Flipkart WiRED Case Study: Capturing Potential Of B-School Students Early To Become A Future-Ready Brand

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As another exciting season of this flagship B-School competition winds up, here is an overview of how Flipkart WiRED etched a strong brand image of the company amongst B-Schoolers across India and helped the company to close one-third of its hiring. 

From clothes and electronics to kitchen accessories, Flipkart has become one of the most beloved E-commerce sites for Indians. Founded by IIT alumni Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, the startup was the brainchild of these two friends who found their regular jobs at Amazon mundane. Quite ironically, the duo quit their job at Amazon and found India’s very own answer to the world’s largest E-commerce company.

Today, Flipkart has burgeoned into India’s original unicorn. In 2018, US-based retail chain, Walmart acquired a 77% controlling stake in Flipkart. Until now, Flipkart has made 22 acquisitions and 24 investments and spent over USD 395 million on acquisitions of companies in multiple sectors ranging from fashion, consumer E-commerce enablers, consumer electronics, and more. With a 48% share of India’s e-commerce market, Flipkart is growing faster than the industry average.

To sustain this momentum, the company actively invests in top talent across tech and business roles. While GRiD - Flipkart’s flagship tech hiring competition, has helped the company scout some of the brightest engineering minds, there was a need to build a similarly impactful platform for business talent. On-campus placements remained a strong channel, but to extend its reach, boost visibility in B-Schools, and stay top-of-mind among future leaders, Flipkart launched Flipkart WiRED.

WiRED is a strategic initiative that goes beyond recruitment. It engages sharp-witted B-Schoolers who can challenge conventions and bring bold ideas to the table, positioning Flipkart as not just a recruiter, but a brand of aspiration among India's best minds.

Here is how Flipkart WiRED unfolded over the years since its inception in 2017 to become one of the biggest B-School competitions! 

Flipkart WiRED 1.0: First Step Towards Untethering Brilliant Ideas

Flipkart opened the first season of the WiRED Case Study Challenge in 2017 for final-year students of the flagship programs in selected institutions, namely IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bengaluru, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS New Delhi, and SPJIMR Mumbai. Held at two levels - campus and national, the competition witnessed a good response from these institutes.

The campus winners participated in the national round, where they had the opportunity to present their ideas to Flipkart leadership. Team Insignia from IIM Calcutta was declared the national-level winner and was awarded a cash prize of INR 2,00,000. Campus winners were also offered pre-placement interviews.

It was a great wrap, but the Flipkart team knew that more ground needed to be covered. This was when Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) took up the baton. 

Enter Unstop, Flipkart WiRED Reloads

With a vision to turn Flipkart WiRED into a rage, Team Unstop framed a powerful strategy to help the company reach out to a diverse and extensive audience. The motive was to engage more and more B-Schoolers in the case study competition, expose them to real-life challenges of the corporate world, and help students understand Flipkart’s work culture and innovation-driven business objectives.

Keeping this in view, Unstop geared up to rejig Flipkart WiRED through various interventions. On the forefront was the promotion and execution team of Unstop, which chalked out a well-thought-out strategy to pitch Flipkart WiRED as a B-School event to look out for. 

Unstop’s magic unfurled and Flipkart WiRED catapulted! As students’ interest in the event stirred up, the registration count soared. Flipkart WiRED 2.0 welcomed some new entrants (MDI, IIFT-Delhi, MICA, IIM-Kozhikode) apart from the veteran institutes. The event had 3300 students participating from 11 B-Schools. The registration count tripled in Flipkart WiRED 3.0 (2019), wherein 9900 students took part from India's top 21 premier business schools.

Breaking Barriers - Flipkart WiRED opens doors to all B-Schools!

There was no looking back now. Keeping up the exponential trend, Flipkart WiRED 4.0 (2020) witnessed participation from 14745 students across 38 campuses. Cash prizes worth lakhs and pre-placement interviews for summer internships as well as full-time opportunities rolled out in full swing. 

The time was ripe to forge further. With Unstop by its side, Flipkart WiRED 5.0 opened the floodgates. The 5th season of the competition sought participation from MBA students across all B-Schools in India! Registrations soared and more than 39,000 students made their way into Flipkart WiRED Season 5 in 2021. 

Swooping into its sixth season, Flipkart WiRED 6.0 made a powerful mark in 2022. The competition was open to B-school students across India - cutting across batches, domains, and campuses, to ensure a level playing field for management talent nationwide. With nearly 40,000 registrations, the season witnessed overwhelming participation. Raising the stakes even higher, Flipkart extended an impressive 450 Pre-Placement Interview (PPI) offers, making it one of the most impactful seasons yet.

The momentum only grew stronger. Flipkart WiRED Season 7 (2023) wrapped up with 62,242 registrations and 110 PPIs, while Season 8, held in 2024, shattered previous records with over 85,000 registrations and 216 PPI offers. The rising numbers not only reflect Flipkart's commitment to tapping top B-school talent but also cement WiRED’s position as one of India’s most aspirational corporate competitions.

Talent reigns supreme!

Flipkart WiRED acknowledges brilliant minds from across the country and helps them to maximize their ideas and solutions catering to different sectors such as Business, Supply Chain, HR, and Product. Today, Flipkart WiRED has become a flagship B-School case competition and is highly regarded by the student community across the country. 

With all objectives ticked off, the company is geared up for its upcoming seasons of Flipkart WiRED, with new and stimulating case studies, nudging students to explore their potential and gain first-hand experience of challenges in the Indian E-commerce ecosystem. And needless to say, Unstop is excited to empower WiRED to reach the top talent of the country. 

If you, too, are looking for a tailored solution to your recruitment needs, contact sales@unstop.com.