Bollywood tie-ups: A lucrative e-commerce formula

By Nivedita

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Bollywood plays a big role in influencing youth and, keeping this in mind, the trend of e-commerce websites associating with films and film celebrities has of late gone to the next level. This partnership boosts customer footfalls and adds to business, say experts.

Actors like Anushka Sharma, Kriti Sanon, Shahid Kapoor, and even cricketer Virat Kohli have in recent times launched their own brands exclusively on some of the known portals.

"Bollywood stars are helping in building the brand as they are influencers, especially to our main target audience, that is youth. Bollywood is something that everybody observes and keenly follows; they are the main trendsetters in India," Jigar Agarwal, Co-Founder at Ninecolours.com, told IANS.

"They help e-commerce companies by increasing the reach of customers as Bollywood has a huge influence. Creatively, it's the designer who makes fashionable outfits, but it becomes a trend only when Bollywood stars opt for those outfits," he added.

Kabir Mehra and Samarth Hegde, who co-founded Herringbone & Sui, a brand that creates made-to-measure suits and Indian formal wear for "sophisticated men", agree celebrity endorsement help in driving traffic on an e-commerce platform, but "it is the engagement with our platform that helps us convert business and retain customers".

A celebrity dressing association with Shahid Kapoor in August led to a growth of 12 per cent in traffic on Herringbone & Sui.

Samarth said: "We have dressed many Indian and international celebrities over the past few years. Their reach is immense, globally. While there is tremendous credibility accredited to a brand by virtue of its associations and friends, ultimately, conversions boil down to consumers' experiences with the brand."

According to a report, some 55-60 million consumers are currently buying fashion products online, pointing to high interest.

In the past, Myntra has tied-up with Mandira Bedi to retail her sari range. Also, Jabong partnered with young actress Alia Bhatt, who brought out "Alia Bhatt for Jabong", while Snapdeal had actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra's jewellery line Satyug.

Even Anushka came up with her fashion brand NUSH, exclusively available on Myntra; Shahid's brand Skult is exclusively available on Abof.com and other platforms. Then there's also Kriti Sanon's brand Ms.taken and Virat Kohli's brand Wrogn, exclusively available on Myntra, adding to the growing trend.

Also, Hrithik Roshan tied up with fashion portal Myntra to launch his own private label HRX. Shraddha Kapoor made a debut as a designer with clothing line Imara, while Sonam Kapoor, along with sister Rhea, are the proud owners of Rheson.

"HRX is a consortium between Hrithik Roshan and Exceed Entertainment who came together to form the brand five years ago. As a brand, HRX has seen extensive involvement from Hrithik with regards to promotion, product design and quality control.

"HRX has maintained a phenomenal year-on-year growth of 100 per cent and the footwear category has been the key driver for the brand. The footwear category, currently at 16 per cent, is projected to grow to 24 per cent of the overall portfolio by the end of the year," Afsar Zaidi, Co-Founder and CEO, HRX, told IANS.

"Last year, HRX clocked Rs 81 crore in revenue and this financial year we are projecting a revenue of Rs 160 crore," he added.

Gauri Tandon, who co-founded Isharya, a brand that offers premium modern Indian jewellery, says she noticed a spike in interest in a product the minute it's been spotted on a celebrity.

"We recently had Deepika Padukone sighted wearing not one but two of our necklaces... We were flooded with orders for this same necklace and look and even though we hadn't originally designed it this way. We created a new necklace to look and sit just like how Deepika wore it and the choker, affectionately dubbed 'The Deepika choker' by us, is a bestseller today," Tandon told IANS.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedits.s@ians.in)