Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine April Issue 2019 | Page 63

WORLD WRAP
Walmart disappointed
with quick regulatory
changes in India
The latest changes in India’s foreign direct investment
(FDI) norms have distressed many e-commerce companies.
The recent one to show its disappointment has been the
American multinational retail company Walmart.
The Jacquard Project – Google’s newly launched apparel in collaboration with Levi’s
denimwear brand Paige expanded
its merchandise to foray into the
footwear field in September 2018
with a 19-piece collection and Indian
menswear retailer Mufti launched
its footwear range after introducing
athleisure last season. Meanwhile,
fast-fashion giant Zara also
stretched its horizons to the beauty
sector in November 2018.
HOMEWARE –
THE RIPE AVENUE
The popularity of homeware is
entailing a line of retailers and
brands which are exploring
opportunity in cross-market
boundaries.
What started as a trend in the luxury
segment, trickled down to provide
mass brands a segment that slowly
popularised their existing market
position. Gucci, Armani, Loewe
and La DoubleJ started with their
own lines that sold like hot cakes.
The existence of Gucci ceramics
and Loewe chairs provide the
same brand factor to the consumer
on an extended level as a luxury
wallpaper will be utilised longer than
a skirt. Affordable furniture giant
Ikea collaborated with celebrated
designer Virgil Abloh for a limited
edition furnishing line that was sold
out within days of its launch.
On the masses front, fast-fashion
and discount retailers are not
far behind in the race to have a
successful homeware range with
the introduction of Zara Home by
Inditex in 2003, to the recent venture
of Swedish brand H&M, H&M Home,
launched in 2009. Small kidswear
brands such as Rachel Riley and
Noe & Zoe spread their categories
to offer homeware ranges to help
parents transform their kids’
wardrobes as well as living space.
Multi-brand retailers and large
format stores are also delving into
the segment as Walmart launched a
series of virtual showrooms online,
while ASOS recruited designers
to create textiles, ceramics and
hard goods for its first own brand
homeware collection that was
launched earlier this month.
A COLLABORATIVE
EFFORT
Several brands have also
started collaborating with players in
the field they are interested in
to inculcate the existing brand
image of the collaborator; use
their expertise while adding
their technical advancement to
the mix. Levi’s collaborated with
tech stalwart Google to unveil
a high tech jacket that provides
the wearer the convenience of
controlling smartphone features
with basic arm movements with
recent edition, Project Jacquard
featuring ride-sharing support via
Uber and Lyft.
Talking to The Economic Times, Walmart Chief Financial
Officer Brett Biggs, referring to the FDI changes by the
Centre, said that the company anticipated regulatory
changes in India but not so quickly.
“We will have legislation changes, we know that and you
work your way through it. It is disappointing that you have
a law like that being changed so quickly, but we have made
the adjustments and we are moving forward. When you
make investment in India, you must note that things are
going to change. We knew that going into an investment
and you have just got to work their way through,”
said Brett Biggs.
In February this year, the Indian Government tightened
norms prohibiting marketplaces from selling products
of affiliates and stipulating that such entities cannot
exercise ownership or control over inventory. Firms
including Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon were
also asked to provide services such as warehousing,
logistics and advertising to all sellers in a fair manner. It
barred e-commerce firms from entering into pacts for the
exclusive sale of products as well.
“It is an interesting market and also the reason why we
decided to make the Flipkart investment and also there
are still 1.3 billion people in India. There is still a growing
middle-class. E-commerce penetration is getting bigger in
a very rapid fashion,” commented Briggs, adding that he
was part of the original joint venture in India. It acquired
Flipkart last May for over US $ 16 billion.
All in all, the idea of providing a
one-stop store solution is
popularising as every brand wants
a stake in the rapidly diversifying
market, exploiting new trends in the
arena with the added advantage of
being distinguished from the existing
competition.
www.apparelresources.com | APRIL 2019 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
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