The CEO of Flipkart Group, Binny Bansal, has resigned following a probe into “serious personal misconduct.” The move could disrupt Walmart’s effort to compete with Amazon in the growing Indian retail market.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be CEO of Flipkart, which will now include Myntra, an e-Commerce fashion company, and Jabong, a fashion and lifestyle portal, as independent sites operating under the retailer’s umbrella. Ananth Narayanan will remain CEO of Myntra and Jabong, reporting directly to Krishnamurthy.
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The decision followed an independent investigation performed on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart. Bansal strongly denies the allegation despite his resignation.
“While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation,” said Walmart in a statement. “Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign.”
While Bansal’s departure could be a blow to the company, Walmart had already started making changes to the company’s leadership structure earlier this year. The retail giant also claimed that Bansal had been planning to leave for some time and that his resignation was an acceleration of existing plans.
Walmart acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart for approximately $16 billion in May 2018. Flipkart’s profitability has been a concern for Walmart: the company’s net losses increased by 68% in 2017, and its revenue growth rate dropped from 50% to 29%. However, the deal gave Walmart a foothold in its battle with Amazon as the e-Commerce titan grows its own presencein India.
