Myntra, Jabong and Koovs walk the ramp

Three big fashion e-tailers launch their campaigns, focus on style, credibility and easy returns but keep silent on discounts

Online fashion retail brands are trying to carve out a special place for themselves, differentiating their promise from the broad discount-driven, mass market appeal of online marketplaces. The three big fashion e-tailers, Myntra, Jabong and Koovs have launched an advertising blitzkrieg with their campaigns talking about the impressive line-up, the guarantee of finding authentic brands and easy returns. All are silent, however, about discounts, even though they continue to host big-sale days and offer hefty cuts on listed prices. Experts say that this marks the coming of age of online fashion marketplace brands as they step out of the shadow of e-commerce players and establish themselves as specialty e-tailers.

Brand loyalty isn't directly proportional to the discounts offered, the ads launched by Myntra, Jabong and Koovs, say. It is more about the collection online and less about the price on the label; it is more about the convenience of finding your brand and returning goods you don't like and not only about snagging a bargain. According to Harish Bijoor, brand consultant, if they don't do that, these marketplaces will become just like what electronics has become on the e-commerce platform. "They (customers) should come to you for the collection and not for the price," he said.

It is hard to miss the provocative and edgy ads by Jabong and Koovs, while Myntra has taken the tried and tested route of using a Bollywood star such as Abhay Deol to get through its message. Deol tells the audience to let go of inhibitions about shopping online, thereby taking a more direct approach to the proposition of online fashion. The others have preferred to focus on the authenticity of their brand offerings and attitude. The common denominator for all three ad campaigns is that discounts are not mentioned at any point in the communication.

Targeted largely at urban buyers, these three brands are taking the first steps towards establishing their brand proposition. While the urban focus is understandable, why would these portals veer away from advertising the discounts they offer? Myntra, in fact, has just announced what it calls, the 'end of reason' sale, for the first week of July. And both Jabong and Koovs also offer significant price cuts on several labels.

"All three realise that this is the time for them to stake the claim for number one, before Amazon starts spending big bucks and muddying the market," said Karthik Kompella, founder of brand consultancy firm Purposeful Brands. Besides, the portals also need to establish their special points of recall with the customer, which Amazon has already done.

While Amazon's brand story is that everything it does is for the customer, its Indian counterparts have struggled to establish any such recall. Flipkart, India's largest e-commerce marketplace, experts say, had lost customer focus in its race to grow faster and stay ahead of Amazon, but is now back to doing the same.

It is also a good strategy for Flipkart to push Myntra as a separate brand. "This is the time to strike. Flipkart is a little weak as a brand right now, so it is smart to prop up Myntra," said Kompella. Myntra, Jabong and Koovs have created a certain amount of brand loyalty. None of the platforms may offer the best prices in the market, but they've ensured people shop on their sites and apps because of the value they provide in terms of curating the best outfits.

The online fashion portals are also keen not to repeat the mistakes made by the electronics e-tailers. Unlike buying a smartphone online, where a customer might visit three or four online retailers and then purchase from the seller with the lowest price, fashion is a different ball game, they believe. A large inventory isn't always a sign of the best marketplace. Buyers of fashion are discerning about the brand and the styles being offered.

Myntra, Jabong and Koovs did not participate in the story. But experts said that all three brands want to be known for the style of clothes they curate. "If I'm looking to buy a shirt, I don't want to be shown 3,000 different shirts. If you can just show me three shirts you know I will love, that is probably the best way to do it. While Myntra, Jabong and Koovs might not be the cheapest, they save me time in picking an outfit and money is time, so they are still creating value," added Kompella.

However, the fight to differentiate themselves from others, not on price, but on other aspects will be an uphill task. The inherent advantage is that while fashion will continue to sell massively on larger e-commerce marketplaces, none of them will appeal to the fashionistas.

The large marketplaces, with their wide focus and pricing strategies, they fail to segregate the best fashion from the budget and mass-market buys. Fashion is all about the attitude, and not just the aesthetics, and if brands want to connect with their buyers they're going to have to do this, which isn't easy.

"Fashion retailers have this huge issue ahead of them where they have to establish their brands. The moment you're able to establish that curated fashion feel, you will stand apart from the rest," says brand consultant Harish Bijoor. The race is on.