Indian Economy News

Apparel brand Soch to launch E-store

Bengaluru: Ethnic apparel brand Soch is set to launch its own online retail store next month through which it will offer specialised services to attract customers. The eight-year-old brand is also integrating online elements into its brickand-mortar stores.

"We want to bridge the gap between online and offline. I believe it is only a matter of time before these channels merge," said Vinay Chatlani, chief operating officer of Soch, a brand of MD Retail that also runs multi-brand outlet Favourite.

Soch, which earned revenue of Rs 175 crore last fiscal, started retailing on sites like Flipkart, Amazon and Fashionara last year and these portals already account for about 5% of its sales.

Online retail is estimated to grow to $32 billion (over Rs 1.9 lakh crore) in the next six years, according to a report by retail advisory Technopak. Multibrand online sites like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Myntra and Jabong have captured a large chunk of this market.

Brands like Soch are hoping that value-added services will attract buyers to their captive sites. Through its own site Soch will offer services like click-andbrick, where online buyers can pick up products from stores, allowing exchange of online purchases at stores or getting alternations done. It is also working on a mobile application.

Other brands and retailers have also launched online sites of their own. For instance, Aditya Birla Nuvo, which manufactures and retails brands like Van Heusen, Louis Philippe and Allen Solly, runs Trendin.com. Shoppers Stop, Croma and Titan are others who have launched captive sites in recent years.

"Earlier many brands thought online retail was just a fad," said Pragya Singh, an associate vice-president at retail advisory firm Technopak. "We will see such initiatives from brands more often as they realise they can offer something distinctive and unique through their own portal," Singh said. Soch's Chatlani said his firm expects to earn Rs 260 crore in revenue this fiscal with the online chan.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

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