Fashion retailer Lifestyle on Thursday said it has entered into a strategic partnership with e-commerce major Flipkart as it aims to bolster its sales from online channels and reach new customers in tier II cities and beyond.
As part of the partnership, Lifestyle's range of apparel, including its 11 private labels like Melange, Ginger and Forca, will be available on Flipkart, Myntra and Jabong platforms.
"Our online journey started three years ago, and currently it accounts for 2-3 per cent of our sales (through its own website). With this strategic tie-up, we expect the contribution of online sales to go up significantly to about 15 per cent in the next 4-5 years," Lifestyle International Managing Director Vasanth Kumar told PTI.
He added that the partnership will also allow the company to reach new customers in tier II cities and beyond.
Lifestyle, which currently has a network of 78 stores in India across 44 cities, aims to reach the 100-store mark in the next two years.
The partnership will also help Lifestyle get access to insights around sales trends.
"Our teams will work closely with those at Flipkart around consumer insights. This can also help us determine locations that are seeing high demand and we can look into the feasibility of expanding our retail presence," he said.
Rishi Vasudev, Senior Vice President and Group Head - Fashion (Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong) said the partnership with Lifestyle is a strategic move to enhance customers' shopping experience.
"This partnership further strengthens our position as the leading fashion destination in India, and Lifestyle will be able to take their offerings to our 160-million strong customer base," he added.
Vasudev said the companies will also explore opportunities to engage in offline stores of Lifestyle like loyalty programmes.
As per estimates, India's fashion market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent till 2022 to become a USD 102 billion market for apparel.
Fashion category is among the largest segments for e-commerce companies in India, along with segments like mobile phones and electronics.
Flipkart Fashion has partnered around 14,000 fashion brands (inclusive of MSMEs), while Myntra has partnered over 2,000 fashion and lifestyle brands.
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