Reliance Retail launches online fashion and style portal Ajio.com

Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is the latest brick-and-mortar retailer to start an online shopping portal. The company's retail portal, named Ajio.com (pronounced aa-jio), was launched at the Lakme Fashion Week on Saturday.

The fashion show was attended by Isha Ambani, daughter of billionaire Mukesh Ambani in an indication that the next generation is involved in the new-age businesses of the group.

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Online ventures like this and Jio Money are part of the larger strategy of Reliance Jio, the broadband mobile service the group is slated to launch soon. These businesses will ride on Jio's digital network.

The omni-shopping portal seeks to make runway fashion more accessible to the working woman. It has a team of experts who will curate collections specifically for the portal. It will also host in-house design collections.

The collection showcased at the Lakme Fashion week will be available on the portal from Saturday. It ranges from ethnic woven saris to the Capsule Collection offering the best of boutiques across India.

The portal will have a collection of accessories and footwear apart from over 200 Indian and international labels. It has some offbeat and new fashion brands like Tally Weijl of Switzerland, Holster of Australia, Kira Plastinina of Russia and MDS of Singapore.

Ajio.com will leverage Reliance Retail's sourcing, supply chain and retail operations capabilities. "We are excited to launch the unique fashion portal, which represents the modern Indian woman," said Sanjay Mehra, CEO of Ajio.com.

Accessible and inclusive fashion were the two big at the launch. The show stoppers reflected modern Indian women who could not be defined through stereotypes. Yesteryear actress Helen walked the ramp with Bharti Singh, a stand-up comedy artiste, and transgender rights activist Laxmi Tripathi.