Scope of Online Clothing Store

The basic need of human being is clothing. According to archaeologists and anthropologists, earliest clothing most likely included grass or leaves tied around the body. With the passage of time, clothing performed a range of cultural and social functions. It also functions as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste, style and social status. However, the main function of clothing is to increase the comfort of the wearer.

Another fundamental question is what is the need to wear underwear? The shape of the underwear largely determines how we look and what will look good on us. In addition to this, the body continuously keeps shedding skin cells. So it helps in keeping the clothes fresher and cleaner. Innovations in style and technology have made boxers, briefs and undershirts that were an afterthought into a buzz word category of men’s clothes.

The young people are more into online shopping. . All big clothing companies now come up with standard sizes and customers know the size of clothing which would fit them. The older generation had an inherent need to buy clothes only after feeling them. This is not the same with the present generation. So it makes better sense to have online clothing. In addition to this, a lot more options are available when shopping for clothes is done online. The customer gets a lot of information on the variety, pricing and quality of clothing which is available. The online transactions nowadays are more secure.

E-commerce these days is the buzz word in business. Nowadays, a lot of people prefer to visit the website of the company before actually visiting the store. In certain cases, the online store has successfully replaced the need to physically visit the store. Additionally, clothes and fashion accessories make up a substantial portion of all the gifts while are sent and received worldwide, and it naturally makes sense to have your presence online so that you can reach out to a larger market. The cost of having an online clothing store is considerably less and you also get to save on warehousing costs. This translates into lower prices and lower prices mean larger volumes. Larger volumes translate into a larger market share. Having an online clothing store means that your store is open at all hours so the customer can shop as per his convenience. This emphasizes on user friendliness.

The scope of online clothing stores just got wider. More men shop online for purchases and this is a segment which needs to be tapped. Online shopping is possible right from razors to underwear. With a larger portion of the population having access to the internet this gives an impetus to have online clothing store. All you need to decide is the kind of clothing that you will promote and optimize the site so that it shows up most frequently when someone searches under the given category of items

All in all, the circumstances of today encourage having an online clothing store. There is a vast market whose clothing needs haves to be addressed. Having an online clothing store is perhaps the most convenient way of reaching out to the target customers.

Online Retail Trends

The increase in the number online shoppers has taken the industry analysts by surprise. Traditionally online shopping was done more for travelling, but with the passage of time, the scope of online has considerably widened. Nowadays, be it music to electronic products, perfumes to razors, undergarments to suits, a provision is there to shop for all these products online.

The benefits of online shopping far outweigh the cons. The main advantage has been that with the passage of time, online transactions have become more secure. Online shopping sites have done extensive sales promotion activity which has resulted in an overall increase in shoppers. One can find product like underwear, lens, hukka etc etc on internet very easily. The websites are highly interactive and user friendly such that now it is much easier working through a website rather than negotiating with the salesman. One added advantage of online shopping is that you do not need to find any parking space for your car in the virtual world.

One thing which is of vital importance is that the concept of online retailing is fast catching up in rural India. It should not be forgotten that nearly 65% of the Indian population resides in villages. Another thing is that people who are into online shopping are highly brand conscious. And as the phenomenon of online retailing is growing, more and more companies are looking to hire which translates into more employment opportunities. Across border buying is on the rise in recent times. The unmarried person is always more keen to experiment with technology and in India the marriage age is continuously getting delayed. These two facts taken together encourage the online shopping trends. This is one main reason why hordes of online shopping sites which have come up recently. The Indians love discounts and keeping this in mind some sites have started offering collective decision making and collective buying, which results in bigger discounts for customers. Companies need to spend heavily on infrastructure to keep pace with the changing trends. As the industry is still on its growth trajectory, large scale consolidations are still not on the horizon.

In a world where it is generally believed that women are more involved in shopping than men, it is surprising to note that more number of men are hooked to online shopping than females. And treating this to be of vital importance various websites like Menzkart.com have come up which addresses primarily the needs of men. Keeping the online shopping trends in mind, every major company, be it Jockey, Calvin Klein or Gillette is trying its best to make its online presence felt.

