Quick fashion on quick commerce? Instamart, Blinkit in talks with top apparel brands
Quick commerce platforms like Zomato’s Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are in advanced talks with leading apparel and shoe manufacturers like Arvind Fashions, Fabindia, Woodland and Puma to sell their products to capitalise on a large section of consumers in top 15 cities moving to buy products other than groceries through quick commerce, multiple industry executives said.
Fabindia has already finalised terms with Instamart whereby a tenth of the unsold stock will be taken back by the apparel manufacturer, and there will be a no-return policy for consumers. Others like Woodland are negotiating for store-return.
Quick commerce firms currently do not have any return policy for products sold through their platform. These startups are hoping to exploit the growing fashion business, which is currently the second-largest selling category in India's e-commerce industry after electronics and smartphones, accounting for around 20-25% of sales. Quick commerce companies are also foraying into electronics and smartphones as ET recently reported.
An executive said Arvind Fashions, which sells brands like Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and US Polo Assn, is in talks to sell innerwear and accessories like socks and belts through quick commerce. Puma, which sold jerseys during IPL through Zepto, is likely to expand the partnership to other products, he said. Currently, at the most, these platforms refund money for products with manufacturing defects.
Quick commerce firms are also negotiating to link retail store inventory
