That, however, does not mean that the Flipkart group CEO is reluctant to take tough decisions. Last year, when he realised that the e-commerce company’s top-heavy structure was dragging it down, he slashed the number of senior vice presidents from 23 to four in eight months. He had his job cut out when cofounder Binny Bansal left, and Walmart, which acquired a controlling stake in the company a year ago, trusted him with taking Flipkart forward. And it is far from done. Krishnamurthy wants a lot more people to buy from Flipkart. “We are now focused on bringing the next 200 million into the fold,” he says in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
Q/ A year ago, Flipkart became part of Walmart. How has this changed India’s largest e-commerce company?
A/Our focus has always been on democratising e-commerce in India by access and affordability, driving customer experience and solving problems through innovation and technology. That unwavering focus on Bharat will continue to drive us. One year of our partnership with Walmart has been great and has underscored the focus on being a homegrown e-commerce player with a mission to solve local problems locally and leverage best practices from Walmart.
Having established the industry in India and having brought the first 100 million customers online, we are now focused on bringing the next 200 million into the fold and expanding the network into more disconnected areas through technology and India-specific solutions.
Q/ What all has Flipkart learnt from Walmart’s vast experience in retail?
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
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RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
