Garment cos line up e-tailing plans

Garment cos line up e-tailing plans
Economic Times, India

MUMBAI: India’s burgeoning garment retail sector is now entering cyberspace. Prominent retail stores including, Pantaloon, Shoppers‘ Stop and Globus are looking at setting up e-retailing portals. High-end garment brands like Zodiac have already set up online stores.

Analysts point out that while the growth of online sales is still largely in single-digits even in the mature markets, the Indian retailers want to tap consumers through all avenues.

The total internet business in India is worth over Rs 2,200 crore. The Internet and Online Association of India (IOAI) has projected that online shopping will increase to Rs 2,300 crore by FY07.

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) forecast, there are 38.5m Indians online today and it is expected that the users will grow to 100m by ’07-08. The past two years have seen a rise in the number of companies entering into the e-retailing or “e-tailing” market.

Kishore Biyani, managing director, Pantaloon Retail, said that the company would be launching its first e-retail portal, futurebazaar.com in the next three weeks.

“Besides garments, the store will also merchandise goods ranging from mobile phones and other electronic goods to crockery. We aim to earn Rs 300 crore from this venture in the next year,” he said.

Premium brand, Zodiac Clothing Company has recently launched a webstore, zodiaconline.com. Salman Noorani, MD, Zodiac Clothing Company said that the company has adopted an aggressive retail strategy and plans to open 30 (physical) stores in the next year. “In line with this, the company has also decided to use the e-commerce route to tap customers.”

While many companies are upbeat on online retailing, some are still sceptical. ITC’s Wills Lifestyle is biding time before going online, as the look, feel and experience of purchasing clothes in stores is essential.

Raghav Gupta, vice-president, Technopak Advisors, pointed out that while Indian companies are bound to look at all delivery formats to reach the consumers in the country, one of the largest global apparel brands, GAP does only 5-7% of its sales through e-tailing.

While the base is expected to be small, through online portals, stores are looking at reaching out to consumers in smaller towns and centres where physical outlets have not yet been set up.