Flipkart bets big with Lifestyle tie-up
Flipkart on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with retailer Lifestyle International that will not only help the e-commerce company in its battle with rival Amazon but also tap the booming fashion retail business in the country.
“Fashion is a $100-billion market in the country with only 6 per cent having been penetrated by the online retail players. There is a very large opportunity to enable more consumers to come online,” said Rishi Vasudev, senior vice-president and group head of fashion at Flipkart, Myntra, and Jabong.
“Lifestyle’s wide range of brands across fashion categories will enable growth for both the players,” said Vasudev. Industry sources said theWalmart-owned Flipkart Group had a 70 per cent market share in the online fashion retail space.
The partnership brings together unique capabilities such as relevant customer insights, Flipkart’s vast reach, andMyntra’s understanding of the fashion business. Lifestyle will take its wide selection of product ranges, including its fashion private label brands across womenswear, menswear, kids wear, footwear, handbags, fashion, and accessories, to newer geographies. It will also be able to serve the over 160 million consumer base of the Flipkart Group. “Currently, 2-3 per cent of our business is online, and our target is to grow it to15-20 per cent,” said Vasanth Kumar, managing director, Lifestyle International.
Having completed 20 years in the industry, Lifestyle has a network of 78 stores in India and is growing rapidly by adding one store every 45 days. It plans to have 100 stores within the next two years. Kumar said the company was present in 44 cities and the Flipkart partnership would enable it to reach small cities and towns.
In June, Myntra was expecting around 50 per cent of its end of reason sale to be generated from tier-II and -III cities. It was eyeing to tap 32-million potential customers, through its biggest edition of the mega sale event in June.
Flipkart said its expertise in using innovation and technology to create customer experiences combined with an “unmatched reach” helped establish it as the partner of choice for Lifestyle.
The move also complements Flipkart’s strategy to bring a wide range of branded offerings in important segments such as women’s ethnic wear, kids wear, and men’s formal wear.
The tie-up is also expected to help both the companies in their competition from yet-to-be launched e-commerce business of Reliance Industries.
Flipkart says its expertise in using innovation and technology to create customer experiences helped establish it as the partner of choice for Lifestyle