04 March 2022, Mumbai:

For its online apparel buyers, Walmart has launched a new virtual fitting room. The debut comes roughly nine months after Zeekit, an Israeli virtual try-on technology business, was acquired.

Online fashion clothes consumers, according to the business, find it difficult to visualize how an item would appear on them.

Walmart's objective with Zeekit is to provide an inclusive, immersive, and personalized digital experience that better replicates physical purchasing, according to the company.

"Starting with the Choose My Model experience, we're bringing Zeekit technology to Walmart app and Walmart.com consumers." Customers may choose from 50 models with heights ranging from 5'2" to 6'0" and sizes ranging from XS to XXXL.

ALSO READ Flipkart owned by Walmart: Rides on live commerce bandwagon

Customers may choose the model that best resembles their height, body shape, and skin tone to see how an item will seem on them.

In the weeks ahead, we'll debut over 70 additional model possibilities to provide an even larger range of sizes, skin tones, and hair colors," says Denise Incandela, EVP of Apparel and Private Brands, Walmart USA, in a news statement.

RELATED ARTICLE: Walmart invites Indian sellers to join curated sellers’ community

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*CREDITS: adweek.com & Apparel Resources.

02 March 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) has picked up a majority stake in luxury fashion designer brand Abraham & Thakore Exports.

The dynamic duo of Abraham and Thakore Has proven their metal over decades of enthralling and heartwarming collection for both Men and Women.

RRVLwith this partnership aims to expand in perpetuity its presence in the fashion and lifestyle segment making it a formidable force.

ALSO READ: Reliance Retail takes over Future Group stores

*“With Indian luxury customers undergoing a generational consumption shift, there is heightened appreciation of Abraham & Thakore’s timeless design, and we are excited to partner with the brand to bring its unique expression of Indian craftsmanship to consumers globally,” said Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL.

RELATED ARTICLE: Reliance Retail, The fashion and lifestyle division: Achieves its greatest quarterly revenue ever

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from ET article.

01 March 2022, Mumbai:

Amazon's Amit Agarwal to head emerging markets, Manish Tiwari to lead India consumer biz.

Amit Agarwal, Amazon India’s country head, will now also lead the e-commerce giant's business in emerging markets, the company said on March 1. Manish Tiwari, vice-president of the consumer business, will be the country manager for consumer business in India.

Tiwari joined Amazon in 2016 and used to head the Unilever business in the Gulf region earlier. “Amit Agarwal will be taking on an expanded role leading Amazon’s presence in the Emerging Markets in addition to his current role as India's head,” an Amazon India spokesperson said.

ALSO READ: Amazon India signs deal for warehouse space

The development and growth of the emerging markets were key to Amazon’s future success, and the new team would be uniquely qualified to move fast in identifying and solving for common customer needs, the spokesperson said.

“We are excited this change meaningfully enhances our ability to serve and delight new and existing customers, and enable our selling partners to grow their business in India and across our emerging markets,” the company said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Amazon's total product exports from India have surpassed $3 billion

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from the Money Control article.

03 March 2022, Mumbai:

As manufacturers adopt digitization, Bizongo, a full-stack B2B trade enablement platform, has announced that its revenue across textile hubs has grown 20 times in 11 months. In addition, the corporation generated Rs. 600 crore in annualized income in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

The quick change in MSMEs using technological platforms to accelerate their businesses accounts for a significant portion of the increase.

Aniket Deb, Sachin Agrawal, and Ankit Tomar, three IIT graduates, founded Bizongo in 2015 to digitally transform the fragmented and unorganized yet unique and ubiquitous B2B segment of customized goods.

Bizongo's product portfolio includes packaging, textiles, apparel, and other contract manufacturing goods, and the company has a network of over 3,000 partner factories.

Bizongo, a B2B e-commerce platform, provides enterprise customers with digital vendor management, supply chain automation, and supply chain financing as key services.

ALSO READ: D2C market is driven by Gen Next entrepreneurs

Several macros and microeconomic issues, including the high rise in cotton prices and the coal scarcity, have put industrial units under pressure, increasing the need for MSMEs to seek finance to keep their production on track, according to a statement from the firm.

Manufacturers benefit from a digitized and automated supply chain finance solution that helps them meet their credit and working capital requirements.

"Our platform serves to the full ecosystem of textile makers – straight from the business customer, through the garment manufacturer, and further up to the yarn supplier and even the cotton mill," Aniket Deb, Bizongo's Co-founder and COO stated.

