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In todays Daily Mail Indian fashion retailer Koovs rose 1.7 per cent, or 0.75p, to 46.25p, after launching a pop art inspired range of clothes with Disney. The collection is the first in a series of ranges set to be rolled out with the US giant this year. It represents a reversal of fortunes for Koovs, which has been plagued by investors concerns over the demonetisation of the Indian currency despite recently reporting strong results. HTTP://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4406454/MARKET-REPORT-Ferry-deal-sends-Rolls-Royce-2-year-high.html

The following influential Bollywood/ social media stars endorsing the new Disney X KOOVS range? Karan Wahi @imkaranwahi with 925,000 followers on Instagram Shaheer Sheikh @shaheernsheikh with 1.7 million followers on Instagram Amyra Dastur @amyradastur93 with 463,000 followers on Instagram This Disney X KOOVS collection is the first in a series with Disney rolling out this year, which will also include Marvel and Star Wars. Koovs Private Label, which is by far the most successful brand on the Koovs.com web site, contributing 40% of sales, spearheads the company's brand position as the leader in trend-first young western fashion for men and women. Designer collaborations give customers access to limited edition, exclusive and affordable collections which are also sought after by and seen on celebrities and Bollywood stars. Koovs most recent collaboration with Masaba was worn by some of Bollywood's leading young celebrities while the Gauri & Nainika collection sold out in record time. Mary Turner, CEO of Koovs says: "We occupy a unique position in the market for affordable, authentic, aspirational and design-led western fashion for the young style-conscious customer in India. The Disney collaboration is another example of how we differentiate our brand in the market and this approach puts us in a strong position to expand the Koovs Collection into new territories, starting with Souq.com in the Middle East this Summer."

With Koovs out of cash by year end, I wonder if Myntra owners Flipkart will make a cheeky bid for Koovs. Directors will lose out on options, but Institutions who hold a large chunk will be happy to realise a profit. Amazon could be a dark horse too, especially as Koovs is to start selling on Souq.com in the Middle East in a few weeks time. Souqs.com was bought out by Amazon last week. They're all looking for niche high margin private labels

Flipkart raises $1.4 bln in high stakes battle with Amazon Competition has intensified in the e-commerce sector as companies vie for a slice of the worlds fastest-growing internet services market. This is good news for Flipkart as it solidifies it as a market leader at least in the short term, keeping competition especially Amazon at bay, said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. Flipkart has been and will continue to make acquisitions to increase scale, and the next challenge is to strategize the path to a sustainable business model within a set timeframe. HTTP://m.timesofindia.com/business/international-business/flipkart-raises-1-4-bln-in-high-stakes-battle-with-amazon/articleshow/58112336.cms

Unfortunately, as Koovs is listed on AIM, many punters (mug) fail to understand how companies scale up growth in emerging sectors- it's part & parcel of it. Koovs outperformed the sector & it's competition, who literally had to give their excess stock away due to demonetisation. The sector is slowly returning to normal & expect to see 100% growth to return. Koovs avoided the heavy discounting & sacrificed some growth to improve margins, which was positive news. Just look at the share options management have here. Mary Turner has over 7 million, exercisable in 4 years time. Lord Waheed Alli has over 38 million shares. They have plenty of skin in the game & it's in their best interests to get the share price up.

Koovs posts sales growth of 87%, not bad considering demonetisation- the single biggest monetary policy change India has ever seen. At least they have said that they have improved gross margins as well, which previously weighed on the share price. Onwards & upwards!!

Online fashions best-kept secret: Men They're calling it the Menaissance, mens awakening to fashion and style. Koovs, which markets Western street styles and limited edition designer pieces, says men contribute to 40% of their sales. HTTP://m.timesofindia.com/home/sunday-times/online-fashions-best-kept-secret-men/articleshow/57965694.cms

Huge multimedia advertising campaign to get underway in India for Koovs. Savvy Chairman, media moghul Lord Waheed Alli has already paid upfront at discounted rates. This from last Interims: Additionally, £3.2m (INR 291m) of marketing funds have been prepaid to secure significantly reduced media rates

India M&A Hits an All-time High Surpasses 2007 Record US$72.4 billion in 2016, up 97.1% compared to 2015 Once the brand is established, hopefully one of the big guns will swoop. HTTP://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/m-a-india-m-a-hits-an-all-time-high-surpasses-2007-record-117011400241_1.html Burning cash is what is required when scaling up growth ie Amazon, ebay, Apple, Facebook, Twitter etc, etc. No shortage of Institutions & directors investing here.

Koovs going global! Branching out to Middle East with Souq.com with first distribution deal of Koovs high margin private label. Jeff Bezos becomes worlds 2nd richest after Amazon announces Souq acquisition yesterday HTTPS://m.yourstory.com/2017/03/jeff-bezos-net-worth/ Did not see that coming! Well done management & the Koovs team.

