Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine October Issue 2018 | Page 65

WORLD WRAP
TJX and Ross Stores currently lead
the segment. The obvious growth has
encouraged Dollar Tree to open more
than 600 stores in 2018. This discount
growth could be attributed to
continued thrifty mindsets following
the recession, stagnant wages, etc.
And consumers may increasingly
enjoy a ‘treasure hunt’ experience of
finding the best deals.
In fact, off-price retailers have
steadily gained market share at the
expense of their full-price rivals
in recent years. Earlier, in May,
management at both TJX and Ross
Stores had shown concern about
the late start to Spring, fearing that
it would negatively affect sales in
the first quarter. Nevertheless, both
off-price leaders posted solid 3%
comp sales gains in Q1, beating their
forecasts. Based on this, some retail
watchers predict that TJX and Ross
Stores could report Q2 comp sales
gains of around 5% or even higher.
The jumping stocks of retailers like
Walmart on Wall Street is again a
positive sign, and analysts at Wall
Street expect some of the bricks
and mortar retailers to be around
and going strong for the next few
years. Walmart, the largest retailer in
the US, recorded US $ 318.5 billion in
revenue and US $ 495.8 billion in net
sales in FY 2018. According to company
sources, Walmart’s US comparative
sales increase in Q2 was driven by an
increase in traffic and ticket growth.
While customer traffic increased 2.2%,
ticket size increased 2.3%.
Growth in online retail
continues to drive shopping…
The apparel and accessory buying
on e-commerce today, accounts
for nearly 15% of total online
purchases and grew by 0.8% in July,
the biggest player of course being
Amazon. According to e-Marketer’s
latest forecast on the top 10 US
e-commerce retailers this year, the
online shopping juggernaut will
capture 49.1% of the market, up from
a 43.5% share last year. Significantly,
Amazon now controls nearly 5% of
the total US retail market (online
and offline). “The continued growth
of Amazon’s Marketplace makes
sense on a number of levels,”
e-Marketer Principal Analyst
Andrew Lipsman said. “More
buyers transacting more often
on Amazon will naturally attract
third-party sellers. But because
third-party transactions are also
more profitable, Amazon has every
incentive to make the process as
seamless as possible for those
selling on the platform.”
The opportunities in e-commerce
is huge; and while in 2016, retail
e-commer ce revenues from apparel
and accessories sales amounted
to US $ 72.13 billion, the same is
projected to increase to US $ 116.3
billion in 2021. The trend now is
not multi-channel but omni-channel
where every retailer has to be
everywhere with a strategy that
synchronises and supports sale at
all platforms simultaneously.
Spykar eyes 30%
surge in sales;
plans to enter
athleisurewear
segment
India-based denim retailer Spykar is eyeing a sales jump of 30
per cent taking the amount to Rs. 700 crore during the ongoing
financial year, as it plans to boost its retail presence and modify
its product portfolio to accelerate growth.
Reportedly, the Indian apparel brand has also announced its
plan to enter into the sportswear category alongside opening
100 exclusive outlets in the country, with the majority of
them being expected to be launched in Tier-1, Tier-3 and
Tier-4 locations.
Sanjay Vakharia, Chief Executive Officer, Spykar Lifestyle
was quoted as saying by the media, “We see an extraordinary
transformation in consumer sentiments which propelled us to
look out and go for such aggressive growth. This fiscal year we
are aiming to close at Rs. 700 crore, a growth of around 25-30
per cent. We plan to spread in 200 towns soon and take the
store count to 350 in the coming time.”
Notably, the retailer currently operates 220 exclusive stores spread
across 140 cities in the country. Menswear accounts for 90 per
cent of the total revenue for the retailer and it plans to increase its
womenswear market share by up to 25 per cent this year.
The online sales currently generate 7 per cent of the total
business for Spykar and the company is eyeing to take the
e-commerce platform’s contribution to around 10 per cent by
the end of this FY.
Spykar merchandise is being retailed in more than 700 multi-brand
stores in India, along with large format stores, and is also available
on e-commerce pioneers like Flipkart, Amazon and others.
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