Appario Retail's revenue rises 9% to Rs 15,915 cr, profit increases 53%

Appario Retail, the largest seller on Amazon India, reported a 9 per cent increase in operating revenue in FY22 to Rs 15,915.6 crore, according to data accessed by business intelligence platform, Tofler.

However, Amazon recently said it has decided that Appario Retail would cease as a seller on the e-commerce giant’s platform within the next 12 months. Appario Retail, which is housed under Frontizo Business Services – a joint venture between Amazon and the Patni Group also reported a 53 per cent increase in profit to over Rs 82 crore during FY2022.

Appario Retail’s biggest expense was on buying inventory. It spent Rs 14,470.90 crore during FY22 as against Rs 13,670.60 crore a year ago. Employee expenses fell around 30 per cent to about Rs 41 crore in FY22.

Other expenses increased by 26 per cent to Rs 1519.6 crore in FY22.

In 2017, Amazon formed a joint venture with the Patni Family, the founders of Patni Computer Systems (PCS), a family business that was instrumental in establishing the Indian IT industry. The aim was to build an e-commerce and customer services platform as part of Amazon’s expansion plans in the country. Amazon India had launched the JV with Ashok Patni and his son Apoorva Patni’s Zodiac Wealth, which had 51 per cent stake in the business. The parent firm provided customer service for Amazon. However, Appario started its operations as an Amazon seller in 2017 in the area of mobile and electronics and became one of the largest sellers on the e-commerce platform.

“The partners will continue to explore new business opportunities, including helping businesses across India to scale up their online presence,” said an Amazon spokesperson recently.

Experts said that Indian regulations don’t allow foreign-owned entity running an online marketplace and its group companies to own stakes in any seller on the platform, or to have control over their inventory. Local traders have alleged that online retail companies were promoting their preferred sellers on the platforms.

Cloudtail, once the largest seller on Amazon’s India marketplace, shut operations on the e-commerce platform as a seller this year amid regulatory pressure. Cloudtail’s parent, Prione Business Services, was jointly owned by Catamaran, led by Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy and Amazon.

Cloudtail India Private Limited, reported its revenues for the financial year 2021-22 as Rs 19,090 crore, a 15 per cent jump since the last financial year. The company further reported a net loss of Rs 522 crore during the same fiscal. The company’s total expenses for the fiscal were reported as Rs 19,573 crore.