In an announcement on Friday, Albinder Dhindsa, the founder of Blinkit, revealed that the quick commerce firm, owned by Zomato, will now offer delivery of eyewear products from Lenskart in under 10 minutes. This partnership allows Blinkit customers to access Lenskart.com products swiftly, initially focusing on sunglasses and Lenskart’s Hustlr range, which includes computer glasses. Dhindsa expressed curiosity about the evolution of the Hustlr brand over time.

The expansion of quick commerce services beyond groceries is evident as various categories such as beauty, toys, health, and electronics witness significant sales growth on such platforms. For instance, Arindam Paul, a founding member and CBO at Atomberg, recently shared on LinkedIn that the company has started selling its products on a quick commerce platform, maintaining the same prices as offered on other e-commerce platforms.

Additionally, Blinkit recently announced its availability of PlayStation 5 on its platform. Dhindsa noted that Blinkit customers in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru can now have the all-new PlayStation 5 Slim editions and controllers delivered within 10 minutes. However, due to high demand, the product quickly went out of stock within a week of its launch. Dhindsa reassured customers on LinkedIn that the company is actively working on restocking PlayStation 5 units at its stores to meet demand.

Indiamart, a prominent B2B e-commerce platform, has announced the appointment of Jitin Diwan as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective May 15, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Diwan brings over 17 years of experience to his new role, having previously served as the Head of Finance (Vice President) at Upstox Securities and holding positions at companies like Amazon India, Bharti Airtel Limited, and Vodafone.

Diwan will succeed Prateek Chandra, the current CFO, who will transition into a new role within the company as Chief Strategy Officer starting June 15.

The filing also revealed Indiamart’s recent investments totaling Rs 1100 Cr in pursuing inorganic growth opportunities across B2B, Fintech, Logistics, and business SAAS sectors. It mentioned acquisitions of Busy Infotech and Livekeeping Technologies, along with multiple minority investments. To further nurture and grow these investee companies while exploring organic and inorganic growth opportunities, Indiamart has created the new role of Chief Strategy Officer.

Furthermore, Indiamart has appointed Nikhil S. Prabhakar as its Chief Information Officer. Prabhakar, with over 13 years of experience, brings expertise in business management, sales management, product management, and leadership. Before joining Indiamart, he was associated with companies like Pristyn Care, Ola Financial Services, and Bharti Airtel.

In addition to these appointments, Dinesh Chandra Agarwal has been re-appointed as the Managing Director and CEO for a term of 5 years, effective from January 8, 2025.

Clicktech, a prominent seller on Amazon India, is in the process of acquiring its counterpart, Appario, as part of Amazon’s strategy to divest stakes in sellers operating on its platform. Appario holds the distinction of being the largest seller on Amazon India, particularly after the cessation of Cloudtail’s operations, and facilitates a considerable volume of orders for the local branch of the US-based e-commerce giant. This marks the second instance where Amazon is divesting its stake from a seller entity in compliance with local e-commerce regulations.

In addition to acquiring Appario, Amazon is also set to fully acquire Frontizo Business Services, the parent company of Appario, from its joint venture partner, Patni Group. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontizo, Appario will subsequently become owned by Clicktech.

Raj Jain, the executive director of Clicktech, explained the rationale behind the acquisition, stating that Clicktech envisions scaling and expanding its operations by broadening its product offerings on the marketplace. Consequently, the decision to purchase Appario’s business aligns with Clicktech’s growth strategy.

Both Frontizo and Appario spokespersons confirmed the transactions, albeit without disclosing specific deal details.

Clicktech is promoted by the Vinod Poddar group, which holds diverse interests spanning steel and coal processing, real estate, and plastics.

Appario stood as the final major seller on Amazon in which the e-commerce giant itself held a stake. In October 2022, Amazon announced its intention to gradually remove Appario from its platform over the following year. This decision came amidst protests from smaller sellers and mounting regulatory pressures. Subsequently, on November 24 of the preceding year, Economic Times reported that Amazon and Patni Group, the joint venture partner of Appario Retail, were actively exploring diverse options to enable Appario Retail to sustain its presence and continue selling on the marketplace.