Infibeam

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Infibeam
Infibeam Logo.jpg
Infibeam logo
Web address www.infibeam.com
Slogan Shop With A Smile
Commercial? Yes
Type of site Online shopping
(E-commerce)
Registration Optional
Available in Multilingual
Owner Vishal Mehta
Launched 2007
Revenue 1000 Crores[1] (as of November 2013)
Alexa rank Increase 1844 (May 2013)[2]
Current status Online

Infibeam is an e-commerce company headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. It is an online retailer for books, electronics, and automobiles in India. Started in 2007, the company has offices in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, and has a total of 1300 employees.[3][4] Infibeam also launched an e-book reader, Infibeam Pi, its successor Pi2, and a media device, Infibeam Phi.

History[edit]

Infibeam was founded in 2007 by Vishal Mehta, a Cornell and MIT Sloan alumni. After working for Dell computers and Amazon.com in the US for five years, Mehta returned to India in 2007 and started Infibeam along with a group of ex-Amazon employees.[5][6] He funded the company by selling his personal assets rather than opting for external equity funding.[7] Infibeam.com started as an automobile portal in 2007, but later turned into an online retailer.[8] In 2010, Infibeam launched 'Pi', India's first e-book reader.[9][10]

Acquisitions[edit]

In 2008, Infibeam acquired Picsquare.com, a personalized photo printing website. In 2014, it acquired Odigma, a digital marketing company for $5mn.[11]

Businesses[edit]

Infibeam's businesses include online retailing through its flagship website 'infibeam.com', e-commerce platform software service through 'buildabazaar.com', e-commerce marketplace 'dhamaal.com' and its own branded e-book reader. The strategy of Infibeam was described by Forbes as "that seems to defy most standard models".[12] The turnover of the company was reported to be Rs.1000 Crores as of November 2013.[13]

Online Retailing[edit]

Infibeam.com, the online retail website of the company, sells books, electronics and lifestyle products.[14] The website has a selection of 1.2 Crore products across books, electronics, lifestyle, gifts and media.[6] In 2011, the company established Infibeam Logistics, its own logistics arm in major Indian cities.[15] In September 2010, infibeam was among Economic Times's Top 5 Digital Brands in the e-commerce category.[16] Infibeam's acquisition of customer base at very low cost has been recorded as a B-school case study by Ivey Publishing.[17]

E-Commerce Platform[edit]

Main article: Buildabazaar

Infibeam extended its e-commerce platform to build online stores for HiDesign, TTK Prestige[18] and Crossword Bookstores[19] and NDTV Shopping[20][21] In 2011, the e-commerce platform was opened to everyone through Buildabazaar, which allows users to create their own web store.[22]

Marketplace[edit]

In August 2013, Infibeam launched the e-commerce marketplace Dhamaal.com in association with CCAvenues. Dhamaal has a selection of 1.5 crore products. The website which is built on Buildabazaar platform, is also extended as co-branded marketplace with 50 Indian banks.[23]

E-book Reader[edit]

Infibeam Pi

In February 2010, Infibeam launched Pi, an e-book reader that uses E Ink electronic paper technology.[5] Pi has a six inch screen with eight level grey scale non-backlit display.[24][25] The device has the capability to play music files, read word documents and supports 13 Indian Languages.[5][26] It has an internal memory of 512MB, that can store 300 books and supports external memory up to 4GB.[27] The device, which is less than 10 mm thick, weighs 180 gm.[28]

