India-based Tata Group has announced it is in talks with potential investors about taking stakes in a new digital platform, seeking to modernise its consumer businesses.
Tata’s platform – an ecommerce gateway for its consumer products and services ranging from beverages to jewellery and resorts -- may seek to compete with Amazon and Walmart’s Indian venture Flipkart to tap the nascent market of more than 1 billion consumers.
While bringing in outside investors would lend credence to Tata’s digital initiative, it may also help the group pare debt after the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on its flagship businesses. The net debt of Tata Steel was USD 14 billion as of 30 June, while the net automotive debt of Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, was around USD 6.5 billion.
Tata Group already has a bunch of entrenched consumer businesses, many of which also have an online presence. The intention is to consolidate these currently fragmented web operations. As part of that drive, the conglomerate is building an all-in-one ecommerce app for its swathe of consumer products and services that is expected to be launched by end-2020 or early 2021.
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