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Sojitz Makes Additional Investment in Intelligent Retail Private Limited (RIPPLR) in India, a Consumer Goods Wholesaling and Logistics Company with an Edge in IT

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Jun. 6, 2023
Sojitz Corporation

Sojitz Corporation ("Sojitz") will underwrite a third-party allotment of shares to invest in Intelligent Retail Private Limited ("RIPPLR"), a startup company in India. This investment is a follow-on to the investment made in December 2021, and Sojitz will accelerate its contribution to the growing distribution industry in India through business support to RIPPLR.

India is projected to become the world’s third largest retail market (USD 1.2 trillion) by 2025 based on massive demand from its base population of 1.4 billion.Moving forward, consumer demand is expected to remain at a high level. India has over 14 million retail stores spanning its vast geography, with numerous ethnic groups, languages, cultures, and systems.Combined with the fact that the majority of distributors are currently privately owned, the country’s complex logistics distribution structure and existing inefficiencies pose one of the greatest challenges for India’s manufacturers of consumer goods and foods.

In order to strengthen its relationship with RIPPLR and strengthen RIPPLR's business base, Sojitz has increased its stake by acquiring additional shares held by the founders and other investors and by underwriting capital increases, becoming the sole largest shareholder of RIPPLR and making RIPPLR an equity affiliate of Sojitz.

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[Current logistics distribution model vs. the RIPPLR model]

RIPPLR has built an order management, delivery management, sales performance management, and inventory management system on a platform developed by RIPPLR, which enables it to digitally manage orders from retailers (customers) to deliveries, share sales information with manufacturers (suppliers) in real time, and obtain timely sales and delivery information. By simplifying its distribution structure, RIPPLR is able to deliver goods accurately, quickly, and at low cost, which has earned it a high reputation from local consumer goods and food manufacturers and retailers, and the company is expanding its business in major cities, especially in Bangalore.

The funds raised will be used to open new locations across India and to further develop RIPPLR's strengths in wholesale and logistics-related systems.

Taking advantage of Sojitz's close-knit overseas networks in high-demand areas such as Southeast Asia and its knowledge of wholesale business operations in emerging countries gained through business activities mainly in Vietnam, Sojitz will contribute to solving problems in the distribution industry and to the development of the regional economy in India, a new market, while simultaneously aiming to participate in other businesses in the Indian retail sector in the future.

[Related Information]

Company Overview – Intelligent Retail Private Limited

Company Name Intelligent Retail Private Limited
Name of Platform RIPPLR
Established 2019
Head Office

Flat No 1301, A-10 Block, Elita Promenade Apt, 18th Main, JP Nagar 7th Phase, Bengaluru, Karnataka - 560078, India

Representative Director Santosh Sadashiv Dabke, Abhishek Vijay Nehru
Main Business Operation of a digital distribution platform
Number of Employee 1,001 employees (as of March 2023)



[Related News Release]
“Sojitz Enters the Distribution Business for Consumer Goods and Foods in India” Sojitz Corp. Press release, 20 January 2022.

[For questions regarding this press release, contact:]
Sojitz Corporation Public Relations Dept. +81-3-6871-3404

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