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Mint
22-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
After groceries and electronics, fashion is the next quick-commerce battleground
New Delhi: After getting urban Indians hooked on to 10-minute groceries to electronics, Indian online retailers will now battle for quick delivery of a category tailored to fuel instant gratification: fashion. On Friday, Reliance Retail Ltd, India's largest retailer, rolled out Ajio Rush, the online commerce platform's four-hour delivery service that is live in six cities. Earlier this year, Myntra expanded its quick commerce offerings with its M-Now services in Delhi and Mumbai. Brick-and-mortar retailer Libas is also increasing investments in quick commerce, using its own dark stores and partnering with third-party platforms to offer faster shipments on select items. Also read | Myntra aims to stream glamour through stories, stars and songs Fashion retailers aim to tap the preference for same-day deliveries among consumers, driven by the explosion of rapid shipping of milk, eggs, bread, fruits and vegetables. India's quick commerce market has grown 150% year-on-year, reaching $10 billion in gross merchandise value and a monthly run rate of $900-950 million, according to Redseer estimates. However, it still accounts for only 15% of the e-commerce market, estimated at $70 billion, with significant headroom to grow. Retailers have started by offering select and high-selling fashion items through quick commerce. Ajio's Rush has seen an encouraging response in its initial days, with customers placing high-value orders and initiating fewer returns, according to a senior company executive. Launched in the June quarter, Rush offers 130,000 products that can be delivered in four hours, leveraging Reliance Retail's existing store network for deliveries. "We launched Ajio Rush—the equivalent of a quick commerce service—in the top six cities. We have carved out space in our stores, and we are delivering from those stores where the promise is within four hours. That is live in six cities with 130,000-plus options," said Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer atReliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), during the company's post-earnings call Friday evening. "These are curated options in those stores because we have a lot of data for those pincodes in terms of what's selling, and what we see are initial signs; it's still relatively young." RRVL, a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd, owns e-commerce platforms Ajio and JioMart. Ajio sells brands such as Gap, M&S, H&M, and Asos. Of these, RRVL holds rights to Gap, M&S, and Asos in India. Fewer returns, larger bill sizes Taluja said orders placed via this offering lead to fewer returns and larger bill sizes. 'Average bill value is 50 to 60% higher compared to a normal transaction. In close to 12-15% of bills where we are offering this service, customers are adopting Ajio Rush; returns are significantly lower because it is addressing a need that the customer has…With better bill values and lower returns, the unit economics will improve substantially," he said. Since its launch in Bengaluru in December, Flipkart-backed online fashion platform Myntra's M-Now (30-minute platform) has been witnessing demand from customers across categories and products. M-Now has since expanded into metros like Mumbai and Delhi. Also read | Flipkart Group-owned Myntra rejigs commission to drive low-ticket sales Currently live in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi—with pilots underway in other cities— M-Now's daily orders doubled last quarter. Key spikes include a four-time jump on the first day of the End of Reason Sale, and a 4.5x surge in orders alongside a 5x increase in new customers around Valentine's Day, according to a top company executive. On Mother's Day, beauty and personal care saw a 1.4X spike, led by gifting. 'Emerging consumption trends include dressing up, grooming, home décor, and gifting," said Sharon Pais, chief business officer, Myntra in an emailed response to Mint. 'With a rich M-Now assortment featuring 600 brands,premium brands that are witnessing strong traction include MANGO, L'Oréal, Maybelline, Fossil, Calvin Klein, and Hidesign." Fashion fast delivery pioneer Over the past few years, Myntra has pioneered fast deliveries in fashion and lifestyle through M-Express, enabling 24 to 48-hour fulfilment, said Pais. Today, nearly 50% of Myntra orders are delivered within 48 hours across 600+ cities, reflecting growing consumer preference for speed-led access to premium fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, he said. Quick commerce is still dominated by sales of daily essentials such as milk, eggs, bread, fruits, and vegetables. Growth is primarily led by grocery, beauty, general merchandise, and small-ticket electronics, while traction for fashion, appliances, and furniture remains limited. And demand is largely limited to large metro cities. Queries emailed to Zepto and Instamart, India's two largest quick-commerce platforms, remained unanswered. Also read | Reliance Retail's AJIO launches D2C-focused interactive e-com platform AJIOGRAM Analysts said the move makes little commercial sense and that heightened competition is why companies are willing to tweak their business models to adapt to this change in consumer behaviour. 'At the end of the day, if consumers are willing to pay for it and companies are willing to fund this (by cash burn), then there will always be demand even if not urgent," said Harminder Sahni, managing director and partner at consulting firm Wazir Advisors. 'However, it doesn't add up or make commercial sense bringing more products on a quick service platform." Sahni said the labour arbitrage or low-cost labour in India enables newer players to enter the market and offer such services. Experiment in faster deliveries Still, Ethnic fashion retailer Libas has also rolled out its own small dark stores as an experiment to ramp up faster deliveries. It recently launched a campaign with Zepto to roll out a select range of clothing such as kurtas and leggings pan-India. "We're scaling that up. It's about cracking what products are required," said Sidhant Keshwani, founder and CEO, Libas. A few years ago, two-day delivery was the norm, but today it is seen as a curse, highlighting the consumer shift underway, he said. Also read | Ajio accounts for 25% of Reliance Retail's apparel biz 'We're setting up our own dark stores, and are pushing and convincing all the (quick commerce) partners to pick up stock from our dark stores," Keshwani said. 'We have convinced Myntra, and our pilot went live in June. Before Diwali, we are planning to set up 20 such dark stores in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru." However, the rollout will not come without its challenges, he said, especially given the inventory churn retailers typically experience each season. The retailer, according to Keshwani, is being selective with inventory and opening dark stores in high-transaction areas like Delhi's Dilshad Garden.
