Akhilesh Prasad, President & CEO, Reliance Retail (Fashion & Lifetsyle).
Credit: DH Photo
Reliance Retail is going against the accepted wisdom for its fashion and lifestyle segment. At a time when more and more clothing and lifestyle brands are using online expansion to reach hitherto untapped markets, the company is placing its bets on a more aggressive offline presence.
“I believe offline is here to stay, no matter what,” said Akhilesh Prasad, President and CEO, Reliance Retail (Fashion & Lifestyle).
While the digital channel is run highly on discounts by retailers and e-commerce companies, that feature is vanishing, and product range and unique offerings are picking up. The apparel market is fragmented and each store assortment is different from others, he added.
The company launched its youth-focussed brand Yousta in the affordable segment, entering a competitive market where the likes of Tata Group’s Zudio and Landmark Group’s Max hold a significant share. Reliance Retail is betting on the growing income of the younger generation and tilt towards affordable yet trendy clothes.
“There's a huge ecosystem sitting in the back. We've got design studios in several markets and we have quick sourcing cycles, whereby we are able to talk about getting a product from the thought to the store shelf within 30 to 40 days. Those are the kinds of technologies we are deploying,” Prasad said
Margins have been a problem for the affordable fashion segment. However, the company is banking on improving margins by selling higher volumes in its low-priced category segment.
While the industry expects a stellar festive season, several analysts have been wary of the discretionary spending, stating that the output might not turn out as optimistic as expected.
Prasad on the other hand believes that the festive season goes beyond the latter half of the year. “Festive is not one period, it is happening everywhere at several times. We have an understanding of festivals to the local market and that’s how we cater to the local audience as well,” he said.
Prasad said that the early trends look very good and the offtake has already started in the Diwali market. While the industry is expected to see high single-digit or low double-digit growth, Reliance Retail has ambitious goals of beating that broad expectation.