What do you do when the biggest fast fashion retailer in world launches an online shop in your country? Well, for starters, you hide your credit card. In October, Zara opened its website to e-commerce, thereby opening the floodgates to fast fashion accessibility.

Accessibility of fast fashion to Indian consumers

Zara, the world&#39;s largest clothing brand entered the Indian market in 2010 and has since doubled its sales every two years. Its monopoly on fast fashion in the country started waning with the introduction of H&amp;M, another fast-fashion retailer which introduced conservative price points making it pocket-friendly for fashion-forward consumers. In the last three years, Zara has grown at an average of 20 per cent, indicating that its novelty factor may be waning.

Zara&rsquo;s plans to tap the online channel in India will expand the brand&rsquo;s presence beyond the eight cities it is present in currently. Smaller cities and semi-rural areas are seen to be the next growth driver for e-commerce companies.

What&rsquo;s hot and what&rsquo;s not

Through its online store, customers will be able to buy the full range of goods that Zara offers in its physical stores. Standard deliveries are charged at around Rs 300, while orders above Rs 4,000 are delivered free. At the backend, Zara has been working with a warehouse in Haryana.&nbsp;

Customers in large cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad receive their Zara pieces within 2-4 working days while rest of the country receives it in 5-8 working days. No, expedite deliveries are currently available in the service. But hey, you can always pick your pieces conveniently at the store, if you want to wear them immediately!

Omni-channel integration

With an easy option for the consumer to choose between online delivery or pickup from the store, Zara&rsquo;s e-commerce introduces India to first ever truly integrated the omni-channel experience. Your Zara pieces can be checked for availability at stores closest to you, paid for online and directly picked up from stores. Clothes can be exchanged or returned at the store or through traditional e-commerce logistics. However, to return to the stores, you&rsquo;d have to wait a whole of 2 days after picking them up. (Phew!)

A fantastic size chart

<div class="ui-state-default"><img alt="" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/12-20171201065925.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Find the perfect size at Zara. (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)">&times;</a></div>

Ever wondered whether you are a size M or a size L. Or maybe you are more of an M and less of an L? Zara&rsquo;s shoppable website introduces the concept of hybrid sizes along with suggestions depending on your unique body measurements (something that our Indian body types are eternally thankful for!). This service, outsourced to a firm, Fit Analytics, inputs your measurements and fit preference, before making a size suggestion for you. (in my case, the suggestions have been pretty convincing!) The algorithm works on finding your body double and suggesting the size that they bought &amp; kept.

Stunning Visuals &amp; Storytelling

Zara India&rsquo;s biggest website import has been their international quality visuals, curation and of course, campaigns which renew fortnightly. It is this freshness which continually brings one back, if not to purchase, then to spot the latest in fast fashion.

Product pages consist of product shots accompanied by model shots styled in various ways, which make the shopping decision a lot more impulsive!

Price Parity

Unlike traditional e-commerce practice of heavy-duty discounting to lure customers, Zara continues to maintain price parity across all their channels for all merchandise. All merchandise is available online at full price, with a few pieces slotted under &lsquo;special prices&rsquo;, much like their stores. Good on you, Zara!

<div class="ui-state-default"><img alt="" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/1234-20171201060353.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
2017 Autumn collection at Zara. (Others)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)">&times;</a></div>

Logistical inadequacy

Coming to the biggest roadblock that there is currently the logistics. For the purchase that I made, I faced issues during store-pickup &amp; refund! While logistics for traditional e-commerce are managed by their partner, Delivery, pretty smoothly, the store pickups still face trivial issues. One of the biggest one being payment only through cash or credit card at the store (no debit cards!). As far as the refunds are concerned, the turn around time at the moment continues to be marginally higher than standard (i.e. more than 7-10 working days).

The Indian retail market was worth $641 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 10 per cent (according to the India Business of Fashion 2017 report). A lucrative market for US &amp; European brands, the Indian retail market has attracted a plethora of large private labels banking on high disposable and heavy influence of western street styles. Will the international brands be able to hold the fort of their e-commerce businesses much like they do in retail? We&rsquo;re yet to find out.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Indian retail market has attracted a plethora of large private labels banking on high disposable and heavy influence of western street styles

