Latest news with #M-Now
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rapid fashion delivery gathers pace, but long-term viability in question
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Quick fashion delivery gathers pace, but road ahead seems challenging
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Myntra secures Rs 1,063 crore funding from Singapore-based parent entity
Online fashion retailer Myntra has received fresh funding of Rs 1,062.5 crore ($124 million) from its Singapore-based parent entity FK Myntra Holdings at a time when the company has expanded its services to Singapore. According to regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), 19,43,753 equity shares of of Myntra Designs Private Limited have been allotted to FK Myntra Holdings Private Limited at an issue price of Rs 5,465.23 each on a rights basis to raise the total amount. The development was first reported by Entrackr. In previous rounds, parent firm Flipkart had injected $81 million into the online fashion retailer in November 2024 and $339 million in March 2024. On May 19, Myntra launched its new platform, Myntra Global , offering Made-in-India brands and fashion to cater to the Indian diaspora in Singapore. Its partner brands will ship products to Singapore from inventory held in India and Myntra will help them through third-party international logistics providers. The shipping timeline is expected to be between 4-7 days, on average. Meanwhile, Myntra is facing increasing competition in the online apparel retail space in India after Chinese fast fashion platform Shein returned five years after being banned. Notably, Myntra turned profitable in fiscal year 2024. It reported a net profit of Rs 31 crore for fiscal year 2024 against a net loss of Rs 782 crore in the previous year. Operating revenue also grew 15% to Rs 5,122 crore in FY24. Rapid delivery push The Bengaluru-based company has also entered the rapid delivery race with M-Now as quick commerce is gaining popularity in the country. Besides apparel, Myntra is pushing categories such as accessories, home furnishings, and makeup on both its regular ecommerce segment as well as M-Now. With the rapid delivery wave spreading across segments, even quick commerce companies Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit have been adding more stock keeping units to their apparel section with a promise to deliver in minutes. The latest to join the race is omnichannel fast fashion brand Newme. On Tuesday, Newme launched its 60-minute delivery service, Newme Zip, in Bengaluru after the rapid delivery service's success in Delhi.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Myntra secures Rs 1,063 crore funding from Singapore-based parent entity
Online fashion retailer Myntra has received fresh funding of Rs 1,062.5 crore ($124 million) from its Singapore-based parent entity FK Myntra Holdings at a time when the company has expanded its services to Singapore. According to regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), 19,43,753 equity shares of of Myntra Designs Private Limited have been allotted to FK Myntra Holdings Private Limited at an issue price of Rs 5,465.23 each on a rights basis to raise the total amount. The development was first reported by Entrackr. In previous rounds, parent firm Flipkart had injected $81 million into the online fashion retailer in November 2024 and $339 million in March 2024. On May 19, Myntra launched its new platform, Myntra Global , offering Made-in-India brands and fashion to cater to the Indian diaspora in Singapore. Its partner brands will ship products to Singapore from inventory held in India and Myntra will help them through third-party international logistics providers. The shipping timeline is expected to be between 4-7 days, on average. Meanwhile, Myntra is facing increasing competition in the online apparel retail space in India after Chinese fast fashion platform Shein returned five years after being banned. Live Events Notably, Myntra turned profitable in fiscal year 2024 . It reported a net profit of Rs 31 crore for fiscal year 2024 against a net loss of Rs 782 crore in the previous year. Operating revenue also grew 15% to Rs 5,122 crore in FY24. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Rapid delivery push The Bengaluru-based company has also entered the rapid delivery race with M-Now as quick commerce is gaining popularity in the country. Besides apparel, Myntra is pushing categories such as accessories, home furnishings, and makeup on both its regular ecommerce segment as well as M-Now . With the rapid delivery wave spreading across segments, even quick commerce companies Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit have been adding more stock keeping units to their apparel section with a promise to deliver in minutes. The latest to join the race is omnichannel fast fashion brand Newme. On Tuesday, Newme launched its 60-minute delivery service , Newme Zip, in Bengaluru after the rapid delivery service's success in Delhi.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fast fashion brand Newme launches 60-minute delivery service in Bengaluru
Live Events Omnichannel fast fashion brand Newme on Tuesday launched its 60-minute delivery service, Newme Zip, in Bengaluru after the rapid delivery service 's success in had launched the service in the national capital with a 90-minute delivery timeline. After recording success with the pilot, it has now expanded the service to Bengaluru, promising faster delivery.'Gen Z is clear in what they want—style that's current, access that's instant, and experiences that feel personal,' said Sumit Jasoria, cofounder and chief executive officer, Newme, in a press release. 'The overwhelming response to our pilot confirmed that. Fast fashion can't afford to be slow.'Newme has a particular focus on generation Z customers. Besides its online presence, it has 14 offline stores across the Newme Zip, over 1,500 styles are available in Bengaluru. Currently, the company has a network of dark stores across the city and plans to scale the number of stores based on is also in the process of launching its rapid delivery service in Mumbai and Hyderabad in the coming development comes at a time when quick delivery is gaining popularity in fashion. Last December, fashion retailer Myntra launched its 30-minute delivery service, M-Now, in Bengaluru with about 10,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs). However, depending on the location, the delivery time extends up to 4 hours. Quick commerce platforms Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit are also expanding their fashion category to include apparel, footwear, accessories, bags and more.
