Flipkart strengthens distribution infra in east with growing grocery demand

E-commerce major Flipkart on Tuesday said it has expanded its network of fulfilment centres here as demand for online grocery services grew by a whopping 75 per cent since June last year.

The company has launched its third grocery fulfilment centre in Amta in West Bengal's Howrah district to meet the growing demand in the eastern region.

Since the launch of its second such facility in Kolkata in June 2021, the demand has increased by a staggering 75 per cent for the e-grocery services, the company said.

The new fulfilment centre is spread across almost 1.34 lakh square feet, has a storage capacity of 22 lakh square feet, it said, adding that the facility has created over 500 direct and indirect job opportunities.

The Walmart-owned e-commerce company did not disclose investment details for the facility.

With Flipkart opening its third grocery fulfilment centre, the combined area of all facilities becomes 3.8 lakh square feet with more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs being created in West Bengal, the company said.

"As we scale up our grocery operations across the country to cater to our growing customer base and support local businesses and farmers, east India has emerged as an important, high-growth region for us," Flipkart Grocery vice president Smrithi Ravichandran said.

The establishment of the third fulfilment centre has been largely influenced by the success of its grocery services in the eastern region and the huge demand the company has witnessed since mid-last year, the official said.

East India is one of the strong markets and this facility will boost infrastructure requirements of the regional micro, small and medium enterprises, sellers and local farmers to get wider market access, the company said.

Flipkart Grocery currently serves 1,800 cities and 10,000 pin code areas across 23 states. It has ramped up its operations in the past two years by establishing 23 fulfilment centres spread over an area of 26 lakh square feet to meet growing nationwide demand.