French affordable fashion brand Kiabi plans its India debut through online platforms instead of brick-and-mortar stores. Kiabi’s potential entry into India comes after the stupendous success of the French company’s sister brand Decathlon, which sells affordable sportswear and sports equipment in India. Kiabi’s online foray also aims to gauge the country’s market before opening its full-fledged physical stores.
Kiabi has already started negotiations with e-commerce platforms including Myntra and Ajio for a possible tie-up, and is expected to start selling online in the coming months.
Owned by The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM), ready-to-wear clothing brand Kiabi offers fashion for men, women and kids. Founded with a store in 1978 in Roncq, France, the brand operates more than 500 stores in 14 countries including Spain, Italy, Russia, France and Morocco. It also sells affordable clothing for men, women and kids to more than 20 million online shoppers in 39 countries through its platform kiabi.com.
In India, Kiabi competes with not just global competitors like H&M, Gap, Jack & Jones among other labels but also with Indian players like Tata Group’s Zudio, Reliance Retail’s Azorte and Yousta. Calling itself a 100 per cent ‘designed in France’ fashion brand, Kiabi boasts 60 French designers, collectively known as Trends Lab, that create fashion items to be sold through its network of stores and online.
