Flipkart has a new messiah, but the company needs to learn from history

Flipkart cofounders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. Photo credit: LetsIntern.

“Kalyan’s in the house, he will do some major cleaning now,” a senior Flipkart executive told this reporter recently.

The reference was to Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who re-joined Flipkart from Tiger Global some weeks back, ostensibly to do exactly that: clean up Flipkart’s house and make it leaner and meaner as an organisation.

It’s not just the one executive. Over the past couple of weeks, Tech in Asia talked to at least eight employees and investors who are familiar with the company’s process, and the refrain seemed to be the same. Kalyan is here, and there will be changes for the better now, even if the path is a bit painful.

See: Is Tiger Global tightening the reins on Flipkart?

In end-June, Tiger Global MD Kalyan Krishnamurthy took over as head of categories for the Indian ecommerce leader. He reports to Flipkart co-founder and CEO Binny Bansal.

The move seemed like a clear indication that investor Tiger Global was tightening its grip on Flipkart. The company was fighting some big and some seemingly big issues at the time – top level executives quit, and its valuation was knocked down. It then got itself into a brouhaha with a leading Indian college over hiring.

While a fracas over fresh employee joining dates is an inconvenience for a big firm at the most (it certainly does not impact business), there were other problems that needed attention, stat.

For instance, Flipkart’s reportedly flat gross merchandise values at a time when Amazon is growing, or its stance to raise seller commissions that was almost immediately undercut by Amazon.

Or, the steady buzz in the Bangalore startup circles about Tiger Global’s unwillingness to lead a funding round in Flipkart, making it imperative for the company to find others to invest in it. There’s supposed to be another mega round in the offing, and Flipkart is apparently talking to everyone, including Snapdeal investor Alibaba.

Tiger Global and Flipkart did not respond to emails for comments.

See: Snapdeal, Flipkart learn from Amazon as ecommerce focus shifts in India

Expectations

There’s a mountain of expectations from one man. Photo credit: Pexels

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