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Infibeam
Company typePrivate Limited
IndustryInternet, E-Commerce
Founded2007 (2007)
FoundersVishal Mehta (CEO), Vijayakumar Subramanian (CIO), Sachin Oswal (COO), Ajay Chandra (CTO) [1]
Headquarters
Ahmedabad
,
India
Area served
India, Middle East
Revenue₹ 1,000 Crores[2] (as of November 2013)
Number of employees
1300 (2015)
Websitewww.infibeam.com


Infibeam is an Internet and E-commerce conglomerate involved in Online Retailing, E-Commerce Software and Internet Services. The company is 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][5] Infibeam also launched an e-book reader, Infibeam Pi, its successor Pi2, and a media device, Infibeam Phi.

History

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.[6][7] He funded the company by selling his personal assets rather than opting for external equity funding.[8] The company was started with an initial capital of ₹ 10-15 crores.[9] Infibeam.com started as an automobile portal in 2007, but later turned into an online retailer.[10] In 2010, Infibeam launched 'Pi', India's first e-book reader.[11][12]

Acquisitions

In 2008, Infibeam acquired Picsquare.com, a personalized photo printing website. In 2014, it acquired Odigma, a digital marketing company for $5mn.[13]

Businesses

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".[14] The turnover of the company was reported to be ₹ 1000 Crores as of November 2013.[2]

Online Retailing

Infibeam.com, the online retail website of the company, sells books, electronics and lifestyle products.[15] The website has a selection of 1.2 Crore products across books, electronics, lifestyle, gifts and media.[7] In 2011, the company established Infibeam Logistics, its own logistics arm in major Indian cities.[16] In September 2010, infibeam was among Economic Times's Top 5 Digital Brands in the e-commerce category.[17] Infibeam's acquisition of customer base at very low cost has been recorded as a B-school case study by Ivey Publishing.[18] Infibeam is the only authorised online seller of iPhones in India.[19][20]

E-Commerce Platform

Main article: Buildabazaar

Infibeam extended its e-commerce platform to build online stores for HiDesign, TTK Prestige[21] and Crossword Bookstores[22] and NDTV Shopping[23][24] In 2011, the e-commerce platform was opened to everyone through Buildabazaar, which allows users to create their own web store.[25] Buildabazaar was awarded ‘The Game Changing Idea of The Year’ Award by The Economic Times at ET RETAIL AWARD 2014.[26]

E-Ticketing Platform

The company also builds e-ticketing service platform for Travel businesses, Theme Parks, etc. An end to end park ticketing solution was built for Adlabs imagica by Infibeam in July 2013.[27] The company also built a ticketing reservation platform for Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) to automate meet and assist services provided by GVK.[28]

Music Streaming Platform

Infibeam Digital Entertainment (INDENT), a subsidiary of Infibeam established in 2012, builds Music Streaming and Download Platform solutions for Music Lables, Brands and OEMs.[29] In 2013, the company built Sony Music's Jive HD streaming and downloading app embedded in Sony's Xperia smartphones.[30]

Digital Marketing Services

The company offers Digital Marketing Services through its subsidiary ODIGMA, which it acquired in 2014.[31] ODIGMA employs 70 people and serves digital marketing campaigns for around 400 brands.[32]

Generic Top Level Domain Registry

Main article: .ooo

Infibeam owns the license of the generic top level domain (GTLD) '.ooo' granted by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It launched the '.ooo' domain for trademark holders on 22 September 2014.[33][34]

Logistics Aggregation Platform

ShipDroid, a logistics aggregation platform was launched in January 2015, to provide uniformity of logistics services to small merchants across all courier partners. The platform covers 20,000 pincdes across 600 cities. The platform allows merchants to choose mode of delivery such as surface, rail or air mode and also can opt for for delivery commitment SLAs such as express delivery or regular delivery.[35][36][37]

Marketplace

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.[38]

E-book Reader

Infibeam Pi

In February 2010, Infibeam launched Pi, an e-book reader that uses E Ink electronic paper technology.[6] Pi has a six inch screen with eight level grey scale non-backlit display.[39][40] The device has the capability to play music files, read word documents and supports 13 Indian Languages.[6][41] It has an internal memory of 512MB, that can store 300 books and supports external memory up to 4GB.[42] The device, which is less than 10 mm thick, weighs 180 gm.[43]

Pi2

In 2011, Infibeam launched the second version of its eBook readers and named it Pi2.[44] 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.[44] The company has 5 lakh ebooks on its webstore which can be directly accessed from the ebook reader through Wifi to purchase ebooks.[45] Infibeam followed up the Pi2 with an Android tablet called Phi.[46]

