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Tag: online shopping

  • Tmall, Swire Properties launch New Retail initiative

    Tmall, Swire Properties launch New Retail initiative

    Alibaba Group’s Tmall and Swire Properties are launching a New Retail initiative creating tailored retail experiences at Swire Properties’ five shopping malls in Mainland China. The partnership will bring benefits to customers in time for Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival on Sunday with Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing the first brick-and-mortar shopping mall in Mainland China to experience this year’s 11.11 “red packet rain” this week.

    Swire Properties will introduce Tmall’s New Retail technologies at five of its developments: Taikoo Li Sanlitun and Indigo in Beijing; HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai; Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou and Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li in Chengdu. The five New Retail initiatives include Tmall Smart Stores, a Tmall Pop-Up Store, Interactive Idol Engagement Photo Booths, Smart Nursery Rooms and a Smart Parking Service.

    Tmall Smart Stores: Shoppers will enjoy a seamless online and offline shopping experience from order to delivery (for participating physical stores). By signing up as members of selected brands, customers can instantly receive details on the latest promotions, and enjoy a return service by simply using their digital devices.

    Tmall Pop-Up Store: Tmall will open an interactive pop-up store featuring cutting-edge technology at Taikoo Li Sanlitun. This nine-day promotion during the Festival will offer shoppers in-depth and enhanced experiences.

    Interactive Idol Engagement Photo Booth: Fans will have a chance to ‘virtually interact with’ and snap a photo with their idol. This is the first-of-its-kind check-in hot spot in Mainland China.

    Smart Nursery Rooms: These offer mothers a relaxing and private space where they can nurse their babies at shopping malls. Vending machines will also offer essential nursing necessities.

    Smart Parking Service: By linking Alipay with their car license plates, drivers can pay parking fees with ease. This service will save drivers 80 per cent of the time usually spent on paying the parking charge and exiting the car park.

    “At Swire Properties, we are always looking for new ways to innovate and integrate the latest technologies into our business, so that we can bring unique experiences to our customers,” said Han Zhi, director, retail at Swire Properties. “Our collaboration with Tmall is a powerful example of digitisation. By harnessing rapidly developing online technologies and big data, our goal is to define the New Retail shopping experience.

    “This year marks the 10th anniversary of Taikoo Li Sanlitun and Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, both of which have grown in leaps and bounds the past decade. We’re confident that our partnership, which also celebrates this milestone, will set a new benchmark in our respective industries and in the digital space.”

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  • High Suning profit increase reported

    High Suning profit increase reported

    Chinese O2O retailer Suning has posted RMB172.97 billion (US$24.79 billion) in operating revenue in its third quarter performance report. The result shows a 31.15 per cent year-on-year increase on the reported figure during the first three quarters this year. The company also generated a net profit of RMB6.127 billion ($878 million), an increase of 812.11 per cent over the same period last year.

    The company credits the result to the strength of Suning’s fast-growing online sales comparative to other e-commerce platforms.

    Suning currently has more than 382 million registered users. It operates 6292 direct-sale physical stores and 1453 Suning retail cloud franchise stores.

    Suning says it will provide free delivery in the days approaching the holiday the 11.11 Singles Day shopping spree and will not raise its delivery fees on the day.

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  • Alibaba’s second-quarter revenue jumps high

    Alibaba’s second-quarter revenue jumps high

    Alibaba’s second-quarter revenue grew 54 per cent year on year, reaching RMB 85.1 billion ($US12.3 billion). Net income attributable to shareholders was RMB 20 billion ($2.9 billion), a 13 per cent year-on-year increase. “Alibaba had another strong quarter of rapid growth,” said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang.

    “Annual active customers increased by 25 million to reach 601 million in the year ended September 30.”

    “Annual active customers increased by 25 million to reach 601 million in the year ended September 30.”

    Alibaba’s cloud-computing arm saw 90 per cent year-on-year growth to RMB 5.6 billion, launching more than 600 products and features during the quarter ranging from big data analytics, AI application innovation, security and internet-of-things enhancements.

    The business’s online Tmall operations saw a 30 per cent increase in gross merchandise value, driven by improved conversion rates and increased traffic in the fast-moving consumer goods, home furnishings and apparel categories.

    Alibaba’s New Retail strategy has continued to pay off across its Hema supermarkets network, with stores that have been in operation for at least 1.5 years seeing online sales account for 60 per cent of turnover for the September quarter. By the end of the quarter, 77 Hema stores had been opened in China.

