Amazon acquires Perpule, An Indian Startup that is helping offline retail stores go online

Amazon has recently acquired Perpule, an Indian retail startup in an all-cash deal worth US$14.7 million. According to company sources, the American e-commerce giant is expected to pay additional remuneration to startup employees which may increase the overall deal value by $5 million. As per reports, most of the Perpule’s staff including the co-founders Saketh BSV, Abhinav Pathak, and Yogesh Ghartule are expected to join Amazon.

This is Amazon’s latest attempt to make inroads in the world’s second-most populous country where people still prefer to buy from brick-and-mortar shops. With this, Amazon plans to up its game in the neighborhood stores-tech space as it would now leverage the startup’s offering ‘UltraPoS’ which is a cloud-based product that helps the offline stores of all sizes to digitally automate and manage inventory, billings, and purchase orders from distributors.

In the last few years, Amazon has been engaging aggressively with local stores in India by using its vast presence in the country to widen its delivery network and warehouses. What drove Amazon’s push into the physical retail space was when last year Facebook and Google backed e-commerce platforms Flipkart and Reliance Jio raised more than $20 billion in a race to capture the market. This acquisition by Amazon has come in less than a week after Google backed a startup, DotPe that offers similar products.

India has over 30 million neighborhood stores that offer all kinds of items and are often family-run, give litter to no rent for the premises, and pay low wages. According to industry estimates, no retail giant can offer delivery faster than these local retail stores. Moreover, their economics are better than that of their digital counterparts. With this acquisition, Amazon aims to offers better growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes in India while raising the bar of shopping experience for the consumers.

Founded in 2016, the startup is one of the fastest growing retail-tech companies in India. Its flagship product UltraPoS is a complete store management solution that enables anywhere, anytime billing. The cloud-based SaaS product from Perpule eliminates the need for computers and bulky servers at the store. According to the company, it reduces the billing counter size by up to 40 percent and helps increase revenue and sales through an AI and data-driven approach.

Perpule’s initial offering is being used by many retail brands in India such as- Big Bazaar, Vishal Mega Mart, Foodhall, Spencer’s , More, HyperCITY, and many more. Perpule is focused on building a commerce platform for the country.

The Bangalore-based startup counts Kalaari Capital, Venture Highway, Raghunandan G (co-founder of TaxiForSure), and Prime Ventures Partners as their primary investors. Perpule has managed to raise close to $6.4 million to date from its investors latest being in January 2020 from a Series A round. The startup expanded geographically last year by bringing its offerings to Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.