We're obsessed with customer, not competition, says Amazon's VP

On Wednesday, global e-retailer Amazon completed a year in India.

In an email interview, Amit Agarwal, vice-president and country manager, Amazon India, tells Anusha Soni e-commerce will get a boost once foreign investment is allowed in the sector.

He talks about the company’s achievements, plans to enter new categories and growing competition in online retailing. Excerpts:

How has Amazon’s experience in India been?

Amazon started its journey in India in February 2012, with the launch of Junglee.com (a comparison shopping site from the group).

We launched marketplace Amazon.in on June 5, 2013. The past 12 months have been exciting for us. We are thrilled by the response from customers and sellers alike.

We started with two categories — books, and movies & TV shows. In less than a year, our total selection stands at more than 15 million products, across 28 categories.

We started with over 100 sellers; today, this base has grown to over 5,000. For us, it’s truly ‘Day 1’ and we are committed to aggressively invest through the long term and relentlessly focus on raising the bar for online shopping experience in India.

Today, more about 35 per cent of our traffic is through mobiles.

Globally, Amazon.in has already emerged as the fastest-growing m-commerce site for Amazon. Our philosophy of working backwards, starting from the customer, is what drives our growth and success.

What new categories will you explore?

Our global vision is to be the world’s most customer-centric company and enable customers to find, discover, and buy anything online.

In line with that, you will see us work backwards from the consumers and retailers, and invent on their behalf. This is with a goal of providing a vast range of products at everyday prices, with fast and reliable delivery and a convenient and trustworthy shopping experience. Stay tuned.

How many cities and towns do you reach?

Amazon Logistics is our logistics arm; it manages all the logistics in India. We have our own logistics staff, besides external carrier partners such as Blue Dart, FedEx and Gati.

To ensure last-mile delivery, even in the far corners of India, we have partnered India Post, which helps us reach about 19,000 pin codes across 35 states. So, we work with a combination. We have two fulfilment centres — in Mumbai and Bangalore — each about 150,000 sq ft.

These centres have the capacity to stock and store millions of products across categories from sellers, using Amazon’s fulfilment.

Today, about 60 per cent of our customer demand is already eligible for next-day shipping on products fulfilled by Amazon.

Are you planning delivery innovations?

We are running pilots of ‘Amazon pickups’ in Delhi and Mumbai. In Bangalore, we have identified and trained the staff at small kiosks and stores run by individual entrepreneurs; these will be our shipment pick-up points.

We are also the first ones in India to offer scheduled delivery for large appliances such as TVs; customers can choose the time slot for the delivery of TVs. Right now, this service is available in Mumbai.

What do you think about competition in India? Who do you see as competition?

The Indian e-commerce space is still at a very nascent stage, with significant potential for innovation to improve customer experience.

We believe growth is at an inflection point and there is a tremendous opportunity. We believe there is room for multiple formats, players and, most importantly, for innovation.

We remain customer-obsessed, not competition-focused.

We will relentlessly focus on expanding sellers and selection on the platform, innovate on various customer touch-points and provide fast and reliable delivery services.

In the areas of payment and delivery, or vertical acquisitions/category-specific, can we expect acquisitions here by Amazon in the coming 12-18 months?

As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on plans.

The government may allow foreign direct investment (FDI)in e-commerce. How will that affect your business? Will Amazon shift from a marketplace to an inventory-led model?

We believe opening this sector to FDI will be good for consumers and Indian businesses, as it will allow us to partner local manufacturers to source products not carried by other sellers, through the marketplace model, giving Indian consumers unique and wider choices at lower prices.

Allowing FDI will also positively impact infrastructure development in the country.

Where do you see Amazon a year from now? In India, what will Amazon be known for?

Our vision is to build a place where people can come to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online.

We will continue to focus on three key aspects — selection of products; enjoyable, reliable and trustworthy online shopping experience; and building quick and convenient delivery mechanisms.

Today, books, consumer electronics, baby products and shoes are among our strongest categories.