Bengaluru: Amazon is now set to sell its exclusive ‘online-only’ smartphones through brick and mortar stores. The US e-commerce giant has pitched stores to push its smartphone stock. This may turn to be Amazon’s next adopted strategy in India if this initiative works. The decision to venture into offline distribution was accelerated post demonetization as sales of smartphones across channels took a big hit, reports ETtelecom.
The cash and carry affiliate of Amazon.com- Amazon Wholesale India has undertaken the offline distribution venture of smartphones. The venture’s representatives have approached several offline retailers for distribution of smartphones in various markets such as the National Capital Region, Pune and Nasik.
The company has taken up brands such as OnePlus and Coolpad to the offline retailers. The company will still make 3-4% margin from offline distribution of smartphones. Amazon plans to make significant investments to expand its offline distribution. It has approached these smartphone sellers to make their smartphones available to customers through offline retailers.
Amazon has plans to invest significantly to expand its offline distribution. This initiative is still of profit to the online-exclusive brands as this culls the need of building infrastructure for offline sales and yet procure immediate profit.
Vikas Agarwal, General Manager (India), OnePlus, however, said that the company is online first and has no intention of going offline in near future. “As OnePlus products are available exclusively on Amazon.in, select bulk or corporate gifting queries are handled offline by Amazon marketplace sellers. These are B2B orders and are not meant for sale on offline channels,” he said, according to ET.
The wholesale operations of Amazon gained traction this year by purchasing smartphones from brands and then selling it to various vendors, who in turn sell directly to consumers through the marketplace.