There are two very interesting facts which need to be mentioned here:

1. Nearly half of the online users depend heavily on social networking sites to make their online purchase decision and

2. A portion of the users spend nearly 1/10^th of the monthly income on making an online purchase every month.

With the advent of broadband connections and internet penetration the number of users has increased geometrically and this will create an opportunity to have big user base and they will make online retailing a big market. This sector will experience a big boom in coming years and it has been predicted that online retail business will be the biggest threat to traditional retail other than FDI.

E-tailers or online retailers in turn have two major advantages when we talk of online shopping:

1. It helps in mass customization and

2. It helps in niche marketing.

Future Prospects of E-Commerce in India

The real challenge to an average retailer in India is not from FDI, but from E-Commerce sites like flipkart.com, snapdeal.com, eazybuy.com, menzkart.com. The various growth drivers for e-commerce in India are busy lifestyles, increasing disposable income, lower prices available at online stores as they save on distribution and elimination of set up costs of physical entities. This in itself is sufficient to provide a push for online shopping. Another main factor encouraging e-commerce is that the people are now comfortable using credit cards on the internet. And mobile has truly come out to have multi functional benefits. It is now very easy to use mobile phone for activities other than casual talks and message forwarding. Electronic flow of information has increased manifold.

A few points which speak in favor of e-commerce are:

1. Marketing is very important and it is generally believed that online people are easier to target. The savings in marketing costs can be passed on and prices can be reduced.

2. Now it is actually possible to get a product at less than what the manufacturer is selling it for.

3. FDI will help improving the efficiency in supply chain.

4. FDI will also help in boosting the confidence levels of the customers in which foreign players will play an important role.

5. The industry is still in the growth phase so profit margins are still likely to be high. The B2C e commerce is likely to be the main engine driving growth in the immediate future.

6. Spontaneous activity has reduced considerably and consumers now try to make better use of the time spent online.

7. Facebook has touched nearly 45 million in India and we are still not talking of the mobile phone users.

8. Websites are starting to come up in local languages which will help increase the penetration level.

 Online shopping is still in the growing stages and has still touched only a few sectors like automobiles, stocks and shares, real estate, travel and tourism, gifts, hobbies, matrimony and employment. Even some websites sells products like men underwear, lens etc. The reason for the numbers not being as large as the businesses wish it to be is the lack of certain key elements in the existing business models. So there is a scope of improvement in this area.

             The main reasons responsible for this sudden growth of e-commerce in India are the emergence of blogs as a means for the information dissemination, bigger web presence of SMEs and corporate because of low marketing and infrastructural costs, a safe and secure business environment due to improved fraud prevention technologies, and most importantly the youth finds online transactions to be easier.

            There is  no doubt that the cost of running an e commerce  is still high but with a billion and counting population which is slowing being hooked up to the e-commerce the growth potential is too significant to be easily ignored. The existing users count more than the users who have recently joined. India can become industrialized and modernized if it can extensively apply IT to enhance productivity and international competitiveness, develop eCommerce and e-governance applications.

Retailing v/s E-tailing

Retailing is the function when any firm provides a product or service to the customer. Delete the ‘R’ from retailing and you get e-tailing. To an observer this might sound like a casual game, but the fact is, e-tailing is serious business. The retail model is widely understood and practiced around the globe. Many people assume that the e-tailing model is just an extension of the retailing model; however nothing could be farther from the truth.

The first major difference is that when we talk of retailing we also know that the competition is known and well defined. Any related business which is in proximity or within the driving distance would be the natural competitor. This is not the case with e-tailing because when a shopper goes in for online shopping, the online store is forced to compete not just at the national level, but sometimes even at the global level. The human to human contact is negligible in e-tailing.

