Amazon is attempting to once again break into India’s fast-growing fashion and lifestyle e-commerce sector.
The e-commerce giant plans to launch a “special store” called Bazaar, where it will not levy extra charges to sellers offering unbranded and trendy fashion and lifestyle products, setting up a battle with rival Flipkart, owned by Walmart; Reliance’s Ajio; and SoftBank-backed upstart Meesho.
According to a communication the firm has sent to its partners, the items sold through Bazaar will be priced under 600 Indian rupees, or $7.2.
“Your products will be featured in a special store on Amazon, making them easy for customers to find,” the company wrote in the communication. Amazon, in the communication also says Bazaar will offer sellers access to tens of millions of customers, stress free delivery and levy zero referral fee.
Indian daily Economic Times reported about Bazaar earlier on Wednesday, adding that Amazon will likely offer two to three days of delivery to the new venture.The fast-fashion e-commerce space has gained ground in India recently as local startups acquire inspiration from global fast-fashion pioneers Zara, H&M and Uniqlo.
Top player Flipkart leads the category but faces mounting competition from Ambani’s Ajio, which has amassed about 30% market share, according to research firm Bernstein.The fashion market is extremely fragmented offline, and the online market is seeing similar trends with multiple players emerging to gain share.
Bazaar is one of the key new initiatives from Amazon, which has deployed over $7 billion in India, following the firm shutting down three of its businesses namely wholesale distribution, food delivery and online learning, in India in late 2022.
The company announced last year that it would invest about $2.3 billion in its e-commerce operations in the country by 2030, a far lower budget than its rival Flipkart. Amazon is doubling down on AWS in India and plans to deploy $12.7 billion in the cloud business in the country by 2030.
Philips Babatunde