This is what Business World wrote in its recent cover story on the e-tailing wars in India:
Hundreds of such entrepreneurs are delighted at the sudden turn in the fortunes of India’s e-tailers in 2011. Easy availability of broadband, patchy rollout of 3G and growing aspirations of non-metro youth, coupled with economic uncertainty, are driving traffic for shopping and bargain hunting. While the industry grew to over Rs 4,000 crore in 2011, large players grew 100-150 per cent.
As 3G and broadband wireless come this year and smartphones and tablets population rises, Web-based businesses will hit a tipping point. New-age entrepreneurs are trying out everything from full-fledged e-tailing sites such as Flipkart by Binny and Sachin Bansal to specialist ones such as Firstcry for babycare products, founded by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha. Or footwear-only Bestylish from Gurgaon-based Shailen Amin. After all, the race to the top of India’s e-tailing industry is still wide open.
Continued tomorrow.
