Amazon Taps Longtime Exec to Lead India Business

Amazon has named Samir Kumar, a longtime executive, the new head of India’s consumer business

This comes a month after the head of India’s business quit because of tougher competition in the key market.

Kumar will be the country manager for India, the e-commerce giant. He has worked there for 25 years, the company said.

The company said this job would be in addition to Kumar’s current duties as head of Amazon’s customer business in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey.

Amit Agarwal, Amazon’s senior vice president for developing markets, told staff about the change in leadership in an email. The move comes after Manish Tiwary, who was in charge of Amazon’s India customer business, quit without warning last month.

Amazon still has a high priority for India, and Agarwal said, “I am very excited about the chance ahead as we continue to change lives and livelihoods.”

Even though Amazon has spent over $7 billion in India, it has trouble in smaller cities and towns where Walmart-owned Flipkart and SoftBank-backed Meesho have become stronger rivals.

Morgan Stanley says Meesho now has more active users on its mobile apps monthly than Amazon. A study by Bank of America says that Flipkart has more than 50 million daily active users of its mobile apps in India, while Amazon only has less than 40 million.

Quick-commerce companies like BlinkIt, Swiggy, and Zepto, which give deliveries within 10 minutes, are giving Amazon more and more competition in India’s cities.

A short time ago, Flipkart started its fast shipping service in Bengaluru. The company also began trying four-hour deliveries on Myntra, India’s most oversized online clothing and fashion store.

So far, Amazon hasn’t brought quick shopping to India.