the last 2 years and additionally operates from Flipkart’s warehouse in Bangalore. Her business supplies home essentials on the platform for Flipkart’s brand, named Alfa. 

Speaking about her journey, Kanika said, “Looking back, I realize that I have come a long way, as I started with only 3-4 products initially but today Lashkara Essentials offers a diverse range of products right from home decor to house essentials. With the support of Flipkart and years of hard work, I can proudly say that I am a platinum seller on Flipkart today. It gives me immense pleasure to see my business grow further and motivates me to work harder and better.” Similar to any other venture, Kanika was met with a host of challenges in the beginning. “When the demand online was at its peak, we struggled to find reliable resources, dependable staff and technological discrepancies that followed. Hence, end-to-end functions had to be executed by me and my husband. However, these were only small hurdles and we managed to run the whole show with Flipkart’s assistance.”, she said.

With the help of Flipkart’s seller support, Kanika has been able to perform her business operations all by herself. She appreciates the platform's assistance and training to polish her knowledge of the online ecosystem which helped in elevating her business and equipping it to become future-ready. 

Flipkart’s annual flagship event is a momentous opportunity for entrepreneurs like Kanika to not only boost their revenues, but also bring their business dreams closer to reality. Kanika has been part of The Big Billion Days for three consecutive years. 

Expressing her thoughts on the stellar performance of the platform this festive season, she said, “Witnessing the excitement and the upsurge in demand was highly motivating for my team. We are extremely rejoiced with the requests that poured in from across the country for ‘Lashkara Essentials’. The business peaked during the festive sale and has done phenomenally well. Compared to last year, it grew 4X this year.

Constant engagement with the Flipkart account managers, supportive flash deals and warehousing infrastructure made this TBBD a huge success. It is always a delightful experience to closely collaborate with Flipkart in keeping up with the expectations and serving the consumers. We are motivated to see the trust consumers have shown towards our brand, testified through positive reviews on the platform. ‘Lashkara Essentials’ is no more a local business, our expansion nationally with Flipkart’s assistance and sheer hard work is scaling greater heights today.”

Priya Kumari is a 30-year-old entrepreneur, who joined the Flipkart marketplace as a seller in 2020. She resides in Delhi with her husband and a 9-month-old baby boy. Although Priya is bound by responsibilities of being a new mother, she has never let her entrepreneurial spirit die. She had previously been unable to pursue a profession of her own, but choosing not to give up, she decided to build an internet business that she can operate while giving motherhood her all. This gave birth to Local Charm, a business that sells seasonal products like Diwali lights, Rakhis during Raksha Bandhan, hair accessories, etc. What started with an investment of ₹2,500 is now a full-fledged online business on Flipkart.  

Speaking about her experience during The Big Billion Days, Priya said, “This year's Big Billion Days was one of the most memorable ones, in terms of business growth. When compared to the previous festive season, our sales had increased to 2x times, with the highest sales in a single day being about 200 orders, which is four times higher than our regular day-to-day sales. In addition, the average selling price (ASP) increased significantly, and on certain days, sales increased three or even four times over normal levels, particularly in the early days of the festive sale. This festive season, we were thrilled to surpass the milestone of processing over 1000 orders. Diwali Lights was the best-performing product in our category, and we anticipate increased demand for the same this Diwali.”

The Big Billion Days, Flipkart's annual flagship event, sees significant growth in online sales, giving sellers like Priya an opportunity to grow their businesses exponentially. In addition, Flipkart's training sessions and prompt support with important trends, insights, etc. help sellers in recognizing new business opportunities. Priya's business handled about 700 orders during the Big Billion Days last year, and she could boost the ante this year by processing over 1000 orders during the festive sale. Her will to succeed in the face of adversity and the desire to feed her entrepreneurial spirit have helped her become a silver seller on Flipkart.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that I am a silver seller on Flipkart, which has enabled me to reach a larger audience by increasing my visibility. During the Big Billion Days this year, the flow of orders remained consistent throughout, and with the help of a technologically sound process we were able to seamlessly fulfill every order we got from customers across the country.”, Priya added further.

