THE POWER OF ONE: AN OMNICHANNEL MODEL

IN THIS NEW POST-PANDEMIC WORLD WHERE ‘NORMAL’ HAS BEEN REDEFINED, STAYING CONNECTED DIGITALLY IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE FOR BRANDS. STORES ARE NOT LIMITED TO BRICK AND MORTAR ANYMORE. OFFLINE OR ONLINE, TODAY’S CONNECTED CONSUMER WAITS FOR NO ONE AND WANTS EVERYTHING TO BE AVAILABLE IN REAL TIME. TOP LEADERS FROM THE BUSINESS OF FASHION ANSWER SOME CRUCIAL QUESTIONS - HOW CAN BRANDS MOTIVATE CONSUMERS TO STAY LOYAL AND WHAT CAN THEY LEARN FROM THEIR PAST MISTAKES?

- VEDIKA NEGI

In the fashion world of today, companies have diverse portfolios with both domestic and global brands on board. For them, being available to the consumer on multiple platforms could be a game changer not only in how they do business but also in how they are perceived as a brand by the consumer – one that is ready to offer the consumer the convenience that he/she demands, or one that is rigidly sticking to the traditional way of doing business. Speaking on the subject at India Fashion Forum 2022, Saikat Mitra, Vice President - Creative Director, Van Heusen, ABFRL, said that having a diverse portfolio meant having certain brands that were more offline driven. “We’ve always been omnichannel; only, some of these channels were used more during the pandemic because we had a lot of usage through our stores from fashion brands. International brands have always had business through stores plus their website, so during the pandemic, the ones with more website presence really shot up. We also started focusing on ‘hyper-local’ as an interesting concept and way to connect with consumers within their local area. All our brands had to look at a merchandise matrix rearrangement going more towards casual, because we were more dependent on work wear. We also looked at direct-to-consumer brands within marketplaces,” he said. Mitra considers this to be a huge learning curve for the company and the brand, and would hence look to go more robust in the future while utilising all channels to the best of their ability.

PANELLISTS

• Atul Shivnani Head of Ecommerce & Digital, The Body Shop

• Bidyut Bhanjdeo Head – S&D, LFS & E-Commerce, Raymond

• Deepak Aggarwal CEO, Kazo