- The Flipkart Group revealed on Thursday that it has invested $35 million in Arvind Fashions for a major minority stake in one of the subsidiaries
Flipkart, which competes in India with Amazon, is doubling down on a field where it has built a strong lead: Fashion.
The Flipkart Group revealed on Thursday that it has invested $35 million in Arvind Fashions for a major minority stake in one of the subsidiaries of the decades-old Indian business as the Walmart-owned group seeks to strengthen its hold on fashion apparels in the second largest internet market in the world.
Via the acquisition of Myntra and Jabong over the years, Flipkart has already established dominance in India ‘s fashion e-commerce industry. The company said today it was acquiring a stake in Arvind Fashions ‘ Arvind Youth Brands, which runs the Flying Machine brand in India.
The two companies said the new investment strengthens their relationship as they look to meet the demands and needs of the “fashion-conscious youth ” in India. Arvind Fashions started selling products on Flipkart six years ago.
91-year-old Arvind Fashions operates among the nation’s largest fashion brands and also produces and carries apparel among foreign brands including Polo Assn, Arrow, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Aeropostale, the Children ‘s Place, and Ed Hardy among other local and international firms.
The investment comes at a time when both Flipkart and Amazon have been expanding their private labels ecosystem in India. And by courting Arvind Fashions, Flipkart could look to duplicate a similar strategy in the fashion room. The Indian e-commerce market for fashion goods was worth $7 billion last year, research firm Forrester told TechCrunch.
“ Flying Machine is a brand that is known in households across India, popular with the youth and synonymous with fashion and style. Through this investment, we look forward to partnering with the team at Arvind Youth Brands to continue to develop the demand for its portfolio of products and enhance the strong brand value that has been established over the last few decades, ” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer of Flipkart Group, in a statement.
The partnership with the Flipkart Group is aimed at helping Arvind Fashions improve its online growth strategy, said J. Suresh, managing director, and chief executive of Arvind Fashions.
“Given the strong established partnership with the Flipkart Group, and their success in online fashion, it was an obvious option for us to enter into this engagement through which Flipkart and Myntra will be our preferred online partner for the Flying Machine brand, while we continue to expand our offline sales through channels like exclusive brand stores, department stores, and multi-brand stores,” he said in a statement.
