Tag: fashion

  • Ritu Kumar: The Pioneer Of Indian Fashion Industry

    India has an ancient clothing design history and is referred to as a prominent and emerging fashion industry. In ancient times who thought that there would be an industry that would produce an annual revenue of $165 billion? A handful of skillful designers existed before the 1980s, and one of them was Ritu Kumar. Ritu Kumar is known as one of the best fashion designers in India.

    She is an Indian Fashion Designer who started her career in a small village in Kolkata with her hand block printing techniques on clothes which amazed people. Ritu Kumar started the Era of Fashion Designing with her amazing designs of Lehengas and Bridal Dresses.

    This StartupTalky article explores Ritu Kumar’s success story, including her early life, history, childhood, personal life, education, awards, net worth, and more.

    Ritu Kumar – Biography

    Name Ritu Kumar
    Birthplace Amritsar
    Born 11 November 1944
    Nationality Indian
    Education Loreto Convent (Shimla), Lady Irwin College in Delhi, Briarcliff College (New York)
    Position Fashion Designer
    Spouse Shashi Kumar
    Company Ritu Kumar

    Ritu Kumar – Early and Personal Life
    Ritu Kumar – Career
    Ritu Kumar – Designs
    Ritu Kumar – Awards and Achievements

    Ritu Kumar – Early and Personal Life

    Ritu Kumar was born in Amritsar and shifted to Shimla due to the lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar. She studied at a convent school there and got admitted to the Lady Irwin College of Delhi in the late 1960s as a student of art history.

    She met her husband Mr Shashi Kumar at this place and got married the same year. Later she went to pursue a scholarship in Art History at Briarcliff college of New York.

    Ritu has two sons Amrish and Ashvinkumar. Amrish works with Ritu and is the CEO of Ritukumar’s fashion brand label Ritu Kumar and Ashvin is a film director who has also been nominated for Oscar.

    Ritu started her career and family at a very initial stage of her life and is managing all of it very well. Ritu also pursued museology from a college in Delhi to get more knowledge on ethnic fashion and work.


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    Ritu Kumar – Career

    Ritu began her journey in the 1960s, while she was studying museology. She visited a small village Serampore in West Bengal. In that village, she found a small colony of hand-block printers who were out of work and needed financial help and employment. That is when the idea came to start a small enterprise of giving designs that the printers began working on.

    These hand-block printers created beautiful designer sarees with their outstanding work. She continuously visited exhibitions and fairs to gain popularity and soon she was noticed for her extraordinary designs in India.

    She experienced the rapid changes in India, which were replacing handmade textiles with machine-made plastics. Ritu Kumar created new globally relevant designs where the handmade textile legacy would remain the original emphasis.

    Initially, she designed evening clothes and Indian bridal wear, and eventually, after the great success of her designs, Ritu opened stores in different states of India. Now she was at boom and everyone knew Ritu Kumar was a brand.

    By making an effort, she went international by opening branches in Paris, London, and New York. In 2002 she launched the “Label” brand in partnership with her younger son Amrish Kumar.

    Ritu Kumar with her son Amrish Kumar
    Ritu Kumar with her son Amrish Kumar

    Ritu Kumar has 4 brands i.e. “Label” for the modern outfits of girls and women. The second brand under her is “Ri’ which showcases the bridal and lehenga worn by women. The third brand is “Aarke” which is a part of the nightwear section for women. And last but not least “Home” is a brand that sells all the home décor and essential products.

    Ritu Kumar is also recognized as her clothes have been worn by famous personalities such as Princess Diana, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit Nene, and many more actresses.

    The domain ritukumar.com attracted 1,850,126 users in the year 2020. During wedding seasons in India, the company invests in servers as well, to curb excessive website traffic. Digital Impressions has designed and made the website for Ritu.

    Ritu Kumar – Designs

    Kumar’s designs focus on using natural fabrics and traditional printing and weaving methods. While she blends in some Western elements, she mainly sticks to classic sari designs. Her creations have been worn by many famous people, including Princess Diana, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, and Lara Dutta. Kumar’s work showcases timeless elegance, highlighting the beauty of traditional Indian craftsmanship. She is known for creating pieces that reflect both cultural heritage and modern influences.


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    Ritu Kumar – Awards and Achievements

    Ritu Kumar receiving Padma Shree by the Government of India
    Ritu Kumar receiving Padma Shree by the Government of India

    There is a long list of awards that Ritu Kumar, fashion designer has achieved during her journey in the fashion industry. The long list flows as:

    • Lifetime achievement award by NIFT
    • Lifetime achievement award by Kingfisher Group
    • Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur award by PDHCC
    • The award of “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” was given by the French government
    • Lifetime achievement award at Kingfisher Fashion Fantasia (2000)
    • Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award
    • Won the Achievement Award in the year 2012 L’oreal Paris Femina Women’s Awards
    • Padma Shree by the Government of India (2013)

    Conclusion

    Ritu Kumar one of the leading fashion designers in India, is a role model and inspiration to the youth who want to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She is a successful female entrepreneur and a live example of Indian women who are not dominated by the men in this society.

    Ritu Kumar was the first person to introduce the boutique culture in India. Ritu took the chances and performed outstandingly. She is a true example of a pioneer in the fashion industry thus making a remarkable position in the present era.

    FAQs

    Who is Ritu Kumar?

    Ritu Kumar is a famous fashion designer in India. She is claimed to be the first designer to introduce boutique culture in India and is one of India’s finest fashion designers.

    How many stores does Ritu Kumar have?

    Ritu Kumar has 93 stores across the country.

    Who is the brand ambassador of Ritu Kumar?

    Shanaya Kapoor is the brand ambassador of Ritu Kumar.

    What is Ritu Kumar education?

    Ritu Kumar’s education journey began in Simla, where she attended Loreto Convent due to limited schooling options in Amritsar. She then studied at Lady Irwin College, where she met her husband, Shashi Kumar. Later, she received a scholarship to study Art History at Briarcliff College in New York. After returning to India, she furthered her studies in museology at the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta.

    What is the revenue of Ritu Kumar?

    The annual revenue of Ritu Kumar was over INR 3 billion for 2023.

    What is the difference between Ritu Kumar and Label Ritu Kumar?