    The group has dropped its forecast revenue guidance for the full year by 4 to 6 per cent to between RMB 375 billion and RMB 383 billion. As it stands, the group expects revenue to grow by 54 to 56 per cent.

  • Alibaba Group Puts Spotlight on Indonesian Brands

    Alibaba Group Puts Spotlight on Indonesian Brands

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba launched a special section for Indonesian products on its platform on Friday to promote the country’s best products to more than a billion Chinese consumers. The section, known as the Indonesian Pavilion, debuted on Alibaba’s Tmall Global, a platform dedicated to helping international retail brands and entrepreneurs reach out to the Chinese market despite not having a presence in the country.

    Indonesian Ambassador Djauhari Oratmangun and Ryan Wang, general manager of public affairs at Tmall, inaugurated the special section during an event in Shanghai.

    The Indonesian Pavilion was launched in time for Alibaba’s 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the world’s largest one-day shopping event, which takes place on Nov. 11 every year.

    The section will initially offer five leading Indonesian food and beverage brands: Indomie instant noodles, Kapal Api packaged coffee, Richeese biscuits, Yan Ty Ty swallow’s nests and Papatonk shrimp crackers.

    Through Tmall’s integrated service center, brands can increase consumer awareness of their products ahead of the upcoming shopping festival.

    Chinese consumers will also have a chance to learn about Indonesia’s cultural richness and exotic tourist destination, which will also be featured on the platform.

    This forms part of Alibaba’s ongoing initiatives over the past few years to support Indonesian startups and small and medium enterprises.

    Jack Ma, Alibaba chairman and co-founder, serves on Indonesia’s digital economy board, advising the government on how to best nurture and implement digital technology to drive development.

    The government and Alibaba are also discussing ways to help Indonesia train local talent in the digital field and increase innovations in financial technology.

  • Rakuten and Seiyu to partner in online grocery service

    Rakuten and Seiyu to partner in online grocery service

    Japanese online retail company Rakuten is partnering with Walmart-owned supermarket Seiyu to launch an online grocery service. Spokespeople from the companies say about 20,000 products will be available on the site, drawn from the Seiyu range, including fresh food. Orders will be fulfilled from stores, restricting the service – for now – to about 16 Japanese suburbs, however a warehouse has been opened near Tokyo to serve the capital.

    “We can tap into Rakuten’s 99 million-strong membership base,” said Seiyu executive officer Tamae Takeda. “[Rakuten’s] advantage is in technology, so we can combine our strengths.”

    The new online grocery service will compete with one launched by Amazon in April last year, as well as those offered by larger Japanese supermarket chains.

    Seiyu and Rakuten plan to offer free delivery on orders over a set threshold, or $4 for those under it.

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  • Auchan products to be sold on Lazada

    Auchan products to be sold on Lazada

    Auchan Vietnam has launched its store on LazMall, a branded shopping mall from Lazada, allowing customers to purchase French products online with rapid delivery. Despite having its own online store, Auchan believes it can expand its reach and boost sales by working with Lazada Vietnam. Customers will be able to choose from Lazada’s same-day delivery, next-day delivery or low-cost delivery options.

    Free delivery applies to customers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Danang, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong and Long An with orders worth VND99,000 (US$4.24) or more.

    Initially, Auchan products on LazMall will be mainly consumer goods, with the range to expand over time.

    The French retailer will link all of its 21 brick-and-mortar stores with LazMall, so orders will be fulfilled from the nearest Auchan store to customers.

    Lazada was recently ranked the second largest e-commerce platform in Vietnam behind Shopee, which earns a monthly average traffic of 34.5 million visitors.

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  • Singles Day 2018 faces delivery challenges

    Singles Day 2018 faces delivery challenges

    Alibaba and its partner retailers will face a massive challenge ensuring flawless delivery of millions of parcels all over China and beyond given the expectations of further growth on Singles Day 2018 next week.

    “As the event grows, the logistics challenge becomes bigger and bigger,” observes retail analyst Pascal Martin, partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants.

    “During last year’s event 812 million parcels were delivered just on Tmall. Observers are betting that this year’s milestone might be more than 1 billion parcels.”

    And, says Martin, although brands don’t like to talk about it, there is also a huge challenge in taking care of large quantities of returned goods.

    “11.11 is a massive test bed for Alibaba’s backbone infrastructure: the network of partners that make it all possible, from payment to delivery to data management, as well as AI and cloud technologies that are put to work to ensure a successful event.”

