E-tailers bet big on kids' fashion

BENGALURU: With kids coming online from an early age, fashion brands for children are increasingly turning to e-commerce platforms.And for the latter, kids' fashion has become one of the fastest growing categories. When women fashion brand Chemistry launched a brand for girls aged 7-15 a couple of years ago, they launched exclusively on Amazon.It has since launched on other e-commerce platforms, including Flipkartowned Myntra and Jabong.The brand, Chemistry Girls, wanted to reach a wider audience and test the market. “While the children in this age group might not all be online, their parents would all be in the 30-40 age bracket and more comfortable shopping online. So it made sense for us to launch online first. Also, there is no capital cost,“ said Sunil Jhangiani, owner of the Mumbai-based brand.

The girls, he says, have a mind of their own, and they want to look hip and can convince their parents on what to buy for them online. Denims and T-shirts with cool graphics on them are particularly strong, he says.

Arun Sirdeshmukh, head of Amazon's fashion business, told TOI, “With 35% of our customers buying kids' fashion new to apparel purchases on Amazon, it is expanding the overall fashion business.“Rishi Vasudev , head of Flipkart Fashion, said the space grew at more than twice the growth of the overall lifestyle segment for Flipkart last year and currently contributes close to 10% of apparel sales. “Izod kids is exclusive with us. We have special lines of selection from Disney , Chemistry , 612 League and other character merchandise (Marvel, Avengers, Shiva, Jungle Book),“ Vasudev said.