    Ritu Kumar is the name of the designer herself, known for her contributions to traditional Indian fashion. She creates high-end, bespoke clothing using natural fabrics and traditional techniques, focusing on both modern and classic Indian designs.

    Label Ritu Kumar, on the other hand, is the brand under which her ready-to-wear collections are sold. It offers stylish, contemporary pieces inspired by Ritu Kumar’s design philosophy but is more accessible compared to her couture collections. The label provides a range of products, from casual wear to festive outfits, blending traditional and modern elements.

    Who are famous fashion designers in India?

    Famous Indian fashion designers include:

    1. Manish Malhotra – Glamorous bridal wear.
    2. Sabyasachi Mukherjee – Intricate bridal collections.
    3. Ritu Kumar – Traditional textiles and classic designs.
    4. Tarun Tahiliani – Indian-Western fusion.
    5. Falguni Shane Peacock – Modern, glamorous outfits.
    6. Anita Dongre – Sustainable, ethnic wear.
    7. Masaba Gupta – Playful, modern designs.
    8. Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla – Luxurious bridal fashion.
    9. Rahul Mishra – Eco-friendly, handwork designs.
    10. JJ Valaya – Royal-inspired luxury collections.

    What is Ritu Kumar age?

    Ritu Kumar was born in 1944. She is 81 years old.

  • Innovative Marketing Strategies of Forever 21

    In the era of Western Fashion, Forever 21 is no stranger! The very prominent apparel brand was founded by Do Won Chang and his wife, Jin Sook Chang. Forever 21 is an American-based brand, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.

    In the beginning, the brand was called Fashion 21, which was later grown into a huge clothing line of shops under the brand names Love 21, Heritage, XXI Forever, and Forever 21. The American fashion brand was founded in 1984, and ever since its establishment, the company has seen immense success. In fact, today, Forever 21 owns over 550 stores across the globe.

    Forever 21 was established to offer a broad range of women’s clothing, but now, the brand has widened its categories and included various sections like Men, girls, kids, lifestyle accessories, and others.

    A huge fraction of the apparel manufactured by Forever 21 is from China and then exported to other countries like the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and the United States. The company functions with annual revenue of $4 billion. In this article, we will discuss the marketing strategies of Forever 21. Let’s get started!

    Product Marketing Strategy of Forever 21
    Target Marketing Strategy of Forever 21
    Pricing Strategy of Forever 21
    Distribution Strategy of Forever 21
    Promotion and Advertising Strategy of Forever 21

    Product Marketing Strategy of Forever 21

    Range of Products offered by Forever 21
    Range of Products offered by Forever 21

    Forever 21 has been around for a long time now, it offers a wide range of clothing in all categories for men, women, and kids. The brand has a very strong position in the global market with a diverse range of product portfolios.

    From kids to adults, you can find clothing for all ages. Its main target for clothing products is adults, kids, and toddlers. Forever 21 provides jeans, tops, jumpers, lingerie, and many other clothing products.

    Besides its clothing section, Forever 21 also provides accessories sections, including belts, ties, hats, gloves, sunglasses, and many more. Moreover, its jewelry section includes products like watches, body jewelry, pins, brooches, and others.

    Apart from this, Forever 21 also offers footwear products like loafers, wedges, sandals, boots, and heels. Forever 21 keeps its product range distinct and with great customer engagement.

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    Target Marketing Strategy of Forever 21

    Forever 21 puts its major focus on attracting women of all ages. Its products are specially designed in such a way that they satisfy the fashion sense and style of women, from teenagers to adults.

    Forever 21 is ranked at 121st position in the list of top 1000 Internet retailers in 2023 (according to Digital Commerce 360), This is a significant drop from its previous rank of 2nd in 2019. Around 45% of the brand’s entire online customers are millennial women.

    With these high-rated customers, Forever 21 makes a fancy annual revenue of around $4 billion, which certainly is a huge figure. And that’s why it mainly focuses on females from all categories. Although the brand does offer men’s collections, its major market revenue source is women.

    Rise and Fall of Forever 21

    Pricing Strategy of Forever 21

    Forever 21 is widely famous for its strategic pricing techniques. The brand offers great pricing deals according to the demands of the fashion product. Forever 21 is receiving great responses from the customers as well. Brand’s valuation in the global market is increasing by great percentages. The brand is one of the top fancied brands with its incredible marketing policies and strategic planning.

    Forever 21 is able to keep its prices low by controlling its costs. The company has a vertically integrated business model, which means that it controls all aspects of the production process, from design to manufacturing to retail. This allows Forever 21 to eliminate middlemen and reduce costs. Forever 21 often offers bundle pricing on its products. This means that customers can buy two or more products for a discounted price. This strategy helps the company to increase sales and reduce inventory levels.


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    Distribution Strategy of Forever 21

    Forever 21 began its journey from Los Angeles, California, and today, the brand has spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and America. The brand owns over 550 retail stores in 27 countries.

    In fact, Forever 21 has reached countries like India, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Forever 21 functions with very strategic distribution and marketing planning.

    With such an immense network, the brand is looking forward to establishing its outlets in Malaysia, Greece, Israel, and Russia.

    Forever 21 retail stores are well-designed and large, suiting its fashion styling. The brand has a huge networking channel for distributing its products and services across the globe. Its distribution network includes Suppliers, Vendors, and franchise owners.

    Promotion and Advertising Strategy of Forever 21

    Forever 21 carries a very strong social media presence in order to promote its services and products. It works on improving customer service and relations with all prospects.

    Forever 21 promotion strategies are entirely based on increasing the brand’s reach and capitalizing on its market share. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have worked promptly towards enhancing brand awareness among the global audience.

    They also believe that marketing their children’s products vigorously is important. Bright colors and lively displays are used throughout Forever 21 stores to make them enjoyable and enticing to children. Kids are often exposed to the kids’ section of each store as soon as they enter because it is typically found at the front of the store.

    Forever 21 functions very strategically when it comes to advertising and promotions of the brand. Forever 21 popularity can be easily estimated from the number of followers the brand has on its official website. Its prominent advertising and promotions are done through social media channels.

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    Conclusion

    The marketing strategies of Forever 21 are pretty straightforward and reliable. The brand offers custom, fast-paced, and low-priced clothes to gather its audience and build strong customer support.

