Latest news with #AkshayGulati
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rapid Delivery's in Fashion at Ecomm, New-age Apparel Cos
HighlightsNew direct-to-consumer brand Snitch has launched a pilot project for its quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru, joining other brands like Newme, Slikk, and ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio, and Nykaa in exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. Slikk, which offers delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, while Snitch has secured $40 million from 360 One Asset to expand its offline retail presence and enter the quick commerce segment. Industry experts caution that the rush towards rapid fashion delivery may be an overhyped extension of the quick commerce trend, noting that the supply chain for fashion is significantly more complex than that of grocery delivery. New-age brands like Newme, Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce. Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. "Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery," said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rapid fashion delivery gathers pace, but long-term viability in question
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Quick fashion delivery gathers pace, but road ahead seems challenging
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Fashion Network
30-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Slikk raises $10 million in series A funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners
Fashion delivery platform Slikk has raised $10 million (Rs 85 crore) in an all-equity series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from existing investor Lightspeed. Earlier, it had raised $3.2 million in a seed round from Lightspeed. The company will utilise the funds to fuel its next phase of growth that includes launch of new lifestyle categories, rollout of instant returns, and expansion into more urban pin codes. Commenting on the funding, Akshay Gulati, co-founder & CEO at Slikk in a statement said, 'Slikk, since inception, has delivered a high-quality customer experience through our 60-minute delivery model. Brands have been able to unlock new users at a hyperlocal level. With this new round, we intend to double down on that promise and offer a significantly wider range of products and experiences to our customers.' Pratik Poddar, Partner at Nexus Venture Partners added, 'Having watched quick commerce reshape India's consumer behaviour, we firmly believe fashion is the definitive next frontier for digital disruption. The Slikk team's deep category insights and strategic execution are precisely what this moment demands. We're incredibly excited to be long-term partners in shaping this future.' Founded by Akshay Gulati, Om Prakash Swami, and Bipin Singh, Slikk delivers clothing and accessories within 60 minutes in select areas of Bengaluru.
Fashion United
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Slikk secures 10 million dollars to expand fast fashion delivery and Try & Buy model
Slikk, an online platform that delivers clothing and accessories within 60 minutes in Bengaluru (southern India), secured 10 million dollars in a series A round. Nexus Venture Partners led this round, with participation from Lightspeed. The founders announced this via the career platform LinkedIn. Slikk is using the investment to expand its range to new categories such as beauty and shoes, introduce direct returns and expand the service in more urban areas. Lightspeed is doubling its investment and re-entering shortly after the seed round of 3.2 million dollars in March. Apparel Resources reports that Multiply Ventures and other investors are also participating. The founders Akshay Gulati, Om Prakash Swami and Bipin Singh started Slikk in Bengaluru in March 2024. The city is known as the centre of India's tech industry. Slikk combines fast delivery with a Try & Buy model, where customers can try on clothes before deciding to buy them. The platform anticipates the trend-sensitive and fast purchasing cycles of young consumers. It offers over 80 brands, including Snitch, The Souled Store, Freakins, Uptownie and Bewakoof. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
