Reliance Industries Acquires 87.6% Stake Of Google-Backed Fynd For Rs 2.95 Billion

Indian multinational conglomerate company Reliance Industries announced to acquire 87.6 percent stake of online fashion startup Fynd for Rs 295 crore, or $42.33 million. Reliance Industries currently owns the largest retailer by revenue in India Reliance Retail which has been running businesses on Fynd’s platform for more than six years.

Founded in 2012, Fynd (owned by Shopsense Retail) provides e-commerce solutions for retail brands by helping them sell products on its online store. It also lets them connect with "demand channels" like third-party e-commerce platforms Flipkart and Amazon India.

The platform connects over 600 brands including Being Human, Global Desi, Raymond, and Nike, as well as 9,000 stores, according to its co-founder Harsh Shah. Fynd's products also help a lot of brands ramp up their sales on their e-commerce businesses.

As the platform works with brands directly, its selection of items is wider, its inventories are newer, and its delivery service is faster, as claimed by Shah.

By 2021, the overall retail market is anticipated to reach $1.2 trillion, while e-commerce space will be valued at $84 billion, which is a significant growth as compared to $24 billion in 2017.

For these reasons, investing in Fynd could be part of Reliance Retail’s plan to enter the e-commerce industry. Earlier this year, the company’s owner revealed his intention to build up their own e-commerce platform with the participation of both Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. Reliance Jio is now India’s biggest telecom operator, recording more than 331 million subscribers in June this year. In the case of Fynd, Reliance Industries has an option to bump $1 million more into the startup by the end of 2021.