Nautica partners with Flipkart in India

Indian e-commerce marketplace Flipkart Group has signed a deal with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for the licensing and distribution of lifestyle brand Nautica in India.

As a part of this agreement, Flipkart Group will manage Nautica’s online and offline business, through a network of franchise partners, which ABG states will help to “strengthen the brand and its business in India’s ever-growing fashion landscape” while opening “new avenues with the combined strength of Flipkart and Myntra, India’s largest online fashion destinations”.

The speciality teams at Flipkart Group will bring their expertise in design, product development, merchandising and more, to address unique consumer demands of the market, explained ABG in a statement.

The integrated approach across channels will lead to a “refined shopping experience” and bring industry-first practices including Endless Aisle, a technology solution that allows shoppers to virtually browse additional product offerings and self-checkout capabilities for convenience to Nautica stores.

Speaking about the launch, Rishi Vasudev, senior vice president and group head - fashion (Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong) said: “Our goal is to bring the best of fashion to our consumers and the launch of Nautica under the Flipkart Group label is a direct reflection of this effort. The brand’s success on a global scale is admirable and we are very excited to lead this new growth phase for Nautica in India.

“This partnership further strengthens our position as the leading fashion destination in India and is a testament to our drive-in bringing the best brands to millions of Indian consumers. We aim to grow Nautica’s business in India and offer consumers the best shopping experience by integrating our technology expertise across various consumer touchpoints.”

Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and chief executive of Authentic Brands Group, added: “Flipkart Group is the undisputed fashion market leader in India, providing Nautica access to over 160 million consumers across Flipkart, Myntra and Jabong.

“In addition to extensive market reach, Flipkart Group brings a high degree of technological capabilities making them an ideal partner for Nautica. We are confident that this partnership will help us engage more customers and we look forward to growing Nautica’s presence in India, an important growth market for the brand.”

Founded in 1983, Nautica has more than 300 stores globally and 1,200 concessions worldwide. ABG acquired Nautica in May 2018 with the intention of growing its international footprint into new key territories and strengthen its presence in existing markets such as the US and Latin America. The brand successfully launched in China earlier this year and India was seen as an “important growth market” for the brand.

Flipkart launched in 2007 and has a customer base of more than 160 million, offering 80 million products across 80 categories.

Image: courtesy of ABG/Nautica