    Although the brand still requires a few improvements and alterations to the quality of its products, the quality isn’t resisting. Forever 21 offers a huge range of fashion clothes and accessories to its customers with great offers and discounts. And that’s what attracts more customers to the brand.

    Forever 21 always keeps up with the trends and prefers experiments on its products. Forever 21 is set for more uprise success flow in the upcoming year.

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    FAQ

    Does Forever 21 offer clothing for kids?

    Yes, Forever 21 offers clothing for kids. The company has a dedicated kids section on its website and stores.

    What is the target market of Forever 21?

    The target market of Forever 21 is young consumers and kids.

    What is Forever 21 marketing strategy?

    Forever 21 carries a very strong social media presence to promote its services and products.

    Who is the founder of Forever 21?

    Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang founded Forever 21 in 1984.

  • Victoria’s Secret – The Rise, Fall & Resurrection

    The well-known American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer that has been known across the globe for its high visibility marketing and branding, Victoria’s Secret has been struggling since the year 2016. Remaining at the helm of high fashion for over 20 years, the brand succumbed to the dual pressure of shifting consumer preferences and faulty business practices by the brand’s leadership. However, by May 2020, the brand remained the largest lingerie retailer in the United States with over 1070 stores spread across the country.

    The Beginning
    1982 – The L-Brands Takeover
    The 1990s Decade
    The New Century
    Disaster Strikes
    The Rise From The Ashes
    Conclusion

    The Beginning

    Victoria’s Secret was the brainchild of Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye Raymond. It originated from Roy’s experience when he went to purchase lingerie for his wife from a department store.

    He said in an interview – “When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife, I was faced with racks of terry-cloth robes and ugly floral-print nylon nightgowns, and I always had the feeling the department store saleswoman thought I was an unwelcome intruder.”

    His experience propelled him to study the lingerie market for the next eight years and, finally, on June 12, 1977, Victoria’s Secret was born. Borrowing a total of USD 80,000 – half from family and the balance from the bank, Roy established a store in which men would feel comfortable buying lingerie. The brand opened its first store in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. The name was an oblique reference to Queen Victoria and the associated refinement of the ‘Victorian Era’.

    Roy Raymond - Founder, Victoria's Secret
    Roy Raymond – Founder, Victoria’s Secret

    At the time when Victoria’s Secret came into existence, the US undergarments market was dominated by pragmatic clothing that was often sold in packs of three at department stores by leading brands of the time like Jockey, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom. Niche products like high-end lingerie items were found only in specialty shops.

    The first year of business saw the brand earning gross revenue of USD 500,000. It financed expansion as the business grew to add four new locations and a mail-order operation. He also launched the famous Victoria’s Secret renowned catalog. By April of 1982, the brand was recording USD 7 million in annual sales with 55% of the revenue generated from the sales of the catalogs, and was a minor player in the underwear market. The trade described the business as ‘more burlesque than the main street’. However, the company was also on the verge of bankruptcy.

    1982 – The L-Brands Takeover

    The founder of L-Brands, formerly Limited Brands, Leslie Wexner, was a rising star in the world of business and built himself an impressive empire. By June 1982, L-Brands was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and a month later the company acquired Victoria’s Secret’s six stores and its catalog for a total of USD 1 million.

    Leslie Wexner - Victoria's Secret
    Leslie Wexner – Victoria’s Secret

    Under Wexner’s leadership, the brand flourished as he focused on creating a store that was women-focused. Intent on bringing the aesthetics of the European Lingerie market, Wexner began creating an affordable version of the very upscale European brand ‘La Perla’. His version looked luxuriously expensive but in reality, was affordable.

    Wexner’s strategy catapulted the brand to become the largest lingerie retailer in the US by the early 1990s. The brand expanded its presence to 350 stores and recorded annual sales of over USD 1 billion.

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    The 1990s Decade

    This was a decade of the brand cementing its reputation and image. The company also expanded its product repertoire by launching its line of fragrances in the year 1991 followed by cosmetics in 1998. It was in the year 1995 that Victoria’s Secret began its famous annual fashion show spearheaded by Ed Razek, the company’s Marketing Director. It was in 1997 that the concept of Victoria’s Secret ‘Angel’ was formulated, which then, became the iconic style featuring the Angel Wings on the company’s annual fashion show. This fashion show became the mainstay of the company’s image for the next 23 years as it rose to achieve a cult-like status.

    Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Opening Models (1998-2016)

    By the year 1998, the brand’s intimate apparel market share had risen to 14%. In the years 1999 and 2000, the then-CEO Cynthia Fedus-Fields delivered the highest profits for the brand before stepping down from her position.

    The New Century

    At the turn of the century, the new CEO Sharen Jester Turney of Victoria’s Secret Direct for Catalogue began to re-vamp the catalog image to boost its lagging sales. The idea was to upscale its imagery that would appeal to an upscale consumer. A similar change was initiated across the brand stores by Grace Nichols, CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct, which saw the apparel styles moving away from the prominent and evocative styling of 1800s England.

    Under their leadership, the brand’s presence grew within the United States to 1000 stores that accounted for almost one-third of total sales in the intimate apparel industry. Turney took over as the CEO of the company in the year 2006 and the brand thrived with her at the helm for nine years as sales increased by 70% to reach USD 7.7 billion.

    Disaster Strikes

    In the year 2016, Turney stepped down as the CEO and Leslie Wexner succeeded her as the interim CEO. Wexner made some quick changes to the brand operations. He discontinued the use of the print catalog and certain categories of apparel like swimwear to focus solely on lingerie which was, at one time, the core business. He also split the brand into three parts – Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, Victoria’s Secret Beauty, and Pink and established each as a business function with its CEO. This move proved to be disastrous as sales dropped by 7.4% which continued through 2017.

    Net Sales of Victoria's Secret from 2010-2021
    Net Sales of Victoria’s Secret from 2010-2021

    The downward trend continued in 2018 that became worse with Ed Razek’s controversial and derogatory comments about transgenders and plus-size models. This led to a 40% stock decline in that single year causing the brand to close 53 stores in the US in 2019. Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Razek also resigned and by that year’s end, the brand announced the permanent closure of its annual fashion show.