What do you do when the biggest fast fashion retailer in world launches an online shop in your country? Well, for starters, you hide your credit card. In October, Zara opened its website to e-commerce, thereby opening the floodgates to fast fashion accessibility. Accessibility of fast fashion to Indian consumers Zara, the world's largest clothing brand entered the Indian market in 2010 and has since doubled its sales every two years. Its monopoly on fast fashion in the country started waning with the introduction of H&M, another fast-fashion retailer which introduced conservative price points making it pocket-friendly for fashion-forward consumers. In the last three years, Zara has grown at an average of 20 per cent, indicating that its novelty factor may be waning. Zara’s plans to tap the online channel in India will expand the brand’s presence beyond the eight cities it is present in currently. Smaller cities and semi-rural areas are seen to be the next growth driver for e-commerce companies. What’s hot and what’s not Through its online store, customers will be able to buy the full range of goods that Zara offers in its physical stores. Standard deliveries are charged at around Rs 300, while orders above Rs 4,000 are delivered free. At the backend, Zara has been working with a warehouse in Haryana. Customers in large cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad receive their Zara pieces within 2-4 working days while rest of the country receives it in 5-8 working days. No, expedite deliveries are currently available in the service. But hey, you can always pick your pieces conveniently at the store, if you want to wear them immediately! Omni-channel integration With an easy option for the consumer to choose between online delivery or pickup from the store, Zara’s e-commerce introduces India to first ever truly integrated the omni-channel experience. Your Zara pieces can be checked for availability at stores closest to you, paid for online and directly picked up from stores. Clothes can be exchanged or returned at the store or through traditional e-commerce logistics. However, to return to the stores, you’d have to wait a whole of 2 days after picking them up. (Phew!) A fantastic size chart Find the perfect size at Zara. (Others) × Ever wondered whether you are a size M or a size L. Or maybe you are more of an M and less of an L? Zara’s shoppable website introduces the concept of hybrid sizes along with suggestions depending on your unique body measurements (something that our Indian body types are eternally thankful for!). This service, outsourced to a firm, Fit Analytics, inputs your measurements and fit preference, before making a size suggestion for you. (in my case, the suggestions have been pretty convincing!) The algorithm works on finding your body double and suggesting the size that they bought & kept. Stunning Visuals & Storytelling Zara India’s biggest website import has been their international quality visuals, curation and of course, campaigns which renew fortnightly. It is this freshness which continually brings one back, if not to purchase, then to spot the latest in fast fashion. Product pages consist of product shots accompanied by model shots styled in various ways, which make the shopping decision a lot more impulsive! Price Parity Unlike traditional e-commerce practice of heavy-duty discounting to lure customers, Zara continues to maintain price parity across all their channels for all merchandise. All merchandise is available online at full price, with a few pieces slotted under ‘special prices’, much like their stores. Good on you, Zara! 2017 Autumn collection at Zara. (Others) × Logistical inadequacy Coming to the biggest roadblock that there is currently the logistics. For the purchase that I made, I faced issues during store-pickup & refund! While logistics for traditional e-commerce are managed by their partner, Delivery, pretty smoothly, the store pickups still face trivial issues. One of the biggest one being payment only through cash or credit card at the store (no debit cards!). As far as the refunds are concerned, the turn around time at the moment continues to be marginally higher than standard (i.e. more than 7-10 working days). The Indian retail market was worth $641 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 10 per cent (according to the India Business of Fashion 2017 report). A lucrative market for US & European brands, the Indian retail market has attracted a plethora of large private labels banking on high disposable and heavy influence of western street styles. Will the international brands be able to hold the fort of their e-commerce businesses much like they do in retail? We’re yet to find out. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: With international labels, fashion in India is changing

Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has become the world&#39;s third-richest person as of the market close for the first time, Forbes magazine said, passing Warren Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 
 
Bezos&#39; fortune was $65.3 billion as of 4:30 pm EDT on Thursday, compared with Buffett&#39;s $64.9 billion. 
 
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world&#39;s richest person, at $77.7 billion, while Spain&#39;s Amancio Ortega, who founded the Zara clothing chain&#39;s owner Inditex SA, was second at $72.7 billion. Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was fifth, at $54 billion. 
 
Bezos, 52, owns close to 18 per cent of Amazon. Its stock has risen by roughly 50 per cent since early February, as the world&#39;s largest online retailer continued to upend retailing as more people took to the Web rather than the mall to shop. 
 
Amazon&#39;s share price rose further in after-hours trading, after the Seattle-based company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. 
 
Buffett, 85, owns close to 18 per cent of Berkshire, but his donation this month of $2.86 billion of Berkshire stock to the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities led to his drop to fourth place. He has donated more than $24.3 billion to the Gates Foundation and family charities since 2006. 
 
Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and has roughly 90 business units including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad and Dairy Queen ice cream. 
 
In June, Buffett called Bezos a &quot;classic example&quot; of how a business owner could thrive, by having focused at Amazon on how to &quot;delight&quot; customers, and keep them coming back, rather than simply process their orders. 
 
(Reuters)

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world's richest person, at $77.7 billion

Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has become the world's third-richest person as of the market close for the first time, Forbes magazine said, passing Warren Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Bezos' fortune was $65.3 billion as of 4:30 pm EDT on Thursday, compared with Buffett's $64.9 billion. Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world's richest person, at $77.7 billion, while Spain's Amancio Ortega, who founded the Zara clothing chain's owner Inditex SA, was second at $72.7 billion. Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was fifth, at $54 billion. Bezos, 52, owns close to 18 per cent of Amazon. Its stock has risen by roughly 50 per cent since early February, as the world's largest online retailer continued to upend retailing as more people took to the Web rather than the mall to shop. Amazon's share price rose further in after-hours trading, after the Seattle-based company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. Buffett, 85, owns close to 18 per cent of Berkshire, but his donation this month of $2.86 billion of Berkshire stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities led to his drop to fourth place. He has donated more than $24.3 billion to the Gates Foundation and family charities since 2006. Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and has roughly 90 business units including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad and Dairy Queen ice cream. In June, Buffett called Bezos a "classic example" of how a business owner could thrive, by having focused at Amazon on how to "delight" customers, and keep them coming back, rather than simply process their orders. (Reuters)

Bezos passes Buffett, becomes third-richest person: Forbes

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