JSW Group to invest ₹700 crore in online marketplace for building material

JSW Group plans do an Amazon or a Flipkart in the realty and construction industry by setting up an online marketplace for building related products including steel, cement and paints.

The Group will remodel its earlier initiative of integrating the sales of Group products under JSW One into an online market place and will invest about ₹500-700 crore to roll-out the e-commerce venture with a renewed focus taking the current offline distributors, said sources close to the development.

The first-of-its-kind online marketplace will tap both the business-to-business and individual consumers and cross-sell products riding on the stupendous growth in online sales due to increase in smartphone and mobile penetration, sources added.

Though the penetration of e-commerce in the home building segment is still in its nascent stage, it has high growth potential as some of the builders have managed to sell flats online during the Covid times.

Strategic pacts

JSW Group is also exploring strategic collaborations with other non-competing branded building material products such as sanitary ware, kitchen and home accessories with a view to offer a holistic shopping experience for its home-building consumers.

JSW One platform will also rope in influencers in the home-construction industry including contractors, masons, engineers, architects and painters and enable them to grow their respective businesses. It will integrate all influencer loyalty programmes currently offered across its steel, cement and paints businesses under JSW One.

In the B2B space, JSW One will not only offer e-commerce marketplace for small and medium-size steel product manufacturers but also provide access to quality steel material and facilitate online transactions, order fulfilment, tracking and inventory management, besides giving much-needed credit.

On the flip side, the move will drive digital demand for micro-enterprises which have local reach. This will enable micro enterprises to scale up the overall reach of their businesses.

For individual home builders, it will offer one-stop solution to source the requisite steel, cement and paint for construction besides providing qualified contractors, masons, engineers, architects, painters under one single integrated e-commerce platform.

This apart, influencers will have access to up-skilling, better access to credit, tech-enabled project management solution and generate more business opportunities.