Big apparel houses set their eyes on online retail

While top e-commerce players are going all out to take the lead, well known apparel retailers, with strong offline presence are silently marching ahead with their own online strategies. Established players like Arvind, Reliance, Shoppers Stop, Madura, Raymond, Future Group and TT are busy preparing their own online platforms to sustain and expand existing customer base.

Since they already enjoy a strong offline presence, customer loyalty is not an issue but reaching out to a new, net-savvy consumer base could become a necessity amid the raging war to grab a pie of online market. Through the hybrid model, they are able to blend their expertise gained over the years through offline retailing.

Leading apparel houses log to the web

A move that would help them consolidate and differentiate from the marketplace models is different collections for their own stores and portals. While their merchandise is already available with third-party e-platforms like Flipkart, Myntra, Amazon, Snapdeal or Jabong, offline retail majors are planning separate inventories to keep consumer interest intact in their product lines.

Arvind has announced its entry into the e-commerce space with the launch of a custom clothing brand, Creyate. To follow its agenda online, Arvind has set up a subsidiary with 50 member team called Arvind Internet (AIL), which will manage and look after all the company's e-commerce initiatives.

With rising customers in e-commerce, textile and apparel major Raymond, the 89-year-old company catering to men's wear segment has made an online foray with a full-fledged virtual platform called RaymondNext.com. This also includes mobile apps. The e-platform will display all of company's brands, including Raymond, Park Avenue, ColorPlus and Parx, and products spread across textile, apparel, home furnishing and personal care accessories apart from customised design and styling services.

Experts point out that the idea behind launching their own e-portal is to create a technologically advanced platform providing an offline store experience for the online customer and to use its strong physical retail network across the country to deliver products directly at the shopper's doorstep. These companies are infusing funds to establish the e-commerce ventures under a dedicated separate team.

Similar strategies are being followed by the likes of Shoppers Stop and TT. TT plans to follow multi-channel strategy of selling both through popular e-commerce platforms as well as its own website. To further drive their self-run online platforms, branded apparel retailers are planning to bank on the additional advantage of having their stores as delivery points for the online orders. Arvind aims to strengthen its e-commerce venture to get over Rs 1000 crores business in next three years.

Online segment holds promise

India is the fastest growing e-commerce market in Asia/Pacific says a new report by tech firm Gartner. The nation’s e-commerce market will grow by 70 percent in 2015 from 3.5 billion dollars (over Rs 21,460 crores) in 2014 to 6 billion dollars (over Rs 36,780 crores), it says.

This perhaps explains why the e-commerce fever has caught on leading textile companies. Eyeing opportunity to generate revenues through this medium, these companies are roping in neighbourhood tailors to boost the identity of their fabric brand. Textile majors such as Grasim, Raymond and Siyaram have taken an initiative of training and upgrading the skills of local tailors in cities across the country.

Meanwhile Tatas are planning an entry into the e-commerce space with the marketplace model. Aditya Birla Group is leading a new project to prepare the groundwork for the group's foray into e-commerce and Reliance is ready to extend its retail business into e-commerce with its own marketplace model by next fiscal.