Guwahati: E-commerce major Flipkart on Friday launched its first grocery fulfillment centre in Assam, to be run by an all-woman team, a top company official said.

The facility, which was inaugurated at Palasbari near Guwahati, would be the second such grocery fulfillment centre of Flipkart helmed by women after the one in Coimbatore, she said.

“The northeastern region has the highest conversion rate in terms of customers visiting our site, translating into purchases. We are seeking to further improve it with this grocery fulfillment centre,” Smrithi Ravichandran, vice-president – head of the grocery at Flipkart, told PTI.

Till now, the center in Kolkata catered to the grocery section of the northeastern region.

“The fulfillment centre (in Assam) will be run by women and it is another step towards empowering women and creating a conducive and inclusive, environment for everyone to grow,” she said.

The Palasbari facility, spread across 1.23 lakh sq feet, will provide more than 300 job opportunities and cater to almost the entire northeast, Ravichandran said.

“We want to source our products from the local farmers as far as possible and are working towards it,” she said.

Local varieties of rice like ‘joha’ and ‘black rice’, turmeric and cardamom, among other products from the northeast on the grocery list of Flipkart, are in good demand, the company official said.

In the next two-three months, Flipkart hopes to cater to customers across India with local products from the northeast. PTI SSG RBT RBT