Like Rome, the Tata Group was not built in a day. It took decades of hard work and tireless innovating. All that effort has certainly paid off because every Indian has the TATA brand engraved in their minds. The group conducts business in every profitable spectrum, be it engineering, consumer goods, communication, energy, steel and chemicals. They own some of the biggest brands in the country too. Like Westside and Landmark, Titan and Tanishq.
Tata has been involved in online retail too. The conglomerate has investments in some of the biggest names in ecommerce like Zivame, Snapdeal, Paytm and Urban Ladder. Tata has tried out ecommerce for itself too. In 2015, Tata put together a hybrid online store offering both online and offline features. They also took a bite out of online grocery with the launch of a grocery ecommerce market calledmy247market.
It appears the guys at Tata are done testing the ecommerce waters because they have announced the launch of CliQ, their online marketplace, by the end of next week. The 27th of May.
The Story Behind CLiQ?
CLiQ will be an online marketplace that integrates the online experience with omni-channel support from brick-and-mortar stores. The marketplace will be launched by Tata Unistore, a new Tata initiative. In the initial phase, CLiQ will house only apparel, footwear and electronics. Later it will add more offerings in terms of product categories, brands and other intriguing features.
The prominent Q in the name CLiQ represents a magnifying glass. It is a visual representation of the brand’s focus on only the best of products and brands, saysTata CLiQ chief executive officer, Ashutosh Pandey.
The $108 billion company plans on launching Tata CLiQ marketplace via mobile application, mobile site and desktop website all on the same day for Android and IOS users. A new ecommerce launch from Voonik, Vilara will also take the same approach this May.
The Latest Ecommerce Entrants
Many popular offline brands have taken on the ecommerce approach of late. Mahindra group got onboard the ecommerce wagon last September, with online shopping portal M2ALL, which sells all of their products. The Aditya Birla Group took the plunge in October last year with abof.com, an online fashion portal. Reliance Industries followed suit with Ajio.com in April and last week, Arvind Ltd. set up an omni-channel platform called NNNow.com as well.
That’s not all. Even online platforms like Voonik are setting up new ecommerce portals. Can Tata make it on this competitive virtual playing field? Will its peoples brand come through? Or will horizontal marketplaces Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart make it difficult for them? Not to mention fashion portal Myntra and Jabong!
Tata’s Plans for its Ecommerce Future
Some say CLiQ will carry its own products and products from third party vendors too. Giving consumers a wide variety to choose from. According to Ashutosh Pandey, CLiQ will curate only the finest authentic products for consumers with impeccable taste.
The Tata group is already ahead of Reliance Industries in terms of marketplace setup. All RIL has in place is its online fashion business, (ajio.com).
Is it an Ideal Time to be an Online Marketplace?
Everyone has opinions about the FDI policy affecting online marketplaces. The lack of clarity and pressure from the government isn’t making things any easier.
Ecommerce expert and the founder of Indiaplaza, K Vaitheeswaran, says,“Fortunately, from a timing point of view, the pure play companies are having a tough time with new policies and (FDI) regulations in place. That apart, new funding is also drying for the existing players. As a result, competitive intensity is not that high. So these factors should help Tata gain traction and capture market share.”
At the same time Indian ecommerce has yet to see its full potential. So new participants only boost ecommerce growth. Issues for Tata CLiQ will arise with regards to taking on a full time ecommerce role. After all the online retail model is very different the offline retail model, especially on this scale!
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