The great Indian e-Commerce success story has truly arrived. An internet user base of 50 million fuelled by increasing incomes, greater demand and better connectivity, has set the stage for India to soon become the 3rd largest e-commerce industry in the world after the US and China.
The recent spate of events in the industry reinforce the fact that contrary to what naysayers believe the industry will not see a bubble burst and is indeed well on its way to accelerated growth. From Ratan Tata himself expressing an interest in acquiring a personal stake in Snapdeal to Amazon announcing $2 billion investments in its Indian business, the forecasts have been nothing but positive.
Categories from lifestyle to electronics to books thrive in the Indian Internet of things while intimate apparel has not been left too far behind. Currently, there are 4-5 players in the industry who exclusively sell intimate apparel ranging from lingerie to shape wear to swimwear online. These include Zivame, PrettySecrets, Homeshop18, Jabong, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopimagine, etc. with the first two being the market leaders.
Started in the year 2012 by Richa Kar, today Zivame has grown into a multi-crore business that shows no signs of slowing down. Through Kalaari Capital and IDG Ventures, the company managed to raise 54 crores in 2012, and aims to cross 240 crores by the end of the fiscal year of 2014. Pretty Secrets has managed to raise a sum amounting to $1 million, thanks to the banking of Harvard Business School, Indian Angel Network and Orios Venture Partners, its angel investors. Needless, to say, there’s no slowing down.
It was only natural that Galleria Intima 3.0, India’s largest intimate apparel sourcing fair and the most anticipated event in the industry would give the online lingerie segment its fair dues. The 3rd edition of the event which will be held at The Grand Hyatt, Goa on 18th and 19th August shall not only see 70+ exhibitors and 1500+ visitors but also expects business transactions worth INR 400 Crores.
However, the focus will not just be on bridging the demand-supply gap so inherent in the intimate apparel industry but also networking and knowledge sharing. This will be done through presentations, seminars as well as panel discussions. The focus on the e-commerce industry in the context of intimate apparel will be immense with some of the biggest names in the industry participating in a panel discussion called Digitizing India’s Retail Landscape- the next wave of online and offline convergence.
The panel discussion, to be held on 18th August 2014 at Salao, The Grand Hyatt, Goa, will feature illustrious speakers from both the offline and online segments of the lingerie industry includes the likes of Ms. Richa Kar, founder of Zivame, India’s first and largest online lingerie store and Mr. Karan Behal, whose e-commerce lingerie site Pretty Secrets needs no further introduction. Mr. Dharam Nathwani, CEO, LaLingerie.com will also be joining in for a balanced perspective. His brand, La Lingerie enjoys loyal buyers both in the online and offline segments.
