Reliance to launch online luxury fashion vertical through Ajio

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 3, 2020

Reliance Industries Limited plans to launch a luxury online fashion vertical to build upon its premium retail site Ajio Gold and tap into the increasing demand for luxury fashion among India’s young, online shoppers.

 
Tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is working towards building a luxury vertical to house its partner international luxury fashion brands online in India, two sources told Vogue Business. Reliance currently has partnerships with 46 international brands including new addition Tiffany & Co. and runs 682 brick-and-mortar stores for its partner brands so it has a large arsenal of brands to launch online. 
 
“Data-driven insights from the ‘bridge to luxury’ brands that retail on Ajio have indicated strongly the possibility for Ajio to craft a luxury vertical, and we are exploring [that],” an Ajio spokesperson told Vogue Business. 

Reliance plans to bring its offline market share of the Indian luxury fashion market online. The business already retails bridge-to-luxury brands such as Steve Madden on its premium online platform Ajio Gold and believes that there is a market for luxury brands, too, especially considering the name that the business has made for itself in the offline market.
 
As Tier 2 and 3 residents shop increasingly online and increasingly demand luxury goods, Reliance could tap into this market by launching high-end brands online. Luxury brands tend to stick to metros for physical store openings and, if Reliance can win the trust of online shoppers, it could tap into this growth opportunity to retail to rural consumers.