British fashion and lifestyle brand Marks & Spencer (M&S) on Thursday signed an exclusive deal with online e-commerce giant Flipkart to sell its products on the Sachin Bansal-led company’s platform and its sister firm, Myntra.
M&S has been trying to make a foray into the online segment for some time now in the India market. Retailers with foreign direct investment cannot sell online themselves, however there’s no rule barring these from getting onto marketplace platforms, like the ones offered by Flipkart, Myntra and others. M&S becomes the first major single brand retailer to take this route. Others such as H&M, Zara, Gap only have physical stores in India.
The firm, having 50 stores in India, plans to double the number in two years. It sells its products online via its own websites in other countries.
(Source: Business Standard )