Flipkart currently clocking 20–25% growth in customers, orders; aims for 30% by June: CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy

Flipkart currently clocking 20–25% growth in customers, orders; aims for 30% by June: CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy

At its latest townhall, Walmart-owned Flipkart painted a picture of a company in high gear — aggressively expanding its hyperlocal arm Minutes, betting big on fashion and travel, and doubling down on AI investments, all while preparing for its much-anticipated shift back to India and eventual IPO.

Speaking at Flipster Connect, an internal event held on Monday, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy told employees that the company is currently clocking 20–25 percent growth in customers and orders and is aiming to hit 30 percent by June. A significant portion of this growth, he said, is being driven by the fashion category across Flipkart and Myntra, which now accounts for close to 40 percent of all new customer additions.

“Minutes is doing very well, and we’re targeting 800 dark stores by the end of this year,” Krishnamurthy said, underlining the company’s growing quick commerce ambitions. With two new dark stores being added every day, Flipkart is racing to lock in its share of India’s high-growth hyperlocal market.

Flipkart’s grocery business, he noted, has also seen an evolution in its operating model to better compete with quick commerce players. Travel, too, is emerging as a fast-growing vertical, particularly among India’s nearly 400 million Gen Z users, with Flipkart seeing a renewed push in hotels, international trips, and holiday packages.

Krishnamurthy also spotlighted Flipkart’s investment in technology and future readiness, revealing that the company has increased its AI investments six-fold this year. “We remain focused on being future-ready, with a 6X increase in investment in AI this year,” he said.

Among the most significant developments shared was Flipkart’s plan to shift its legal domicile from Singapore to India — a long-speculated move that Krishnamurthy described as “a statement of intent” and “a significant step toward aligning more closely with India’s economic and regulatory landscape.”

“As we’ve initiated the flip back of the company, I am very confident that all of us will continue to focus on profitability with a renewed emphasis on customer centricity. This move brings Flipkart even closer to where our heart has always been,” he added.

The event also featured senior leaders including Seema Nair (SVP and CHRO), Hemant Badri (SVP and Head of Supply Chain), and Ramesh Gururaja (SVP, Consumer Shopping Experience). Nair spoke about the company’s evolving leadership and talent strategy, emphasising skill development and AI enablement across teams.

Krishnamurthy also cited strong momentum in products like super.money and highlighted “recent successful launches and strong product innovation,” alongside the arrival of “industry veterans across technology, categories, and Adtech” to help steer Flipkart’s next phase of growth.

The renewed growth focus comes amid internal shifts and heightened scrutiny on the company’s financial discipline. In April, Flipkart’s board asked Krishnamurthy to cut the company’s monthly cash burn by about half — from $40 million (approximately Rs 340 crore) to around $20 million (about Rs 170 crore) — to gear up for a potential India IPO and support the planned domicile shift, as reported by Moneycontrol. The annual target for cash burn has been pegged at $250 million.

This mandate comes even as Flipkart is being more aggressive with new bets like Flipkart Minutes. The company has had to navigate significant leadership churn in recent months, with at least four top executives — including SVP Ankit Jain (grocery and supply chain), and VPs Prajakta Kanaglekar (HR), Anurag Singhvi (analytics), and Ganesh Ramaswamy (CPTO, Cleartrip) — stepping down as reported by Moneycontrol in May.

As Flipkart pushes ahead with these strategic shifts, the company faces the dual challenge of driving growth while tightening its financial discipline — a balancing act critical to its upcoming IPO and deeper integration within India’s regulatory framework.