Bengaluru-based e-commerce platform Flipkart announced on Friday that it will be investing Rs 1,500 crore in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail for a ~7.8% stake. In an announcement, the companies said that the strategic partnership is “aimed at enhancing the consumer fashion experience” and “leverage synergies in the fashion segment”.
Aditya Birla Fashion will use the capital to propel its growth as it plans to scale-up in emerging high-growth fashion categories such as innerwear/ athleisure, casual wear and ethnic wear.
Furthermore, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail said it will help accelerate the execution of its large-scale digital transformation strategy, which, it said, “will deepen its consumer connect and augment its backend capabilities; positioning it amongst the most comprehensive omnichannel fashion players in the country”.
For Flipkart on the other hand, it will widen the range of brands — both Indian and international — that it can offer on Flipkart and Myntra. The companies said Flipkart’s online prowess can help with Aditya Birla’s omnichannel capabilities.
The companies said that this can enrich customer experiences “while continuing to provide access to premium loyalty programs and affordability constructs for which Flipkart is known.”
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said, “Through this partnership with ABFRL, we will work towards making available a wide range of products for fashion-conscious consumers across different retail formats across the country. We look forward to working with ABFRL and its well established and comprehensive fashion and retail infrastructure as we address the promising opportunity of the apparel industry in India.”
Aditya Birla Fashion’s MD Ashish Dikshit said, “Given the complementary strengths of ABFRL and Flipkart Group, this partnership has the potential to dramatically accelerate the growth of the apparel industry in India and reshape apparel commerce. This deal also provides a tremendous opportunity to build scale of existing brands and expand its brand portfolio into emerging consumer segments.”