E-commerce firm ShopClues plans to reach out to small traders and businessmen by launching a wholesale retail platform where the company can service bulk orders.

“We are in the value segment and have been noticing several consumers especially in tier 2 and 3 cities buying in bulk but smaller quantity. Our platform will be an ideal choice for those who don’t want to go through the traditional FMGC distribution channel, but still want to retail products to their customer base,” said Sanjay Sethi, co-founder and CEO of ShopClues.

Product buybacks

The company said its business-to-business ventures are likely to retail products cheaper by 5-15 per cent in standardised categories such as mobile phones and electronics and may be higher in non-standardised categories like apparels or sports goods. He said the company is also looking at issues such as credit facilities for traders and also unsold product buybacks.

Other ecommerce firms such as eBay and Amazon are understood to testing waters in the wholesale space.

Founded in 2011, ShopClues works on the managed marketplace model that connects buyers and sellers online. The company has $15 million funding from angel investors and also from Nexus Venture Partners and Helion Ventures.

In 2013, ShopClues co-founder and former CEO Sandeep Aggarwal had pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in the federal court of Manhattan, US. He has since exited the company.

ShopClues ships in over 12,000 cities in India and has over 40,000 merchants using its Website. Sethi said the company was largely focusing on the non-standardised category as the margins offered were better in such category.

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