Snapdeal picks up stake in delivery firm GoJavas

Snapdeal has picked up a minority stake in fellow-Indian logistics firm GoJavas at a cost of Rs150-200 crore, according to reports.

The stake purchase in a logistics firm is part of its aim for ten-fold growth in volumes in the next two to three years.

The company has refused to comment on the matter. When contacted, Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal merely said Snapdeal is open to more such partnerships with other logistics companies.

Bansal said the company is planning to offer 4-hour deliveries in the next few months across top 10 cities in India.

He clarified that the partnership and stake acquisition did not bar GoJavas from doing business with other e-commerce players; neither did it bar Snapdeal from using services of other logistics companies.

Experts say Snapdeal is keeping away from putting in place its own in-house logistics unlike its competitors in the e-marketplace. It aims at continuing with third-party delivery service providers such as Blue Dart, GoJavas, and Ecom Express.

Founded in 2013, GoJavas is an Indian supply chain solution provider that serves around 30,000 buyers per day in 85 cities. It currently has clients such as Jabong.com, Fabfurnish, Healthkart, Yepme and Lenskart.

Speaking after the GoJavas partnership, co-founder Bansal said Snapdeal is looking to do 5-6 acquisitions this calendar year and areas of interest would be big data and mobile technology.

Snapdeal covers 5,000 cities and towns across the country, including all pin codes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, over 1,100 pin codes in northeastern states, almost all of Jammu and Kashmir (including Leh and Ladakh).