When we talk of retailing, one important factor which comes into play is that the retailer generally has a long term relationship with the customer and the retailer is well aware of the needs and wants of the customer. He is also aware of the wallet size and which products are preferred by the customer. He is in a position to provide better service to the customer. This personal contact is lacking in case of e-tailing. But this shortcoming is gradually being addressed as now the e-tailers look to maintain vast amounts of data about their actual and potential customers. This is one reason that online shopping is gradually picking up in developing countries.

Technology is of paramount importance to the success of e-tailing. It is the lifeline for the success of any e-tailing business. Continuous upgrading of technology is also important. One can find products like underwear, shoes, lens, bags, cosmetics etc on  e-tailing plateforms

 It also needs to be considered that the e-tailing businesses have lesser gestation periods. Physical infrastructure is not required. Setup costs are considerably less and wider markets become accessible. This is unimaginable with retailers.

 Shoppers have more control over the shopping experience in case of e-tailing as compared to retailing. The Internet provides all related information at the doorstep of the customer. With e-tailing, the option of price control just goes out of the window.

 It is a well documented fact that the most of the costs attached to a product are added after the process of production is over. And a significant portion of these costs is the marketing, selling and warehousing costs. These costs are significantly less in case of e-tailing, which in turn translates into better pricing.

 The speed and convenience of interaction is much more in case of e-tailing. And this often results in better sales volumes for the e-tailers.

The majority of the Indian population today is young ,disposable income is higher as compared to previous generations, both the partners are often working, lifestyle is more hectic, leaving lesser time for visiting the retail store. As people are more tech savvy nowadays, e-tailing is a made to order solution to address these challenges. Nearly all products from briefs to razors, from Gillette to Jockey products are available when the consumer goes in for online shopping. E-tailing is a step into the future.

New Entrance in online shopping : Menzkart.com

Menzkart.com is a online shopping site which provide innerwear/underwear and other accessories related to male segment. As its name suggests this site is dedicated to serve the male segment of the society, in today’s busy life style one does not get time to shop for themselves. Males by their very nature do not like to roam and shop for little things such as their innerwear and other small accessories , so for such males this site provide their magic click , through which they can save their time and efforts.

Menzkart.com provide all major brands like Jockey, Adidas , Puma, Nike , Reebok,  Macroman , CK , Tommy Hilfiger, Killer etc to name some. You will find good range of underwear and upper wear suiting your style which helps one feel comfortable. What you have to do is just to visit the site, select your style add your product to your shopping cart, provide your address & then just complete the process by paying your bill through Debit card/credit card/internet banking or by cash card. After three to four working days your product will reach at your door step. Menzkart.com deliver its product all over the country and does not charge any shipping cost no all the orders over rupee three hundred, and for below three hundred rupee order it charges flat thirty rupees.

Ever since its launch, Menzkart.com is growing on a very good pace, with the dynamic and dedicated work force customer service has been its top most priority and I guess they are doing a fabulous job.  Customer base of the site is increasing day by day most importantly the satisfied customer base is increasing.

Krishna Group to expand retail chain

New Delhi (PTI): Diversified business player Krishna Group is planning a Rs 150 crore investment for its apparel and accessories retail chain, The Grab Store, to give it a pan-India presence and add 20 more outlets during 2009.

The retail chain, which currently operates six outlets located in Mumbai, Rajkot and Baroda, is also aiming for 50 stores nationwide during the next three years and plans to enhance its private labels, besides having more branded products.

We have currently six outlets, including four in Mumbai and one each at Rajkot and Baroda. We have set a target of 50 stores nationwide during next three years, and as part of this, we are planning to invest Rs 150 crore during 2009 for opening 20 new stores,” The Grab Store Chairman Sanjay Tayal said. He said investment would come from internal accruals and partly by means of debts.

“We are focusing on both metros and non-metros for expansion and our target cities include Vapi, Nagpur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Kolhapur and Silvassa. Our stores would be 5,000-30,00 sq ft in size,” Tayal said. Most of the new outlets would be company-owned. Among the existing six outlets, four are company-owned and the rest two franchise operated.

