India’s leading power dressing brand from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Van Heusen has launched an exclusive campaign for its Winter Collection 2020. ‘The Winter Edit’ campaign showcases the brand’s right blend of fashion and comfort in their latest winter wear collection. The campaign depicts various moods of winter through different looks and seamlessly amalgamates colour play, style and fashion in the collection. With this, Van Heusen calls out to own this winter in style with its latest collection of the season. The latest collection features a stylish range of sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, and cardigans, which are available at nearest Van Heusen stores across the country. The collection is also available across e-commerce platforms.

Van Heusen has curated the collection for every winter mood of young modern Indian audiences, who are inclined towards fashion that comes with functionality and comfort. Signifying their belief of extending trendiest yet most functional looks of the season, the brand has brought a wide range of bold, stylish, comfortable, and playful winter wear to its customers. Van Heusen has released the campaign on YouTube, which will be further amplified on other digital platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Inshorts and in store.

Van Heusen is India's No. 1 premium lifestyle brand for professionals. With a rich heritage of 128 years in United States of America, the brand entered India in 1990. Over a period of its 25 years of history in India, Van Heusen has emerged as a fashion authority for the ever-evolving Indian consumer and has established itself as the one stop destination for the latest trends.

Home furnishings retailer IKEA India, which recently opened its store in Navi Mumbai, plans to expand its store network by opening two smaller format stores in Mumbai and focusing on the Delhi, NCR and Bengaluru markets. IKEA has purchased a 14-acre land parcel in Bengaluru to construct its third store in the city. It also has a land parcel in Gurgaon.

IKEA also plans to expand its online operations in India. It has earmarked about Rs 6,000 crore investments in Maharashtra in the next ten years. IKEA India first opened its online channel in Mumbai before opening its store in the country's financial capital. Since the home furnishings retailer entered India, it has brought in investment close to Rs 10,500 crore. A part of Ingka Group, IKEA India opened its first retail store in Hyderabad in August 2018, followed by online stores in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune.

The race to acquire a pie of the Rs 64.8 lakh crore Indian e-commerce sector is becoming hotter with two more players joining Reliance Industries and Amazon, who are currently engaged in a court battle to acquire a stake in Rs 26,000 crore debt laden Future Group. As per a Business Today report, the Walmart-Flipkart combination has acquired minority stakes in Arvind Brands and Aditya Birla Fashion Retail while Tata Group is gearing up to acquire a stake in India’s biggest online grocery retailer Big Basket.

Combined, the top three retailers have invested Rs 2.46 lakh crore in the Indian e-commerce industry. While Walmart has announced $2 billion investment; Reliance plans to spend another Rs 24,713 crore to buy Future Group's retail assets. Similarly, Amazon has pumped in $6.5 billion in the Indian e-tail landscape industry.

Acquiring more power

Each player is stocking fresh resources. While the Walmart-Flipkart combo plans to launch a $50 billion overseas IPO, Reliance Retail aims to raise more funds for future growth. On the other hand, Amazon Inc has adopted a new strategy to invest in physical stores in India. In 2018, it partnered Samara Captial to buy the Aditya Birla Group’s grocery retail ‘More’. A year earlier, it had bought a 5 per cent stake in Shoppers Stop. The Tata Group has also joined the fray with its e-commerce arm Tata Cliq planning to launch a super app to help consumers shop across its consumer-facing businesses. The company also plans to buy the Rs 6,000-crore online grocery platform Big Basket.

New business models for creating depth

Reliance acquisition of Future Retail would add Rs 26,000 crore revenue to its kitty while Amazon would have to be satisfied with just 500 More stores being added to its portfolio. Since grocery offers them more volumes and resilience, retailers like Amazon are adopting a hyperlocal business model to create depth city by city in terms of fulfillment. Rishav Jain, Senior Director and Consumer, Consumer Tech & Retail Lead, Alvarez & Marsal, expects online grocery penetration will grow incrementally over the next few years. However, tapping this opportunity will require huge investments and smart strategies, he says.

New strategies being adopted

Reliance Retail has launched a new venture JioMart which aims to onboard 15 million strong kirana stores across the country. These stores will be integrated with JioMart through its point of sales devices and their inventories will be controlled by Reliance.

