Working on areas — from apparel to handbags — that will pit it against Myntra, Jabong
Amazon, the $75-billion e-commerce giant is cranking up its India play, spreading to territories where domestic companies currently enjoy a stranglehold.
With its rapidly expanding apparel offerings, Amazon India is working on a chain of customer requirements that will place it squarely against established Indian players like Myntra and Jabong, which focus on fashion and lifestyle.
Over the past 60 days, the company has launched handbags, shoes, women’s ethnic wear, watches, fashion jewellery, sunglasses and lingerie stores in a bid to target consumer needs in one segment before moving on to the next.
Amazon’s rapid expansion in the segment comes at a time when the online fashion space, which touched $559 million in 2013, is witnessing a frenzy among stakeholders for a larger pie. Besides market leaders like Myntra and Jabong, Flipkart, which reported $1 billion in annualised sales in March, also sell apparels on its platform. Flipkart is on the verge of acquiring Myntra to ramp up its presence in the fashion space.
Vikas Purohit, Category Leader for Fashion, Amazon India, said “We work the customer backwards. Hence we pick up a particular customer segment and try to solve all needs before moving to the next.” He further adds, We believe there is room for multiple formats and players, and most importantly for innovation”. The company is relentlessly focussing on expanding brands on its platform apart from innovating on customer touch points.
The company has been consolidating its position in the country ever since its India launch in June 2013 and has launched two new capabilities to let Indian traders self-register on the marketplace and start selling within a day, without any third-party intervention. The apparel segment of Amazon provides over 12,000 contemporary.
