Amazon launches as Junglee in India

"Is it prevalent to use units like lakh and crore[1] on Indian English language websites?"

If you are exclusively targeting an Indian audience, then yes it makes sense. Indians calculate salaries, house prices etc in lakhs and (for rich people!) crores. If you also want non Indians to use the site, then you probably need to use "million", "hundred thousand", etc

Your own article answers your question:

"The terms lakh and crore are widely used today in Indian English and Pakistani English."

It's not just websites. In India, You see it everyday on banners, bus stop advertisements or on television. It's common to read something like "A insurance, with benefit up to X lakh" in commercial breaks.

All the accounting systems and websites / apps for Indian audience follow this.

And the number separators are also handled accordingly (1 lakh is: 1,00,000) even when lakh or crore is not mentioned.

For some (lot?) of us educated in Indian numbering system but dealing with businesses outside India thanks to our everyday work it takes time to do the mental adjustment every time we see a number. :)

Words like lakh and crore derive from Sanskrit - hence these words are prevalent not only in India but also in other countries in the south-east Asia like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.

Western units are used wherever applicable - i.e. to denote 1,000 the word "thousand" is used and not "hazaar". Unfortunately, western units are deficient in that there are no units to denote a hundred thousands (lakh - 100,000) or ten millions (crore = 10,000,000). Likewise, there are no western units for 10,000 - so you have to use the Japanese word 'maan'.

Incidentally Peter Norvig was the chief scientist there.

To connect to another recent HN thread: my negotiation with them broke down after they asked for my current salary and I was naive enough to tell them.

Amazon made Junglee, at least according to the "service provided by Amazon" on the bottom.

Its an amazon product. See their "hiring" page for more obvious proof: http://www.junglee.com/f/1000604193/ref=footer_hiring

Amazon acquired Junglee in 1998. Folks from that acquisition went on to work on the Amazon recommendation system.

I don't see any mention on the Junglee page of the "special offers" (aka ads pop up on your Kindle when you're not using it) deal. I'm guessing that the potential advertising revenue in India isn't enough to make a big difference, so they don't have that option. This would mean that the $113 Indian Kindle is equivalent to the $109 US Kindle (no advertising).

This will kick Flipkart's overpriced ass

(Algorithms on Flipkart)[http://www.flipkart.com/books/8120340078] Rs.333

(Algorithms on Junglee)[http://www.junglee.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Cormen/dp/812...] Rs.255

(Steve Jobs on Flipkart)[http://www.flipkart.com/books/1408703742] Rs.559

(Steve Jobs on Junglee)[http://www.junglee.com/Steve-Jobs-Exclusive-Biography/dp/140...] Rs.538 (Steve Jobs on IndiaPlaza, found through Junglee)[http://www.indiaplaza.com/steve-jobs-walter-isaacson/books/9...] Rs.479

Not really. Junglee means crazy, but most of the time, it's in a good, fun way. (At least that's what it has been for me.). And I imagine it also fits with the whole "Amazon" thing going on. (Junglee, derived from Jungle.)

I'm curious about this too. Does Amazon have a bad reputation there? They also seem to mention themselves as little as possible on the site... the Kindle is "made by Kindle" rather than Amazon, etc.

Yeah they've got prominent links in the footer, but it just feels like they've tried to mention themselves as little as they can as you peruse the site.

Because what they have launched is basically a price comparison site not an ecommerce destination. In that light, launching as Amazon.in would not have been good for the brand and/or might have caused some confusion, IMO.

FDI has been a problem in India, and as far as I understand, Amazon can't do business here yet.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-01-30/news...

We have pretty quaint notions about FDI. Foreign capital is always looked at with distrust (at least by the older set of politicians) so there is a lot of political hand-wringing about how allowing 100% FDI in retail will destroy small traders, etc. Of course, this stance is also encouraged by food suppliers/speculators, so this will take some time to work itself out. But most people say allowing 100% FDI in retail is only a few months away. So Amazon might just be preparing ground for a eventual entry.

Because Junglee has a coolness factor associated with it.

Junglee is the other company (first one was Hotmail) that literally gave birth to tech entreprenurship as a career choice in India.

