Aditya Birla’s ‘abof’ joins Rs. 100 crore GMV Club

We recently heard that online fashion etailer, Myntra closed in on the Rs.100 crore mark during its successful ‘End of Reason Sale’. New online fashion venture, abof which is promoted by the Aditya Birla Group has just disclosed that it reached the magical Rs. 100 crore Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in its opening 90 days of business.

Since launching abof in October:

• It has reached out to 6,000 pin codes in 500+ cities

• Recorded 20% of orders as repeat purchases

• Received less than 15% of product returns (industry average is 20-25%)

• Works with 55 brands (10,000- 12,000 SKUs)

• Encouragingly 40% of business is achieved from own private labels

Some of the things that have led to its popularity includes the 3D trial room and visual search for Indian body structures, as well as concentrating on the 18 to 30 age group, by dishing out the latest in footwear, clothing and accessories.

Abof’s strategy has a three pronged approach:

• Clearly defined market segments

• Target the millennials

• Personalised style tips & content

“In five years we want to have 10-15% market share. Setting short-term goals in this business leads you to wrong decisions, that’s when you pull the discount lever. No point doing that. There are few key differentiators that will make us stand out. And the traction of the first three months is quite healthy and it seems to be working,” said Prashant Gupta, President of abof.