 "Watch out, Myntra! Snapdeal has plans to hit Rs 6,000 cr in fashion sales by FY16")
If you want to be in the running for the top prize in the Indian e-commerce market you have to keep the pressure on competitors with new products, innovations and services. That’s exactly what online marketplace Snapdeal has in store.
According to _ The Economic Times,_Snapdeal has lined up a host of new products and services, focussing on the fashion vertical, in an attempt to give rivals Flipkart and Myntra a run for their money.
Kunal Bahl, CEO of Snapdeal, told _ET_that the company aims to hit sales of Rs 6,000 crore from the fashion vertical by FY16. So what does Snapdeal have in store?
- The e-commerce site has joined hands with a Delhi-based NGO to gain access to close to 10,000 craftsmen from various Indian states.
- Snapdeal is considering launching occasion-specific stores, revolving around say the festival season or weddings.
- There is also talk of a virtual trial room that will allow shoppers to upload pictures and ’try on’ clothes before purchasing.
- Snapdeal is in discussions with Indian and international designers to get their lines on the site.
The focus on fashion is understandable given the potential of the sector in the e-commerce space. Just yesterday, textile giant Arvind announced its foray into the online retail space with Creyate-a 3-D visualising engine that can create garments for the fashion conscious. Not to be left behind, fashion portal Jabong plans to launch private label brands in the next 4-5 months, and has set up its own design team in London.
Snapdeal has had a good year so far, raising multiple rounds of funds from the likes of Azim Premji and Temasek and hitting the $1 billion valuation mark in May. Earlier this month, news reports suggested that industrial tycoon Ratan Tata might be considering an investment in the company, though there were no confirmations. The company has raised about $340 million since it was founded in 2010.
Sources at the time said Tata could buy out early stage investors through a secondary sale, though there is no confirmation of the stake he could acquire. Tata also visited Snapdeal’s Delhi offices in July and addressed employees.
In the last few months, Bahl has been quite vocal about the company’s targets. He told The Economic Times in an earlier interview that his vision includes having one million sellers on the site in the next three years and said the company’s focus will be on increasing seller base, increasing the number of fulfillment centres and building the mobile commerce platform.
In early 2014, Snapdeal had stated it would invest Rs 350 crore in 2014-15 fiscal in supplychain management.
Online sales of retail goods totalled $2 billion in 2013, according to research firm Forrester and Technopak forecasts that sales are expected to reach $76 billion by 2021.
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