References

  1. ^ Maulik Pathak. "Infibeam plans Rs1,000 crore IPO in the next six months". Live Mint. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Umarji, Vinay (1 November 2013). "Infibeam to foray into UAE market". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  3. ^ Tanvi Dubey and Francesca Ferrario. "Breaking the invisible barrier – 40 women entrepreneurs in India you should know". http://her.yourstory.com. Retrieved 6 February 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  4. ^ "Ahmedabad-based e-tailer Infibeam to increase headcount by 2015". The Times Of India. 9 May 2013.
  5. ^ Rai, Anand. "How E-com Firm Infibeam Is Managing Without External Funding". techcircle.in. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b "Infibeam Expands Logistics To Mumbai And Bangalore". SiliconIndia. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  8. ^ S. Prem Kumar. "Infibeam's double-edged strategy". The Smart CEO. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  9. ^ Suresh P. Iyengar (6 October 2013). "No competitors here, all are partners". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  10. ^ Pahwa, Nikhil. "Confirmed: Infibeam Acquires Picsquare.com". MediaNama. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  11. ^ "India gets 2nd e-book reader Wink XTS". The Times of India. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  12. ^ Juneja, Manjari (31 May 2010). "e-book readers: the Indian angle". Express Computer - Financial Express. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  13. ^ Pandit, Virendra (24 February 2014). "Infibeam acquires digital marketer ODigMa for $5 mn". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  14. ^ Rohin Dharmakumar (13 May 2013). "How the Rise of Third Party Marketplaces can Alter Indian E-Commerce". Forbes India. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Inside Indian e-commerce Bazaar". The Times of India. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  16. ^ Nandana Das. "Infibeam Logistics Expands Operations To Mumbai & Bangalore". techcircle.in. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  17. ^ Economic Times, September 1, 2010:“Top Digital Brands- Category Wise http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-09-01/news/27615919_1_yahoo-indiatimes-linkedin
  18. ^ Shramana Ganguly (21 March 2013). "B-schools to teach Infibeam.com case study". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  19. ^ Aulakh, Gulveen (29 September 2014). "Offline retailers may boycott iPhone 6 as iPhone 5S being offered at discounted prices on e-commerce sites". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  20. ^ "Apple Catalogue & Internet Resellers". www.apple.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  21. ^ "TTK Prestige Announces e-Commerce Alliance with Infibeam.com". The Economic Times. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  22. ^ S. Prem Kumar. "Infibeam's double-edged strategy". The Smart CEO. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  23. ^ “Infibeam.com & NDTV Enter Into eCommerce Alliance”, ecommwire.com. http://ecommwire.com/?id=42197=Retrieved 2011-04-30
  24. ^ Hidesign Website Uses Infibeam.com's Technology Platform
  25. ^ "Infibeam launches 'Build a Bazaar' to help create own online store brand". www.siliconindia.com. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  26. ^ Suman Pokhiyal (7 April 2014). "Infibeam is conferred with 'The Game Changing Idea of The Year' Award by The Economic Times at ET RETAIL AWARD -2014". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  27. ^ "Adlabs Imagica, Infibeam tie up". 24 July 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  28. ^ . The Hindu Business Line. 5 September 2014 http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/gvk-infibeam-tie-up-for-guest-services-at-mumbai-airport/article6383630.ece. Retrieved 30 September 2014. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ Vikas SN. "Infibeam Launches Indent Platform For Digital Music Services; Partners Sony Music India". MediaNama. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  30. ^ Brindaalakshmi K. "Infibeam's Indent Powers Sony Music Jive Service For Xperia for all Phones". MediaNama. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  31. ^ Priyanka Sahay (7 August 2014). "Infibeam.com now enables link-offs to third party merchant sites for completing sales". Tech Circle. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  32. ^ Amit Shanbaug (11 November 2013). "Advit Sahdev's ODigMa: A Rs 6 crore online marketing company built from Rs 2 lakh". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  33. ^ "Infibeam to offer '.ooo' for '.com-savvy' netizens". The Hindu Business Line. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  34. ^ Mishra, Piyush (26 September 2014). "Ahmedabad firm introduces DOT TRIPPLE O power domain for internet". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  35. ^ "Infibeam introduces logistics platform for online merchants". Business Line. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  36. ^ Chitra Unnithan (31 Jan 2015). "Infibeam introduces logistic platform for merchants". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  37. ^ Vivek Pai. "Infibeam launches logistics services marketplace ShipDroid". http://www.medianama.com. MediaNama. Retrieved 3 February 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  38. ^ "Indian platform www.dhamaal.com launched for traders". The Economic Times. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  39. ^ Pooja Chaturvedi (30 May 2010). "E-book reader for Indian languages". Live Mint. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  40. ^ 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. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. ^ Poonam Singhal. "Indian ebook reader : Pi – Kindle's rival". Moneymint.in. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  42. ^ Dhamini Ratnam (3 February 2010). "India serves Amazon, Apple some humble Pi". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  43. ^ Puneet Mehrotra (23 October 2010). "Desi Ebook Readers in India". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  44. ^ a b Mahananda Bohidar (23 March 2011). "Reason enough to go digital? Infibeam Pi 2". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  45. ^ "Infibeam launches Infibeam Pi2 e-reader". Times of India. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  46. ^ "Infibeam Phi". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFfjC4ANk58. OnlyGeek. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
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