Tata group’s ecommerce startup Cliq overshadows the group’s traditional retail business

Tata Cliq, the ecommerce retail brand of the group, is expected to become bigger than Trent, the listed brick and mortar retail business of the group, in the next 3 years. Tata Industries owns 90% of Tata Unistore, which operates the online marketplace Tata Cliq, while the rest is owned by Trent. The Tata group has presence in the retail segment through Trent, that operates retail chains such as Westside, Star Bazaar and Landmark, and Infiniti Retail, which operates the Croma chain of multi-brand electronics stores.

Kanwar Rameshwar Singh Jamwal, Executive Director, Tata Industries, said that “Our fulfillment cost per unit is half of other players and our average selling price is 10-30% higher than other players. So, you can see what we are pegging viability on. Because most of our products are in stores, and not in separate warehouses, we are saving 50% in fulfillment costs. This year will be crucial in enhancing our break-even visibility”.

The ecommerce arm started its operations in May’16, and is trying to spearhead the “phygital” business model i.e. physical + digital. It is a combination of online buying and store purchases. The customer orders the product online, and the same delivered to them through the retail stores of the arm. Thus, the company saves the cost of warehouse as the products are already placed in their stores.