When I mention the words Reliance Industries and e-commerce, what comes to mind? JioMart? Hardly a surprise. But there is another Reliance e-tailing venture worthy of your attention. One without which, perhaps, there would be no JioMart.
Ajio was set up in 2016 to sell inventory from Reliance's offline apparel stores. Handicapped by a lack of tech chops and sub-par logistics, Ajio didn't quite seem to have a purpose.
Until Covid came along, that is. Daily orders surged 5X from before the pandemic to 100,000, and Ajio got its act together by shrinking delivery timelines and making product returns smoother. And it started flexing its muscles by hiring movie stars to promote its annual sale.
In the year ended March 2021, Ajio accounted for 25% of Reliance's apparel sales.
All of a sudden, Myntra, the market leader, knew Ajio was not to be trifled with. Myntra and its parent, Flipkart, may control 60% of India's online fashion sector. But Ajio can lean on Reliance's extensive retail network of 2,850 lifestyle outlets and its exclusive distributorship of global brands such as Diesel and Superdry.
My colleague Avez's article of today provides a window into an unmissable duel in the $8.3 billion fashion e-tailoring market ...
