Amazon Seller Services, the powerhouse behind Amazon India's marketplace, has secured a substantial investment of INR 830 crore from its parent company based in the United States.
As part of this infusion of funds, Amazon Seller Services has issued 830 million equity shares to Amazon Corporate Holdings Ltd and Amazon.com.inc.
This investment follows closely on the heels of a previous infusion of INR 350 crore into its fintech arm, Amazon Pay, earlier this year, bringing Amazon's total investment in its Indian ventures to over INR 1,000 crore, as reported by ET.
Back in November 2021, Amazon Seller Services Private Limited had received INR 1,460 crore in a corporate round from its parent company.
Despite Amazon's heightened focus on bolstering its cloud services arm, Amazon Web Services, over its core ecommerce operations, the recent investment signals the company's commitment to further strengthening its presence in the Indian marketplace.
In a strategic move last June, CEO Andy Jassy announced an additional investment of $15 billion in India, with a target investment exceeding $26 billion by 2030.
In December, reports surfaced regarding a restructuring of top management in India, with Noor Patel, former head of category management in India, relocating to the US. This restructuring may potentially lead to a new dual leadership structure under Patel and Amit Agarwal, senior vice president for India and emerging markets, according to sources cited by ET.
Despite challenges, Amazon Seller Services reported a 3.4% increase in revenue to INR 22,198 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2023. However, its losses widened by about a third to INR 4,854 crore during the same period.
Amidst global job cuts, Amazon laid off between 500 and 1,000 employees in India in 2023, and also shuttered smaller ventures such as its food delivery service.
Interestingly, this investment coincides with reports of Amazon's foray into the logistics business in India, with the introduction of a new vertical called Amazon Shipping. Set to handle non-Amazon orders, the company has initiated collaborations with direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, logistics aggregators, and other businesses to kickstart this new venture.
Furthermore, in 2023, Amazon invested an additional INR 400 crore in its Indian logistics arm, Amazon Transportation Services.
