Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is in talks with online marketplace Pepperfry for strategic investment. Preliminary discussions between both the firms were held last month but there is no guarantee that a transaction will take place, said four people familiar with the matter. Pepperfry is aggressively scouting for opportunities in categories that can offer high prices, these people said.

Flipkart in Talks with Urban Ladder

Flipkart had also initiated talks with Urban Ladder for a possible acquisition, according to a Mint report last month. Urban Ladder, however, denied any deal with Flipkart, the report said. An investment in Pepperfry, if it materializes, will give Flipkart access to the furniture marketplace’s catalogue of more than 14,000 items — a prize catch in a domestic market that is 85% unorganized.

Planning to Increase the Revenue Contribution

Flipkart is making a long-term bet on the furniture category, which may yield results in 3-5 years, say analysts. For Flipkart, large appliances form the third biggest category in terms of revenue. Flipkart in August said that it is further looking to increase the revenue contribution from its large appliances category to 12-15% by March from 3-4% now.

Planning to Position itself as an E-Commerce Conglomerate

Pepperfry is the latest company that Flipkart has been in talks with for investments or acquisitions as it wishes to position itself as an e-commerce conglomerate.

Further, the e-commerce giant held talks with Swiggy, BookMyShow and other firms as it sought to establish its presence across categories, including food, grocery, and furniture.