FDI in retail may be slow in coming, but e-commerce sites have already latched on to foreign labels — premium fashion and lifestyle brands and electronic goods with aspirational value — to find their growth story.
Fashion and lifestyle sites such as 99labels or fetise.com or those operating in the electronic goods segment, such as Tradus, have already tasted success through their ventures.
“In most cases aspirational brands that are well-known globally perform better on e-commerce sites. It enhances the reach of these brands,” Ms Ishita Swarup, founder and CEO, 99labels.com, told
Market sources say it's the high discounts that attract people towards these brands. 99labels, a two-year-old company, has a membership of six lakh and specialises in fashion and lifestyle brands targeted particularly at women. The site has seen a 20-25 per cent month on month growth. According to Ms Swarup, the company, which offers discounts on specialised items, has seen a sale of nearly 3.5 lakh Versace watches following a three-day event. Similarly, the e-commerce site claims to have sold a substantial number of Diesel jeans at a discounted price in a similar 3-day event.
According to market sources, a pair of Diesel jeans is available at discount of nearly 25 per cent through e-tailing compared to a retail store. Nine-month-old fetise.com, specialising in premium men's apparel, too, admitted to having made sales of nearly Rs 2 crore a month with average sales of over Rs 1,700 per member (it has seven lakh members).
It sells international high-end labels such as one90one (US), Diwon and Victorinox. Over 50 per cent of the company's sales are through premium brands, while the remaining are through homegrown ones. “Typically, e-commerce sales in international brands will be for those who are well aware of them,” Mr Chetan Bafna, founder, fetise.com, said.
Electronic goods is another category where foreign brands have made headway. The popularity of gadgets among youth has made electronic goods a viable option. Barely two years old, Tradus has, in December 2011, begun a separate section to sell customs and import duty-cleared electronics goods.
According to Mr Krishna Motukuri, Managing Director, Tradus.in, the new section is already contributing five to 10 per cent of its total sales with the average ticket size being Rs 10,000. Tradus has seen good demand for gadgets such as e-book readers. The portal sells the Amazon Kindle. Plans are afoot to introduce PC tablets.