Google's investment in the company will provide high quality data while its deal with Facebook gives it access to over 300 million Indian users. On their part, Amazon and Flipkart have introduced interfaces in South Indian languages also apart from Hindi. Currently, Reliance, Amazon and Walmart seem to be surging ahead in this battle. However, the Tatas too have an ace up their sleeve in the form of D’Mart, which might also plan to spread wings across the country. The battleground is surely heating up with industry getting increasingly complex.

Retailers Association of India (RAI) has urged the government to extend support to help revive retail as retailers across fashion, electronics and grocery segments hope to achieve about 85 per cent of pre-pandemic level business in the next six months. As per latest business survey by RAI, retailers across India have been registering steady month-on-month recovery driven by festive sales in November 2020 falling just 13 per cent short of last year’s sales.

In November, consumer durables and electronics category recorded 12 per cent year-on-year sales followed by the food and grocery category which recorded 5 per cent sales growth. Apparel and clothing segment is still under pressure with about -12 per cent year-on-year sales growth compared to pre-pandemic the survey added. As per RAI, with local level restrictions imposed in several states in fear of a second wave of COVID-19 cases, retailers are approaching 2021 with cautious optimism. While western and eastern regions are indicating slower recovery with sales at -18 per cent and -17 per cent respectively, northern and southern regions are progressing at -9 per cent, on a year-on-year comparison.

According to RAI, sized around $854 billion, the retail industry is one of the country’s largest industries and makes up for over 10 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The industry employs 46 million people, of which 90 per cent are in blue collar segment. Fashion and electronics contribute 50 per cent to the total retail while food and other essentials account for the rest.

It’s raining discounts with both online and offline retailers rolling out steep offers for shoppers. Brands are offering attractive prices on products which is helping them attract customers from Tier II and III cities. Online fashion retailer Myntra is ready to host its biggest-ever winter sale from December 20. In fact, the retailer expects a 1.5 times more response to this sale than its last winter edition, when 50 per cent of business had come from Tier II and III cities. Held twice a year, the June edition of the End of Reason Sale received a lukewarm response as the country was just coming out of a lockdown. However, the retailer expects 65 per cent jump in traffic for the December edition.

Winter to aid apparel recovery

Though COVID-19 related restrictions have affected apparel demand in the country, branded apparels are seeing a gradual recovery with offline sales recovering up to 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels. Recovery is being further aided by a strong winter season, says a ICICI Securities report. This year, brands don’t plan to promote their winter inventory extensively as demand is quite strong. Department store chain Lifestyle, which started offline sales, does not plan to promote its winter merchandize extensively as it believes demand is strong. However, the retailer plans to push unsold inventory from Spring/Summer season, informs Rishi Vasudev, Chief Executive Officer, Lifestyle and Home Centre.

Strategies to attract customers

Yogeshwar Sharma, Executive Director and CEO, Select Citywalk Mall explains, brands have their own strategies to attract customers. Most of them hold EOSS post-Christmas. However, some have already started running offers in malls. These brands are attracting customers with promotions and other attractions such as personal shopper, digital catalog, etc.

Outdoor and apparel brand Woodland is ready to hold its End of Season Sale in the second week of December. And like earlier, this year too, the brand plans to offer lucrative discounts on apparels and accessories, says Harkirat Singh, Managing Director. It has already achieved 70-80 per cent of last year's business levels.

Providing much needed boost to the Indian e-commerce industry, COVID-19 has accelerated the use of technology amongst fashion companies. As an Economic Times reports suggest, companies are adopting new business models to offer customized and interactive shopping experience to customers. One such emerging business model is social commerce which combines the benefits of social media and e-commerce.

A recent survey by PayPal social commerce is projected to become a $100 billion vertical e-commerce by 2025. Growth is being mainly being driven by the use of videos on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. Regional social networking platforms such as ShareChat and Roposo are also stimulating growth by offering content in vernacular languages. In the last few months, there has been a spurt in homegrown social commerce startups. Big e-commerce players like Flipkart are entering the social commerce space to target consumers in Tier II and Tier III Indian cities.

