E-commerce wave: Arvind Internet to foray into e-commerce; scouts for new acquisition

MUMBAI: Arvind Internet, the fledgling e-commerce arm of textile and apparel group Arvind, is looking for a wide variety of acquisition targets and has already initiated talks with a few companies. The over eight-decade-old company made its foray into the fast-growing Indian ecommerce industry in August through Creyate, a custom-clothing website which is attracting about 50 orders a day. Arvind Internet plans to launch its next property, a multi-brand apparel and accessories site around June next year.

The e-commerce arm is scoping out a wide variety of companies, said Kulin Lalbhai, 28 — the second son of Arvind chairman Sanjay Lalbhai — who is executive director at the group and heads its online retail initiative. "We will not acquire to gain scale, but for talent, for product, for market learning and information," he said, adding, "It will be surgical; we will not buy a white elephant."

Initial talks are on, said Tejinder Singh, Arvind Internet's chief operating officer. "We are looking across the board. It could be a niche logistics company, a design studio, a cataloguing company or a brand," he said. With more brick-and-mortar retailers and brands looking to launch online properties, acquisitions will become more common, according to industry experts.