N Chandrasekaran officially takes charge as Chairman of Tata Digital

Tata Sons’ Executive Chairman, N Chandrasekaran has now formally taken charge as Chairman of Tata Digital which had announced the launch of its much-hyped super app Tata Neu on April 7.

For Chandrasekaran, who was reappointed as the chairman of Tata Sons for another five years in February, Tata Digital has been his brainchild since he took charge as Tata Sons chairman.

Chandrasekaran has been closely involved in its growth plans from the beginning as the Mumbai-based conglomerate eyes to make a dent in the Indian e-commerce universe.

Currently, Tata’s digital strategy is being spearheaded by Pratik Pal, CEO, Tata Digital along with Mukesh Bansal, Founder of Cultfit - who previously founded fashion e-commerce startup Myntra.

Tata Digital has recently sought additional funds from the holding company, Tata Sons, to support its growth plans of ambitious digital retail initiative as negotiations with global firms are taking longer to materialize because of geopolitical issues and a broader slowdown in big-ticket funding deals.

Tata Digital has estimated a valuation of over $18 billion for the digital entity, which includes Big Basket, online pharma store 1mg, Croma and Tata Cliq. Investors are however keen to assess the scale of revenue or gross merchandise value that Tata Digital can offer within the first year.

Tata Neu has been launched during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Tatas are the title sponsor of the tournament. Tata-owned brands including BigBasket, 1mg, Croma, AirAsia, IHCL, Qmin, Starbucks, Tata Cliq, Tata Play, and Westside will be available on the super app initially. Vistara, AirIndia, Titan, Tanishq, and Tata Motors will be added soon.