28 June 2022, Mumbai:

Flipkart plans to facilitate market access for self-help groups and farm producer organizations in Telangana and has signed an MoU with the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty for the same. The MoU was signed by Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Minister of Rural Development and Rural Water Supply, Telangana and Smriti Ravichandran, Vice-President and Head-Grocery, Flipkart.

Through this agreement, Flipkart will train self-help groups and FPOs and source goods from local Telangana farmers to help to improve their income. Flipkart is working with a number of groups across India to build partnerships with local businesses in order to bring them online. The Walmart-owned business aims to digitize rural and small businesses and bring them to the over 400 million customers on its India platform as well as international markets through its global e-commerce platform.

22 June 2022, Mumbai:

Asia’s leading omni-channel platform, Ace Turtle plans to open over 100 omnichannel-enabled stores of brands Lee and Wrangler by March 2023. The Bengaluru-based company has already hired senior leaders to drive the expansion.

As per Nitin Chhabra, Co-Founder and CEO, Ace Turtle, the company will launch new stores on the franchise model across Tier I, II and III cities. The stores will be located closer to customers’ locations.

The Licensed Brands vertical was launched by Ace Turtle in 2021 through acquisition of long-term licenses of iconic denim brands Lee & Wrangler from Kontoor Brands for India and a few South Asian markets.

The company is engaged in providing design, local sourcing and retailing services consumer brands in India. Within a short duration, the company has transformed both the brands’ businesses by leveraging its omnichannel technology platform.

Founded in 2014, Ace Turtle is the market leader in omnichannel technology space for enterprise brands in India. It is a frontrunner in New Age commerce having two business verticals: SaaS and Licensed Brands.

With its proprietary platform ‘Rubicon’, Ace Turtle integrates online and offline retail channels enhancing efficiency and scalability through omnichannel transformation by intelligent use of data.

16 June 2022, Mumbai:

Having completed nine years of operations in India, the local arm of the US ecommerce major Amazon plans to increase local stores in India and gain 500 more e-commerce users as customers, says Manish Tiwary, Country Manager-India Consumer Business, Amazon India.

The Seattle-headquartered etailer plans to onboard more physical stores on its India platform to increase the number of goods that can be delivered quickly to customers. Amazon India currently has 1.1 million sellers on its platform. Its total user base is more than 100 million.

Last month, Amazon launched Smart Commerce, an initiative that will help offline stores set up their own digital storefronts, in addition to selling on its India marketplace. This is similar to what Canada-based Shopify does. Amazon will enable these stores to sell on its marketplace and other platforms.

Amazon’s focus on social commerce is in line with its recent acquisition of Glowroad which has introduced a zero-commission policy since then.

According to Tiwary, the emphasis on social commerce and physical stores was an outcome of the realisation that it would need different models to cater to a market like India. It is also taking a bet on videos (Prime Video, MiniTV), voice and influencer-led commerce.

In total, the e-commerce firm has pumped in more than $6.5 billion in India and will continue to invest here across segments to grow its core commerce business like grocery.

In the grocery segment, Amazon is competing with many players to get mind space from customers. Tiwary said the company would continue to offer the two-hour delivery service through Amazon Fresh.

24 June 2022, Mumbai:

Expanding its product range Vegan accessories brand Zouk has entered the footwear segment with the launch of an India-inspired cruelty-free footwear range.

The brand has also rebranded itself to strengthen its customer base and strike a chord with its target audience, as per a Fashion Network report

PradeepKrishnakumar, Co-founder, says, the initial brand identity was quickly put together to start off. But, we have now reached a stage where the brand and its customers deserved something better. Hence, we decided to go back to the drawing board.”

Founded by Disha Singh and PradeepKrishnakumar, Zouk retails a range of handbags, laptop bags, tote bags, and pouches claiming to have a customer base of over 2,00,000 in this segment. The brand works with local artisans across India.

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21 June 2022, Mumbai:

To showcase the versatility of khadi on International Yoga Day, designers at the Centre of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) have launched a new wellness wear collection called Svada. As per Atharva veda, the word Svadha denotes ease, comfort or pleasure, that are the attributes of this collection. The ensembles boast of features like a bias yoke on the shoulder, a box pleat in centre back of top wear and low crotch, wrap around bottom wear for ease in stretching and extra comfort.

The collection was endorsed by Kiran Bedi, Social Activist, Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner, and Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. It was chosen by Ripun Daman Bevli, Plogman of India, who appreciated the comfort of khadi as a fabric and silhouettes which provided ease in doing yoga or workout.