We've been able to bring value to both sales and procurement using our digital platform.

Bizongo has enabled every actor in the textile life cycle to run their business more efficiently and optimize their resources, whether it's through digitizing orders and delivery or invoicing to credit."

RELATED ARTICLE: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL): To consolidate D2C play eyes at multiple digitally native brands

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*CREDITS: Express Computers & Apparel Resources.

01 March 2022, Mumbai:

Future Retail has started scaling back operations as it faces a severe shortage of funds. Future Retail’s bank accounts have been classified as non-performing assets by the company’s lenders.

The scaling down will help in reducing losses in coming months Reliance Retail recently took over the operations of Future Retail’s brick-and- mortar stores including its Big Bazaar chain. Following the takeover, Reliance offered jobs to the Future Retail employees to bring them onto Reliance Retail’s payroll.

ALSO READ: Future Retail had a net loss of Rs 1,063 crore in the third quarter

The long-stop date for Future Retail’s planned deal with Reliance Industries has been extended until September 30, 2022 as Future’s legal battle with Amazon continues to wage on.

Amazon is attempting to block Future Retail from holding a shareholders meeting to discuss its proposed Reliance Industries deal and has taken the case to the Delhi High Court and National Company Law Tribunal.

RELATED ARTICLE: Future Retail's Q3 FY22 results

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from ET Bureau & Fashion Network article.

26 February 2022, Mumbai:

As the e-commerce platform deals with dwindling online demand, tough competition, and worldwide supply chain problems, Ebay Inc anticipated grim first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, sending the company's shares down almost 9% in extended trading.

Online buying flourished last year during the pandemic, raking in enormous revenues for e-commerce businesses, but vaccine rollouts might cause problems when consumers return to brick-and-mortar purchasing. Amazon.com Inc, the company's biggest rival and the world's largest online retailer, has likewise predicted dismal first-quarter sales.

Ebay, which is already suffering from dwindling active users, is expected to take a hit as it ramps up spending, putting pressure on its profits. In a post-earnings conference call, finance head Stephen Priest remarked, "The second quarter should be the low point for margins for the year as we lap severe comps and ramp up our pace of investment."

In extended trading on Wednesday, shares of Ebay, which began as a platform where users could auction off their valuables, plummeted to $50.28. They've lost 18 percent thus far this year, while the S&P 500 has lost 11 percent. Ebay predicts an adjusted profit of $1.01 to $1.05 per share on revenue of $2.43 billion to $2.48 billion in the first quarter, which is below Wall Street's projections.

ALSO READ: Markets and research report: Apparels & fashion were the most popular categories for Europe’s online shopping in 2020

The company's sales and profit predictions for 2022 were also lower than expected. Meanwhile, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, Ebay made an adjusted profit of $1.05 per share on revenue of $2.61 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, above analysts' average projections.

Ebay's revenue is derived in part from advertising on its site, which exceeded $1 billion last year, according to the business. However, gross merchandise volume, or the total monetary worth of eBay purchases from which the firm earns a commission, dropped 10% to $20.7 billion.

The number of annual active purchasers on eBay fell by 9% to 147 million in the third quarter, according to the business.

Related Article: Retail biggies team up to end Amazon-Flipkart dominance in Indian e-commerce

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from  & Fashion Network article.

02 March 2022, Mumbai:

Myntra’s new Style Squad will help strengthen its influencer marketing and social commerce footing, says Achint Setia, Head- Marketing and Social Commerce. The Style Squad comprises content creators on the Myntra app.

The style squad will be the ambassador of Myntra’s social commerce play, conversations on social media and will represent the platform in its entirety, adds Setia.

It is a mix of creators from different geographics, age groups, and other demographics with varied expertise The Style Squad will follow combined model f on-demand content and Live commerce content.

ALSO READ: With the opening of a new store in Mumbai, Guess is expanding its retail reach

In the on-demand case, the influencers will ideate a set of formats and topics around which they want to build content. There will be a monthly calendar on which Myntra will align these topics.

While there will be many other influences on the platform, the share of voice that the Style Squad generates will increase. Secondly, training and investment will help the style squad, improve the quality of content and the knowledge they impart on fashion and beauty.

It will also provide more opportunities to consumers to talk one-on-one with members.

RELATED ARTICLE: Guess plans to open 50 new stores in India

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01 March 2022, Mumbai:

For the first time in 15 years, value fashion chain V-Mart Retail has increased prices of apparels in various categories by around 10 per cent to offset the impact of the yarn prices on its margins.

