Fashion Cart

Ishita Swarup,42,along with friends Anchal Jain and Ankur Prakash,set up the online shopping club 99labels last December. In seven months,the portal has notched up 50,000 members. “Only 25 per cent of online shoppers in India are women. Our aim is to reverse that trend,” says Swarup,the CEO of 99labels,who had earlier opened a BPO called Orion Dialog. “We give exclusive offers to women. We want to reach out to people who don’t have time to go out shopping and those in non-metros who don’t have access to high-end brands.”

Reaching out to tech-savvy women,99labels is offering luxury items at throwaway prices. The website has Dolce and Gabbana watches at Rs 6,900 (originally priced at over Rs 21,000). Italian menswear brand Cadini is discounted up to 60 per cent and Disney products for kids come with a 25 per cent cut on price.

Though portals can’t offer the ultimate store experience,they make efforts to help you get the size right. “We try and make our customers comfortable with online shopping,” says Swarup. “There are detailed size charts for apparels. If the clothes don’t fit,they can be exchanged. We’ve made a decision not to include tight-fitted clothing.”

Dirk van Quaquebeke,a German entrepreneur,started Brandmile,with offices in Noida and Mumbai,around the same time as 99labels. He claims to have sold products worth Rs 1 crore in this short period. Brandmile offers a mix of couture and high-street brands — Dolce & Gabbana,Armani and Hugo Boss alongside Levis and Pepe. “Indians are aware of their Gucci,Versace and Burberry,but unfortunately,there aren’t many venues where they can find good deals on such premium products. The recession too brought in many customers looking for discounted high-end labels,” says Quaquebeke,who has also found an audience in “tier II and III cities”. Brandmile usually campaigns only one brand per week.

“Brands sell their surplus stock at the turn of the season over shopping portals,” says Swarup. “Our website is like an online factory outlet for brands.” Quaquebeke agrees: “We are offering an efficient form of selling excess stock,which would have been stored in warehouses,without any brand dilution.”

The latest in the fray is exclusively.in,with offices in New York and Delhi,offering luxury goods,including art,jewellery and home décor,at slashed rates. Here,you can pick up signed prints of MF Husain and Paramjit Singh along with a pretty $99 dress by James Ferreria and a Namrata Joshipura ensemble.

99labels and Brandmile will let you exchange clothes if the fit is not right. Accessories,cosmetics,jewellery and designer handbags,however,cannot be replaced or returned. Shipping charges are less than Rs 100; payments can be made through cash or card; and delivery time varies from five days to two weeks.