"A new battle is set to begin between two of the biggest fashion companies of the world. Zara, which became the biggest clothing retailer in the world by perfecting, cheap ’n’ chic fast fashion, is being challenged by Amazon which plans to offer aspirational clothes, shoe brands, watches and jewelry at the lowest rates on his newly redesigned Amazon Fashion site. And its going to be quite a fight."

A new battle is set to begin between two of the biggest fashion companies of the world. Zara, which became the biggest clothing retailer in the world by perfecting, cheap ’n’ chic fast fashion, is being challenged by Amazon which plans to offer aspirational clothes, shoe brands, watches and jewelry at the lowest rates on his newly redesigned Amazon Fashion site. And its going to be quite a fight.

Amazon raring to go

Amazon began these hostilities in an unconventional way, by building bricks-and-mortar stores. A pop-up on London’s Baker Street last year sold a mixture of traditional high street brands including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Puma and Levi’s, as well as Amazon’s recently created own-label collections: Truth & Fable (occasion wear), Find (street style fast fashion), Iris & Lilly (lingerie and swimwear), Meraki (high-end basics) and Aurique (athleisure).

Shoppers could buy goods in the store and take them away or scan the codes on product tags for home delivery. The e-com also plans to set up more shops, pop-up and permanent stores. It has also opened its own studio in Hoxton where it shoots 500,000 images a year to display on its Fashion websites here and in France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Online, the e-tailer has signed deals with brands such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Theory, Kate Spade, French Connection, 7 For All Mankind, Diane von Furstenberg, Levi’s, Ted Baker, LK Bennett and Nike. Many of these labels had previously avoided Amazon, fearing that its platform was not premium enough. They have signed up now as many third party retailers were already selling their clothes on Amazon.

Luring consumers with attractive offers

Amazon also spends more on research and development than any other e-tailer in the world — $23bn last year, more than four times the entire BBC budget — which enables it to pioneer new services, both digital and analogue. The company is developing an app that will enable Amazon Fashion to scour ‘selfies’ and online calendars and predict the clothes for a particular event such as a business meeting or wedding. This app will use selfies to create augmented reality images of what the consumers would look like in the clothes. The company’s Prime Wardrobe allows consumers to order a box of clothes, shoes and accessories, try them on at home, send back what they don’t like within seven days. Only then they are billed. Way to go!