Flipkart’s flipside: Rs. 9,999 tab off the rack from China!

India's leading e-commerce firm Flipkart purchases it's newly launched private label tablet brand, Digiflip Pro, from local manufacturers in China and sells it later on its online marketplace in India!

Digifilip Pro, launched by Flipkart a fortnight ago, is priced at ₹ 9,999.

Industry sources, however, told HT this is a "usual practice" and a growing trend with almost all upcoming Indian brands that take advantage of robust Chinese manufacturing capabilities.

"The Chinese tablet and smartphone manufacturers are willing to remain anonymous suppliers to anybody. So it only makes sense for firms to simply purchase tablets and sell under their own brand," an industry insider told HT requesting anonymity.

When contacted, Flipkart did not deny sourcing its Digifilip Pro from Chinese manufacturers.

"Our team went to China to meet and evaluate partners or manufacturers who design and make tablets. Our focus was to identify an ecosystem of partners who had similar product philosophies, manufacturing capabilities and understanding of the customer mind set," said Michael Adnani, vice-president for retail and head, brand alliances, Flipkart, in response to an e-mail from HT.

Experts said global brands such as Apple, Lenovo and HP already have manufacturing facilities in China. However, while these firms have the means to maintain a strict vigil on quality standards for each unit, it is not possible for a smaller brand or for companies that do not have their core competence in tech-hardware, to do so.