Flipkart makes licensing for foreign brands easy

Leading e-tailer Flipkart on Monday tied-up with media venture Viacom 18 to ease licensing for foreign brands and make their merchandise accessible to Indian sellers at a click.

"Our latest initiative eases licensing process for foreign brands entering India and to offer branded merchandise to consumers at a click of a button," the city-based e-commerce major said in a statement here.

The tie-up with Viacom, a joint venture between the US-based media firm and Mumbai-based Network 18 media group, will facilitate licensing of international brands like Teenage, Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spongebob Squarepants and Peanuts to sellers.

The initiative will also enable sellers to ensure quality of products for buyers and differentiate them from the clutter on the marketplace.

"As overseas brands issuing licenses through offline face challenges in sales reporting and quality control, our online licensing will simplify the process to connect them with sellers on our e-platform," Flipkart head for seller ecosystem Manish Maheshwari said in the statement.

Flipkart also offers its sellers assistance programmes to help them manage their business better.

"We train first-time sellers to go online with their products, mobilise workforce, cataloguing, packaging and provide financial aid," it said.

The eight-year-old e-platform enables about 80,000 sellers to market their products across 70 categories to over 50-million customers at competitive prices and discounts with goods delivered at door stop.