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Walmart-owned Flipkart said it has bolstered its delivery network with more than one lakh ‘Kirana’ (neighbourhood stores) partners from across the country ahead of its Big Billion days sale and upcoming festive season.

Flipkart had started the programme in 2019 to onboard local stores and shops as delivery partners, and has since then invested consistently to get these businesses ready for making deliveries.

“With a 100,000-strong Kirana delivery network, which doubled from last year, Flipkart is further strengthening its last-mile network and reach, especially in pin-codes and towns that are difficult to reach and creating opportunities for digital upskilling as well as additional income for kiranas,” a statement said.

Last year, more than 10 million deliveries were made by these specially-trained Kirana partners across the country during the festive season, it added.

Flipkart has a dedicated team as part of this ongoing partnership that helps these stores with knowledge, expertise, experience, and technology to make millions of deliveries seamlessly.

The Kirana delivery programme accounts for nearly one-third of Flipkart’s deliveries made in a month. In the past year, its Kirana partners have registered a nearly 30 percent increase in the delivery income, it said.

“This festive season will see the participation of Kiranas from regions including Khammam (Telangana), Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), and Junagarh (Odisha), to name a few, as consumers seek safe and timely deliveries through e-commerce,” the statement said.

Flipkart Senior Vice-President (Supply Chain) Hemant Badri said the company is committed to creating value for all its stakeholders including sellers, MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises), artisans, customers, and Kiranas.

“Being one of the oldest retail formats in India, Kiranas form the premise of modern retail in India, and Flipkart endeavours to bring seamless assimilation of both forms of retail to bring customer delight and create a shared value. Through a combination of their hyperlocal presence and innovations by Flipkart, the Kirana delivery programme has become a great enabler in strengthening the Kirana ecosystem in the country,” he added.

This will play a pivotal role in offering a faster and personalised delivery experience to customers during this festive season and Flipkart’s annual flagship event, the Big Billion Days (BBD), and augment the income of these Kirana partners, Badri said.

In a separate statement, Flipkart said it has partnered with Urbanic – a London-based fashion brand.

As part of the partnership, a collection of almost 1,000 unique styles across categories, including apparel and loungewear will be available to Flipkart’s growing registered customer base of over 350 million, it said.

Priced from Rs 299 onwards, the Urbanic selection includes tops, denims, winter wear, lingerie, and swimwear.

Flipkart and its group company Myntra have also partnered with Slazenger, wherein sports enthusiasts can access products from the 150-year British sports brand on Myntra and Flipkart platforms.

“The partnership, under the aegis of House of Brands, which comprises Myntra Fashion Brands and Flipkart Fashion Originals, will make Slazenger’s product range available on Myntra and Flipkart, strengthening its presence in India… Flipkart and Myntra will focus extensively on athleisure, running, golf, swimming, tennis and cricket range of apparel and footwear from Slazenger,” a statement said.

The combined strength and wide delivery network of Flipkart and Myntra will give Slazenger access to millions of shoppers across metros, tier one, two, and three cities, enabling it to establish itself in one of the biggest markets in the world, it added.

Products in the apparel segment are the first to go live on the two platforms and will be followed by footwear and the other categories.

The association with Slazenger is in the form of a sub-license agreement with Inspire Sports, which is the licensee of Slazenger IP in India, it said.