Amazon summer camp
Amazon likes to say, “it’s still Day 1,” but it has spent the last few years working to become the dominant online retailer in India. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Amazon has invested $28 million Shoppers Stop, a Mumbai, India retailer, as it continues its push into the world’s second most populous nation.

Bloomberg reports that the deal will give Amazon a 5 percent stake in the retailer, in its first investment in a publicly traded Indian company. The cash infusion will help Shoppers Stop open 20 new stores over the next four years, bringing its footprint to 100 locations in India.

Amazon will put experience centers — areas where customers can try out Amazon products — in Shoppers Stop stores. Shoppers Stop gets an “exclusive flagship store” on Amazon’s India site where it will sell everything from cosmetics to clothing to electronics.

Shoppers Stop stock rose close to 20 percent on news of Amazon’s investment. Amazon stock is down slightly this morning.

Amazon is pushing hard to become a dominant player in India, which is arguably the company’s most important overseas opportunity. The company predicts that India’s e-commerce market will be huge and its second biggest market after the U.S. within a decade.

Amazon is backing that prediction up with some big spending. Amazon is putting $5 billion toward its India business over the next few years. That investment includes Prime shipping, which launched in July 2016. Video is also one of Amazon’s top priorities in India, as the company plans to spend around $300 million to fund original movies and series there.

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