    Alibaba’s Cainiao Smart Logistics Network says it has upgraded its technology to cope with the expected increased volumes from 11.11 this year. The company boasts more than 30 million sqm of warehousing worldwide and a logistics field force of more than 3 million people.

    Domestically, Cainiao has opened a new robotic warehouse, expanded its Internet of Things (IoT) systems and built out its platform’s last-mile reach. For cross-border deliveries, more than 1000 shipping containers and 51 charter planes are booked, ready to speed orders across the world.

    Cainiao VP Ben Wang says while nobody knows how many orders Singles Day 2018 will generate, the logistics company needs to keep upgrading systems, anticipating growth and seeking higher efficiency, because of customer expectations.

    “It was only five years ago that parcel orders surpassed 100 million for the first time. Back then it took nine days to deliver the first 100 million parcels,” said Wang. “Last year, it took less than three days (2.8 days) to deliver the same number of parcels. Consumers increasingly want faster, better delivery, so that’s what we’re doing. This year, we’re striving to achieve a new high, leveraging the beauty of scale and technology.”

    Delivery “within minutes”

    Cainiao’s preparations this year also reflect the changing demands of logistics in the New Retail era. For the first time, goods ordered during 11.11 will be delivered directly from stores to customers during the Festival – sometimes within minutes. Short-distance delivery services will be available in more than 280 cities.

    “Cainiao is the logistics backbone of Alibaba’s New Retail strategy,” Wang said. “We are providing an online and offline, cross-platform supply-chain solution to merchants and enabling them to cut inventory costs, while increasing operating efficiency, especially around 11.11 ­– the busiest season of the year. Ultimately, consumers will enjoy a brand-new shopping experience, as delivery service will always be on-demand.”

    Martin expects Singles Day 2018 to include more partners, not only online but also offline, leveraging Alibaba’s New Retail ecosystem. For example, Tmall 3000+ convenience stores, Hema and RT Mart supermarkets, Suning and Auchan, will be fully integrated into the event.

    The event will also be expanding beyond China through Lazada, the Southeast Asia online platform owned by Alibaba.

    “We expect to see participation of an increasing number of international brands that are taking advantage of the Tmall Global platform – number one by far among Chinese cross-border platforms – to get introduced to Chinese consumers without any direct presence in China for many of them.”

    And diversification will be another key factor in this year’s event, he says.

    “It’s not just about purchasing products, it’s also increasingly about purchasing a variety of services, from videos on Youku to mobile games on UC, theatre tickets on Taopiaopiao, music on Xiami music, travel on Feizhu, etc… All of this will not happen without challenges.”

    Yet another test, says Martin, is for Alibaba to expand the event beyond its group companies.

    “Right now, most of the non-Tmall companies participating in the 11.11 event are Alibaba Group companies. Getting non-group companies to embark on the 11.11 band wagon will be the next step to sustain continued growth of the event in future years.

    “Finally, to keep the event fresh and exciting, Alibaba will need to continue to surprise increasingly demanding Chinese consumers with entertainment and festivals to delight them around the event. 11.11 has become much more than a commercial fair, it is now a major annual milestone in China’s cultural calendar.”

    Last year’s 11.11 event saw GMV reach 254 billion RMB (US$36.6 billion) including 168 billion RMB on Tmall alone. That turnover represented a 43.5 per cent increase over the 2016 GMV.

    Singles Day 2018 will mark the event’s 10th anniversary.

  • Jack Ma’s strategy in final letter to shareholders

    Jack Ma’s strategy in final letter to shareholders

    In his final letter to shareholders, Alibaba founder and executive chairman Jack Ma made a case for globalisation despite recent uncertainties in US-China trade relations, consumer trends, stock markets and the manufacturing industry.

    This is the third time that Alibaba has faced a setback in the global economy over the 19 years, but experience suggests there are opportunities behind the anxiety and friction.

    “The only question is how we should pivot,” he said.

    “Monumental challenges give rise to monumental opportunities, and Alibaba is well-positioned because we are adept at weathering adversity.”

    Ma added that Alibaba’s mission to make it easy to do business anywhere is precisely suited to the current environment, in which doing business is becoming harder.

    “We have spent the past three years to develop a trading system that serves small and medium enterprises and consumers around the world,” he said, referencing the company’s goals of ‘global buy’, ‘global sell’, ‘global delivery’ and ‘global travel’.

    “I am excited that we are able to deploy Alibaba’s technology, experience and resources, thereby establishing and improving a new and inclusive global trade system for the future.”