    The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret

    But the company’s troubles were far from over. By February 2020, reports surfaced indicating a culture of bullying and harassment within the company. An expose published by The New York Times showcased ‘the culture of misogyny’ and cast aspersions of sexual misconduct on Ed Razek, the long-time influential executive of the brand.

    Within the next year, by February 2020, the company had announced a 55% equity sale to Sycamore Partners for USD 525 million which fell through by April 2020 as Sycamore Partners cited the pandemic as the reason. In January 2021, the shareholders of the parent company L-Brands, filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of Delaware, blaming Leslie Wexner for creating an atmosphere of misogyny, bullying, and harassment that devalued the brand.

    The Rise From The Ashes

    L-Brands, spun off Victoria’s Secret as an independent business by August 2021. The company’s new management and ownership implemented policy changes that have proven to be beneficial to the brand. The brand reported an increase in sales in 2021. By November 2022, Victoria’s Secret had acquired Adore Me, a lingerie brand based in New York, for USD 400 million.

    Conclusion

    The brand began with a vision to make lingerie shopping easier for men. From there it evolved and underwent many changes. For several years, it sat at the very pinnacle of success. However, it failed to identify changing trends and consumer preferences and hence did not make the necessary shift at the right time. The management’s ideologies and conduct also hindered the brand from adapting to changing times. The new management has a tough road ahead to restore the brand to its former glory. Time will bear witness to how the company makes itself relevant to continuously changing market trends.

    FAQs

    What led to Victoria’s Secret’s declining sales in recent years?

    Factors such as changing consumer preferences, increased competition, controversial marketing, lack of inclusivity, and COVID-19 have led to Victoria’s Secret’s declining sales.

    What steps has Victoria’s Secret taken to address its past controversies?

    Victoria’s Secret changed leadership, rebranded to be more inclusive, discontinued Angels, and partnered with women-led businesses to address past controversies.

    What does the future hold for Victoria’s Secret?

    Victoria’s Secret is focusing on inclusivity, body positivity, e-commerce, and new marketing strategies to attract younger consumers in its efforts to re-establish itself as a leader in the lingerie industry.

  • 15 Most Profitable Niches on YouTube

    ‌‌Starting a YouTube channel can be a lot tougher than it seems. Anyone can start a YouTube channel and post random videos. But the real question here is, Is it profitable?

    In today’s time, people are making a whole career out of social media platforms, and when it’s YouTube, you can earn pretty well.

    ‌‌That’s why it’s essential to pick out a niche in which you want to make videos. It helps you target a specific genre of audience and enables you to boost engagement. With this, you can integrate yourself into the YouTube creator community. Now, when it comes to YouTube niches, there are many options available that might confuse you. To help you pick a niche for your YouTube channel, we have presented this article containing the 15 most profitable YouTube niches. So, let’s get started!

    Comedy
    Beauty
    Digital Marketing
    Investing and Trading
    E-commerce
    Clothing & Fashion
    Fitness
    Business
    Tech Review
    Men’s Lifestyle
    Career Advice
    Pets & Animals
    Audience Demographics
    Conspiracy Theories
    Daily Vlog

    Comedy

    Biggest Comedy YouTube channel: Mr. Beast/ 30 Million Subscribers

    Everyone likes to watch the fun and comic videos in their spare time. And with a comedy YouTube channel, you can excellently attract audiences. Plus, creating light and funny videos is not very hard and doesn’t require a lot of time. But you must remember that the goal is entertaining and making your audience laugh.

    For this, you can create videos of everyday funny incidents or skits, or anything fun. If your channel gets hit, you can easily earn up to 25K with your comedy YouTube videos.

    ‌‌You can make the video more fun by doing unique editing like jump cuts, background replacement, slow motion, or adding cheeky music in the background. This way, you can create a unique style of videos and make them stand out to your audience.

    Beauty

    Biggest Comedy YouTube channel: Sandra Cires Art / 16.3 Million Subscribers

    Beauty Videos are in high demand nowadays. You can make your YouTube channel very popular with videos on makeup, skincare, beauty products, or cosmetics. You can become a beauty influencer and earn very well. People rely on influencers when checking a new cosmetic product or learning a new makeup trick. And if your audience wants your video, they’ll come to it whenever they need any new facts or jokes in the beauty genre.

    Plus another benefit that comes with the beauty niche is you can work closely with sponsors and beauty brands.

    Digital Marketing

    Biggest Digital Marketing YouTube channel: VidIQ / 1.33 Million Subscribers

    This YouTube niche is quite different than usual. With digital marketing on top of the business curve, people are investing more time and money into it. And this can be a profitable niche for you by creating videos on different marketing strategies, making people familiar with today’s industry trends, and many more. You can create guide videos on learning new skills, handling social media platforms, mobile marketing, and a lot more. There is an abundance of content in this niche that you can create videos on.

    ‌‌Digital Marketing is definitely a profitable YouTube niche that has tons of monetization methods that you can use in your favor and increase your earnings.

    Investing and Trading

    Biggest Investing & Trading YouTube channel: Warrior Trading / 1.1 Million Subscribers

    Who doesn’t want to invest these days? If you are good at investing and have several tricks which benefit you in terms of trading, you can create a YouTube channel with this niche. Many people don’t know proper investing and look for ways through which they can do it in the right manner. That can be your plus point as you can sweep in and talk about the ways that can benefit the audience while investing and trading.

    ‌‌During the past few years, searches on investing have gone doubled and tripled than they used to. That’s why, creating a YouTube channel where you can guide people on where to invest, how to invest, how to save money, how the stock market works, and so on, it’s definitely profitable.

    E-commerce

    Biggest E-Commerce YouTube channel: Dan Lok / 4.43 Million Subscribers

    Yes, you got it right. E-commerce is considered a very interesting and profitable YouTube niche that you can work on. With ways like dropshipping or Amazon FBA, you can earn huge figures by selling products that give you amazing returns. Take the example of Franklin Hatchett or Tanner J Fox, they are killing with this niche.

    ‌‌You can create videos telling people how to create an online shop and earn through dropshipping. People seek practical examples of things and the only way you can make your channel a hit is by showing people how you do it.

    Clothing & Fashion

    Biggest Fashion YouTube channel: Tess Christine / 2.31 Million Subscribers

    Everyone needs clothing and fashion advice!  And it isn’t limited to women only, even men seek fashion advice. Creating videos like clothing hauls or tips on carrying accessories always bring great popularity to your YouTube channel.

