Amazon, one of the world’s largest online retailers, announced it has pumped in Rs 284 crore in Amazon Retail, the unit which sells grocery and food items on the India marketplace, according to regulatory documents sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler.
The current funding is a result of rising demand for grocery and food items in India post the government’s announcement of countrywide lockdown. As per a media report, the capital infusion was approved last month before the lockdown began. Amazon’s Singapore and Mauritius-based entities have infused the capital.
The food retail unit plays a critical role in fulfilling orders for Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh, the two primary vehicles for selling essential items. The company is currently seeing a continuous rise in order volumes and now has restarted deliveries in select areas of about 40 cities.
The latest capital infusion will only mean the Seattle-based e-retailer’s local arm would further scale up the grocery and food retailing business as consumers are expected to further curtail their spending on non-essential items. An email sent to Amazon India did not elicit any response on the matter, reported in a media article.
Earlier, Amazon Retail had received about Rs 172 crore in new capital in October. Prior to that, it got another set of investment worth Rs 240 crore.
Earlier this year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the introduction of electric delivery rickshaws and promised investments worth $1billion in its three-day visit to India.
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