Flipkart partners with Nepal’s Sastodeal to enable cross-border trade for Indian MSMEs

August 24, 2020: In a first-of-its-kind, Flipkart entered into a partnership with Sastodeal, an e-commerce company in Nepal, to initiate cross-border trade opportunities for its sellers.

Under the partnership, Sastodeal will host products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of babycare & kids, audio devices, men’s clothing, women's ethnic wear, and sports & fitness, among others, opening access to Indian products to Nepalese customers.

Amun Thapa, CEO, Sastodeal, “The opportunity brought by Flipkart for Nepalese consumers is going to build a strong growth story for e-commerce in our country. Customers in Nepal increasingly look forward to products with best-in-class features and quality, and with a trusted brand like Flipkart, we can fulfil their requirements and enhance their experience on our platform. We are ensuring that customers get access to these products readily and hoping that together, this partnership can modernize the consumer landscape in Nepal significantly, especially in the current times.”

Potential of e-commerce business in Nepal
“Flipkart currently has 2,00,000 sellers across India, with more than 50% of them coming from smaller cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Meerut, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad, among others. In line with its commitment to the ecosystem, the partnership with Sastodeal will build the long-term development of the e-commerce industry in both countries,” noted the release.

Jagjeet Harode, head of marketplace, Flipkart, said, “The partnership with Sastodeal will not just open doors for a wider market reaches to our Indian sellers but also allow them to boost their business significantly. The e-commerce business in Nepal has huge potential as more and more consumers take to online shopping. The trust a brand like Flipkart has amongst consumers along with the love of a local company like Sastodeal enjoys; makes the value proposition for consumers even more exciting. We are confident that new growth avenues such as this will boost the economic sentiment and growth prospects for local MSMEs in India.”

Flipkart’s Private Brands
In addition, Flipkart’s Private Brands - MarQ and SmartBuy will also be listed on the Sastodeal platform, with a focus on categories such as electronics, home appliances/home decor, and furnishings. Providing sellers partners yet another opportunity to manufacture locally and expand reach beyond India, Flipkart will enable sellers to make these private brands readily-available to Nepalese consumers, with the fulfilment promise by Sastodeal.

“Flipkart’s Private Brands portfolio has always been about addressing consumer needs in the most effective value-driven manner. Given our understanding of what consumers need and focus on quality products; it was a natural step for us to expand this expertise and take our brands to markets beyond India. The preference of consumers in a country like Nepal is very similar to India. We are confident that the adoption of our Private Brands MarQ and SmartBuy will be strong. Our partner Sastodeal enjoys immense consumer trust in the Nepal market, which gives us further encouragement that consumers will love what we have to offer under the partnership,” said Dev Iyer, Vice President - Private Brands, Flipkart.

Amun Thapa, CEO, Sastodeal, “The opportunity brought by Flipkart for Nepalese consumers is going to build a strong growth story for e-commerce in our country. Customers in Nepal increasingly look forward to products with best-in-class features and quality, and with a trusted brand like Flipkart, we can fulfil their requirements and enhance their experience on our platform. We are ensuring that customers get access to these products readily and hoping that together, this partnership can modernize the consumer landscape in Nepal significantly, especially in the current times.”

Flipkart marketplace and private brand products are now available on Sastodeal. In the first phase, the partnership will see 5000+ products listed on Sastodeal.