Bengaluru-based startup unicorn B2B commerce platform Udaan, has raised $280 million in fresh funding from existing investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital and Tencent, alongside new investors Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital. Udaan will utilise the funds to capitalise on growth in the B2B e-commerce market, driven by increased digital adoption by small and medium businesses due to the pandemic.

Udaan will also invest in expanding its selection of products, growing its SME financing capabilities and strengthening its supply chain infrastructure. Udaan, connects small and medium sized retailers with manufacturers and vendors, has a network of three million users and 25,000 sellers across 900 cities. It deals with goods in the lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruit and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise categories. The new capital will allow Udaan to take e-commerce across India.

Women’s lingerie brand Zivame has collaborated with AishwaryaMohanraj to launch a campaign on t-shirt bras as it looks mainstream the lingerie category.

With this campaign, the brand aims to highlight on real life challenges and embarrassment faced by women due to bra outlines being visible, restricting their choice of outerwear.

The brand aims to highlight this issue and the taboos associated with it through humour which is fun and relatable.

Zivame has recently been focusing on expanding its product categories from beyond women’s lingerie, intimate wear, and sleep wear. It has also launched a line of activewear featuring leggings and sports bras, and a line of shapewear designed specifically to be worn with sarees.

The Bengaluru-based business has a strong presence in the country’s lingerie market and plans to further expand in the coming year with an aim to break even.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has sought more details on the new antitrust complaint against Amazon India filed by a representative of Aiova, a group of small online sellers. The complaint admitted by CCI in August, Amazon India of anti-competitive practices like preferential treatment to select sellers like Cloudtail and Amazon Retail, where it holds equity stakes.

As per Economic Times, CCI sought additional details last month but the matter hasn’t been reported before. This could add to Amazon India’s regulatory woes in India at a time when the government has also asked the Enforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank to investigate allegations of FDI violation by e-commerce firms Amazon India and Flipkart.

CCI has asked for details on two main fronts -- how exactly certain large sellers are being given preferential treatment, and the effect of Amazon’s private labels being sold on its marketplace. Over the last two years, online platforms have started entering product segments with their own brands that compete against third-party products.

Fashion designer Satya Paul, Founder of eponymous fashion clothing brand passed away in Coimbatore on January 6.

Paul was hospitalised in December after suffering a stroke. Following brief recovery, he was shifted to the Isha Yoga Center near Coimbatore, founded by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Satya Paul entered retail in the late '60s and started exporting Indian handloom products to high-end retail stores in Europe and America. He, along with his son, launched the first sari boutique in India in 1980 and founded the eponymous fashion clothing brand in 1986.

Satya Paul label is known for its unique and one-of-a-kind prints. Its product range includes sarees, scarfs, stoles, shawls, bags, clutches, ties, cufflinks, and wallets, among others.

RELATED ARTICLE Paris fashion week men's 2022

Join our community on Linkedin 

Greendigo Organic Clothing plans to distribute clothing to underprivileged children over the festive season and has partnered with NGO Trishul for the same. The brand’s co-founders, sisters Meghna Kishore and Barkha Bhatnagar Das, are currently distributing clothing from their certified organic cotton children’s wear line. By donating these new and unused organic cotton production samples and unsold inventory, the brand also aims to cut down on its textile waste, a major source of environmental pollution.

Greendigo has a sustainable approach to kids’ clothing. The brand’s garments are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) which ensures the organic status of raw materials as well as assures that manufacturing processes are environmentally and socially responsible. It believes that an outdoorsy lifestyle is paramount for the wellbeing of kids and this encouraged it to make easy to wash, hardwearing and practical garments.

Value fashion retailer V-Mart Retail that recently opened 4 new stores - three in Uttar Pradesh and one in Jharkhand, is expecting some recovery in the fourth quarter of the current financial year and optimistic about the financial year 2021.

The company plans to strengthen its retail presence during the next financial year and expects sales to completely recover during the next fiscal year.

“We still have cautious optimism on Q4 and we may not be able to look at a complete recovery in Q4, but as far as next year is concerned, we have been making ample preparations for more store rollouts, expansion, and looking at newer opportunities,” Anand Agarwal chairman and managing director of V-Mart Retail told CNBC-TV18 and “For the next financial year, V-Mart Retail has been looking for more store rollouts, expansion, and looking at newer opportunities”, he added.

V-Mart Retail currently has around 274 stores across India with a strong presence in tier 2, 3 cities.

Social media influencer Bhuvan Bam has launched Youthiapa 2.0 and extended his current merchandise. The Youthiapa 2.0 is targeted at the millennials and the brand is banking on affordable pricing to boost sales. The collection features a streetwear wardrobe that includes pieces such as sweatshirts, hoodies, T-shirts, and more. Youthiapa 2.0 encapsulates versatile and easy to wear pieces. The designs and the colours are targeted at the youth.

Launched in 2017, Youthiapa is India’s first platform to have store access on a YouTube channel. The brand is looking to expand its offerings and is in talks with experts to enter the fragrances segment in the coming months.

Saurabh Bhudoliam the chief financial officer and key management person of Future Lifestyle Fashion has designed. He had joined in May 2020. The company informed about this development to the BSE in a listing.

He has been associated with the brand since 2016 where he was spearheading the finance and accounts segment since 2016. Bhudolia has over 13 years of industry experience and has worked across multiple brands such as Tata Steel, Cadbury, Sula Vineyards and Future Lifestyle Fashions.

In the first 10 months of 2020, India had benefited by focusing on USA for apparel sector, US makes a compelling case for Indian for immediate growth. US offers a level-playing field with top competing nations in terms of duty combined. India needs to intensify efforts and focus on all levels, including those at the government, cluster and companies to grab share in the US markets.

Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), feels, " To repeat the success of 2020 in the US market for our apparel products, it’s time now for achieving the much needed growth in 2021,India should focus more on US market, as Vietnams Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union would intensify competition for India” he further adds.

Stressing on value addition with new capex, he said using the low-interest and easy liquidity combined with robust demand during post-COVID-19 times, the sector can hit the target of 20 per cent increase in per product revenue. The sector should use the forthcoming production- linked incentive scheme as the stepping stone for much-needed product diversification and innovation to attract global buyers.

Stating that all manufacturing units need to invest in technology adoption and digital initiatives, he said to equip the industry and eco system; culture-building of having an agile mindset is the forward to institutionalise the success.