 "Essar Steel retail arm to sell online")
In a bid to make its reach deeper and wider, Essar Hypermart, retail arm of primary steel producer Essar Steel, announced the launch of an online platform, www.ehypermart.in that will make the alloy available to its customers online.
"We have always believed that steel demand can grow only when steel becomes easily accessible. It has been our endeavor to make steel easily accessible to user segments irrespective of their geographic location. Essar Hypermart, our pioneering steel retail venture addressed this issue. We are confident that the launch of EHypermart will help grow the steel market further." Firdose Vandrevala, executive vice chairman at Essar Steel was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Essar Steel infuses equity, monetises assets before loan recast
Branded as Ehypermart (EHM), the online platform will target the B2B segment, the company said today.
EHM has already registered over 3,000 online anchor customers but currently is a web based market place. The company is in the process of launching a mobile app for the convenience of its customers, it said.
Essar via this route to sell steel, has targeted revenue worth $100 million in the first full year of operations and has also targeted 30 percent of its retail sales coming from this platform.
ALSO READ: HDFC Bank sells Rs 550 crore Essar Steel loans at 40% discount
Currently, of the total sales of the company, about 20 percent comes from its retail segment.
EHM has introduced nine products that include steel, steel products, material handling equipment, industrial paints, generators, cutting tools, steel furniture, TMT bars, angles & channels, and power cables and will also be allowing non-steel products such as cement to come on board as the platform evolves.
This online market platform is built on a unique model of "Buy-Create-Sell" where customers can buy their steel from Essar, create their own product, and sell it to their end products via the same platform. Due to this, the customer has reach to steel online and can also offer its own product on the same platform, in turn reducing their marketing costs.
"The customer's website will have a link to EHypermart that will give end customers / buyers a feeling of buying the products directly from the manufacturer," said the company.