    Style out different clothes or review different brands that you like, you can create videos on coming up with signature styles or how to carry heavy accessories and stiletto styles with your favorite pair of jeans. It brings a great number of views to your channel and makes your audience loyal. You can check out the top YouTube channels in this niche and come up with your creative style.

    Fitness

    Biggest Fitness YouTube channel: Pamela Reif / 9.25 Million Subscribers

    Fitness is considered one of the most popular YouTube niches that you can pick out. Most of the audience out there likes to see fitness and health-based videos that inspire them and give them tips on how to begin a healthy lifestyle. You can find out different contents, from weight loss to healthy meal preparation ideas, that you can explore. In this niche, you can review other fitness products as well. You can keep your audience clinging by creating videos that teach them something new and properly guide them.

    ‌‌Creating videos on different yoga poses or doing your gym routine helps you attract a great count of audience. This niche is presettable, and if your channel gets hit, you can earn pretty well.

    Business

    Biggest Business YouTube channel: Gary Vee / 4.06 Million Subscribers

    Users over YouTube aren’t limited to content creation; in fact, on a broader scale, many intellectual or working people like to watch videos related to the business field. For that, you can like the videos entertaining your subscribers by sharing different business stories and teaching any new product, ideologies, and success concepts of top companies in the business industry. Creating engaging videos on these nieces can help the audience connect with you and build a trusting relationship with all the potential prospects.

    Tech Review

    Biggest Tech Review YouTube channel: Marques Brownlee / 16.4 Million Subscribers

    If you have an interest in tech and have knowledge of the latest advances and different tech equipment, creating a YouTube video can be very beneficial for you. Being a tech gick on YouTube can help you earn pretty well. Review-based YouTube channels have always been in their popular niches. You can get started with product reviews and begin monetization around them. To make your track unique, bring your expertise to your video. Mastering a particular area can be pretty productive in comparison to going with any random ones.

    ‌‌Also, you can create videos reviewing different apps. This will bring more audience to your channel, and you can attract several sponsorships if you get hit.

    Men’s Lifestyle

    Biggest Men’s Lifestyle YouTube channel: DLM Men’s Lifestyle / 885K Subscribers

    There aren’t many YouTube channels that cover this niche, which makes it fresh and unique for you to go with. Men today seek advice from clothing to the gym; the search for it is everywhere. You can create videos on valuable tips and information that men find attractive. Also, there are several products in the market for men’s take care which you can review and suggest the best ones available. What you need to cover is everything that has the potential to improve the lifestyle of men.

    Career Advice

    Biggest Career Advice YouTube channel: Thomas Frank / 2.77 Million Subscribers

    A YouTube channel based on career advice is always a big sale. Do you know how many students and adults consider YouTube for career advice? A lot. You can create videos on top career choices in today’s world and how to get there. It will help if you guide the audience in the right direction and the engagement rate will boost if you impress them.

    ‌‌Simply do the research in a reasonable amount and create videos on guiding the audiences in their career, especially the students.

    Pets & Animals

    Biggest Pets & Animals YouTube channel: Aww Animals / 3.61 Million Subscribers

    Last but not least, there is a pet and animal niche that attracts an audience a significant amount. Here, you get different content to explore and develop some fantastic ideas for yourself. You can create videos of breeding, health & care, training, and more content with your pets and animals.

    ‌‌You can easily connect with the audience and share positive emotions with them. It will also help the audience know how to take care of their pets.

    Audience Demographics

    If you are getting really confused about choosing a good niche for your YouTube channel, going with audience demographics could be a great pick. You can attract your audience by using keywords, phrases, slang words, or the local language of your target audience. This will help you rank your video content in a specific category.

    ‌‌Working on an audience demographic niche benefits you greatly by staying close to what the audience needs.

    Conspiracy Theories

    Creating a YouTube channel in the Conspiracy niche brings excellent audience engagement. It might seem controversial, but it can benefit you in many ways. There are numerous conspiracy theories over the internet that people are very interested in. You can create videos on some famous events of history or people who have lots of unbelievable views.

    Everyone wants to know why something that shocked them happened. And when you look over the internet, you can find numerous stories on historical situations, events, physical destinations, celebrities, and movies that are unclear to people. So, that’s the excellent niche pick for you.

    Daily Vlog

    A balanced and adventurous lifestyle can be profitable if you turn it into a YouTube channel. You can create videos sharing your day-to-day life with the audience. Daily vlogs have immense popularity in this social media time. You can share videos of your daily routine, or what keeps you going in your life, spending a day doing something adventurous, or anything that seems fun seems exciting to you. Daily vlog is considered one of the most accessible niches, and it is straightforwardly simple work to create.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, we can say that when it comes to YouTube niches, there are numerous options that you can explore. But if you want to make your channel a success, you need to choose a profitable niche to work on. This article helps you know different profitable niches you can pick from. With these, you can make tons of money by creating videos and reaching a large audience.

  • How is AI Being Used in Fashion Industry?

    The fashion industry is no more about just making and selling clothes. Anybody who thinks they’ll set up a good-looking website, put tons of choices, and hope that customers will follow is living in La La Land.

    It doesn’t work like that anymore. The fashion industry is leveraging the latest advancements in technology to boost sales and clientele. Social media is flooded with DIYs, small fashion brands, and fashion giants so it’s safe to say that the market is booming with options for customers.

    Projected Revenue of the Indian Fashion Industry from 2017 to 2027
    Projected Revenue of the Indian Fashion Industry from 2017 to 2027

    Brands are shifting towards AI to make their voice heard and stand out from the clutter. AI will be an inseparable part of our life. Predictions show Revenue of the Indian Fashion Industry will grow 16.32% annually (CAGR 2022-2027) to reach $39.42 billion by 2027. From automated messages to attention-grabbing notifications, from suggesting sizes to customers to building preferences, fashion brands all over the world are using AI to their benefit.

    Demand and Supply Projection
    Automated Clothes Sorting
    Inventory checks and Re-stocking
    Designing Clothes
    Personalized Recommendations

    Here’s how AI is being used in the Fashion Industry:

    Demand and Supply Projection

    Brands like H&M are sitting on huge amounts of unsold clothing that will lead to lost money. This happens because nowadays brands focus on producing bulk clothing as per the latest trends which go out of fashion swiftly, making room for new trends and thus, production of more new clothes. This costs brands a lot of money and also contributes to wastage.

