As Walmart Canada and fashion portal Myntra collaborate to sell apparel to overseas shoppers, Indian retailers who otherwise would not have been able to enter international commerce appear to have got a major leg up.

Myntra has been seeking new markets, and the US retail giant becoming the single-largest stakeholder in its parent Flipkart has helped it enable that dream.

Ethnic Indian wear in Canada has been a challenging proposition for many Indian residents as well as their foreign friends, with the latter dissuaded by the relatively cheap textile quality and unskilled work on most such apparel. Apart from being highly expensive, prominently because of the ethnic tag, size is also an issue.

Walmart’s $16-billion investment in Flipkart is expected to provide a much-needed fillip to small Indian apparel brands.

Speaking about the collaboration with Myntra, a Walmart spokesperson told BusinessLine : “This collaboration expands the product reach, creating a global marketplace for these (Indian) sellers and contributing to exports from India.”

The Bentonville-headquartered company, which announced its 2018-19 results earlier this week, has already recorded a major boost from Flipkart in its gross sales. By launching Myntra fashion brands in Canada, Walmart is using its investment, omni-channel retail expertise and supply-chain knowledge to tap into the Indian retailer’s global potential.

The launch also allows the business to test the global response to Myntra’s apparels, and comes close on the heels of a trial run done in October 2018, where a small range of Myntra clothing was retailed at Walmart outlets in Canada.

Bollywood connect

Working across platforms, Walmart and Myntra are looking to meet the needs of customers looking for authentic Indian wear.

To start with, the American retailer is looking to rekindle the magic of Bollywood with the Indian diaspora in Canada. It is set to offer “a broader assortment of Myntra products for customers, such as the ‘All About You’ line from Deepika Padukone,” continued the Walmart spokesperson.

On the anvil are other celebrity labels such as HRX by Hrithik Roshan, and the House of Pataudi by Saif Ali Khan.

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