Australia's Cotton On enters India through Myntra, plans offline stores

Cotton On, Australia’s largest fashion retailer, has made its entry into the Indian market through online shopping platform Myntra. The brand plans to compete with the likes of H&M and Forever 21 in India, by opening its flagship store — either in Delhi or Mumbai — in the third or fourth quarter of 2020.

AVS Global Network, a retailer of global fashion brands that focuses on retail through digital platforms, is responsible for launching Cotton On in the country. 

AVS Global Network has managed to secure an exclusive contract with online retail platforms Flipkart, Myntra and Jabong to sell Cotton On products in India for the next year and a half. 

“About 77 per cent of online fashion brand consumers use either Flipkart, Myntra or Jabong to shop, as they have a high brand-recall value. This is why we thought it would be wise to introduce Cotton On to India through these platforms.” said Sumanto Das, co-founder of AVS.

Cotton On Group was established in 1991 and is present in 19 countries including New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore, with about 1,500 stores across the globe. 

The Australian giant has eight brands in its kitty, namely — Cotton On, Cotton Kids, Cotton on Body, Factorie, Ruby, Typo, Supre and Lost. Each one of them caters to a different market segment. 

For instance, while Cotton On has garments for both men and women, Ruby is the group’s footwear and accessories brand. 

Similarly, Typo specialises in selling quirky gifting items, which have recently become quite popular.

As of now, only products from brands Cotton On and Ruby are available for sale. 

Within the next 12 months, Factorie, the group’s streetwear fashion brand, along with Typo, will be introduced to the Indian market. 

Cotton On is testing the Indian waters by selling its products online before investing in stores. 

Das believes this strategy is better for a rapidly-growing community of online shoppers. “India, China and other South-East Asian countries are increasingly buying apparel online, compared to other Western markets,” adds Das.

The group has been on an expansion spree for the past four to five years, especially in the US, where it operates about 121 stores and is currently vying for the support of the Indian market to help achieve its goals.