Welspun Corp as received multiple orders of approximately 147 KMT valuing close to Rs. 1,400 crore. These orders would be executed from India and will help boost the mill utilization for our India facilities. The inflow of orders is not only from the domestic O&G and Water business but also from exports. .

With these orders, the company's order book stands at 755 KMT valued at approximately Rs. 6,300 crore, after considering execution up to August 2020. Welspun Corp is the second largest manufacturer of large diameter pipes in the world based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a flagship company of the $3 billion Welspun Group. It operates a 1.65 mtpa plant in Anjar, Gujarat, which is being increased to 2.1 mtpa.

Myntra plans to make the 2020 festive season the largest ever with a big focus on ethnic wear and sharp pricing. The country's largest e-tailer has curated special ethnic wear collections from all regions for the season. It has also started working with influencers and is now the third most engaging app in terms of video. Another of the e-tailer’s plan includes launching self-grooming videos for the season. It will also launch around 9 lakh styles across 3000 brands.

The WFH category introduced by Myntra is still trending and is geared more towards athleisure and casual wear rather than formal wear. A large number of organizations have adapted to this as the new normal and have begun investing in the overall well-being of their employees and are giving them that space to be comfortable while working from home.

Styched, a production on-demand fashion brand, has launched a new portal Styched Life which aims to be a one-stop-shop for fan-based merchandise.

The fashion startup collaborates with artists, brands, influencers, sports franchises, comics, TV shows, and charitable organisations from all walks of life and creates limited fashion merchandise. Its portfolio includes names such as Underground Authority, M-Zee Bella, Agsy, Hip Hop India, High on Dance, Diamond Comics, Amar Chitra Katha, Bengaluru Raptors and Cricket Association for the Blind in India and more.

The fashion startup, started by Soumajit Bhowmik in February last year, claims to deliver about 200 orders a day and to over 20,000 pin codes across the country. Owing to its zero inventories and production on-demand process, the company is able to deliver a much larger assortment of styles and designs, it said.

Homegrown e-commerce platform Snapdeal has announced three sale events to kick off Diwali celebrations in the country. Snapdeal’s first sale starts mid-October and will coincide with the Navratri festivities, while the next two sales will run in late October and early November ahead of the Diwali celebrations.

To prepare for festive season sales, Snapdeal has on-boarded more than 75,000 new sellers who are sharply focused on the fast-growing value-merchandise segment. It has also added nearly 5000 manufacturer-sellers on its platform this year

This year, Snapdeal will focus on offering better price propositions to its customers and said that prices will be even lower than the last time. Items in categories such as kitchenware, kitchen appliances, home furnishing, home improvement products, fashion apparel including sarees, kurtis, suits and kids wear and fashion accessories like watches and wallets etc will be sold during the sale on discounted prices.

Tata Group is urging potential investors to acquire stakes in its new digital platform. Its holding company Tata Son is working with advisers to explore bringing in financial or strategic investors, including global technology companies. The group aims to create the new entity by bringing together digital assets across various Tata businesses.

Tata’s platform seeks to compete with Amazon.com and Flipkart to tap the nascent market of more than 1 billion consumers. It plans to build an all-in-one e-commerce app for its swathe of consumer products and services. The platform is expected to be launched by end-2020 or early next year.

Tata Group already has a bunch of entrenched consumer businesses, many of which also have an online presence. These include Tanishq’s jewelry stores, Titan watch showrooms, Star Bazaar supermarkets, chain of Taj hotels and a joint venture with Starbucks in India. The group aims to consolidate these currently fragmented web operations.

Malls in India stand to lose heavily due to COVID-19. The temporary closure of shopping malls implies a revenue loss for retailers such as apparel/department stores, multiplexes and food QSRs. Also, retailers may have to potentially bear store rental costs which may vary between 15 to 25 per cent of store consumption. The most likely scenario is that mall operators and retailers may share the losses given that malls have now become a relationship-based business with the same retailer having a presence across malls. Malls are an annuity business with a few seasonal variations which are captured through revenue share when store consumption crosses a fixed threshold. During leaner periods, a minimum guarantee ensures downside protection for the mall operator.

Given the unprecedented nature of the event, and malls being a relationship-based business, mall operators and retailers have to work together for a feasible solution to minimise losses for all stakeholders. In case of an improved situation from July 2020, consumers are expected to flock back to malls. One comfort is that Tier I malls in India have now evolved into lifestyle destinations and present a clean, safe and easily accessible entertainment option.

Losses for the global economy because of the epidemic could run into a few trillion dollars.

Mango continues to expand in the Indian market through its franchise partner, Myntra. The brand plans to open 10 new retail outlets before the year end. The first of these outlets will open in early October in the Infinity Mall in Mumbai. Other outlets will be opened in iconic department stores located in the cities of Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi, at Kapsons department stores in Chandigarh and Ludhiana, along with standalone stores Hyderabad, Surat and Lucknow. In all, Mango plans to open 29 stores in India, making India the second-highest number of stores in Asia.

Mango’s partnership with Myntra began in 2014, when the retailer helped the brand accelerate its online business in India. Following the success of this venture, a new agreement was signed in 2017 according to which Myntra continues to assist brand expansion in India. Currently, Mango is present in around 200 stores in 15 markets, including China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and, since 2020, the Maldives.

Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of Flipkart Group for kiranas and MSMEs,announced the 'Big Festival Month from September 29 to October 31 where over 95 per cent products sourced locally will be made available on the platform.

The sale will feature products in fashion categories across more than 50 brands, more than 100 sellers and one lakh members, the newly-launched B2B marketplace said in a statement.

Flipkart Wholesale began operations earlier this month. The upcoming festive season is a great opportunity for retailers and MSMEs to boost sales and profitability. It will enable the whole retail ecosystem to come together, lift consumer sentiment and drive business growth for local MSMEs across the country, said Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head - Flipkart Wholesale & Walmart India.

Since its launch, Flipkart Wholesale has expanded to 15 cities and is now servicing more than 750 new pin codes across the country.

The 'Big Festival Month' will offer products in categories such as men's wear, women's western wear, women's ethnic wear, kids wear and footwear.

Rishi Vasudev, the former group head of Flipkart’s fashion business has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer for Lifestyle and Home Centre businesses of Lifestyle International-India, part of Dubai-based retail and hospitality conglomerate Landmark Group.

Vasudev will assume the new role from June 1, 2020. He will succeed Vasanth Kumar who is set to exit the company by June 30. Vasudev has over two decades of work experience across top retail brands including Calvin Klein, Arrow, among others. He has served as the CEO of Calvin Klein and the senior vice-president and chief operating officer for Arrow, Gant and Izod while at Arvind Brands. He also worked at Aditya Birla Group across brands such as Louis Philippe. At Flipkart, Vasudev led the overall fashion strategy across Flipkart, Myntra, and Jabong, as the company’s senior vice-president and its fashion group head.