We want Indians to love Prime the way world does: Amit Agarwal

Interview with Head, Amazon India

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Amit Agarwal, India head of Amazon, spoke to Nivedita Mookerji in a conference call from the e-commerce major’s Seattle headquarters Tuesday morning, following the launch of the ‘Prime Membership Program’ in India. The new offering includes free one-  and two-day deliveries, along with access to deals as well as original programming video for a subscription fee. Besides Prime, Agarwal takes a question on drones, but leaves one guessing. Edited excerpts:

How is Amazon Prime going to play out against competition in India?

The product is meant to unlock innovation and is unique in nature. It does not exist anywhere else in India. We want Indian consumers to access fast delivery and attractive deals as well as be entertained as in other parts of the world. We want Indians to love Prime the way the world does.

There are others such as Netflix in the space. Flipkart too had introduced a similar product and then withdrew. So, how do you look at competition?

We cannot comment on others. But Prime is one of its kind.  

How is it going to be different in India?

The principle will remain the same as in any other geography— that of wide selection and great experience. That has been the case for the past so many years, and like we say it is still day one for us. We will continue to innovate locally as we have done in the past with sellers, for delivery on time and improving the experience of the customer. We work on the nuances, but the central principle is that Prime is a unique offering that we want to be part of Amazon members’ daily lives.

Are you working with local content producers in India for Amazon original video so that Prime has mass appeal in the country?

Customers in India will be able to enjoy global content. For more details, stay tuned. In other parts of the world, there have been local tie-ups for content.

What about introducing local language programming?

As I said, stay tuned.

Amazon press statement says that the service is available in 100 cities right now. When will it be expanded to all pin codes?

Prime is built on the backbone of fast delivery. We already offer one-day and two-day deliveries at a price. On subscribing to Prime, a user gets free unlimited delivery. While the fast delivery service is available in  about 100 cities, we will continue to add more cities in the near future

Amazon has entered into a tie-up with the UK government to use small drones for faster delivery. Is the company working with the Indian government too for such a possibility?

We’ve been working with the Indian postal service to deliver products in far flung areas in the country. That’s a close partnership we have with the Indian government.

What about drones? Is that something you are working with the government on?

There’s nothing to announce right now. I don’t speculate. On a lighter note, you may need drone in India that accepts cash on delivery.