The retailer also does not rule out further prices increases amid an uncertain backdrop of war in Ukraine, continued inflation, and other financial challenges. Through the price increase, V-Mart Retail aims to improve sales by 25 per cent and EBITA for the South India market to 5 per cent, says Anand Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer.

ALSO READ: V-Mart Retail, Lalit Agarwal: Normal revenue expected despite Covid 3rd wave disruptions

The retailer plans to increase prices further by another 7 per cent if GST rate on apparels grows to 12 per cent. Though till date, V-Mart’s sales have not been impacted by price increased, any future hike in prices may lower to sales volumes, adds Agarwal.

RELATED ARTICLE: VMART Retail Ltd Q3 FY22 results

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from Fashion Network article.

26 February 2022, Mumbai:

With the debut of its homeware line in India, British retailer Marks & Spencer has joined the homeware market. The bedding, bathroom, wellness, and eating categories will all be represented in the collection.

Apart from e-commerce channel partners Ajio and Myntra, it will be accessible at select shops and on the company's website.

ALSO READ: Marks and Spencer (M&S) x Wonderbra online combo to give duo a big lift

"We're aiming for quality-conscious city dwellers who want to get the most bang for their buck."

In a statement, James Munson, Marks & Spencer managing director India, stated, "Those who aspire to contemporary and attractive homes while also wanting solutions that are intended to last using materials selected with care."

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from Business Standard & Fashion Network article.

02 March 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Industries (RIL) will buy Future Group’s retail assets at the originally agreed price of Rs 24,713 crore if the court allows it to acquire the business.

However, it will adjust over Rs 4,000 crore which the Future Group owes it for the last 15 months for payment of rent, purchase of inventory and toward working capital when the deal materializes.

RIL also plans to rebrand all Future Group stores as Reliance Retail Outlets over the next few days. It shut hundreds of stores over the weekend and removed their signages after Future Group defaulted rent payments for these locations to Reliance Retail.

ALSO READ: Reliance Retail takes over Future Group stores

In total, around 450 Future stores have already been shuttered and will be replaced by Reliance Retail outlets. While Reliance Retail has taken control of several large stores of Future Group across its three formats - Big Bazaar, Central and Brand Factory, it is also in the process of taking possession of small store locations and rebranding them as well.

In addition to the store fronts, Reliance Retail also plans to acquire Future Group’s logistics, warehousing businesses and rights over 80 private label.

It will also buy the brand names of stores like Big Bazaar and Central which have a huge recall among consumers by being the early entrants into modern retail in the country.

RELATED ARTICLE: Future Group looks at Selling its Stake in Insurance JV to Italian Partner

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01 March 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Retail is taking possession of Future Retail’s stores, Reliance Retail is replacing them with its own brand stores.

The company is also offering jobs to Future Retail employees and incorporating them in its payroll. All stores being taken over by Reliance are loss-making and the balance stores will continue to be run by FRL. Reliance will re-employ nearly 30,000 store staff, who would have otherwise lost their jobs.

In August 2020, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group sold its retail and wholesale business along with logistics and warehousing verticals to Reliance Retail Ventures for Rs 24,713-crore.

ALSO READ: Reliance Retail, The fashion and lifestyle division: Achieves its greatest quarterly revenue ever

However, the deal was opposed by Amazon. The US e- commerce giant dragged Future Group to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in October 2020.

The matter is also pending before other forums such as the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and NCLT. The arbitration compelled RRVL to extend the timeline a second time for completing its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Future group to March 31, 2022.

The company currently awaits regulatory and judicial clearances.

RELATED ARTICLE: Reliance Retail to invest $132 million in Addverb Technologies

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25 February 2022, Mumbai:

About D-Mart

Avenue Supermarts Limited (D Mart) is an emerging national supermarket chain, with a focus on value-retailing.

About GIFT City

GIFT City is a planned business district in Gujarat, India. It is the new business destination offering a competitive edge to Financial Services and Technology. *GIFT City is already a host to the world’s leading names in the financial domain, banking, insurance, capital markets, technology, fintech, IT, and ITeS sectors.

ALSO READ: The rapid expansion of Avenue Supermarts' DMart has been met with scepticism by analysts

The opening of a D-Mart store is assuming a lot of significance given that it will be pretty comforting to the people already working and residing besides more and more working population shifting day in day out in this smart city.

*The company has been recently allotted Development Rights for the development of the store in GIFT City, according to the release.

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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from ET article.