JSW sets ambitious goals for e-commerce business, eyes $20-bn GMV by FY32

Of the targeted $20 billion GMV by FY32, JSW products is expected to account for 65 per cent, the balance would be non-JSW

Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Group is looking to build JSW One Platforms into an e-commerce behemoth for the building materials industry with a targeted gross merchandise value (GMV) of $20 billion by FY32.

Launched as an e-commerce foray of the group in December 2021, JSW One Platforms is an additional distribution channel for its steel, cement and paints businesses.

Going forward, a significant portion of each of the companies’ sales in the segments is expected to come from JSW One. It will also have third-party brands.

Of the targeted $20-billion GMV by FY32, JSW products are expected to account for 65 per cent, while the balance would be non-JSW.

The 65 per cent — translating into $13 billion — will account for approximately 20 per cent of JSW’s turnover in steel, cement and paints.

“We think that this is going to be a very large B2B e-commerce play for the group,” said Parth Jindal, director of JSW One Platforms.

JSW One Platforms currently operates two business divisions: JSW One MSME Platform in the B2B space and JSW One Homes Platform in B2C.

Jindal said that business had crossed Rs 1,000 crore in terms of annual run rate and significant momentum had built up. The expectation is that it will end FY23 with a GMV run-rate of Rs 3,000 crore. The targeted GMV for FY24 is $1 billion.

The scale of operations in the MSME segment and homes is restricted to pockets of southern and western India.

“We hope to cover the entire South and West by the end of this financial year and then cater to the entire country by the end of FY24,” said Jindal.

“Wherever JSW products are available, they will be on the platform. And, if JSW is not there in any product, third-party suppliers can come on to our platform,” said Jindal. In future, JSW One will also go into private labelling, he added.

“Our endeavour is that the end-customer and the MSME get a complete solution for their building material needs on the platform,” Jindal said.

Essentially, it will be a digital stack for the manufacturing and construction industry, which is what the JSW Group will also leverage, said Gaurav Sachdeva, chief executive officer (CEO) of JSW One Platforms.

JSW One would leverage the retail network of JSW Steel, Cement and Paints.

The focus is on being asset-light and JSW One is not looking to create a separate offline channel but supplementing the existing network of the group.

The investment in the venture is pegged at Rs 4,000 crore up to FY27 when it hopes to break-even.

For now, the JSW Group will invest through its three businesses — steel, cement and paints. In FY24, it is likely to explore external fund raise.

Jindal said that over the last decade, India has seen a revolution in B2C through e-commerce.

“We want to start that in the B2B segment. And, if India grows from a $3-trillion economy today to $10 trillion over the next decade, the MSME segment would contribute dramatically to that. We wanted to reach out to them in a manner so that we understand their needs and modify our offerings to gain a higher share of the wallet from the MSME and retail community,” Jindal added.

The Plans

1. Approx investment: Rs 4,000 crore up to FY27 
2. Target for FY27: GMV $5 billion; hopes to break-even
3. Target for FY32: GMV $20 billion; more than 20% of JSW’s turnover in steel, cement & paints to accrue through JSW One Platforms