e-commerce
Hiveminds packs a punch with Samsonite’s e-commerce growth strategy
MUMBAI: Samsonite India is zipping up its digital strategy with Hiveminds, a Madison World unit, securing the e-commerce marketing and retail media mandate for the premium luggage giant. Following a competitive multi-agency pitch, Hiveminds will spearhead Samsonite’s online acceleration across platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, ensuring high visibility, optimised media spends, and strong conversion rates.
Commenting on the collaboration, Hiveminds chief strategy officer Deepti Bhadauria said, “E-commerce platforms are becoming the primary search and buy platforms for affluent Indians. By leveraging platform expertise and data-driven insights, we will deliver high scale and good efficiency to Samsonite brands. We are thrilled to be partnering with a marquee brand and a dynamic marketing team at Samsonite.”
Samsonite India head of e-commerce & distribution Abhinaw Sinha added, “Samsonite is a well-established brand in retail and with a rise in digital-first shopping behaviors, we are committed to strengthening our e-commerce presence and maintaining our leadership in the Indian market. Hiveminds’s deep expertise in e-commerce marketing makes them the ideal partner to accelerate our online business and engage with the growing base of digital-savvy e-com shoppers effectively.”
This collaboration marks a strategic move for Samsonite, strengthening its dominance in the travel gear space while catering to the surge in digital-first shopping. With Hiveminds at the helm, Samsonite’s journey through India’s e-commerce landscape is set for a smooth take-off.
e-commerce
Flipkart cuts around 300 jobs in annual performance review
E-commerce giant trims ~1.5 per cent of workforce as IPO preparations continue.
MUMBAI: Flipkart just gave performance the pink slip because when the annual review bell rings, even the biggest cart sometimes needs to lighten its load. Flipkart has let go of approximately 300 employees as part of its annual performance management cycle, Moneycontrol reported on 7 March 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. The exits represent roughly 1.5 per cent of the company’s total workforce of around 20,000 people across its businesses.
The move follows Flipkart’s standard practice of asking employees placed in lower performance bands to leave during yearly reviews, a process the company has carried out periodically in recent years. A similar exercise in early 2024 saw around 1,000 employees (nearly 5 per cent of the workforce) exit.
The latest round comes amid Flipkart’s continued push for operational efficiency and cost discipline, mirroring broader trends across the Indian startup ecosystem where funding slowdowns have shifted focus toward profitability.
The development also arrives as Flipkart advances preparations for a potential domestic IPO. The company has held early discussions with investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Kotak Mahindra Capital to explore feasibility. Industry sources indicate a possible listing timeline of late 2026 or early 2027, though the final size and schedule remain undecided.
In December 2025, Flipkart received National Company Law Tribunal approval to shift its holding company domicile from Singapore back to India. a key regulatory step that simplifies the group structure ahead of a public market debut.
Controlled by Walmart, Flipkart remains one of India’s largest e-commerce platforms, locked in fierce competition with Amazon. In a market where every rupee counts and every headcount is scrutinised, the latest cuts aren’t just housekeeping, they’re part of a bigger balancing act between growth ambitions and the road to listing.