Sources :- The Hindu

Biyani’s home solutions raise Rs 150-cr through rights issue

MUMBAI: Kishore Biyani-led Home Solutions Retail (India) along with its two investors, ICICI Ventures Funds Management and Kotak SEAF India Fund, has raised Rs 150-crore via a rights issue to fuel its expansion programme.

“We have raised Rs 150-crore through a rights issue along with ICICI Ventures Funds Management and Kotak SEAF India Fund. We completed it just yesterday,” Future Group founder and Chief Executive, Mr Kishore Biyani said here on Friday.

The proceeds would be used to fuel the company’s expansion in the home-building and improvement merchandise, furniture and consumer durables segments, Mr Biyani said.The company plans to set up more stores in home retailing under its existing formats – H ome Town, Electronic Bazaar, Furniture Bazaar, Collection I and eZone.

Launched in 2006, Home Solutions Retail is a subsidiary of BSE-listed Pantaloon Retail (India), which owns a 76.38 per cent stake in Home Solutions. ICICI Ventures Funds Management and Kotak SEAF India Fund hold about 15 per cent and six per cent stake e ach, respectively, in the company.

Biyani did not disclose any other details about the issue, including the number of shares bought by the two investors individually.

Sources :- Business Line

Leather exports up in H1; 30% fall seen in coming months

chennai: Export of leather and leather products registered a significant increase during April-September 2008 but the export scenario is expected to become grim in the coming months owing to economic meltdown.

The export of leather and leather-based products stood at Rs 8,524.73 crore during April-September 2008 and registered a 19.97% rise in rupee terms and 14.80% in dollar terms compared to the same period last year. The export in the first half has touched 49.89% of the target $4,000 million for 2008-09. But exporters and industry organisation allay fear that the target would be missed by about 30% due to crisis.

Export of finished leather increased 1.77% during the first half of this fiscal at $409.12 million, footwear gone up 16.15% at $ 6,66.72 million, footwear components raised 6.91% at $151.06 million, leather garments up 29.18% at $225.25 million and leather goods recorded a 26.16% rise at $467.58 million.

Captains of leather industry have observed 20-30% reduction in export orders. It started declining in November and continued in December and is further expected to aggravate in the coming months. Chairman of council for leather exports (CLE) Habib Hussain said, “We have never seen in living memory a crisis of this magnitude. Nobody is sure of anything. Existing scientific parameters to assess the market demand and sales projections are not working.”

He said the dominant markets for the Indian leather products are Europe and the US. There has been a dramatic fall in retail business in these countries affecting exports from the manufacturing countries. “There was also an opportunity amid this crisis to be innovative and different and we need to upgrade our leather, introduce new designs for products at cheaper prices,” he added. The government also has to step in with relief and promotional packages, Hussain said.

Leather manufacturers and exporters association head Rafeeq Ahmed said the Tamil Nadu government is not yet aware of the seriousness of the problem faced by the export-oriented industries. “Proactive and creative steps are needed from the government and industry to face this situation. We have to create excellent and economic products that can sell and it has to be done immediately. For this industry has to be given a lot more government assistance,” Ahmed said.

Finished leather manufacturers and exporters association president Zackria Sait said the tanning industry was the first to be hit by the global meltdown. Capacity utilisation in tanneries had come down to 80% by November 2008. It fell further to 40-30% by January 2009. The industry has factored in 20-30% cut in orders and exports. “If the actuals are going to be bigger than this, there will be greater problems for the industry and workers,” Sait said.

Mohan Srinivas, a leading garment exporter said there had been a turnaround in the exports of leather garments in the early months of this fiscal. Introduction of new designs and new products might have helped this, he said.

While many feel closure of large number of leather garment factories in China is one of the major reasons for the rise in leather garment exports form India.

Sources :- The Financial Express

Organics mkt growing in India despite slowdown

CHENNAI : The organic market in the US and Europe may have taken a hit because of the slowdown, with growth rate down to 5% in 2008 from 25% the previous year. But it is still growing in India say regional as well as national players, including Fabindia and Hyderabad-based 24 Letter Mantra, albeit at a slow rate of 10-12%.

