Bengaluru based e-commerce company Flipkart is in talks with Kishore Biyani to pick up an 8-10 percentage in Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd. As a part of omnichannel strategy, online and offline retailers are now entering each other’s territories to combat shrinking retail margins.
Amazon Picks 5% Stake in Shoppers Stop
American electronic commerce company Amazon has picked up 5% stake in Shoppers Stop last month. This is the first investment for Amazon in an offline retailer in India to expand its base into smaller towns.
About Future Life Style
Future Lifestyle is one of the biggest branded apparel retailers in India with add up to retail space of 5.4 million sq ft crosswise over 400 stores in 90 urban areas and an expanded arrangement of 30 brands straddling diverse sections and price points.
It has large department store formats as well as specialist niche formats. It owns and markets 41domestic and global fashion brands including Lee Cooper, Scullers, Indigo Nation, John Miller and Jealous 21.
Myntra, a likely Vehicle for Partnership
Flipkart owned Myntra is the likely vehicle for the partnership. Myntra has now become a pivotal differentiator against Amazon India.
Myntra, which acquired Jabong last year, had reached $1.5 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and is planning to raise this to $1.7 billion by the end of the year. Its private label business, Myntra Fashion Brands has also turned profitable.
Strategic Partnership with BookMyShow
Flipkart is in talks with BookMyShow for a strategic partnership as local e-commerce companies are planning to build integrated service verticals beyond their basic marketplace offering. Just like Flipkart, Paytm and Amazon have also been steadily building hyper local and services offerings.
After Flipkart’s recent funding round, it has become clear that discounting will not slow down in this space.