Pi2

In 2011, Infibeam launched the second version of its eBook readers and named it Pi2.[29] Pi2 is a touchscreen device and has wireless connectivity. It has 2GB of internal memory and expandable up to 32GB through external SD card slot. The battery power is claimed to last up to 8000 page reads.[29] The company has 5 lakh ebooks on its webstore which can be directly accessed from the ebook reader through Wifi to purchase ebooks.[30] Infibeam followed up the Pi2 with an Android tablet called Phi.[31]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ Umarji, Vinay (1 November 2013). "Infibeam to foray into UAE market". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 November 2013. 
  2. Jump up ^ "Infibeam.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-05-04. 
  3. Jump up ^ "Ahmedabad-based e-tailer Infibeam to increase headcount by 2015". The Times Of India. 9 May 2013. 
  4. Jump up ^ Rai, Anand. "How E-com Firm Infibeam Is Managing Without External Funding". techcircle.in. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sruthijith KK (28 January 2010). "Indian innovation to give Amazon's Kindle run for its money". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 April 2013. 
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Infibeam Expands Logistics To Mumbai And Bangalore". SiliconIndia. Retrieved 10 August 2013. 
  7. Jump up ^ S. Prem Kumar. "Infibeam’s double-edged strategy". The Smart CEO. Retrieved 29 April 2013. 
  8. Jump up ^ Pahwa, Nikhil. "Confirmed: Infibeam Acquires Picsquare.com". MediaNama. Retrieved 29 April 2013. 
  9. Jump up ^ "India gets 2nd e-book reader Wink XTS". The Times of India. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  10. Jump up ^ Juneja, Manjari (31 May 2010). "e-book readers: the Indian angle". Express Computer - Financial Express. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  11. Jump up ^ Pandit, Virendra (24 February 2014). "Infibeam acquires digital marketer ODigMa for $5 mn". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2 March 2014. 
  12. Jump up ^ Rohin Dharmakumar (13 May 2013). "How the Rise of Third Party Marketplaces can Alter Indian E-Commerce". Forbes India. Retrieved 10 June 2013. 
  13. Jump up ^ Umarji, Vinay (1 November 2013). "Infibeam to foray into UAE market". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 November 2013. 
  14. Jump up ^ "Inside Indian e-commerce Bazaar". The Times of India. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2013. 
  15. Jump up ^ Nandana Das. "Infibeam Logistics Expands Operations To Mumbai & Bangalore". techcircle.in. Retrieved 4 May 2013. 
  16. Jump up ^ Economic Times, September 1, 2010:“Top Digital Brands- Category Wise http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-09-01/news/27615919_1_yahoo-indiatimes-linkedin
  17. Jump up ^ Shramana Ganguly (21 March 2013). "B-schools to teach Infibeam.com case study". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 August 2013. 
  18. Jump up ^ "TTK Prestige Announces e-Commerce Alliance with Infibeam.com". The Economic Times. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2013. 
  19. Jump up ^ S. Prem Kumar. "Infibeam’s double-edged strategy". The Smart CEO. Retrieved 4 May 2013. 
  20. Jump up ^ “Infibeam.com & NDTV Enter Into eCommerce Alliance”, ecommwire.com. http://ecommwire.com/?id=42197=Retrieved 2011-04-30
  21. Jump up ^ Hidesign Website Uses Infibeam.com's Technology Platform
  22. Jump up ^ "Infibeam launches 'Build a Bazaar' to help create own online store brand". www.siliconindia.com. Retrieved 17 April 2012. 
  23. Jump up ^ "Indian platform www.dhamaal.com launched for traders". The Economic Times. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013. 
  24. Jump up ^ Pooja Chaturvedi (30 May 2010). "E-book reader for Indian languages". Live Mint. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  25. Jump up ^ Infibeam Pi: Is this India's killer IT product?. [Infibeam Pi: Is this India's killer IT product? "Infibeam Pi: Is this India's killer IT product?"]. Rediff. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  26. Jump up ^ Poonam Singhal. "Indian ebook reader : Pi – Kindle’s rival". Moneymint.in. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  27. Jump up ^ Dhamini Ratnam (3 February 2010). "India serves Amazon, Apple some humble Pi". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  28. Jump up ^ Puneet Mehrotra (23 October 2010). "Desi Ebook Readers in India". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Mahananda Bohidar (23 March 2011). "Reason enough to go digital? Infibeam Pi 2". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 4 May 2013. 
  30. Jump up ^ "Infibeam launches Infibeam Pi2 e-reader". Times of India. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012. 
  31. Jump up ^ "Infibeam Phi". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFfjC4ANk58. OnlyGeek. 

External links[edit]

Infibeam

Infibeam looks for tie-ups, eyes inorganic growth

Sony Music buys 26% stake in Infibeam Digital

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