INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SM Fathaulla, a retired government employee, owns the 447-C, 12th main, Koramangala property
India's largest
e-commerce company, second largest IT services exporter and a biotechnology major share one thing in common: Koramangala, Bengaluru
A suburb in the south-eastern part of Bengaluru where Flipkart, Infosys and Biocon were born
All these offices were rented, says Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on microblogging site Twitter
And Ms Mazumdar-Shaw's tweet comes on a day Walmart group acquired a controlling stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion - the biggest
acquisition by the US retailer.Terming Koramangala as a "lucky suburb", the Biocon chief said: "Infosys Biocon also started in rented
a two-storey Bungalow in Koramangala became the first office from where Sachin and Binny Bansal founded the e-commerce start-up Flipkart in
2007 that later turned into India's first unicorn.Located in 447-C, 12th main, Koramangala, the bungalow is located in a leafy lane of a
residential suburb that is now inundated with scores of restaurants, restro-bars and fitness centres, according to Flipkart Stories, the
official website that publishes latest news updates about the e-commerce company.Flipkart sold 77 per cent of its stake to Walmart group in
a deal that values the 11-year-old company at $20.8 billion.And it's not just Ms Mazumdar-Shaw who thinks Koramangala is lucky
SM Fathaulla, a retired government employee, who owns the 447-C, 12th main, Koramangala property also thinks so
"447-C - the office that had been blessed by Lady Luck," an article on Flipkart Stories cites Mr Fathaulla as saying
"For many years, the genial landlord recalls warmly, Sachin called on him in person to pay the rent," it reads.Besides the three industry
leaders - Flipkart, Infosys and Biocon, other major companies headquartered in Bengaluru include Wipro, Britannia Industries, GMR Group,
Tata Coffee, Strides Shasun and Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