    Brands are now using AI to predict sales according to trends, product type, color, price, and range factors. This is helping brands minimize the extra product and generate increased revenue as there is less money wastage. Returns are also reduced due to smart prediction of demands.

    Automated Clothes Sorting

    AI Robots used for Sorting Clothes
    AI Robots used for Sorting Clothes

    Sorting and arranging clothes can be a difficult task as it requires labor and time. Most warehouses have people doing it for you and they cannot work 24/7. It is also costly and ineffective. Therefore, big brands like GAP are testing AI to sort clothing for you according to size, color, or preferences that can be just put into a box and shipped to your house via a drone. Through deep learning, the robot can be trained to handle fragile items like sunglasses more gently than jeans.


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    Inventory checks and Re-stocking

    Malls and stores are being monitored by a camera that tracks the product that is out of stock. They can automatically inform the manufacturer about the shortage. To make it even more efficient, the functioning is such built that they scan data to confirm whether the same product is lying in some other store and being sold so that it can be brought to another store. This reduces wasteful manufacturing and saves money.

    Designing Clothes

    Use of AI for Designing Clothes
    Use of AI for Designing Clothes

    Yes, you read that right. Your clothes might be designed by a robot rather than a human. Popular online fashion retailers like Amazon and Myntra are using AI to generate designs for clothes.

    One of the brands on Myntra, Moda Rapido, sells clothes designed by robots. They take inspiration from data about customer preferences and social media trends. Fascinating right? We thought we are far from robots and here they are designing clothes for us.


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    Personalized Recommendations

    Myntra using AI for Clothes Recommendation
    Myntra using AI for Clothes Recommendation

    AI is making the lives of fashion retailers easy by providing them with sorted data as per the likes of the customers. Earlier, we would see the clothes and find out what works for us but now, we get recommendations of clothes that we might like. This is done by AI by carefully analyzing previous orders and finding out color, style, and size preferences.

    Conclusion

    AI is changing the future of the fashion industry for the better. It is proven to be more sustainable, cost-effective, and user-friendly. But they will also cost many employees their jobs, not only in the lower posts but also as designers. Let’s see if robots can be great designers. For now, it can be concluded that we are much closer to the age of robots than we’d like to think.

    FAQs

    How AI is used in the fashion industry?

    AI is used in the fashion industry to help improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes. AI systems are also used to spot defects in the fabric.

    Which industries use AI the most?

    Healthcare, Education, and Marketing are the sectors that employ AI the most.

    Can AI design clothes?

    Fashion designers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to design clothes as a tool for innovation.

    How can Machine Learning be used in fashion?

    Machine Learning uses existing fashion trends and customer data to produce a model to fit the market need. It boosts the design process.

    What fashion brands use Artificial Intelligence?

    • Nike
    • Zara
    • Dior
    • H&M
    • Macy’s
    • Nordstrom
  • Raymond: The Success Story of Famous Indian Clothing Brand

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Raymond.

    India as a diverse land has a lot of colorful trends when it comes to textiles and apparel. Of course, the collapse of all hype at the dawn of the twentieth century brought a more sensible environment and a more solid view of the fashion industry.

    As far as we know, the Indian Textile industry is a significant contributor to the country’s economy. The industry is providing one of the most fundamental needs of the community and has importance; preserving ongoing development for raising the quality of life. It has established itself as a self-sufficient industry that adds value at every stage of the supply chain right from the production of raw materials to the delivery of finished goods.

    Raymond Group is an Indian textile and fashion industry headquartered in Mumbai, India. Raymond was founded in 1925 by Albert Raymond. The group makes suiting material and has a 31 million meter capacity for wool and wool-blend fabrics.

    Check out a lot more about Raymond, its startup story, its founders and team, business and revenue growth, the challenges faced, and a lot more relevant information.

    Raymond – Company Highlights
    Raymond – About
    Raymond – Industry
    Raymond – Leadership
    Raymond – Mission and Vision
    Raymond – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Raymond – Startup Story
    Raymond – Business model
    Raymond – Revenue Model
    Raymond – Challenges Faced
    Raymond – Mergers and Acquisitions
    Raymond – Online and Social Media Presence
    Raymond – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
    Raymond – Awards and Achievements

    Raymond – Company Highlights

    Headquarters Thane, India
    Sector Textiles, Engineering, Aviation & Real estate
    Key people Gautam Vijaypat Singhania (Chairman)
    Type Public
    Founded 1925
    Revenue $6.2 Billion (2022)
    Website www.raymond.in

    Raymond – About

    Incorporated in 1925, the Raymond Group is a diversified organization with most of its business activities in the textile and apparel industries. It also operates in a number of other industries, including FMCG, Real Estate, Engineering, and Prophylactics, in both domestic and foreign markets.

    With the support of more than a billion customers, Raymond is renowned for providing its customers with top-notch products for the previous nine decades.

    The company is the owner of clothing brands including Raymond, Raymond Premium Apparel, Raymond Made to Measure, Ethnix, Park Avenue, Park Avenue Woman, ColorPlus, Kamasutra, and Parx. All of the brands are sold through “The Raymond Shop” (TRS), which has a network of more than 700 retail locations in India and abroad in more than 200 cities. The brand also has its presence in tier IV & V cities.

    Woolen textiles, Cotton, Wool blends, Linen, and Denim are just a few of the luxurious shirting and suiting fabrics that Raymond has to offer.

    After entering the clothing, textile, and sexual wellness segment, in 1949, Raymond Ltd. made a foray into the engineering industry. With a market share of more than 25% of worldwide steel file production capacity in 2020 and a presence in more than 55 countries, JK Files and Engineering Ltd. holds the top spot as the industry leader. It was 2019 that saw the announcement of Raymond’s entry into the real estate industry as Raymond Realty with the theme of ‘Go Beyond’. The new business would invest 250 crores (about $36 million) to create mid-range and luxury housing units on 20 acres of land in Thane, a rising suburb of Mumbai.

