The penetration of Internet has rapidly increased the competition in apparel retailing as it creates a platform for the consumers to browse for their favorite wardrobes from anywhere in the world. In order to compete with the rising competition in garment retailing, several Indian retailers are venturing into e-commerce market.
According to the Indian online retailers, the most important factors for success in apparel retailing are capital, adaptation of new technology and new innovations to keep consumers interest.
In an interview with fibre2fashion, Mr. Philip Moylan, sales and marketing manager at Eurostop, a leading supplier of retail management and EPOS solutions for the fashion, said, “The initial thought for a retailer is to adapt or disappear and this includes the reduction of their cost base by rationalizing bricks and mortar stores and looking to generate extra revenue from e-commerce or other sources.”
Mr. Sanjay Shroff, founder, director and CEO ofStyletag.com, a leading online retailer of luxury clothing, says, “Adaptation, innovation and capital – all three are required to succeed in apparel and textile retail business, particularly the online ventures.”
“The generation with the spending power is dynamic and with constant access to the Internet, we have to continuously adapt to new technology, innovate to keep consumers interest and obviously this requires capital, both human and monetary,” he adds.
According to Zivame.com, an Indian e-commerce retailer of lingerie, adaptation, innovation and capital are equally important because a business needs to constantly innovate to be able to provide better products/services to consumers.
“Capital helps you achieve your marketing, human resources, and merchandise goals,” explains the representative of Zivame.com.
Agreeing with them, Mr. Anurag Rajpal, CEO of The American Swan Lifestyle Company, an online fashion and lifestyle brand in India, says, “I would have to say that all three factors, adaptation, innovation and capital, play an important role in the success of any venture.”
“Customers today are living in a connected, global ecosystem and they are not only aware of international brands & trends, but they also have very high expectations in terms of quality, service and fulfillment. In order to meet these expectations, every brand needs to ensure that they are constantly benchmarking and adapting to changing needs,” he mentions.
Although the online garment retailers have stressed on the importance of adaptation, innovation and capital for success in business, they have also mentioned other factors, such as media and customer satisfaction.
Mr. Rajpal says, “I would like to bring in two more critical aspects which we lay emphasis on and these are relevance and customer focus. These two factors will only strengthen the differentiation that a brand or product or service brings to the market.”
Apparel brands also need to adapt to new media/channels, economic changes/reforms etc. to be able to be more competitive and use resources better,” the representative of Zivame.com mentions.
However, Mr. Moylan says, “Though the introduction of technology like smart phones, tablets, e-commerce, etc. has helped facilitate cost reduction, e-commerce marketing costs are becoming more prohibitive each year and more importantly many retailers do not see a return on investment on these costs.”
