Paytm Mall plans to be a pure-play marketplace

­Paytm Mall, the ecommerce platform of One97 Communications, will be a pure-play marketplace where sellers and logistics companies hold the major say. It will not set up its own warehouses, which are capital intensive.

According to sources familiar with the development, the sellers on the platform will get maximum benefit as per the customer demand. “We are giving all the facilities of easy shipment of commodities by tying up with logistics players who will collect products directly from sellers,” company sources said.

The company’s move comes at a time when other Indian ecommerce companies burnt their fingers by involving in multiple businesses and lost investors' money. “The classic example is of Flipkart and Snapdeal. They involved in multiple businesses which are not core to their activities. It really spoiled their game plan to grow and they lost huge money. It created some animosity among investors who directed the leadership to fall in line,” an analyst tracking the sector told DH.

Meanwhile, Paytm Mall has appointed group veteran Amit Sinha as Chief Operation Officer as the company is further strengthening itself to take on rivals like Amazon India and Flipkart. The move is widely seen by the industry analaysts as its core game plan to focus on its strengths.

Sinha, who is currently a vice-president overlooking business and human resources at Paytm’s holding company One97 Communications, began his journey with Paytm since December 2007 and served in several key business roles. Sinha will be responsible for overall operations, category management, hiring and logistics.

Sinha, an MBA from Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta with an engineering degree from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.

Commenting on his appointment, Sinha Paytm Mall goal is to build the country’s largest platform that enables trusted partners including brand and merchants in growing their business.

“We are innovating on multiple aspects of business and offering newer business opportunities for sellers. Paytm Mall also aims to be the preferred destination for consumers looking for the largest selection of products being sold by trusted sellers,” he said.

Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said Paytm Mall will address a unique opportunity of giving small businesses and retailers access to mobile internet technology to address India's large mobile consumer base. “Amit’s experience in building various businesses since their inception makes him our best choice to lead our commerce business,” he said.

As part of its restructuring strategy, Paytme de-merged last year its three-year old e-commerce business into a separate unit—Paytm Mall, under the legal entity Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd. The company launched a dedicated online portal and mobile app for Paytm Mall on 27 February. Alibaba Group, Alipay, SAIF Partners and Sharma are the shareholders of the company.

Paytm was launched in August 2010 as an online recharge and bill payment platform and soon expanded into online commerce and mobile payments through wallets. Paytm is currently the largest digital wallet with over 220 million users and is accepted by over 5 million offline merchants across India.