ITC jumps onto online world for lifestyle business growth

ITC Group has jumped onto the online marketplace bandwagon to push its lifestyle retail business especially its apparel brand John Players, which it plans to expand into newer categories. The group is planning to introduce the brand in categories such as footwear, eyewear, backpacks and bags which will be sold through the online marketplace.

The move has been prompted by the success that John Players brand has had in online sales through Myntra, Flipkart and Snapdeal in the last one year. In fact the sales growth rate of John Players has doubled to 20 per cent over the premium Wills Lifestyle business. ITC also plans to launch an exclusive line of clothing for John Players for e-commerce.

ITC has exclusive online stores for its Wills Lifestyle and John Players’ products but its sales are a fraction of what is sold at online marketplaces. The online exclusive store will continue but the company will focus more on partnering with online marketplaces.

Presently, about 10 per cent of revenue for ITC’s lifestyle retail business is generated from online sales. The company is targeting 15 per cent this fiscal.