Watch: Arvind CEO Suresh on how early investments in technology paid off during the Covid-19 crisis

Apparel maker Arvind Lifestyle Brands, which retails homegrown brands such as Unlimited and Flying Machine, and manufactures, markets and sells products for international brands such as Gap and Arrow, is one of the earliest players in the sector to leverage technology extensively and pursue an omnichannel market strategy.

As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the country, the share of digital sales is set to grow from 15% to about 25% in the current financial year, J Suresh, managing director and CEO of the Rs 4,700 crore, Bengaluru headquartered company, said in a recent interview with TechCircle.

The Covid-19 lockdown only accelerated the Lalbhai Group-owned company’s plans to use technology in both its frontend and backend operations to bring in customers who may hesitate to shop in physical stores, he said. 

These offline stores are now technologically powered to function as  hyperlocal fulfilment centres, he added. 

The firm will also use analytics to accelerate the time taken to create a product and to understand which products to discount for end-of-season liquidation sales, he said.

The Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, alumnus has been with Arvind Brands for over 14 years.