When it was announced that Mukesh Ambani, the richest man of India, has purchased London’s oldest Toys seller Hamleys for 88 Million USD, some made jokes that he wants to sell toys while some said he just purchased it because he can. But in reality, Ambani is a master strategist and he is silently building an E-Comm Empire.
Hamleys has a global presence and Reliance Group can make use of it greatly. With the toy store in his hand, the billionaire commands 167 stores in 18 countries and this will bring him fortunes. Hamleys is no ordinary toy store chain. It is a 259 year old famous Britain manufacturer and to be in the industry for that many years needs innovation and popularity.
So with this, Reliance gets the opportunity to earn more in the Toys Division. As per Mint, Reliance is interested in buying and expanding Haptik Infotech, an AI powered customer support chat service provider for 101 Million USD. Reliance is also going to secure assistance from Radisys, an American Tech company to boost its 5G and IoT presence. Ambani’s company will also buy Grab a Grub – an Indian logistics company so that it could help Reliance deliver foodies and goodies to the door-steps of customers.
Ambani is clearly partnering or buying everything he needs to develop an Indian E-Commerce platform. It is clear he has the money and the strategies but how can he get large number of customers, one may ask.
In India alone there will be 829 Million smartphone users in 2029, as per CISCO’s report. It is obvious that Mukesh did not invest 36 Billion USD on Jio. The world will become smartphone dependant for its consumer-needs. We are already buying a lot from online, be it food, gadgets, clothes and much more. Mukesh Ambani is investing on the future and working smarter in the present so that he may take control of India’s E-comm Treasures.
And with Hamleys’ purchase, he could soon make is Reliance’s name echo around the world. Watchout Flipkart, Mukesh is cooking a desi E-comm empire.