Snapdeal ties up with DEN for TV shopping venture

Online marketplace Snapdeal.com today said it has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Indian television distribution company DEN Networks to launch a 'TV commerce' channel to be called 'DEN Snapdeal TV Shop'.

The 50:50 joint venture aims to create a multi-nodal electronic shopping avenue for customers.

The venue is currently available for viewers on channel number 132 on the DEN cable network and will be extended to other cable and DTH networks in the course of the next six months, Snapdeal said in a statement.

DEN Networks reaches to about 13 million households in over 200 cities across 13 states in the country. Snapdeal.com will leverage this distribution network of DEN to provide customers easy access to the wide assortment of products across home, lifestyle and electronics categories with great value deals.

''Innovation lies at the heart of Snapdeal.com and with this initiative we are taking yet another step to fulfill our promise of providing accessibility to the best products at best prices to consumers across India. We are delighted to partner with a likeminded brand like DEN Networks which enjoys massive reach and brand loyalty across the entire country and especially in smaller towns of India,'' said Kunal Bahl, co-founder and chief executive Snapdeal.com.

''India is a country with many heterogeneous segments of consumers, and we believe that by reaching 150 million households with 600 million people that have a TV, we can create another revolution through TV Commerce,'' Bahl added.

Snapdeal aims to take the DEN TV shop to 100 million households across India over the next 12 months.

The joint venture will benefit customers who have limited access to internet services, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities, who are further hampered by lack of physical access to top retail products and brands at competitive prices, the company said.

Bahl said, ''India is a country with many heterogeneous segments of consumers, and we believe that by reaching 150 million households with 600 million people that have a TV, we can create another revolution through TV Commerce.

Sameer Manchanda, chairman and managing director of DEN Networks, said, ''Together we aim to offer the customers a wide assortment of products and provide them with a hassle-free buying experience. The response to the pilot has been extremely encouraging and we are sure DEN Snapdeal TV Shop will be well received by our viewers."