WE HAVE A MODEL MADE IN INDIA, FOR INDIA, AND BY INDIA"

Manish Tiwary, Country Manager of Amazon India, on the opportunities in the country, digital, and more

- KRISHNA GOPALAN

FOR A COMPANY that entered the consumer business in India in 2013, Amazon’s growth has not gone unnoticed. It was up against competition that came earlier. But Amazon used its understanding of technology to focus on areas such as supply chain and greater consumer understanding to enhance the overall experience. It was critical to have an India-specific approach and be Indian along the way. With an increasing base of both customers and sellers, the road ahead is filled with opportunities, though these are early days for India. In an interview with Business Today at Amazon’s country headquarters in Bengaluru, 54-year-old Manish Tiwary, Country Manager of Amazon India,  talks about the India story, innovation, and a lot more. Edited excerpts:

It’s a big opportunity for Amazon in India… 

We are clear [that] ecommerce is at a very early stage in India. You just have to look around to see the levels of optimism and what potential lies ahead of us. For a company with our DNA, everything that we do has digital at the core of it—be it e-commerce, the [Amazon] Kindle or Amazon Prime.

If you look at the basics in India like the growth rates, population, demographics, infrastructure, or the progress in digital, there are many reasons to feel enthused. It is a sentiment that is echoed by all of us here or even when we speak to our management at Seattle (Amazon’s headquarters).

For Amazon, what is the India strategy all about?