Speaking about her future plans, Priya said, “I wish to reach a large consumer base and become a well-known seller on Flipkart, as we continue to offer the best products to the consumers, which will be reflected in their positive ratings and reviews as well as in how happy and satisfied they are after utilizing the products. My ambition is to expand the business and make it a household name.

Pratik, a 33-year-old entrepreneur from India's vibrant capital, began his academic journey with hotel management and later pursued international marketing. He worked in the logistics department of export and import companies before venturing out on his own as a self-made businessman.

With the desire to create a made in India brand that does not rely on third parties to manufacture its products, Pratik founded 'Greyon,' a cosmetic product manufacturer. Although the business began offline, particularly in the Kolkata region, there was inadequate brand recall in the early days. During this time, Pratik's friend read an article about Flipkart onboarding sellers and advised him to work with the platform. As Pratik was already a long-time Flipkart customer, he was aware of the brand value that Flipkart could bring to his business by offering him access to the pan India market.

Pratik struggled to navigate the online business in the beginning, but with the help of Flipkart's training programmes, videos by Flipkart that share insights about the catalog building process, and guidance from account managers who are always on the lookout for ways to help, his business has grown tremendously. Pratik presently employs 16 individuals to assist him in running the firm.

Speaking about his experience during Flipkart's annual flagship event this year, the Big Billion Days, Pratik says, “We received a sizable amount of orders from across the nation, so it was a very positive experience. We were able to process close to 200 orders in a day. This time, we also introduced brand-new products, such as a liquid lipstick in the premium category, which was well received by customers in terms of both orders and reviews. Our brand's visibility was further enhanced by the arrival of new customers. Furthermore, we expect to process 500–600 orders every day as the new year approaches and other festive seasons, such as Valentine's Day.”

Sharing his vision for the future, Pratik says, “We are concentrating our efforts on having our brand become a well-known "made in India" brand. In the near future, a brand-new range of cosmetic products will also be released by us. My objective is to elevate Grayon to a position where its quality and consumer trust are on par with those of the top cosmetic companies.”

Rajesh Chaudhary, 44, is from a lower middle-class family in Uttar Pradesh. He had always been interested in fashion and design, which led him to work for a well-known designer in Delhi before starting his own e-commerce company. While working with the designer, Rajesh learned a lot about the industry and gained relevant experience, which helped him realize his true potential for running a business on his own. 

In 2015, he took the entrepreneurial leap and founded 'Shivalaya creations' with his wife, who assists him in running the business. What began in a small factory space with only 5 workers is now spread across three companies with a staff of 120 people working in various capacities. As a small business owner, he faced numerous challenges that compelled him to leave his well-paying job and fully commit to his own venture.
Rajesh's association with Flipkart began in 2017. At the time, he received approximately 100 orders per day, which gradually increased and today he processes over 1000 orders per day with a profit margin of 33 lakhs per month. Over the last five years, his business has expanded even further, particularly during the festive season, when sellers have the opportunity to grow their businesses significantly. He stated that during the big billion days, order counts rise to 2500-3000, which is four times higher than his average daily orders. 

The assistance provided by Flipkart's smooth onboarding process and training makes it easier for sellers like Rajesh to grow their businesses efficiently. Talking about the same, Rajesh says, “We are truly appreciative of Flipkart's assistance in fostering our business expansion. This includes daily calls and weekly meetings, where Flipkart guides us on how to prepare ourselves for the festive season and insights into the stocks that must be maintained based on the quantity of sales, which helps ensure prompt delivery.”

Speaking about his experience during the Big Billion Days this year, Rajesh said, “We had a great experience during the Big Billion Days, as the orders soared. We were able to process between 800-1200 orders in a single day and generated 57 lakhs in revenue. The assistance we received from the Flipkart team and account managers, who worked with us on a regular basis to ensure that the business ran seamlessly and efficiently despite the surge in demand during the festive season, made this possible."

Rajesh hopes to rise to the top 5 merchants on the marketplace, through his partnership with Flipkart, and processing 30,000–40,000 orders daily. He is striving towards realizing this objective as he believes that if you choose the right path and put in the necessary effort, achieving your goals is not difficult.