Amazon signs long-term deals with Future Retail

The development comes nearly five months after Amazon bought an indirect stake in Future Retail through its purchase of 49 percent stake in Future Coupons that in turn holds stake in Future Retail (FRL).

"FRL and Amazon India signed two agreements focusing on key categories - grocery and general merchandise, and fashion and footwear," according to a press statement.

Amazon India will also become the authorised online sales channel for FRL stores, and FRL will ensure participation of its relevant stores and programmes on the Amazon India marketplace, said the press note.

Besides, Future Consumer (FCL) has also inked a long-term agreement with Amazon Retail India for distribution of Future Consumer's portfolio of brands online. Some of FCL brands include Tasty Treat, Voom, Dreamery, Karmiq, Mother Earth, Kara, CleanMate and others.

As part of the partnership, FRL will augment existing store-infrastructure at its retail outlets for facilitating seamless packaging and pickup of products ordered online. FRL and Amazon India have already launched this service across 22 stores. Both companies plan on rolling this out across the entire FRL store chain based on agreed timelines.

The statement said further, "FRL will leverage its existing infrastructure, strong product knowledge and extensive brand portfolio resulting in higher store productivity and improved margins.”

Currently, FRL attracts over 350 million footfalls across its retail network, and Amazon India's marketplace will enable FRL to reach a wider customer base.

In addition, FRL will be listed on Amazon Prime Now, allowing customers to get food, grocery and general merchandise delivery within two hours in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

FRL plans to soon list stores like Big Bazaar, and Foodhall in more cities on the Amazon India marketplace.

"In order to drive efficiencies, the two organisations will work closely through a dedicated team, and will explore synergies in distribution, customer acquisition, and marketing initiatives. This creates an enviable collaboration bringing together the best of consumer insights and geographical reach from the online and offline world," the statement added.

Kishore Biyani, chairman and managing director of FRL, said, "This arrangement will allow us to build upon each other’s strengths in the physical and digital space so that customers benefit from the best services, products, assortment and price".

"FRL’s national footprint of stores offering thousands of products across fashion, appliances, home, kitchen and grocery will now be available to millions of customers shopping on Amazon.in, in hours across over 25 cities," Amazon India senior vice president and country head Amit Agarwal said.

On the FCL-ARIPL partnership, Future Consumer’s managing director Ashni Biyani said the collaboration will expand the reach of its brands to new sets of customers on Amazon India's online marketplace.

"We will be working closely with Amazon to develop marketing and promotion initiatives and look forward to using Amazon’s technical expertise and resources to increase the reach of our brands. Our distinct portfolio of brands catering to aspirational categories will be an excellent addition to Amazon’s offerings. Hence, we believe this is a win-win agreement," Ashni Biyani added.