Bangalore, Sept 29; E-Tailing in India has taken off with the opening up of Fabmart's music store on the Web. Up and running in a record time of 12 weeks with the back-end operations tied up and the `store front' in place, Fabmart is hoping to set the score for the new retail trend with its maiden music venture. At pains to point out that Fabmart was not a `portal' or a webstore, former Planetasia boss and Fabmart managing director V Sudhakar said e-tailing was all about a focus on retail with the Web as the enabler. He said the company, capitalised with a little over Rs 5 crore raised from domestic venture capitalists, had got its logistics act together and the music store was the starting point with forays into the home computer and toy segments on the cards.
The company is operating on the partnership model to focus on its core business of retailing. Tie-ups with leading music labels and a single distributor in Bangalore to begin with as also a logistics deal with Blue Dart Express are expected toensure an end-to-end seamless operation. Timed with the launch of the music mall is an album by vocal maestro Bala Murali Krishna that will be available exclusively on the web at www.fabmart.com over the next week. Fabmart has also tied up with Citibank to offer secure transaction facilities to Suvidha (debit card) account holders.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.