India.com
21-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
Mukesh Ambani, Isha Ambani make big move as Reliance Retail enters fashion quick commerce with..., it's offering...
New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has forayed into the fast-growing fashion quick commerce segment with the launch of Ajio Rush. What is Ajio Rush? Ajio Rush is a four-hour delivery service that went live in the first quarter of FY26. It is currently operational in six cities, including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Ahmedabad. It is offering more than 1.3 lakh style options and its target customers are young, fashion-conscious consumers. Ajio Rush is offering fashion accessories in different segments, like casual wear, ethnic wear, western wear, footwear, and accoutrements. The service draws from Reliance's existing warehousing and logistics network, enabling quicker turnarounds without the burn-heavy tactics seen in younger Q-commerce players. What did Ajio Rush say about new offering? The company said that the new offering is delivering better unit economics on the back of higher average bill value and lower returns. 'AJIO Rush, a 4-hour delivery service was launched during the quarter and is live in 6 cities with 130k+ options. With faster deliveries, the initiative will further improve customers' shopping experience on the platform. The initiative is delivering better unit economics driven by higher average bill value and lower returns,' said the company. What is India's fashion Q-commerce scene? The launch of Ajio Rush comes as India's fashion Q-commerce space gains momentum. Myntra, owned by Flipkart, had piloted its M-Now express delivery service last year, promising fashion deliveries within 30 minutes to two hours. Several digital-first brands—such as Slikk, Newme, and KNOT—have also entered the space, catering to Gen Z's growing preference for on-demand fashion. The quick fashion delivery space has started attracting investor attention, as per Entrackr's recent report. Startups like Newme have secured fresh funding this year, while others are in advanced talks for new rounds. However, the model remains unproven at scale, with concerns around return rates, high logistics costs, and pressure on margins. With Ajio Rush, Reliance is relying on its deep catalogue, existing customer base, and strong back-end to improve unit economics. Higher average order values and lower dependency on discounts also give it an edge over VC-backed startups that are still building infrastructure.
Fibre2Fashion
21-07-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
India's Reliance Industries' Q1 profit up; retail, fashion fuel growth
India's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has delivered a strong financial and operational performance in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal 2026 (FY26), with consolidated gross revenue rising by 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to ₹273,252 crore (~$31.9 billion). The group's EBITDA surged by 35.7 per cent to ₹58,024 crore (~$6.8 billion), signalling a solid recovery across business segments. Commenting on the results, Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Limited said: 'Reliance has begun FY26 with a robust, all-round operational and financial performance. Consolidated EBITDA for 1Q FY26 improved strongly from a year-ago period, despite significant volatility in global macros.' RIL has posted a strong Q1 FY26 performance, with consolidated revenue rising 6 per cent YoY to ₹273,252 crore (~$31.9 billion) and EBITDA up 35.7 per cent to ₹58,024 crore. Reliance Retail delivered robust results, with revenue of ₹84,171 crore and 388 new store additions. Fashion, Ajio, and Shein led growth, while digital expansion and quick-delivery initiatives strengthened customer engagement. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the conglomerate's retail arm, posted quarterly revenue of ₹84,171 crore (~$9.76 billion), reflecting a year-on-year growth of 11.3 per cent. EBITDA rose 12.7 per cent to ₹6,381 crore, with EBITDA margins improving by 20 basis points to 8.7 per cent. Revenue from operations grew in tandem, supported by strong performance in grocery, fashion and lifestyle segments, the company said in its financial statement. During the quarter, the company added 388 new stores, bringing the total retail footprint to 19,592 stores across 77.6 million square feet. The registered customer base rose to 358 million, marking a 13.3 per cent annual increase, while total transactions jumped 16.5 per cent year-on-year to 389 million. The fashion and lifestyle segment stood out with robust growth, driven by new formats such as Gap, Azorte and Yousta, which registered a 59 per cent year-on-year rise and now collectively operate more than 170 stores. The company continued expanding its presence in non-apparel categories such as footwear, beauty and accessories. Ajio, Reliance's e-commerce fashion platform, saw notable improvements in customer engagement, with the revenue share from new users rising by 150 basis points year-on-year to 18 per cent, and average bill value increasing by 17 per cent. The platform expanded its catalogue by 44 per cent to over 2.6 million options, supported by the introduction of several new brands. Ajio Rush, a 4-hour delivery service launched in six cities, enhanced convenience and drove higher average order values and reduced returns. Shein, which returned to India through a partnership with Reliance, gained strong traction with over 2 million app downloads and 20,000+ live products. Premium offerings also gained momentum, with Ajio Luxe expanding its portfolio to 875 brands and Hamleys launching the Green Club, a sustainability initiative for children, while expanding into new geographies. The business also introduced the Mothercare Everyday range to further strengthen its kidswear offering, the statement added. Isha M Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited , said 'Reliance Retail delivered resilient performance during this quarter driven by our relentless focus on operational excellence, geographical expansion and sharper product portfolio. Our continued investments in cutting-edge technologies and differentiated product offerings have enabled us to serve our customers better and scale with agility.' In the polyester segment, margins were impacted, with the chain margin declining to $446/MT from $489/MT in the same quarter last year. Paraxylene (PX) margins over naphtha dropped by 34 per cent due to oversupply, although margins for monoethylene glycol (MEG) improved from a low base, thanks to lower inventory levels at Chinese ports. Downstream polyester product margins remained stable, supported by soft input prices and improved global demand. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
