Amazon plans to add 100 offline kiosks to sell its own products in malls across India by the end of 2019, reports the Economic Times citing sources. The report adds that Amazon has 2 kiosks in Bangalore and one each in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and opened a new one in Noida last week. Other than buying items at these kiosks, customers can also ask the store staff about purchases. The report added that the kiosks would be run by third party franchisees. Amazon’s stakes in offline retail: Future, More, Shoppers Stop As of November 2018, Amazon was in advanced talks to acquire a 9.5% stake in Future Retail, which operates offline fashion and food chain stores BigBazaar and EasyDay. However, in January, Business Today reported that the deal had fallen through, citing anonymous sources. Last month, Amazon was in talks to buy a stake in Future Coupons, owned by Future Group promoter Kishore Biyani, to ensure compliance with the new FDI in e-commerce policy. In September last year, Amazon confirmed its investment in Witzig Advisory Services, which acquired More Retail from Aditya Birla Group. In January, the Competition Commission of India approved Samara Capital and Amazon’s acquisition of Aditya Birla Group’s More supermarket chains. More Retail operates 523 supermarkets and 20 hypermarkets in the country, and is already a seller on Amazon Prime Now, Amazon’s grocery delivery vertical. Amazon’s first offline investment was a 5% stake in Shoppers Stop. After this, Shoppers Stop also began to sell its in-house brands…
