Source: TNN
E-commerce behemoth Amazon is set to lease a huge office space as part of its massive expansion plan of Bengaluru operations, dwarfing its presence in Hyderabad.
Amazon is scouting for land parcels of about 2 million sqft in North Bengaluru with potential to double it in the future, people familiar with the matter said. It is looking for a built-to-suit lease campus and has sent out feelers to builders Embassy and Bhartiya City.
The company may take about five months to decide on the location, the people mentioned above added. Lease rentals in that micro market are among the lowest in the city – between Rs 50 and Rs 60 – as it’s an upcoming area.
That would translate into annual rentals of close to Rs 300 crore. Amazon did not respond to requests for comments.
The Seattle-based company occupies 1.6 million sqft in Bagmane Business Park in the city, besides 0.5 million sqft in Brigade’s World Trade Centre.
The retailer, which is investing heavily in artificial intelligence and robotics, has its only company-owned campus outside the US in Hyderabad, started last year, which is spread over 1.8 million sqft and can house up to 15,000 employees. Amazon has over 62,000 workers in India and a further 155,000 contract employees. The Seattle headquarters is of a much larger size, spanning about 14 million sqft and employing close to 60,000 people.
The investment is part of Amazon’s effort to have an upper hand against Walmart-owned Flipkart in India’s ecommerce market, which is forecast by KPMG to grow to $200 billion by 2027.
