The Flipkart story: a $20bn exercise in smokes and mirrors

© Khunaspix Dreamstime.

The latest news out of the vibrant Indian e-commerce sector is that US retail giant Walmart appears to be on the verge of the country’s largest homegrown start-up – Flipkart. It is a move that would likely bring the ongoing turf war between Amazon and Walmart into the sub-continent and is expected to cost the US retailer around $20bn. But what is it actually buying? In 10 years of operations Flipkart has yet to post a profit, and this blog ...