    Raymond has also strived to do something for society. ‘Beyond business’, is Raymond’s humanitarian activities that are designed to foster inclusive growth for the socially underprivileged.

    • JK Trust Gram Vikas Yojana – improve the quality of life in rural areas through a Cattle Breed Improvement Programme (CBIP)
    • JK Bovagenix – On July 20, 2016, a groundbreaking breeding program using in-vitro fertilization to produce selected indigenous cattle breeds went into effect.
    • Skilled Tailoring Insititute – to train unemployed women
    • Raymond Tailoring Hubs for skill development – located in Mumbai, Delhi, Bihta, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nashik, Villupuram, Ranchi, and Bengaluru.
    • Singhania Schools

    Raymond – Industry

    As mentioned earlier, the Indian Textile industry contributes a major chunk to the country’s economy. This sector is also one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy. It is reported that the Indian textiles market is expected to be worth more than $209 billion by 2029.

    Raymond – Leadership

    Gautam Vijaypat Singhania is the Managing director and Chairman of the Raymond Group.

    Gautam Vijaypat Singhania

    Born to an industrialist family, whose parents are Vijaypat Singhania and Ashabai Singhania, Gautam Vijaypat Singhania is the Chairman and Managing Director of the Raymond Group. He attended Cathedral and John Connon Schools as well as St. Mary’s School in Mumbai. In 1986, Gautam Singhania joined the JK Group of businesses owned by the Singhania family. Later, he joined the Raymond Group, where he rose through the ranks to become chairman in September 2000, and managing director in July 1999.

    Nawaz Modi Singhania, a Parsi, is the spouse of Gautam Singhania. They have a daughter called Niharika.

    According to a family agreement, Gautam Singhania has been given a 27% share of the business. A few years after taking over, he turned the business around and made it become a big success.

    Raymond – Mission and Vision

    Raymond likes to do business with one vision, that is, “Trust, Quality, and Excellence”

    Raymond – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    As we all are aware, the tagline of Raymond is, “The Complete Man”

    The brand name was derived from Albert Raymond and Abraham Jacob Raymond, who were members of the Board of Directors of a Jewish industrialist company during the 1920s known as E.D Sassoon and Co. Formerly it was known as ‘The Raymond Woollen Mills” and then it was changed to just ‘Raymond’.

    Raymond – Startup Story

    The story of the world’s largest producer of suiting fabric, Raymond goes back to the year 1925. An elderly man by the name of Wadia had the foresight to establish a modest woolen mill in the backward region of Thane, Maharashtra, spurred on by the burgeoning need for apparel for soldiers in the Indian Defense Force. However, Wadia couldn’t manage the woolen mill and it was taken over by E.D Sassoon and Co. It was them, who renamed the company, ‘The Raymond Woollen Mills’

    After some years, in 1944, Lala Kailashpat Singhania took over Raymond when he saw the potential in the brand for the coming future. His family, the Singhanias moved to Farrukhabad from the little village of Singhana in Shekhawati, one of the desert towns of northeast Rajasthan, in search of better opportunities. They had their own company called JK Cotton Spinning & Weaving mills Co., wherein they produced high-quality cotton clothes using only Indian raw materials, labor, and other methods to compete against England.

    Post-independence, Kailashpat took Raymond to newer heights and put up a new manufacturing unit JK Files in 1950 to manufacture indigenous engineering files. In 1958, Raymond opened its first exclusive showroom in King’s corner, Ballard Estate in Mumbai.

    In 1986, Park Avenue was launched by Raymond, a collection of stylish wardrobes for men.

    Raymond opened its first international showroom in Oman in 1990. After one year, the brand launched a premium condom brand called, ‘Kamasutra’. With the founding of Raymond Aviation in 1996, the group entered the aviation industry. Corporate travelers in India can use the air charter services offered by Raymond Aviation.

    In order to provide customers with a variety of semi-formal and casual clothing, the luxury casual wear brand Parx was introduced in 1999. 2008 saw the introduction of ready-to-wear clothing under the Raymond brand, which is currently known as Raymond Ready to Wear.

    In 2016, the company launched a kind of fabric, which the company referred to as the Smartest fabric in the World – it was known as Technosmart. In the same year, Raymond opened a new office in Dubai. With 900 outlets in 500+ Indian towns and cities as of 2018, Raymond had experienced its fastest-ever retail expansion.

    To combat COVID, Raymond came up with ‘Virasafe’, a highly effective anti-viral fabric. To produce PPE suits during the outbreak, the brand converted its garment plants.

    Raymond – Business model

    Raymond’s business involves a number of business models because it deals with several types of business including real estate and aviation. However, it does have a B2B business model as it manufactures one of the finest cotton and pure linen fabrics.

    Here’s taking a look at the various businesses by Raymond Group:

    Suit Business

    It is commendable that in India, the woolen suiting fabric industry is dominated by Raymond, one of the largest vertically and horizontally merged producers of worsted suiting fabric in the world, with a market share of over 60%. This business has manufacturing plants at Vapi (Gujarat), Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh), and Jalgaon (Maharashtra) with a manufacturing capacity of 38 million meters.

    Garment Business

    Raymond has three wholly-owned subsidiaries – Silver Spark Apparel Ltd (Suits), EverBlue Apparel Ltd. (Jeanswear), and Celebrations Apparel Ltd. (Shirts) for its garment business. The only Indian company having the know-how to create Full Canvas Suits is Silver Spark Apparel Ltd. The company’s products such as jeans, trousers, shirts, and suits are all exported to the USA, Europe, and Japan.

    Shirt Business

    Raymond is also engaged in the manufacturing of shirt fabrics, which are very renowned and the finest in India. At its advanced manufacturing facility in Kolhapur (Maharashtra), the operation has a capacity of 26 million meters and manufactures bottom-weight textiles and high-end cotton and linen shirts for well-known national and international brands.

    Retail Business

    Raymond opened its first-ever retail showroom in Mumbai at King’s Corner in 1958. Since 1958, the brand has been expanding aggressively with its various collections. Its retail presence makes up for the brand’s success. With over 2 million square feet of retail space split throughout its 1100+ locations in more than 380+ cities and towns, Raymond now has an unstoppable retail presence and is steadily expanding.

    The brand has a portfolio of four Power Brands, including Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Park Avenue, Color Plus, and Parx, which makes them currently as of one of the top three branded clothing players in the menswear market.

