Virtual Luxury

http://www.fashionandyou.com,a private shopping club where high-end labels can be bought at throwaway prices,is the brain child of Uppal and Harish Bahl,founder of the internet business solutions firm Smile Interactive. The two have already tested the model in Russia,Switzerland,Turkey and Brazil with considerable success. In India,they had their first sale about a fortnight back — and it was a huge hit. “There is a greater awareness of fashion and international brands in India. It’s the perfect time to introduce this aspect of e-commerce here,” says Uppal,CEO of fashionandyou.com,who has had enough experience as the director of sales at Yahoo.

Five online luxury portals have launched in India over the last few months,and most of them are doing brisk business. The reason,says Nilesh Saxena,co-founder and director of the recently launched http://www.brandmile.com,another luxury portal selling brands like Armani,Versace,Gucci and Burberry,is that India is still a market where consumption is at a premium. “Despite the slowdown,Indians still have considerable purchasing power. What has changed is that people are more conscious of what they buy,which works perfectly well for us,since these brands are on discount,” he says.

In Hyderabad,a doctor,Meghna Pradipak Reddy had been scouting websites of international apparel brands and marvelling at how they let you buy their products online,when she was struck with the idea that she could start something similar. She tied up with designers like Shantanu and Nikhil,Neeta Lulla and Swapnil Shinde,besides a host of up-and-coming designers from India’s various fashion weeks and launched her portal http://www.desicouture.net in August last year. Reddy says the first few months she was overwhelmed by the response from places like Coimbatore,Vizag and Ludhiana. Now she has a steady clientele that extends even to the US,UK,Dubai,Singapore and New Zealand,enough to make her give up her practice and concentrate full time on her venture as a retailer.

The discounts,says Ishita Swarup,CEO and co-founder of another portal called http://www.99labels.com,are possible because they are mostly selling off the excess stuff left with brands or leftovers from the previous season,which they get at a discounted rate. “We don’t pick kitschy items because that might not be in vogue after a particular season. Our choice of products is more classic. We select items that can be used across seasons,” says Swarup,who has Anchal Jain and Ankur Prakash,co-founders of the NUN lifestyle brand,as her partners in this venture. Reddy,who is the only one who retails recent collections on desicouture.net,says she often commissions collections especially for her site,where prices start at Rs 1,350. “Even before they hit the stores,the clothes are available on the site,” she says.

Of course,it works out well for the brands too. “We are offering them a bigger geographical penetration without diluting their brand image,besides taking the excess stock off them. They can reach out to the aspiring middle class without having to do anything,since we take care of product selection and styling,” says Uppal.

As for the clients,it’s a win-win situation. The shipping charges are minimal,often as low as Rs 75; several of the by-invite-only sites (fashionandyou.com and brandmile.com fall in this category) offer attractive incentives if you can get them more members (memberships are free). Most of these sites are interactive— desicouture.net even provides alteration services and close-ups of the outfit from every possible angle. “Buyers are comfortable if they can touch and examine the stuff they buy. The closest alternative we can provide is to photograph the products well and offer a stylist’s advice,” says Reddy. Gagan Sawhney,director,www.ladybug.in,another such portal,says they are soon going to dedicate a section to celebrity fashion,making available their looks to customers in India ,besides starting a designer blog on their site to facilitate interaction between buyers and designers. What’s not to like?