    Alibaba claims to have helped 200,000 brick-and-mortar retailers to implement online and offline integration in line with its New Retail vision.

    Ma reaffirmed the company’s commitment to sustainable growth for at least 102 years, with the goal of serving two billion global consumers, empowering 10 million profitable businesses and creating 100 million jobs by 2036, even as he prepares to step down from the board in September 2019, when CEO Daniel Zhang will take over his role as executive chairman.

    But Ma said he will “always be happy to engage in any discussion about the company at any time in the future” and will remain a shareholder in the company and partner in the Alibaba partnership.

    He thanked Alibaba’s shareholders for their trust and support and promised that the company would not stop innovating to solve problems and create value, market opportunity and profitability.

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  • Shinsegae plans ‘Korean Amazon’

    Shinsegae plans ‘Korean Amazon’

    Shinsegae has secured investment worth 1 trillion won ($877.8 million) to build a separate company dedicated to its online business, finally giving wings to Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin’s ambitious plan to create a “Korean version of Amazon.”

    Shinsegae said Wednesday that it succeeded in attracting funds worth 1 trillion won from two global private equity firms, BlueRun Ventures and Affinity Equity Partners, to launch a separate company that will comprehensively handle the retail giant’s online business.

    The investment plan was revealed in January, but the detailed conditions have been finalized after nine months of negotiation.

    “Shinsegae Department Store and Emart have led growth within the group until now,” said Chung. “But from now on, the new entity dedicated to online business will lead growth. All capacity within the group will be concentrated on the online business.”

    The retailer will spin off the online business from Shinsegae and Emart and merge them into a separate entity. Shinsegae is mainly in charge of its department store business while Emart is in charge of the eponymous discount chain and warehouse-style mart Traders, among others.

    Of the 1 trillion won investment, 700 billion won will be used to establish the new company, which is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2019. The name of the new entity hasn’t been decided. The remaining 300 billion won investment will follow at a later date.

    “Shinsegae’s new online business-dedicated entity is expected to help it grow into a core company in Korea’s e-commerce industry,” the company said in a statement.

    Shinsegae has been running an integrated online platform called SSG.com, which encompasses several online malls such as Shinsegae Mall, Shinsegae Department Store, Emart Mall and Traders, all either run by Shinsegae or its discount chain affiliate Emart.

    The soon-to-launch company will operate these online malls.

    “A complete integration of the online platform will enable comprehensive investment, simplified decision making and enhanced proficiency,” the company said.

    Shinsegae plans to concentrate investment in the online mall’s logistics service and infrastructure to begin with. It said it plans to invest 1.7 trillion won in logistics centers and related technology and achieve revenue of 10 trillion won for the online business by 2023.

    Shinsegae currently runs two logistics centers dedicated to online malls in Bojeong and Gimpo in Gyeonggi. The retailer is building a third one in Gimpo, which is scheduled to start operating by the latter half of next year.

    SSG.com launched as an integrated site in 2014 and has been recording an average 20 to 30 percent growth each year. It reached 2 trillion won in revenue last year and turned to profit making in the first half of this year

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  • Amazon reports US$ 56.6 bn revenue in Q3

    Amazon reports US$ 56.6 bn revenue in Q3

    Riding on its Cloud business, retail giant Amazon.com saw its net sales increasing 29 percent to US$ 56.6 billion in the third quarter this year, compared with US$ 43.7 billion in third quarter of 2017. Operating income increased to US$ 3.7 billion in the third quarter, compared with operating income of US$ 347 million in the third quarter of 2017.

    Net income increased to US$ 2.9 billion in the third quarter, or US$ 5.75 per diluted share, compared with net income of US$ 256 million, or US$ 0.52 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2017.

    “Amazon Business has now reached a US$ 10 billion annual sales run rate and is serving millions of private and public-sector organisations in eight countries,” said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.

    “We’re not slowing down — Amazon Business is adding customers rapidly, including large educational institutions, local governments, and more than half of the Fortune 100,” Bezos said in a statement.

    Amazon gave fourth-quarter revenue guidance in the range of US$ 66.5 billion and US$ 72.5 billion.

    Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced several new customer commitments and major migrations during the quarter.

    In the third quarter, Amazon introduced a new family of Echo smart home speaker devices.

    Amazon also introduced the all-new Fire HD 8 tablet, featuring an 8-inch HD display, a quad-core processor, 16 GB of internal storage with support for up to 400 GB more via microSD, up to 10 hours of mixed use battery life, and hands-free access to Alexa.

