Flipkart to promote handicrafts, products of small sellers

Leading e-retailer Flipkart Saturday said it has tied up with Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia) to promote sale of handicrafts and products of small sellers and local entrepreneurs from across the state.

"As Karnataka is home to a large number of local entrepreneurs, we see a lot of potential for its sellers to explore our online marketplace model and grow their customer base," Flipkart vice-president Ankit Nagori said in a statement.

The city-based e-commerce player held an interactive workshop here for about 120 sellers of handicrafts, home decor, furnishings, footwear, fashion jewellery and electronics on "how to grow your business online".

"With access to the largest customer base (26 million users) in the country, we will enable local sellers and entrepreneurs to reach out to a wider range of customers nationally," Nagori said on the occasion.

EPCH executive director Rakesh Kumar said the association with Flipkart would help local artisans and entrepreneurs to grow their business by reaching out to a large customer base across the country.

Flipkart has also tied up with the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises and the National Centre for Design and Product Development to boost manufacturing and promote products of artisans and entrepreneurs.

"We provide marketing support to online sellers by listing their products, sharing data on market trends to help in customer acquisition, cataloguing and packaging services to maintain and enhance quality," Nagori added.

Flipkart offers 20 million products across 70 categories, including books, media, consumer electronics and lifestyle items.

With about 20,000 people, the e-retailer gets eight million hits a day and delivers five million shipments per month across the country.