I would say that this was a branding win.

"Yahoo" has (had?) a similar connotation in the US.

It might actually be a bit confusing when passed through word of mouth with users looking for jungli.com

Hardly. As of now it's more of a marketplace listing, like eBay India.

"RIP Flipkart"

it isn't that simple. Flipkart is aggressive, funded (150 million $ a few days ago), has superlative customer service and (generally) satisfied customers. Meanwhile the law of the land does not allow 100% Foreign Direct Investment in retail, and while that will inevitably change, it will take some time, thus giving Flipkart more competition free runway.

Junglee.com is just a 'dip toe in water' move, trying various things "for free" in a new market (and hence non use of the Amazon trademark).

"Amazon launches Junglee in India" (the original Junglee.com was a comparison site) is a more accurate title than "Amazon launches as Junglee in India". The site is close to useless for anyone actually trying to shop,but it will enable debugging of parts of the logistics chain Amazon is trying to set up.

The 'real' war begins when Amazon.in launches. Junglee is just a sideshow (and everyone knows it)

Eventually,assuming they don't enter into some kind of partnership, there will be a huge fight between Flipkart and Amazon, but it is going to be long and bloody and last at least a couple of years, and will not be a quick knockout.

Amazon's advantages (when it finally starts full operations) - existing client base (I was told that Indian customers spend more on the Amazon website than Flipkart's turnover), the Kindle devices and ecosystem adapted to the local publishing landscape (this will, imo, be huge), better recommendation systems, better payment systems, efficiencies of scale, (better tie ups with foreign publishers and so) better deals for foreign books and products, way deeper pockets.

Flipkart's advantages - (relatively) nimble, speed of decision making (Amazon will likely replicate its middle management heavy organizational structure, and bureaucracy), a satisfied customer base and good will, and a time advantage in working out the kinks in logistics and delivery.

Most importantly, Flipkart is running for their life, where Amazon is running for an extra spoon of dessert. I wouldn't underestimate this factor.

So if I had to bet, I'd bet on Amazon to "win" in the long run, but I would bet only money I am prepared to lose, and it is a very long way from "RIP Flipkart"

It would take way more than just a price comparison/best-deal site to compete (let even kill) Flipkart. Flipkart is executing certain things in this market very well:

- 1) A fantastic delivery/courier system (in major cities). They have homegrown service that does a reliable job. Courier deliveries in India is a painful experience. I won't be surprised if they spinoff a logistics arm!. To me this is their secret sauce.

- 2) Good customer support. I have bought quite a few things in the last few months and have sent them a few queries for which I have received quick responses. I think they are able to scale this with the current demand.

- 3) Fairly priced (not always the lowest, but definitely on the lower end compared to brick and mortar stores). I have found better deals on other online stores, but have resorted to buying on Flipkart due to their reliability. The key to success in India will be reliability, which is not something the public actually expects, but can become the differentiator.

- 4) Cash on Delivery for most items - Most people here don't use credit cards for online shopping. Cash on delivery is a safe and trusted option. The Junglee linked sites might offer the same option, but it can probably become confusing if some of the stores don't.

Yet, I feel there are areas in which a new entrant can do better and compete (keeping the service on par with flipkart):

- 1) A bigger inventory - I don't find all I need on flipkart. It pales in comparison with Amazon's inventory.

- 2) Product reviews - Right now Flipkart's reviews are just mediocre at best. What we need is more editorial reviews and organic reviews tailored to Indian market. I keep looking up Amazon reviews before purchasing stuff.

- 3) Better inventory management - A lot of popular products I purhase here in Bangalore (where Flipkart is headquartered) seem to ship from Delhi/Chennai. That is a loss of a day or two in delivery. Amazon can be a game changer if they invest in better warehouse management. End of the day for a similar price, the one to deliver quickest will win.

- 4) Better recommendation engine - No guesses why Amazon can recommend better (way higher sales and more data to learn from). Flipkart can get better at this over time, but Amazon can come equipped already.

I am an extremely satisfied customer of Flipkart, but feel it can get better and a new entrant might just make it a a competitive market.