With exclusive launches almost becoming a norm with e-tailers of late, rivals Flipkart and Amazon announced an exclusive tie-up each in the electronics segment.
While Amazon has tied up with Lenovo to exclusively launch Lenovo S5000 tablets, Flipkart has inked a deal with Taiwanese electronics gaming brand Micro-Star International (MSI) for its gaming laptops.
Amazon had strengthened its position in the gaming space a couple of weeks ago with an exclusive tie-up with Microsoft, wherein the entire range of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business portfolio, including Xbox One, Xbox 360, Kinect, Xbox Live, is available on Amazon from September 1.
The Lenovo tablets were made available on Amazon from September 5, at a price of Rs 10,999. “We are the fastest growing e-commerce platform in the country today and this aligns with our vision of offering customers in India the widest selection at low prices, fast and reliable delivery,” said Samir Kumar, director, category management, Amazon India.
Flipkart, on other hand, launched MSI’s gaming notebook on September 7. The gaming devices are priced starting Rs 1,29,900 and are available in three different configurations. Sam, MSI Notebook head of marketing, said: “With Flipkart’s extensive experience in the gaming market, this partnership will help us reach the huge gaming community across the length and breadth of India. We have been seeing a lot of people purchasing MSI computer components on Flipkart and are confident that this series will be a huge success amongst the gaming community in this country.”
In the recent past, e-commerce companies have tied up brands for exclusive launches of their products.
While global e-commerce major Amazon has over 30 exclusive brand tie-ups, the corresponding number for Flipkart and Snapdeal stands at atleast 15 and three, respectively. Snapdeal recently tied up with Tata Value Homes, a subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Company, marking the online marketplace’s foray into the real estate sector.