Indian social commerce market is largely driven by consumers and sellers from smaller cities. Most customers of social commerce players such as Meesho, Shop 101, Bulbul are based in Tier II and III cities. Another factor driving Indian social commerce is the increasing number direct-to-consumer brands. As per a Unicommerce trends report, the number of brands developing their own websites has grown 65 per cent in 2020. Smaller retailers are also marketing their products on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.

WhatsApp, AI tops business users in India

A large number of businesses are using messaging apps such as WhatsApp to conduct their business. It is one of the most lucrative platforms for small and medium sellers in India. Around one million sellers use WhatsApp in India for conducting their businesses. Companies are building WhatsApp chatbots for retailers to help them manage a large number of orders.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also become a major growth avenue for retailers and brands. They are now experimenting with both marketplace and reseller models with the help of AI & automation. Chatbots are being created to help consumers shop directly on WhatsApp. AI tools like simplified product searches, recommendation systems for consumers are helping brands achieve an elevated level of customer satisfaction.

Collaboration with logistic service providers a key growth factor

Inventory management being an important part of the industry, social commerce players need to collaborate with logistic service providers to ensure maximum reach, timely delivery, and low returns. Over the years, these players have been successful in providing a sales platform for small and medium scale sellers by exploring artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms. AI solutions have also helped these players manage shipments besides providing them with regular delivery updates.

Social commerce also helps smaller sellers become more efficient by providing them with an integrated view of their inventories and orders. The use of this technology is poised to grow with time with social commerce becoming major driver of e-commerce growth in India.

Based on data analytics by Myntra, top fashion and lifestyle brands such as Puma, Nike, Biba, W For Woman and Max Fashion plan to launch exclusive collections for the e-tailer’s upcoming flagship End Of Reason Sale (EORS) event. Scheduled from December 20-24, 2020, EORS expects 40 million visitors over the five day sale period with demand expected to increase four times over business as usual (BAU) and 1.5 times over the last winter edition. About 50 per cent of the contribution is expected to come from Tier II, III markets.

During last EORS in June, Myntra had recorded 86 per cent increase in the number of customers from Tier II and III cities, indicating a shift in consumer behavior and preference for online shopping during the lockdown. It was the first online sale post COVID-19 lockdown that was being looked upon by brands to bring the first wave of normalcy and to win back shoppers.

Apart from increasing the fleet of delivery agents with 20,000 kirana partners on board, the platform roped in 1,600 brick-and-mortar stores from about 200 brands to serve as fulfillment centers. For its upcoming edition, Myntra will deliver one-third of the EORS orders in paper bag packaging in place of plastic while 50 per cent of the orders will be shipped from solar power-enabled fullfilment centres in Bhiwandi and Bilaspur. The marketplace expects to ship 1.5 crore items by the first week of New Year.

Buoyed by the unexpected bounce-back of retail sales in festive season, Indian fashion and apparel retailers have started approaching suppliers for spring/summer collections. Also, retailers, who had earlier left stocks of garments and fabrics on warehouse floors, have now started picking them up, says Premal Udani, Chairman, Kaytee Corp.

Spurt in sales has energized retailers who are rushing orders for spring/summer collections. Many see a ray of hope to reach a pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of next financial year. Rishi Vasudev, CEO, Lifestyle, is confident of 90-100 per cent recovery of pre-COVID levels of business by March-April. Arvind Fashions too is positive and has placed another round of orders in November after gauging improving market conditions.

Rahul Mehta, Chief Mentor, CMAI, hopes along with large fashion apparel retailers smaller ones too start placing orders in coming months. However, there are suppliers and retailers are concerned about another wave of coronavirus spike in coming months. Udani believes if this happens, it will again have a negative effect.

Footwear and apparel brand Woodland’s business in India has recovered to 60 per cent of pre-COVID levels, says a report by the Hindu Business Line. During the initial days of the pandemic, the brand reworked its website to make it more user-friendly and allow more payment options. It altered its product portfolio across e-commerce sites — such as Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart — to include ‘lower cost offerings’ that were in demand then.