    The number of Alexa-compatible smart home devices has quintupled year to date to more than 20,000 devices from over 3,500 brands.

    Through new tools, including updated Alexa Smart Home Skill APIs and the Alexa Connect Kit, developers and device makers can enable voice control of any device and feature with Alexa.

    Amazon India also announced the launch of Amazon.in in Hindi.

    Amazon Business is generating US$ 10 billion in annual sales, serving hundreds of thousands of business sellers and millions of customers across eight countries.

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  • India’s KOOVS.COM goes offline now exclusively at Central

    India’s KOOVS.COM goes offline now exclusively at Central

    KOOVS.COM, the ultimate fashion destination in India, has announced the launch of its first shop-in-shop presence exclusively at Central M.G Road, Gurugram, India. The launch saw Bollywood celebrity and fashionista, Kiara Advani walk the ramp in the brand’s latest collection marking the celebrations.

    Recognized for bringing latest fashion off international runways for both men and women to the country, KOOVS.COM now gives all fashion lovers an access to the collection offline. Customers can touch and feel the quality of the products, try them on to understand their best fit and buy their products from the store and get it delivered at their doorstep.

    Mary Turner, CEO KOOVS.COM, said “The brand is taking a step to get closer to our customer, by providing them the diverse range of the fresh fashion collection for both men and women. We are excited to see the response at the store and take customer interaction to the next level.”

    The venue was turned into mini London representing brand’s aesthetics and inspiration, resonating European fashion history and impressions of uber chic design philosophy.

    The brand is bringing alive the new trends in style through an aesthetic portrayal for the new age Indian consumers who have a global outlook and admire fashion in their everyday life.

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  • Keeping Up with the Centennials: Buy Social, Pay Offline

    Keeping Up with the Centennials: Buy Social, Pay Offline

    Dentsu Aegis Network, in collaboration with Econsultancy, today launched Here Comes the Centennial: Southeast Asia’s New Generation of Shoppers, a white paper investigating the online buying behaviour of centennials – consumers of the future – in the region. Launched on the sidelines of FUTR Asia 2018 Summit, the study finds that, despite the surge in online shopping, cash is still king for centennials in the digital age, and shopping on social media platforms is the new norm.

    Despite being digital natives, the concept of a cashless society has yet to fully take off for centennials in six countries surveyed, as 56% of survey respondents still prefer paying cash on delivery for their purchases. The next generation of online shoppers also enjoy having a variety of payment methods, as 43% of centennials will readily abandon their purchases because their preferred payment option is not available.

    Having grown up in the smartphone era, centennials are also using social media platforms differently compared to previous generations in their buying journey. Social media applications (47%) such as Facebook and Instagram are the second most popular place for centennials to shop in. Close to half of the survey respondents (49%) also turn to social media when they are researching for more information on their future purchases, rather than asking friends (45%) and family (27%).

    Nick Waters, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, said: “All eyes are on Southeast Asia as the world’s next consumer powerhouse, with its young population and increasing purchasing power. Close to 280 million centennials – tomorrow’s consumers – call this region home. Enabled more than ever before by technology and data, we are seeing incredible potential for growth in the region and our latest research ‘Here Comes the Centennial: Southeast Asia’s New Generation of Shoppers’, helps us understand what is important for these consumers of the future and how businesses can adapt and position effectively for Southeast Asia’s future retail landscape.”

    Brand name and image is no longer a priority of centennials, making end-to-end brand experience more important than ever for retailers. Only 11% cite having a prestigious or famous brand as one of their top three attributes when choosing where to shop. This means retailers need to work harder to get their brand experience perfect in order to capture the attention of tomorrow’s consumers.

    Who are the Centennials? Why are they important?

    Centennials – also known as Generation Z – are those who are born between now and 1995. Accounting for about 277 million of Southeast Asia’s population, 50% of centennials spend more than USD30 a month on online shopping, while 9% spend over USD100 monthly. The size of this new generation alone makes them attractive for retailers, but the behaviours of this group make them lucrative in terms of its online shopping and ecommerce potential.

    This new generation will also soon be one of the world’s most demanding consumers who have high standards and expectations of the online shopping experience. Technology should be an integral part of this experience, as 82% of centennials are excited about futuristic shopping technology such as virtual reality. Personalisation is key as well, as 76% of respondents are happy to share data with websites, if it makes more relevant recommendations.

