Online lingerie: Clovia’s losses & revenue swells; Zivame banks on omnichannel strategy

Looking at the amount of losses, the fiscal year 2015-16 wasn’t one of the best years for the ecommerce companies. Indian Online Seller has informed its readers about Flipkart, Amazon, Ecom Express, Snapdeal, Yepme, and Delhivery’s financial health. It’s now the turn of online lingerie player Clovia.

The Noida-based etailer witnessed a five-fold increase in net losses in FY 2015-16. On the bright side, the e-store’s sales too increased by 61%.

Clovia’s loss of Rs. 9.5 crore

As per filing with the registrar of companies, Clovia’s sales increased from Rs. 18.6 crore in FY 2014-15 to Rs. 30 crore in FY 2015-16. The losses swelled up from Rs. 1.7 crore in FY 2014-15 to Rs. 9.5 crore in FY 2015-16. The company’s expenses too increased from Rs. 20.3 crore in FY 2014-15 to Rs. 39.3 crore in FY 2015-16.

Clovia’s losses and expenditure increased as the etailer adopted an aggressive marketing strategy and continued to expand in tier 2 and 3 cities.

Rival Zivame’s losses went up by 84% to Rs. 54 crore, in the fiscal year 2015-16 according to the Registrar of Companies.

Meanwhile, Zivame’s omni-channel strategy is working well

Speaking of Clovia’s rival Zivame, the Bengaluru-based lingerie player is one of few online stores that has found a path to success in the offline retail market.

Zivame has set up many brick-and-mortar stores ‘Fit Studios’ across the country, which is part of their omni-channel strategy. Their aim is to touch profitability by 2018-19 through this strategy.

“We piloted the concept at our office first, where many women walked in and expressed concerns regarding lingerie issues. This probed us to take the next step and establish Fit Studios. Approximately 80% of customers who have visited our Studio have continued their relationship with Zivame online and they do make repeat purchases,” revealed Shaleen Sinha, COO, Zivame.

Many ecommerce companies like Myntra, Lenskart, Urban Ladder and Pepperfry are now ditching the online-only platform and reaching out to consumers through their offline outlets.