Chennai: Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba is re-evaluating its strategy for the India market after making disappointing investments in Snapdeal and Paytm Mall, according to reports.The Jack Ma-led company is considering making more vertical e-commerce investments and smaller early-stage funding rather than horizontal investments, sources said. Alibaba’s experiences in India have made the company review potential investment areas and size of funding, a report from Mint said.
“Alibaba truly believes that e-commerce can change the lives of millions of people. But after their experience in India, today if an e-commerce firm comes to them, they will be a lot more cautious to see how it will differentiate from every other existing game in town,” a source said.
In India, Paytm, Zomato, and BigBasket are Alibaba’s most successful investments. The company is mulling deals with vertical e-commerce firms, or specialized portals, in India, the report said. Amazon and Flipkart already hold the lion’s share of the horizontal e-commerce marketplace.
“While Alibaba is still bullish on India, it will look for more vertical e-commerce firms to invest in, which will provide support to its existing business,” a source told the publication. Alibaba’s $2-million investment in video analytics firm Vidooly is its most recent deal in India.
If Alibaba revamps its strategy, it could give stiff competition to rival Tencent, whose investments in Flipkart, Ola and Swiggy have been successful.