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| CAPTION: Boodmo team |
7/11/2017
PUNE: Online
vehicle spare parts marketplace boodmo was born out of a need for
economical repairs and genuine components. Sumit Agarwal was stuck – dealing
with a minor dent and a broken tail light of his shiny new Volkswagen Polo, he
had now ensure he got the original lights, but the cost was daunting.
An authorised service centre meant original spare parts, while
a local garage stood for value for money but came with the risk of no guarantee
about the parts used. The 25-year-old decided to buy original spare parts from
an online marketplace and have his local garage fix them, a win-win.
Yevgeny Sokolnikov and Oleksandr Danylenko came to India from
Ukraine to explore opportunities in the start-up space and were keen on an
e-commerce entity. Market research led them to the idea for an automobile
components marketplace, and boodmo was formed. Yevgeny says,
“We visited India with the idea to start a business around
e-commerce but after research, we found that the spare parts auto industry is
not well organised, though has huge potential if the industry is digitised to
offer timely products to the customers. Thus, we came out with the idea to
establish an auto spare part marketplace in India.”
What does
the platform do?
Boodmo is an online marketplace for auto components. It aims
to organise the replacement parts market and make the shopping process easier
and convenient.
The marketplace claims to offer genuine parts without
promoting any particular supplier. All parts available on the website are
sorted by producers’ information and filtered by customers’ choice. Boodmo also
facilitates quick and competent service for customers.
The launch of the platform, however, was challenging. Yevgeny
says the duo spent time meticulously preparing the online catalogue for spare
parts, and listing genuine suppliers.
“To execute the business smoothly we also spent a lot of time
in training and teaching the workforce. The journey has been tricky and
interesting. After the launch, we were able to pick the market trends and as of
now we are doing well,” adds Yevgeny.
Founders
and team background
Before coming to India and starting boodmo, Yevgeny had
founded one of the biggest e-commerce websites in Ukraine. He had also launched
and managed a similar project in Georgia for two years.
Oleksandr, on the other hand, had worked in different managing
roles for six years in Eastern Europe-based auto components distributor
intercars.eu. Taking the path of entrepreneurship, he participated in several
projects in the spare parts sector. Boodmo was launched in January 2015, and
has a 40-member team at present.
The
market
The Indian automobile industry had annual production of 23.37
million vehicles in 2014-15, and contributes to 7.1 percent of the country’s
GDP, according to a report by India Brand Equity Foundation.
The automotive aftermarket comprises manufacturers,
distributors, retailers, service providers and garages, which collectively
spell opportunity for automobile repair services market in India. Today, there
are several such players in the market like MeriCAR, a marketplace and
aggregator for the after-sales automotive market, and Pune-based Sparehub an
e-commerce marketplace for automobile parts and services.
Delhi-based Gaadifix is a marketplace for mechanics and
branded automobile spare parts. According to an ICRA report, of the total
estimated turnover of $8 billion of the automotive replacement market,
excluding the sale of batteries and tyres, around 75 percent is contributed by
passenger vehicles and two-wheelers.
Working
and future plans
Boodmo deals with high-quality genuine parts of over 3000
national and international automotive brands, and takes a margin from vendors
on sales. “The first year was invested in laying the foundation of the
platform. As of now we have started our sales, we believe that we will hit good
numbers by December-end,” explains Yevgeny.
“Boodmo addresses all complaints seriously, strengthening and
enhancing the trust of customers. In addition, we provide free website usage
without any subscription fees, which leads customers to believe that it is
a transparent platform. Besides, suppliers have their own interface to manage
their products which gives them a tool of empowerment to manage their
inventories,” adds Yevgeny.
Boodmo has a repository of spare parts for different
cars, and the product list includes maintenance/ service
parts, lubricants, brakes, suspension, body, electric
components and lights, engine, steering, transmission, fuel supply system, air
conditioning/heater, wheel drive and exhaust system, to name a few. The company
does not deal with accessories or spare parts of motorbikes.
It has raised funding from an undisclosed investor. Speaking
of future plans, Yevgeny says,
“The primary goal right now
is to consolidate the existing business in India and simultaneously explore the
expansion options. Since the market is huge and full of promising prospects,
boodmo is planning to enter the two-wheeler spectrum as well.”
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