Snapdeal snaps up fashion portal Exclusively.com; becomes India’s first online fashion mall

E-commerce major Snapdeal has acquired Exclusively.com (formerly Exclusively.in) the definitive online destination for premium and luxury fashion for an undisclosed amount. Post this acquisition, Exclusively will complement Snapdeal’s existing ecosystem and provide a consolidated offering for the luxury and lifestyle shopper, making it India’s first online luxury mall.

With this acquisition, Snapdeal looks to further strengthening its fashion business and reaching $2 billion in GMV in the fashion category this year.

Importantly, Exclusively will continue to function as an independent site and all aspects of Exclusively’s online shopping experience will remain intact, with new collections and service augmentations in the pipeline. With its nationwide reach, robust technology platform and deep consumer insights, Snapdeal will help Exclusively scale up and expand its current business and reach.

Commenting on this announcement, Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal.com said, “Snapdeal has always operated ahead of the curve in the e-commerce space, especially when it comes to category leadership. We have witnessed a surge in demand from consumers across the country for premium and luxury products, however, given that access to luxury brands is severely limited in our country, we have brought Exclusively into our family to give our 40 million plus users access to the widest range of aspirational, high end products and services.”

Exclusively.com was the first company to offer Indian designer wear online. At present, it retails hundreds of leading Indian designers on its site, including Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Anita Dongre and Rohit Bal.

Speaking about the announcement, Sunjay Guleria and Mohini Boparai-Guleria, co-founders of Exclusively said, “Exclusively has built and grown a cache of leading premium Indian designers, brands and boutiques. The partnership with Snapdeal comes at the right time. With increased awareness and growing disposable incomes, premium and luxury consumption in India is seeing a significant upward trend. With the geographical limitations of the brick-and-mortar model, we strongly believe that the luxury and premium segments can only be grown by sharing access with the consumer.

So far Exclusively.com had raised over $18 million in funding from Accel Partners and Helion Partners. In November 2012, Myntra acquired Shersingh, a private label developed by Exclusively.com.

According to a recent KPMG-ASSOCHAM report, luxury products and services is a $14bn market in India, growing at 30 per cent on an annual basis. More than 70 per cent consumers want to shop for luxury products in India rather than abroad.

The acquisition will put Snapdeal in better position to compete with Flipkart which acquired Myntra last year and Rocket Internet backed fashion portal Jabong.