The brand initially focused on items like open footwear including flip-flops and sandals, monochrome tees and athleisure were the focus initially. It introduced canvas shoes and walking shoes as jogs, walks and runs became popular. The brand witnessed a renewed demand for T-shirts and casual wear during the festive season. However, its premium leather offerings (formal footwear) under the ‘Woods’ and ‘Woodland’ brands remain slow. Major outdoor apparel sales, including cargoes and other functional wear, are yet to pick up.

Omni-channel sales helped the brand in better inventory management and clearing excess stocks from slow-moving stores. It recorded strong demand for casual shirts and T-shirts from parts of South India and the company used stocks from North and West India stores to cater to the demand. It hopes to end the current year with 60-70 per cent of last year’s turnover.

Being woven into every aspect of the industry, artificial intelligence is fast becoming an essential survival tool for fashion brands across the world. As McKinsey in its annual State of Fashion report says, AI startups with fashion and retail focus are being increasingly sought after as brands and retailers have shifted focus from brick and mortar stores to online sales.

New AI tools

As per a Live Mint report, Gurugram-based TryNDBuy, which deployed vision-based virtual layouts during the pandemic, has now gone live with brands such as Jack & Jones and Vero Moda. The retailer has engaged Zalora, a leading fashion e-tailer in Southeast Asia.

Similarly, Bengaluru-based AskSid, has introduced a chatbot known as AI bot that has helped reach a meaningful level of digital interaction with customers. The chatbot has helped the company achieve a big spike in revenue this year besides accelerating global expansion. From April-October 2020, the company’s revenues jumped almost 50 per cent, adds Sanjoy Roy, Co-founder and CEO.

AskSid currently operates in 23 countries, supports 15 international languages, and has also expanded into FMCG brands, including a top paints MNC. It recently advised a client to enter the Norwegian and Australian markets while it helped another whey protein seller shift its marketing focus from bodybuilders to people suffering from ailments such as arthritis and diabetes

Inducing a shift in consumers’ shopping behavior

Data and analytical tools like AskSid’s new AI tool help brands track shifts in demand across geographies, categories and channels. They helps brands penetrate deeper into retail analytics of their products. Tools like TryNDBuy induce consumers’ to shift their purchasing behavior from brick and mortar stores to online. They also help brands expand their product and consumer base. For instance, ‘Try Now’ icon introduced by Vero Moda in its New arrival houses a virtual trial room that offers consumers an opportunity to edit the body shape in full-screen mode.

Supported by the international VC SOSV and Taiwan-based MOX, TryNDBuy has bagged nine US patents for its computer vision modeling methods, says Nitin Vats, Founder and CEO. The MOX software has helped the startup expand into Southeast Asia by deploying its product in India. The startup is currently working on a virtual makeup solution.

Chinese apps, Youcam and Meitu, provide virtual makeup on real-time videos. However, these apps are currently unavailable in India. Makeup brand L’Oreal has also launched a solution named ModiFace that is currently limited to its own products.

AI-based startups face a unique challenge of attracting clients currently bombarded with such a plethora of virtual tryout solutions. To be successful, these startups can launch strategic tie-ups like the one introduced by TryNDBuy with Technopak Advisors. These can help them demonstrate their products before some of the leading brands and build momentum within the industry.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) estimates a demand recovery for the apparel sector in FY22 while it expects 40-45 per cent decline in FY21 revenues. As per a Live Mint report, the agency also estimates a threefold jump in online sales for retailers in the current fiscal.

For the third quarter, Ind-Ra, a part of the Fitch Group, expects apparel sales to touch 80 per cent of pre-COVID levels, with food and grocery retail hitting more than 100 per cent.

The agency predicts an obvious significant shift in consumer shopping habits with more consumers buying goods online. Ind-Ra expects sales made through the online route to increase by a factor of more than three in FY21.

Companies have focused on a strong digital footprint with increased investments in developing their own websites and mobile apps, while also partnering with online channel partners to fuel growth, the agency said.

As a result, business via own websites or through online marketplaces is expected to increase to 10-15 per cent of total sales by FY22, up from 2-4 per cent, faster than the earlier five-year timeline predicted to reach this volume.