India's Snapdeal plans to expand into omni-channel, grow Unicommerce

The company is ‘well-positioned to tap into the unique attributes of the value lifestyle retail market," the filing said. It believes the move will be driven by consistent growth in consumption of value shoppers and increase in base of digitally-native users.

Snapdeal intends to create a distribution channel through offline stores, partnering with existing neighbourhood stores and new franchisees, across the country as part of its expansion plans, according to a news agency report.

"We believe that our wide network of sellers, technology, marketing and data science capabilities will offer a competitive advantage to our partners and further increase our reach in the value segment...Further, we can derive service and cost advantages from being closer to users. The potential omni-channel model can derive advantages by virtue of our current position and capabilities," it added.

It is looking at a public issue that comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth ₹1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 3.07 crore equity shares.

According to Snapdeal's draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), the company's high brand awareness, platform integration and digital marketing capabilities can be used to drive footfalls in Snapdeal branded stores.

Snapdeal also intends to grow Unicommerce, which was profitable for financial years 2019 and 2021 and the six months ended September 30, 2021, within India and international markets.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)