Set up by jointly by the KVIC and Ministry of MSME at NIFT, CoEK aims to help Khadi Institutions (KIs) to effectively design, produce and market khadi products in the Indian and global market.

15 June 2022, Mumbai:

Known for working with Indian artisans and weavers to create precise, joyful prints on luxurious fabrics, Dhir is a graduate of NIFT Delhi.

His designs gained an international platform when he won the coveted International Woolmark Prize in 2016 for a meticulously engineered collection of ikat woven with merino wool on handloom.

His eponymous label, co-founded with his Indian-Russian wife Svetlana, became popular for its distinctive aesthetic, fusing Indian handloom and design with contemporary silhouettes and imaginative, often cheeky, prints.

Dhir new collection-The Orchard- offers bomber jackets in silk damask, classic blazers in rich silk brocade, breezy shirt-style pleated dresses in muga satin silk and relaxed oversized shirts in cotton silk. Dhirhas also released an ivory Frescoe collection, lively with unexpected owls, inspired by a fresco of a lotus pond, which — true to form —Suket has updated in unexpected ways.

24 June 2022, Mumbai:

The consolidated revenues of textiles and fashion retailer Raymond Group have grown to Rs 6,438 crore in FY2021-22 from Rs 3,648 crore in FY2020-21.

The Gautam Singhania-led company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 13.49 per cent to Rs 881 crore while total assets grew from Rs 6,740 crore in FY21 to Rs 7,377 crore in FY22.

The company made a net profit of Rs 260 crore during the year whereas its profit before taxes reached Rs 413 crore. Raymond’s net debt reached Rs 1,088 crore in FY22 during the same period. Raymond’s consumer business comprises of branded textile, apparel, and retail. Sales of branded textile division raked in sales worth Rs 2,789 crore; sales of apparel business reached Rs 891 crore. As of FY22, Raymond has 1,351 exclusive stores, 1,304 stores in over 600 cities and towns in India, and 47 stores in eight countries.

Raymond’s garmenting business sales reached Rs 725 crore mainly from the US, Europe, and Japan, and exports to over 20 countries.

Sales from its high-value cotton shirting business grew to Rs 572 crore. In order to tackle higher raw material prices, the company sources wool from Australia, South Africa, the US, and Paraguay, linen flex from Belgium and France, and cotton yarns domestically.

It manages price fluctuation risks through a combination of forward and spot bookings, inventory management, pre-emptive vendor development practices, and price hikes are undertaken.

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20 June 2022, Mumbai:

ChandaniAgarwal, Founder, Little Tags has been featured in The Corporate Review Magazine as the ‘Futuristic Woman Entrepreneur in 2022’ and won a ‘Digital Women Awards 2021’ by ShethePeople magazine. Little Tags was listed in Business Iconic magazine as one of ‘The 10 startups that caught our eye in 2022’ for its ingenious solutions.

An alumna of a premier business school in Delhi, Agarwal launched Little Tags in 2017. It is a unique marketplace for kids’ clothing, bringing branded, high-quality children’s brands together on one platform. With over 260 designer brands under its umbrella, Little Tags brings the best and latest trends of reputed designer labels in India like RohitBal, SamantChauhan, RaghavendraRathore, PayalSinghal, Nitya Bajaj, Pallavi Mohan, Shivan&Narresh, AnandBhushan, SiddharthTytler, Krishna Mehta, MonishaJaising, NishkaLulla and Pooja Wang.

The marketplace was awarded the title of ‘ India’s Most Admirable Brand 2020’ by Forbes India and its collection was shown at the ‘Ramp of Delhi Times Fashion Week 2021 & 2022’.

14 June 2022, Mumbai:

Bridge-to-luxury celebration wear brand by designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil, S&N expanded its retail presence by opening its 11th store at the Phoenix Palladium Mall in Mumbai.

Featuring a modern minimalistic spatial design; the store is painted in grey shades with geometrical motifs inspired by the brand's signature tape details. The overall design of the store follows a strict dynamism of patterns that can also be found in the silhouettes, easily recognized by loyal customers of the brand.

The store offers a collection of both menswear and womenswear. The brand’s offerings include classic shirts, signature drape-kurtas, Bandhgalas, sherwani’s, waistcoats, and a range of accessories. The womenswear offerings include draped skirts, corset tops, and saree gowns capturing the very essence of a modern spirit.

The varied spectrum of ensembles available from the brand 'S&N' empowers millennials and Gen Z consumers to play around with their outfits and express themselves via the art of dressing.

The S&N store offers designs suitable for the urban millennial. From shirts to Neo-contemporary jackets for men to corset tops, and chic denim dresses for women, each piece of clothing reflects the spirit of the modern young population of India.