“We have not witnessed a significant change in the pattern (in the last few months)… The demand is on the rise… The potential is tremendous and we are developing our supply base to keep up with the demand,” Fabindia communication head Prableen Sabhaney told ET. The ethnic retail chain has some 120 SKUs including cereals, spices, honey, preserves and herbs.

There has been no obvious change because of slowdown, says VR Ananthoo of reStore in Chennai, an organisation that initiates farmers into organic produce and helps them sell. “Growth has always been slow but steady at around 10-15%. There has been no cut-back in spend by regular customers as they probably look at spending on organics as medical insurance.”

Players are bullish on the potential of the domestic market and have introduced a slew of products in the last few months. Hyderabad-based Sresta Bioproducts, which retails its brand 24 Letter Mantra through Spencer’s retail chain throughout the country, introduced ready-to-eat products and fruit juices. Fabindia added a range of soups to its kitty in January and is working on muselis and flavoured pastas for introduction soon.

“India has a Rs 1,000 crore market available immediately,” Sresta Bioproducts managing director Rajashekhar Reddy Seelam said, quoting from a International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture report. He went on to add that in the next decade or so 3-5% of the $116 billion food industry in India would turn organic.

Pricing is one factor due to which organic products, which are 15-40% more expensive than their regular counterparts, do not have immediate acceptance. But returning NRIs and expats have given a boost to organic sales, says Gomathi Viswanathan of Enfield Agrobase, which has 200 acres under organic cultivation and gets 65% of its revenues from exports.

The hospitality industry too has started taking interest in this segment, with client requesting organic items. “Supply issues have to be considered before incorporating anything on the menu as we cannot turn away a request for a dish because the items are not available on the particular day,” Radisson GRT vice-president Vikram Cotah told ET. He went on to add that every now and then they put temporary organic menu cards with limited varieties on tables. Market research firm Euromonitor International estimated the global market for organic food and beverages to be $22.75 billion in 2007, 45% of which is in the US. In India, the fragmented, yet niche, market is estimated to be a minuscule Rs 100 crore.

Varun Gupta of Bangalore-based Pro Nature, which sells its products through retail chains like Total, Namdhari’s, Reliance Fresh and Food World, said the organics market is small in India since most early entrants did not tap into the domestic market and went the export way. But now, many had realised the potential in India. “We don’t believe organics need address a niche client base. But prohibitive costs keep potential customers away. In the long run, I do see organics becoming more mainstream.”

Sources :- The Economic Times

Style accessory co Belkin sees Rs 1,000 cr India biz

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: US-based digital lifestyle assets and interconnectivity solutions provider Belkin
, which recently entered the Indian market, is targeting a business of Rs 1,000 core within five years.

Belkin country manager for India, Mohit Anand told ET that the privately-held $ 1.3 bn company founded in California was extremely bullish on India. “We believe this is the best time to launch in India, considering that India’s prospects over the long-term are very good and the size and scale of the market is also promising”, Mr Anand said.

The company is targeting 10,000 retail stores across the country, with a near-term target of tapping 31 cities within the next 18 months. Belkin is betting on a range of affordable and utility accessories that are expected to appeal to the youth in making fashion statements with their gadgetry. The company has a range of digital lifestyle products facilitating dynamic connectivity and content distribution across TV, mobile and computer screens, enabling seamless interconnect between various consumer electronic and IT devices.

Among the products that the company hopes will appeal to the Indian youth is RockStar, which enables users to connect up to five headphones and iPod for sharing and mixing songs, and works with different portable media.

Mr Anand said the company would consider developing products that were India-specific based on specific tastes of Indian consumers, adding that tier-2 and tier-3 cities seemed to be showing high aspiration levels, suggesting a good market for lifestyle accessory makers in the technology domain.

Sources :- The Economic Times