International Marketing: The Growth of Flipkart Market

This report evaluates the market potentiality of Australia for online shopping giant from India, Flipkart. It discusses the internal effectiveness and efficiency of Flipkart along with external business factors to be faced by them in doing business in Australia.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
International marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Report Tittle: The Growth of Flipkart Market.
Executive summary
The objective of preparing this report is to evaluate the market potentiality of Australia
for online shopping giant from India, Flipkart. In this report, the internal effectiveness and
efficiency of Flipkart are being discussed along with discussion on the external business factors
to be faced by them in doing business in Australia. Target market for Flipkart in the Australian
market is also analyzed and potentiality is being identified. With the help of the Porter five
forces analysis, this report concludes that Flipkart will have higher level of competitiveness in
the market in terms of substitute products considering the political and economic forces.

2INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Table of Contents
Report Tittle: The Growth of Flipkart Market.................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Company background......................................................................................................................3
Determination of external business factors......................................................................................4
PESTLE analysis model..................................................................................................................4
Political........................................................................................................................................5
Economical..................................................................................................................................6
Social...........................................................................................................................................7
Technological..............................................................................................................................8
Legal............................................................................................................................................8
Environmental..............................................................................................................................8
Determination of the target customers.............................................................................................8
Industry competitiveness analysis.................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
Justification on the decisions.........................................................................................................13
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................13
Reference.......................................................................................................................................15

3INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

4INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Introduction
This report will discuss about the opportunities and threats to be faced by Flipkart in
entering in the Indian market. Furthermore, this report will also discuss about the internal
business efficiency of Flipkart that can help them in their foreign business. A few recommended
steps will also be discussed. Flipkart Company has grown over the years due to good leadership
management. Furthermore they promote good relationship between buyers and sellers and in so
doing they ensure circulation of goods and services within the market.
Company background
Flipkart is the leading name in the Indian e-commerce scenario with having the market
leadership position in competing with Amazon and Snapdeal. It was founded in 2007 with the
primary intension of selling books but in the later stage, it forayed in electronics, home décor,
furniture, and fashion and lifestyle sectors (Flipkart.com, 2018). Thus, they are offering diverse
products that are further helping them in catering to larger customer segments. Recently, it is
reported that 77 percent of stake of Flipkart get acquired by American retail giant Walmart. The
major reason of overnight success of Flipkart in the Indian market is their distinctive business
approach. This is due to the reason that they initiated the concept of e-commerce in the Indian
market when this concept was relatively new (Prashar, Vijay & Parsad, 2015). Thus, customers
got the advantage of convenience by shopping from home and this helped them to expand
rapidly.

5INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
In terms of the financial capabilities, Flipkart had the backing of Soft bank group.
However, with the acquisition by Walmart, 20 percent stakes of soft bank are also sold. Now
they are having the financial support of Walmart that denotes that they are having higher access
to financial resources. Flipkart already gained immense marketing expertise and strategies in
relation to the e-commerce sector. It will be beneficial in entering in the Australian market. In
addition, with the recent acquisition by Walmart, their marketing expertise will also be added
(Dutta & Bhat, 2014). In terms of the technological factors, Flipkart is having shopping as well
as mobile app. Thus, they are already having the access to advance technology in this sector.
However, Flipkart has also faced a number of issues regarding their employees where they are
accused of exploitation. Thus, this may be a weakness for them in operating in the Australian
market (Prasad & Rao, 2015). In addition, the lack of experience regarding the e-commerce
sector of Australia is another weakness for Flipkart.
Determination of external business factors
Markets or business can be affected by either external factors or internal factors. The external
factors are those that, the business has control over them. They can affect the business positively
or negatively and sometimes can lead to the fall of the entire business. The internal factors are
those that the business has control over and they don’t have adverse effects on business
operations. The external factors include; political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and
environmental factors.

6INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Market Selection
a. Research and analysis of target international country/city market macro environment
(PESTLE).
PESTLE analysis model
This is one of the ways of analyzing business and marketing models. It summarizes techniques
on how to explore broader forces of macro-environment. The figure below shows the PESTLE
model(Marketing Models, 2014).
The technique applied by this model is to dig deep, and it help the managers to view and analyze
the process as a whole without missing a single point. The elements of PESTLE model are
analyzed below.
Political

7INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Operating through online mediums is easier in the Australian market due to the reason
that physical presence is less required. Australia is having relatively favorable political
conditions for doing business (Neilson, Pritchard & Yeung, 2014). They are also having
favorable diplomatic relationship with India. This will reflect in easing the market entry process
for Flipkart. Moreover, the stable government system in the country with having lower political
risks is also favorable for Flipkart. As per the corruption index 2018, Australia is having the 13th
raking in the world (transparency.org.au, 2018). This denotes that Flipkart will have less impact
of corruption in doing business in Australia. Political factors are based on many other factors
such as; Bureaucracy, corruption level, education law, employment law, press freedom etc.
These political factors may create a barrier to the growth of business, though political systems
due vary depending on the country. Some countries due have high political temperatures during
elections and these high temperatures provides hostile environment for the business to thrive in.
sometimes government can pose high tax on business companies which could hinder their
expansion. That’s why some business companies to offer bribes to the government so that they
can have minimal interference from the government. These political factors can lead to the
following; mitigation of risk, political stability, changes in regulation and change in economy.
Economical
It is reported that Australia is having favorable economic growth in the recent years.
Hence, Flipkart will have favorable market opportunities in the Australian market. However, the
recent gst valuation by the government of Australia will have adverse impact on the business of
Flipkart (Ramli et al., 2015). This is due to the reason that digital goods and services are also
being included in the goods and service tax legislation. This may increase the taxation on the
products sold by Flipkart and will eventually increase their price. Currently, there are number of

8INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
e-retailers operating in the Australian market such as Ozbargain, JB Hi-Fi and Kogan. Apart
from them, there are other offline retailers such as Woolworths and Coles, who are also having
online channels. Thus, the intensity of competition will be more for them but Flipkart will have
the advantage of offering diverse products under them. In addition, Amazon is not present in the
Australian market and thus, Flipkart will not face one of the major competitors for them.
Economic change can also be brought about by the government, by imposing taxes on goods and
shipments of goods overseas. Economic effects are all brought about by all other factors which
affects the business externally. They either brings the effect directly or indirectly.
Social
Globalization is having greater impact on the Australian society and majority of the
customers are aware about the global products. Thereby, it will be beneficial for Flipkart in
offering global products in the Australian market. Furthermore, it is reported that Australia is
having 99 percent of literacy rate in the country (knoema.com, 2018). Thus, almost the entire
population can shop online and use mobile app or website. This is another opportunity for
Flipkart in doing business in Australia. It is also reported that Australia is having 69 percent of
mobile internet penetration in the country (statista.com, 2018). Thus, Flipkart will have more
potential market for their app based services. This also the way of life and how people due
interact in a given setting or environment. Social can also be describes as change in fashion and
taste, for example the younger generation prefers the digital technology as compared to the old
millennials. These changes in social class due adverse effects on the business activities. They due
affect the environment where the business operates. There are a number of social factors that due
affect the business; lifestyle, religious and beliefs, sex distribution, social class and education
level. Religious beliefs due affect how the consumption rates and purchasing power of the

9INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
consumer. This intern affect the market strategy and the general expansion the business. The
social factor focuses on the forces within the society as they can change the attitude, opinions
and interests. This can lead to general change in sales and products. Social factor also depends
whether the product in the market is legally accepted or not, is the product an alcoholic or a soft
drinks. These are some of the determinants how social factors affect the business externally.
Technological
As discussed earlier, Flipkart is having website compatible with mobile and desktop. In
addition, they are also having their mobile app. Therefore, in terms of technology, Flipkart is
updated enough. Furthermore, Australia is having the favorable infrastructure of technology and
innovation. This will help Flipkart to further develop their technology if they can have their
research and development center there.
Legal
The major law that should be followed by Flipkart in doing business in Australia is
competition and consumer Act 2010. This is more important for them due to the fact that they are
accused for initiating policies that are against fair competition (Ackermann, 2014). In addition,
privacy act 1988 should also be followed in safeguarding the confidential details of the
customers. The strictness of these acts is more in Australia than in India. Hence, Flipkart should
properly adhere to the rules and regulations.
Environmental

10INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Business policies and practices are not having direct impact on the environment due to
the fact that they operate entirely on online basis. Maybe however, in case of their warehouses
and selling items that pollution ought to be considered. In this case, Flipkart should have to
adhere to the environmental standards in Australia.
b. Research and analysis of the target market including consumers (or business customers
if B2B) and market segments as well as a competitor analysis (micro environment).
Determination of the target customers
In order to identify the target customers for Flipkart, different elements including
demographic, geographic and behavioral segmentation will be used. In terms of demographic
segmentation, the target market will be the customers between the age groups of 18 and 50. The
major reason of this vast target demography is due to the reason that Australia is having higher
market penetration of mobile internet and more and more customers are getting attracted towards
the online shopping concept (Rupp, Kern & Helmig, 2014). In addition, the wide availability of
different products for different set of age groups will also expand the target market for Flipkart.
According to the reports, percentage of the population between the age groups of 20 and 50 are
highest (Worldpopulationreview.com, 2018). Thus, Flipkart will have huge market potentiality.
In terms of the geographic segmentation, in the initial stage, only the metro cities should
be targeted. This is mainly due to the reason that customer awareness about the online shopping
will be more in the metro cities. Furthermore, professionals will be more in the metro cities and
they are having the requirements of online shopping due to their lack of time. However, in the
further stage, Flipkart will have the opportunity in operating in the smaller towns considering the
fact that Australia is having higher level of market penetration of internet and mobile usage

11INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
(Newton et al., 2013). Considering the fact that Flipkart is having higher level of diverse
products, they should offer more utility products in the tier II and II cities. This can help them to
open up new customer segments by meeting the geographical gap between the requirement of the
customers and the availability.
In terms of the behavioral segmentation, customer segments with having lack of personal
time for shopping and having the difficulties of shopping different items from a single place will
be targeted. With having wide array of products and facility of faster delivery mechanism will
help Flipkart to effectively cater to this segment. On the other hand, customers with having
active lifestyles and having the preferences for global brands can also be targeted (Floh, Koller &
Zauner, 2013). This is due to the fact that brick and mortar stores cannot offer all the global
brands to the customers. Offering larger assortment of global brands especially in the fashion
segment can act as competitive advantages for Flipkart. Thus, it can be concluded that success of
Flipkart in the Australian market heavily depending on the urban customers.
Development of a marketing plan.
This is like a tool used to engage the business to know whether the goals of the business is being
achieved or not. It explains the current situation the business and where the business needs to be
after a given period of time. The marketing plan contains things such as, current situation of the
business, the target market, goals and objective of the business, the capital cost and the execution
plan.
Industry competitiveness analysis
Bargaining power of buyers  Bargaining power for the buyer will be moderate.

12INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
 Buyers are having number of options in the market.
 However, majority of the retailers are not offering higher
product variants as like Flipkart.
 On the other hand, buyer may prefer busying from
different sites over using only Flipkart (Jiang, Yang &
Jun, 2013).
Bargaining power of
suppliers
 Bargaining power of suppliers is high.
 Flipkart will only retail the products of different brands.
 They will initiate local sourcing in order to check the
cost (Wu et al., 2014).
 Pricing of the products will determine the selling process
for Flipkart.
 Majority of the suppliers for Flipkart are big brands and
thus they cannot be influenced by the brand value for
Flipkart.
Threat of substitutes  Threat for substitutes is high for Flipkart.
 There are number of online shopping services operating
in the Australian market.
 Even though they are not selling diverse products like
Flipkart but still separate ones are selling different items.
 Customers will opt for the cheapest option and customer
loyalty is less in this sector (Ashraf, Thongpapanl &
Auh, 2014).

13INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
 Switching cost is also lower for the customers.
 Majority of the existing sites are Australian and
customers will have more preferences for the Australian
brands over Flipkart.
Threat of new entrants  Threat of new entrants is high for Flipkart.
 Starting business through online channels is much
easier.
 Thus, the probability of starting e-retailing business in
small scale is high.
 Australia is having higher rate of emergence of startups.
Hence, the threat of new entrants is high (Kim & Min,
2015).
 Amazon can also enter in the Australian market further
escalating the threat.
Competitive rivalry  Intensity of competitive rivalry is high.
 Majority of the sites offer huge discounts to attract more
customers.
 Flipkart is also known for their discounted marketing
strategy.
 They have also initiated predatory pricing in the past in
India (Gaudin & Mantzari, 2016).
 Thus, the competitiveness for Flipkart should be
maintained in the Australian market also.

14INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Conclusion
This report concluded that Australian market can provide huge market potentiality for
Flipkart with their favorable business environment. In this report, the internal competencies of
Flipkart are being identified along with discussing about their weaknesses. It is identified that the
demographic target customer segments for Flipkart constitute the largest portion of the total
population Australia. On the other hand, it is also identified that Flipkart will face high intensity
of substitute products in operating in the Australian market. This report concludes that some they
will face competitiveness in some elements of the industry and hence it is important for them to
have effective business strategies in order to mitigate these issues.
Based on the factors discussed above on how business is being influenced by external
factors, it’s important that when starting a business, these factors should be put into
considerations to ensure the success and general expansion of the business.
Justification on the decisions
The above decisions were arrived at based the PESTLE model analysis and other models
for start-up business. The other models were Orchestrate demand aggregation and setting up
modern franchise business, which is basically suitable for running one retailer shop.
Recommendations
 It is recommended that Flipkart should introduce more private level brands to have more
profitability in the market. This will enable them to reduce the bargaining power of the
suppliers.

15INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
 Flipkart should offer diverse products in the Australian market similar to their existing
strategy. This will help them to cover larger customer segments and increasing the sales
volume.
 They should also initiate localization strategy for certain products. This will help Flipkart
to cater to the preferences of the local customers in the Australian market.

16INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Reference
Ackermann, T. (2014). Competition law and consumer law: why we need a common consumer
model. In Varieties of European Economic Law and Regulation (pp. 439-458). Springer,
Cham.
Ashraf, A. R., Thongpapanl, N., & Auh, S. (2014). The application of the technology acceptance
model under different cultural contexts: The case of online shopping adoption. Journal of
International Marketing, 22(3), 68-93.
D. Newton, J., J. Newton, F., Turk, T., & T. Ewing, M. (2013). Ethical evaluation of audience
segmentation in social marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 47(9), 1421-1438.
Dutta, N., & Bhat, A. K. (2014). Flipkart: journey of an Indian e-commerce start-up. Emerald
Emerging Markets Case Studies, 4(7), 1-14.
Flipkart.com. (2018). Online Shopping Site for Mobiles, Fashion, Books, Electronics, Home
Appliances and More. Retrieved from https://www.flipkart.com/
Floh, A., Koller, M., & Zauner, A. (2013). Taking a deeper look at online reviews: The
asymmetric effect of valence intensity on shopping behaviour. Journal of Marketing
Management, 29(5-6), 646-670.
Gaudin, G., & Mantzari, D. (2016). Margin squeeze: an above-cost predatory pricing
approach. Journal of Competition Law & Economics, 12(1), 151-179.
Jiang, L., Yang, Z., & Jun, M. (2013). Measuring consumer perceptions of online shopping
convenience. Journal of Service Management, 24(2), 191-214.

17INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
Kim, S. K., & Min, S. (2015). Business model innovation performance: When does adding a new
business model benefit an incumbent?. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 9(1), 34-57.
knoema.com. (2018). Australia Adult literacy rate, 2007-2017 - knoema.com. Retrieved from
https://knoema.com/atlas/Australia/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate
Marketing Models (2014). Retrieved from: Source: https://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-
planning/marketing-models/pestle-analysis-model.
Neilson, J., Pritchard, B., & Yeung, H. W. C. (2014). Global value chains and global production
networks in the changing international political economy: An introduction. Review of
International Political Economy, 21(1), 1-8.
Prasad, C. S. D., & Rao, S. S. (2015). Competition in the Indian E-Commerce Sector: The Case
of Flipkart. Gavesana Journal of Management, 7(2), 22.
Prashar, S., Vijay, T. S., & Parsad, C. (2015). Antecedents to online shopping: Factors
influencing the selection of web portal. International Journal of E-Business Research
(IJEBR), 11(1), 35-55.
Ramli, R., Palil, M. R., Hassan, N. S. A., & Mustapha, A. F. (2015). Compliance costs of Goods
and Services Tax (GST) among small and medium enterprises. Jurnal Pengurusan (UKM
Journal of Management), 45.
Rupp, C., Kern, S., & Helmig, B. (2014). Segmenting nonprofit stakeholders to enable successful
relationship marketing: A review. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary
Sector Marketing, 19(2), 76-91.

18INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
statista.com. (2018). Australia: mobile phone internet user penetration 2016 | Statistic. Retrieved
from https://www.statista.com/statistics/309012/australia-mobile-phone-internet-user-
penetration/
transparency.org.au. (2018). Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2017 shows Australia falls
again. Retrieved from http://transparency.org.au/corruption-perceptions-index-cpi-2017-
shows-australia-falls-corruption-perceptions-index-scores/
Worldpopulationreview.com. (2018). Retrieved from
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/australia-population/
Wu, L. Y., Chen, K. Y., Chen, P. Y., & Cheng, S. L. (2014). Perceived value, transaction cost,
and repurchase-intention in online shopping: A relational exchange perspective. Journal
of Business Research, 67(1), 2768-2776.