Last years end of financial year trading update was on Tuesday 5th April. It's only a trading update, the more detailed Finals will be in July as per the Financial calendar. Last years sales were £10 million. The first nine months this year showed £13.45 million (looking for £6.55 million in the final three months to reach £20 million & maintain 100% growth). Demonetisation hit sales for all online companies in November & December. Realistically looking at £19 million to £20 million. It will be amazing news if they report over 100% growth, but may have to settle for 90%'ish growth for year ending 2017 : )

"India is in the midst of a digital revolution and fashion is at the frontier of this change" India's consumer is changing, spending more and spending it differently, and by 2020, online fashion purchases will quadruple, reaching $12 billion to $14 billion. HTTPS://sourcingjournalonline.com/bcg-india-will-be-the-third-biggest-consumer-market-by-2025-td/

In the e-commerce fashion space having a private-label is becoming a must from a sustainability point of view. This has helped many niche brands to capture significant attention in the business. Koovs, an online store specifically for western fashion, is following a similar model. Team Brand Equity met Manisha Rana, chief marketing officer of Koovs on the sidelines of ad:tech, Delhi. In a quick chat with us, Rana pointed out how having a private-label online is becoming critical as it brings the differentiation factor in a brand's product offering. "In the e-commerce space, it is important to have a strong value proposition. Building your business on just the discount offering is not a sustainable model in the long-term." And, with more choices available today, it is difficult to maintain consumer loyalty, believes Rana. She also thinks providing convenience could help brands retain loyalty. ​ To know more about Koovs’ marketing plans, listen in to BE Originals ' this video. HTTP://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/be-originals-koovs-manisha-rana-on-what-private-label-means-to-online-fashion-businesses/57803096

Clever marketing from Koovs, tying up with Danish company Only & exclusively selling the Only Garfield range that has mostly now sold out. Being endorsed by Bollywood superstars Alia Bhatt (13.9 million followers Instagram) & Neha Sharma (2.4 million followers Instagram)

Website's fit for a Princess: Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton inspire a collection at Koovs By Sabah Meddings For The Daily Mail HTTP://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4336072/Duchess-Cambridge-inspires-Koovs-collection.html

Looking positive for Koovs Specialty online retailers like Myntra, Voonik regain market share Myntra, Voonik, Limeroad and Nykaa are seeing strong demand among online shoppers, while growth in fashion at Amazon and Flipkart has slowed over the past year. HTTP://www.livemint.com/Companies/Z1sRsfgLEm7cTt9D5sUYJN/Specialty-online-retailers-like-Myntra-Voonik-regain-market.html

Another designer to the stars collaborating with Koovs. HTTP://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-4228010/Life-Kate-Effect-Issa-Helayel.html This on the back of a huge advertising campaign to kick off imminently. Not easy to buy a decent quantity of shares with my two brokers, but willing to take shed loads off me with a yearly trading update due in a couple of weeks.

Not too sure at the moment, but definitely in the future if they can sort out their suspect business model. Incurring massive losses as they build up scale. The brand is being built very quickly with over 2 million social media followers. There will be lots of M&A activity this year in India. Although I think Myntra will eventually acquire Koovs, there's the dark horse ASOS, which failed in China, that is well connected to Koovs, which could show it's hand at any time. Lot's of Chinese & American interest in India at the moment. If Koovs can show good numbers post demonetisation in a couple of weeks, then it's on!

News just breaking out of India that eBay is to take a stake in Flipkart (Myntra & Jabong). Flipkart looks to forge $1.5 billion deal, with eBay and Tencent, to take on Amazon and Alibaba HTTP://m.economictimes.com/small-biz/startups/flipkart-looks-to-forge-1-5-billion-deal-with-ebay-and-tencent-to-take-on-amazon-and-alibaba/articleshow/57657861.cms With over 2 million followers on social media, triple digit growth (100%+) with 40% private label sales, it's only a matter of time before Koovs is swallowed up. I still maintain that it will be Myntra who have already stated that they are on the hunt for more labels.

Great research by Morgan Stanley on the amazing potential of e commerce in India. To work out figures easier, let's say that £1 equals 100 rupees instead of today's price of 80 rupees. 1 Crore = 10 million 1 lakh = 100,000 March 14, 2017, 6:20 pm Millennials may have the ability to buy Rs 16 lakh crore (£160 Billion) worth of goods and services online by 2020, said Morgan Stanley in a recent report. Already around 30 percent of Indias population, individuals in the age group of 18-35, will likely do most of their shopping, or worth nearly three-fourths of their estimated spending power of Rs 22 lakh crore (£220 Billion) online by 2020, the brokerage firm said. Morgan Stanley anticipates that Indias millennial population will grow from 40.7 crore (407 million) in 2016 to 50.4 crore (504 million) by 2020. A more important estimate is that this group will likely form 61 percent of Indias internet base and 78 percent of its online shopper base, according to Parag Gupta, an equity analyst at the firm and one of the authors of the report. Both these parameters are expected to disrupt business strategy, he said. India 5 to 10 years behind China. Over the next three years, the brokerage firm estimates that Indias internet penetration will rise to 60 percent from 38 percent in 2016. A large part of this internet user base is expected to come from the current millennial group. HTTPS://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/2017/03/14/fed-to-hike-but-avoid-signaling-faster-pace-decision-day-guide