More Than A Free Lunch: Bennet Coleman & Co Ltd Buy Stake in Edabba

More Than A Free Lunch: Bennet Coleman & Co Ltd Buy Stake in Edabba

There is no such thing as a free lunch but Bennet, Coleman and Co. Ltd is hitting the high notes when it comes to garnering market share through an acquisition of a massive stake in an online e-commerce website edabba.com. BCCL is also the publisher of one of India's most reputed dailies The Times of India (TOI).

Bennet, Coleman and Co . Ltd has invested $7 million in the Mumbai based firm for a 10 to 15% stake as per reports. Omnipresent had raised $600,000 from Singapore based CCube Angels in the month of September last year. This company operates the online e-commerce website.

The group also raised $1 million from a group of investors in the month of April 2012. Omnipresent is also looking to expand in 2 as well as3 tier cities via a hybrid model that has collaborations with retail stores and e-commerce platforms. Edabba is more than just an average lunch-box. The firm partnered with offline retailers across a huge number of categories and employs their infrastructure to sell products and services that offer value to consumers.

Some of the products it sells include silver and gold coins, personal care products and beauty products as well as jewellery and sunglasses. Online retailing functions of the website operate in tandem with offline businesses. Offline stores work through Trust Points where customers go so that attendants can enable them to choose their products.

Around 1500 plus Trust Points across 60 cities in India with sales turnover over 100 crore rupees for the current fiscal year according to a statement by Manoj Kumar the co-founder of edabba via a telephonic interview. Co-founders Saurabh Chadha and Manoj Kumar nurtured this online commerce site which sells a range of products like electronics and personal accessories. It is supported by over 400 contact centres offering after sales services.


Edabba.com has come up with a model that stresses on making e-commerce inclusive through physical contact points in local stores. There is currently a network of 700 plus retail outlets named Trust Points spread across 175 plus cities and towns in India where more than 250 brands are sold under Electronics as well as Jewellery, Sunglasses and Apparels.

Collaboration with local shops is the selling point of this e-commerce website. This is not the first e-commerce venture for BCCL. It has invested in online grocery supermarkets namely LocalBanya and Spacewood Furnishers.