Cloudtail replacements explore a life beyond Amazon

With Prime Days—Amazon India’s flagship sales event—just weeks away, the e-commerce giant’s sellers are a busy lot. Executives at these companies describe the current period as hectic, with days running into nights as they negotiate frantically to secure deals with brands.

This mad scramble was only to be expected. In years gone by, just two large sellers—Cloudtail and Appario—handled the vast majority of top brands on the platform and accounted for huge sales volumes. At one point, the former generated nearly 50% of Amazon’s sales. This is no longer the case. 

The platform shuttered Cloudtail—a joint venture between Amazon and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s family office Catamaran Ventures—in May 2022. Appario—another joint venture, this time with the Patni Group—is in the process of winding down as well.