RIL to launch Ajio Street, a new marketplace for low-priced, longtail fashion items

Under the zero-commission model, the platform would not charge sellers any commission. RIL to launch Ajio Street, a new marketplace for low-priced, longtail fashion items. Further, the e-commerce platform will try to monetize either through advertisements or fulfillment services. Ajio Street’s primary rival Meesho saw its net losses widen by more than 6X in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22).

Reliance Industries is looking to go deeper into its e-commerce play with Ajio Street. Its fashion commerce venture Ajio is working on a new marketplace model for low-priced, longtail fashion items. The new marketplace, Ajio Street, will work on a zero-commission model. Under Reliance’s proposition, merchants are being asked to onboard the platform with an offer of a 15-day payment settlement.

Ajio, which competes with the likes of Flipkart-owned Myntra and Tata Cliq, Nykaa Fashion, among others, will also compete with Meesho now. Meesho allows resellers on its platform to sell a variety of low-cost products with a major focus on Tier-II, and III cities, and towns. Ajio Street might have a separate window on the Ajio platform and app itself. The segment will focus on non-metro, Tier-II cities and beyond. With the new platform, Ajio wants to acquire a fresh set of consumers from these markets who are not yet frequent online shoppers.

Under the zero-commission model, the platform would not charge sellers any commission. Further, the e-commerce platform will try to monetize either through advertisements or fulfillment services. Ajio Street’s primary rival Meesho saw its net losses widen by more than 6X in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22). On a standalone basis, the Bengaluru-based unicorn reported a net loss of INR 3,247.8 Cr during the period under review, up 550% from INR 498.6 Cr reported in the previous fiscal year.

Sometime back, Reliance Retail also forayed into the beauty e-commerce category with a dedicated platform, Tira. The conglomerate is expected to unveil its first Tira store in Mumbai soon, with plans of expanding it further in the country going forward. Reliance Retail’s revenue from its digital and new commerce businesses saw a 38% year-on-year (YoY) rise in the third quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) and accounted for 18% of its total revenue. 

The total addressable market for Indian e-commerce is expected to reach $400 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19% from 2022. The sector has attracted more than $31 Bn in investments since 2014 and boasts 24 unicorns and 15 soonicorns.