Lifestyle e-tailer Pepperfry makes low-key entry into private label

Nine-month-old Pepperfry.com, an online lifestyle store run by Mumbai-based Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt Ltd, has recently forayed into private label under the brand name Pepperfry. The private label products currently fall under two categories – clothing and accessories such as bags. While private label clothes are priced at Rs 314-Rs 359, bags will cost between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000.

When contacted by Techcircle.in, a Pepperfry spokesperson confirmed the move and said, "The in-house brand is a test pilot and we have currently introduced it across a few categories. The idea is to test the waters and help consumers engage with the Pepperfry brand. Based on our learning, we will decide on the strategy for scaling up this initiative."

Right now, there is a very limited inventory size of 100 across the two categories – clothing and accessories.

"There are plans to scale up this initiative further but that will depend on the test results and market acceptability. As of now, we want to test small and build our learning before coming up with a full-blown strategy," the spokesperson added.

It should be noted that a couple of months ago, Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart also forayed into private label with digital accessories under the brand name Digiflip.

"Since our category selection has been made keeping in mind the needs of modern Indian women, we saw an opportunity to test our in-house label for a few product lines by offering high quality products at affordable prices. The focus was more on adding to our value proposition for end customers and gauging the market response," the Pepperfry spokesperson said.

Pepperfry, which aims to cross Rs 100 crore in gross merchandise value by the end of 2012, currently handles 28,000 SKUs with a unique listing of 45,000 products across various categories like furniture, home décor, apparel & accessories, perfumes & cosmetics, jewellery and more.

Last December, the online venture raised $5 million in VC funding from Norwest Venture Partners.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)