Amazon Launches New Fulfilment Centre in Maharashtra

Expanding its infrastructure footprint in Maharashtra, e-commerce major Amazon announced the launch of new fulfilment centre near Bhiwandi, in Mumbai on Tuesday.

"The new fulfilment centre has added over 1.5 million cubic feet storage space and will enable faster deliveries of customer orders within the region and neighbouring states. With this, amazon.in now has storage capacity of more than 6 million cubic feet across 14 fulfilment centres in Maharashtra," the company said in a statement.

Amazon India plans to have more than 50 fulfilment centres in 13 states with a combined storage space of around 25 million cubic feet by the end of 2019.

The new fulfilment centre will cater to customer demand for products like smartphones, consumer electronics, appliances, fashion and FMCG products.

Last week, a leading Indian trader body asked the government to ban upcoming festive sales on Amazon's local unit and its rival Flipkart, saying their deep discounts violate the country's foreign investment rules for online retail.

The two e-commerce firms typically hold annual festive season sales ahead of key Hindu festivals Dussehra and Diwali, which are due this year in October, when Indians make big ticket purchases such as cars and gold jewellery.

Walmart-owned Flipkart' sale begins September 29, the same day as Amazon. Both e-tailers promise big discounts on everything from fashion to smartphones to home appliances and have previously said discounts and deals are offered by sellers on their platforms.

"By offering deep discounts ranging from 10 percent to 80 percent on their e-commerce portals, these companies are clearly influencing the prices and create an uneven level playing field which is in direct contravention of the policy," the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a letter to the federal trade minister.