    Jefrey Gomez, Managing Director, Econsultancy Asia Pacific, said: “Centennials are coming of age in an era when high speed internet is always available, and they expect technology and brand experiences that are fast, responsive, and seamless. The survey showed that 86% of centennials will not use an app or website that takes too long to load and 82% will not use an app or website that is difficult to navigate. This means that retailers can therefore no longer just provide well-designed stores or rely solely on brand campaigns to drive sales. Instead they need to focus on the utility of their online offering to make the purchasing journey easy to complete.”

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  • Alibaba, Richemont ink deal to bring YNAP to China

    Alibaba, Richemont ink deal to bring YNAP to China

    Alibaba is to launch Yoox Net-A-Porter China after entering into a partnership with Yoox’s owner, Swiss luxury fashion group Richemont. Under the partnership, YNAP and Alibaba will establish a joint venture (JV) to launch two mobile apps for YNAP’s Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter multi-brand, in-season online stores for consumers in China. Alibaba will provide technology infrastructure, marketing, payments, logistics and other technology support to the JV.

    The partnership will use YNAP’s strong relationship with leading luxury brands, some 950 of them being currently distributed through YNAP in China, and launch the brands on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion.

    “Chinese customers at home and abroad are an increasingly important customer base for Richemont and for the broader luxury industry,” said Richemont chairman Johann Rupert.

    “Our digital offering in China is in its infancy and we believe that partnering with Alibaba will enable us to become a significant and sustainable online player in this market. Alibaba has become the preferred online destination in China, with world-class teams in technology, logistics and marketing.”

    Rupert said the company would work with Alibaba to ensure Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter continued to expand “as neutral, open and sophisticated platforms”.

    YNAP group CEO Federico Marchetti said Alibaba provided “a neutral and powerful platform to maximise China’s immense potential” for the group.

    Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, added: “We believe this announcement is just the beginning of a long-term partnership, and together we are committed to exploring many more opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

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  • Baby apparel FirstCry in talks with Alibaba, SoftBank for funding

    Baby apparel FirstCry in talks with Alibaba, SoftBank for funding

    Indian online baby product retailer FirstCry is in funding talks with Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba and Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Group. The firm is seeking at least US$100–$150 million in the deal in a move to put it at the forefront of the market, according to unverified reports. Both investing partners may participate in the funding if the deal goes ahead.

    While none of the parties have released statements on the proposal, previous reports have revealed FirstCry as seeking similar investment figures over the past year.

    FirstCry has raised more than $100 million since launching in 2010. The business derives the majority of revenue from a network of more than 300 stores despite the relatively small size of its offline business compared to its online presence.

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  • Myntra launches its in-house plus size brand, Sztori

    Myntra launches its in-house plus size brand, Sztori

    Myntra has announced the launch of Sztori, its in-house plus size apparel brand, especially designed to suit a larger range of body shapes and sizes. It is essentially a designer wear in the plus size category, offering consumers, the perfect fit and multiple style options at affordable rates. The apparel is made to suit plus size body types rather than prove to be a mere extension in size on existing profiles, thus breaking the existing age-old norm in the Indian market.

    Post identifying a white space opportunity in the segment, Myntra set out to design and develop merchandise under a new brand to cater to the category and make wearers look fashionable with multiple style options at affordable prices, opening new avenues in the industry.

    Known for democratizing fashion across segments, the launch enables Myntra to go a step further and include size profiles into the ambit of ‘fashion for all’. It champions inclusivity in fashion, evaluating and emphasizing greater attention to styles, trends, designs, fit and fabric for plus sized apparel, in order to bring out the personality of the person wearing it. ‘Sztori’ derives its name and theme from Myntra’s ‘story’ of developing a brand that celebrates a person’s journey and spirit, helping to soar above shape and size.

    The brand offers a range of products for men and women, including, Tees, denims, tops, dresses and more in L to XXXXL (Large to 4 times Large) sizes. Shoppers can choose from over 225 styles and designs at prices ranging from Rs 799-1,999.

    Speaking on the occasion, Manohar Kamath, CXO and Head, Myntra Fashion Brands, said, “We are extremely delighted to announce the addition of Sztori to our portfolio of private brands. Plus size clothing is in great demand and it was time we offered something substantial in the category, opening up more avenues and possibilities for our customers. Research estimates that this segment will account for US$ 5-6 billion in the US$ 40 billion Indian online fashion apparel market, by 2020, which is approximately 10-12 percent of the overall market, making it an important proposition.”