E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has launched an in-house home appliances and personal healthcare brand Citron. This is the third private label the company has launched, including its lifestyle private label Flippd and the consumer electronics and digital accessories brand Digiflip.
The company claims the Citron product range will include electric kettles, sandwich makers, pop-up toasters and hand blenders under the home appliances category, and hair straighteners, dryers and shavers and trimmers in the personal healthcare category. It also claimed that prices for its home appliances products will range between Rs 500 and Rs 999, while its personal healthcare products will be priced between Rs 549 and Rs 949.
Flipkart currently lists five shavers and trimmers, a couple of hair dryers and a hair straightener under the Citron brand. The company said it will expand its product line over the next three months, to include irons, juicers, mixers, induction cooktops etc.
With this launch, Flipkart will now have self-branded products in four categories, Digiflip in consumer electronics, Flippd in apparels and Citron in home appliances and personal healthcare. Digiflip, which launched in July 2012, initially started by selling electronic accessories like laptop bags, computer peripherals etc., but recently branched into self-branded devices with the launch of a 7-inch Android tablet in July this year. Currently tablets, mobile portable chargers, mouse, headsets, mobile speakers and backpacks, among others are sold by the company under this brand. Flippd was launched in January this year and currently lists products under men’s casual shoes, slippers and flip flops, casual and party wear shirts, women’s shorts and leggings and t-shirts.
Other developments:
- Last week, Flipkart Marketplace started offering sellers on its platform access to easy loans through lending partners Capital Float and Lendingkart.
- Flipkart signed an MoU with the Textile Ministry last month that will let Flipkart list products from rural Indian handloom weavers and craftsmen on its platform.
- In similar tie-ups, Flipkart entered into an MoU with FISME (Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises) and NCDPD (National Center for Design and Product Development) in June this year which would bring products from 50,000 SMEs to the company’s marketplace
- In July, Flipkart raised $1 billion investment from existing investors Tiger Global and Naspers, with participation from Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, DST Global and Accel Partners.
- The company had also raised $210 million from DST Global and existing investors in May this year, and $360 million from Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Sofina, Vulcan Capital, and Tiger Global late last year.
- Earlier in May Flipkart had acquired online fashion store Myntra and had stated plans of investing upward of $100 million into Myntra in the near future.