Indiamart.com, one of the largest online listing platforms for small and medium businesses, is launching an online retail marketplace, Tolexo.com, for consumers and businesses to shop on the web. Registered as a separate entity, Tolexo Online Pvt. Ltd is expected to go live in the next five weeks, the company said.
Indiamart.com, one of the largest online listing platforms for small and medium businesses, is launching an online retail marketplace, Tolexo.com, for consumers and businesses to shop on the web. Registered as a separate entity, Tolexo Online Pvt. Ltd is expected to go live in the next five weeks, the company said.
Founded in 1996, Indiamart.com helps 1.5 million registered sellers to connect with global buyers on its platform although the business takes place offline. Tolexo will help the company open its doors to online transactions, not just for businesses but for consumers too. IndiaMART currently lists sellers for product categories ranging from clothes and cosmetics to industrial machines, from auto parts to chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Initially, Tolexo will not stock all the product categories. “We are not going to compete with the Flipkart and Snapdeal(s) of the world. The categories that we are going to come up with will be extremely different,” said Brijesh Agrawal, Co-Founder and Director, Indiamart.com.
Agrawal thinks that the bigger opportunity categories are home and office supplies ranging from lighting and furnishing to hardware.
Indiamart already has a significant merchant base and will not have to spend money and energy on attracting sellers, and the online move is timely, said Subho Ray, President, Internet and Mobile Association of India.
The e-commerce market is anticipated to be worth $22 billion in the next five years, from $3.1 billion, according to a November 2013 report by CLSA. According to Agrawal, Tolexo would look to raise about $100 million over next two to three years. Indiamart, with revenue of Rs 200 crore in March 2014, has over 2,600 employees in 40 plus offices in the country. The company generates nearly two million leads every month with a conversion rate of 7-8%.
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