Balenzia, the homegrown sock brand, celebrates its foray into eastern India with the inauguration of its 19th store at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

Marking a strategic move into high-traffic locations, the store aligns with Balenzia's expansion plan, aiming for a presence at major airports nationwide.

The store, showcasing over 70 licensed designs, underscores Balenzia's commitment to delivering curated socks for all demographics.

Reliance Brands, the fashion retail arm of Reliance Industries, has expanded its offline facilities by opening new offices for premium apparel brand Ak-Ok in Kolkata. The modern style of these offices facilities elevate the brand’s operations and facilitate future expansion. 

Blending natural beauty sharp lines and edges, the office’s design reflects Ak-Ok’s youthful fusion wear garments. Art pieces on wall decorate the space’s walls while the books on Chanel and William Morris offer diverse inspiration.

Ak-Ok was launched by designer Anamika Khanna as a subsidiary to create more experimental designs and connect with a younger audience. Led by her sons Viraj and Vishesh Khanna, the brand has retail stores in Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai in addition to its direct to customer e-commerce store.  

 Ak-Ok also opened the Lakme Fashion Week in autumn 2022. Launched in partnership with the Fashion Design Council in India, the brand unveiled its menswear offering at the event.  

Austrian brand, The Shirt Dandy (TSD), will foray into the Indian market by launching a groundbreaking AI-powered 3D configurator. The Italian technology will allow customers to design their shirts online, offering them a variety of styles, fabric choices, and detailing options. The brand’s entry into the Indian market will enable it to blend Austrian and Indian craftsmanship, European technology, and a commitment to providing a personalised, sustainable, and community-driven fashion experience.  

For the launch, TSD will release an exclusive pre-booking opportunity with limited slots. Customers will get an opportunity to be the brand ambassadors. Each of the brand’s customers will receive an exclusive referral code that will allow their friends to join the waitlist.

TSD will also offer shoppers an immersive and enjoyable experience with significantly reduced lead time. The brand will provide lifelong free alterations, a forthcoming buy-back program, and the exclusive Dandy Club, an integral part of The Shirt Dandy experience.

Gurugram-based eyewear retail chain Lenskart plans to expand its operations in the UAE market by opening its first flagship store in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Foraying into the Middle East market in 2021 with its first store opening in Dubai, UAE, Lenskart plan to invest around $50 million towards its expansion in the UAE market.
In 2021, Lenskart raised $220 million in a funding round led by Temasek & Falcon Edge Capital to expand its presence in India as well as to scale its operations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Founded in the year 2010 by Peyush Bansal along with his two co-founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart has over 1,100 stores across cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and other 1,100 cities across India.
Offering over 5,000 eyewear styles across its stores and online website, Lenskart is among the first companies in India to use robotic techniques in the eyewear sector.

Easybuy’s newly opened store at Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu retails its latest Spring 2024 collection featuring casual layers, youthful separates and bright colors.

Offering a wide range of trendy styles priced below Rs 999, the store launches new collection every fortnight to offer customers latest styles. This is the 32nd store of the Landmark Group-owned brand and sells latest fashion apparels for women, men and kids.

Easybuy currently has 140 stores across India and offers both ethnic and western style clothing. The brand has opened stores across metros and Tier II and III cities including Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysore and Chitradurga, etc. It also sells its products online from its D2C ecommerce store.

Operating revenues of Flipkart Internet, the marketplace arm of e-commerce major Flipkart surged by 42 per cent to Rs 14,845 crore in FY’23 while its total loss declined by 9 per cent to Rs 4,026 crore.

As per filings sourced from Tofler, Flipkart Internet’s earnings from logistical services grew by 50 per cent to Rs 5,789 crore in FY23. Its earnings from marketing services grew by 32 per cent to Rs 3,713 crore while advertising revenue grew to Rs 3,324 crore in FY23, up from Rs 2,083 crore a year earlier.

The company’s total expenses grew by 26 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 19,043 crore in FY23.Its expenses towards employee benefits surged to Rs 4,482 crore up from Rs 3,735 crore a year earlier.

Flipkart Internet’s logistic expenses grew by 30 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 6,571 crore while advertising and promotional expenses rose to Rs 2,407 crore from Rs 1,945 crore.

As per a report by the Economic Times, Flipkart is plans to raise $1 billion, with parent Walmart committing to inject $600 million. This would be the online retailer’s first fundraise for India. It will increase Flipkart’s value to 5-10 per cent to its valuation of $33 billion.

Snapdeal’s consolidated loss after tax narrowed to Rs 282.2 crore in FY23 from Rs 510 crore in the previous year, according to a statutory filing.

The e-commerce company’s adjusted EBITDA loss reduced to Rs 144 crore in FY2022-23 from Rs 419 crore in FY20210-22 as it focused on profitability and long-term sustainability of the business..

The company’s revenues also decreased to Rs 388 crore in FY2022-23 from Rs 564 crore in FY2021-22.

In the past fiscal year, Snapdeal focused on the value segment besides remaining committed to achieve profits.It also enhanced its operations by improving selection and delivery experiences, and optimising cost and minimising returns.

Activewear brand BlissClub plans to open 20 brick-and-mortar stores in FY’24. The brand opened several new stores across Mumbai and Bengaluru in FY’23, boosting its revenue by over fourfold to Rs 68 crore. However, the brand’s D2C business’ losses also rose by a similar amount to Rs 36 crore.

BlissClub’s offline expansion will enable it to connect with shoppers in person to receive feedback and build connections. The brand will focus on opening company owned and operated stores to enable it to have full control over the stores. 

Along with retail expansion, BlissClub also expanded its product categories to add a wide range of plus size garments to its portfolio.. The brand has also launched campaigns to promote an active lifestyle and body positivity.

29 December 2023, Mumbai

Mall operators’ rental income is expected to grow by 9 percent in 2024 and by 8 percent in 2025, as per an analysis by ICRA.

Having grown by 24 percent in Q1 FY’23, leasing activities will continue growing in 2024, says Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director, Pacific Malls.

Demand for increased space among existing stores will grow along with a preference for larger areas by new tenants, he adds.

In the current year, malls registered an increased demand for premium products, value experiences, and more store space.

Quotes

This demand persisted across Tier II and III markets too, adds Rajneesh Mahajan, CEO, Inorbit Mall. In the coming year, stores selling jewelry, entertainment products, and athleisure goods are expected to increase their sizes by 40 percent, Mahajan adds.

India is expected to become the world’s third-largest consumer market by 2030, with the introduction of newer categories and international brands foraying into the Indian market.

Evolving scope

Omnichannel retail is expected to evolve during this period, with brands providing a seamless experience across all channels, including offline, online, mobile, and social commerce.

The F&B category will continue to grow with the evolution of mall’s crowd-pulling strategies. In line with these changing retail trends, the brand mix in malls is focusing more on these categories. adds Mahajan.

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