    Across all channels, including 257 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs), 3,300 Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs) (via distributor network), 800 Large Format Store (LFS) chains, and top internet portals, there has been a tremendous increase in recent years.

    Raymond created raymondnext.com, a one-stop fashion shop for all the brands under the Raymond umbrella, as its entry into the e-commerce market.

    Denim Business

    One of the first companies to introduce specialty ring denim in India is Raymond UCO Denim (a joint venture with UCO NV of Europe). Along with serving domestic markets, the company also serves consumers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company has fabric manufacturing plants in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, and Sibiu, Romania, with a combined annual production capacity of 47 million meters. Raymond UCO Denim satisfies the expanding expectations of fashion-conscious consumers and has earned the recognition of top brands in both home and foreign markets.

    Tools & Hardware Business

    The company entered into the tools and hardware business in 1949. This industry sector is involved in the production, marketing, and distribution of hand tools, power tool machines, and accessories for power tool machines as well as the sale and distribution of precision-engineered parts for tools and hardware like steel files and drills. As of 2020, JK Files and Engineering Ltd. had the largest installed steel file manufacturing capacity, accounting for nearly 25% of the global capacity. JK Files & Engineering Ltd. boasts state-of-the-art production facilities in India that are ISO 9000-2008 certified and have a robust manufacturing capacity of 7.44 million dozen files and 13.2 million pieces of drills annually. Raymond has a market share of more than 60% by sales volume in Fiscal 2021 and is also the market leader in India’s files segment. It is also well-represented in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

    FMCG Business

    Raymond is involved in the manufacturing of consumer goods through its associate company called, Raymond Consumer Care Private Limited. Raymond is steadily growing its presence in the category with leading brands like Park Avenue and KamaSutra in the market today.

    Automotive Business

    By acquiring a controlling interest in Ring Plus Aqua Ltd, a renowned Ring Gear & Flexplate manufacturer in India, Raymond entered the automotive components market. Ring Plus Aqua Ltd., a 1984 incorporation, has a close relationship with the global automotive industry thanks to its manufacturing facility for ring gears, water pump bearings, and flexplates.

    Through its warehouses in Canada, the United States, and Germany, Ring Plus Aqua Ltd. also meets the JIT (Just-in-time) needs of its clients. Around 8.2 million Ring Gears, 3.9 million Water Pump Bearings, and 0.62 million Flexplates can each be produced annually by Ring Plus Aqua Ltd.

    Real Estate Business

    With Raymond Realty, the company entered into the Real Estate space. Each project under Raymond Realty is built on the tenet of “Go Beyond” and attempts to redefine every customer’s expectation. The company has an exclusive website for its realty business –  www.raymondrealty.in

    Some of the popular brands and services by Raymond Group are:

    • ColorPlus
    • Ethnix
    • Raymond
    • Raymond Fine Fabrics
    • Park Avenue
    • The Raymond Shop
    • SuperDrive
    • Kamasutra
    • Raymond Custom Tailoring
    • Parx

    Raymond – Revenue Model

    Raymond’s revenue for the fiscal year 2022 was Rs 50,000 crores. The largest contributors to the company’s revenue were branded clothing and textiles. However, the exact figures haven’t been published. In the fiscal year 2021, Raymond India reported revenue of more than 36 billion Indian rupees.

    Raymond – Challenges Faced

    As the company is mostly in the manufacturing space of finest fabrics and gets its revenue majorly from the textile business, it fears that the millennials might move away from the concept of textiles and fabrics. Today’s youth are focused on buying ready-made garments and don’t wish to invest in textiles or buy fabrics.

    This is one of the biggest challenges the brand is facing and to keep up with the trends, it needs to come up with innovations to maintain its legacy.

    Raymond – Mergers and Acquisitions

    Raymond acquired J. K. Ansell Ltd on Aug 17, 2017. The rest of the details are undisclosed.

    Raymond – Online and Social Media Presence

    Raymond has a powerful online and social media presence. The brand has pages on almost all popular social media platforms.

    Platform Followers
    Facebook Page 1,357K followers
    Instagram Page 220K followers
    Twitter Page 10.6K followers
    LinkedIn Page 170K followers

    Raymond – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

    Time and again, Raymond has always come up with the best and heart-touching campaigns throughout its 90-plus years of journey. With its motto, ‘The Complete Man’ – Raymond has always shown the characters of a well-read man, a perfect father, an honest friend, and an obedient son, which highlights the true emotions a man can have in him. While the list of campaigns made by Raymond is long, the most recent one is Raymond’s Look Good Feel Good campaign.

    This campaign was launched in June, where the brand highlights the joy of giving your old clothes. The campaign is done in association with Goonj, a non-profit organization that undertakes humanitarian aid. The brand asks its viewers to donate clothes and in exchange for their old garments, they will receive free trouser stitching from July 1st onwards.

    Another campaign by the brand was rolled out in 2019 called #TailorYourStyle. The ad speaks about the fine tailoring done by Raymond which shows its rich heritage and aesthetic embodiment. The campaign was designed by Grey India. It mostly highlights the customization that customers can get as per their needs.

    Raymond – Awards and Achievements

    Here’s showing the list of all the major awards won by Raymond:

    • Raymond ‘The Complete Man’ TV commercial (husband-baby) won the “National Laadli Media & Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity 2013-14”
    • Raymond has been placed at the top of the ‘Textile and Garment’ segment as the ‘Most Admired Companies in India 2013’ by Fortune magazine
    • Park Avenue has won the Best Design Concept of the Year Award for Innovative AUTOFIT Concept at Images Fashion Awards 2015.
    • Raymond has won the ‘Best Retail Store Design for Fashion Apparel brand” for Raymond Ready-to-wear store, Viviana Mall, Thane from Visual Merchandising & Retail Design Awards 2015.
    • Raymond has won the ‘Best Window Display 2015″ for the Colors Of Wool campaign from Visual Merchandising & Retail Design Awards 2015.
    • ColorPlus awarded for ‘Impactful Retail Design and Visual Merchandising’ – Asia Retail Congress 2013
    • EPC (Engineering Export Promotion Council) India “Export Excellence Award 2011-2012” for Hand Tools Exports in the category of Large Enterprise
    • Park Avenue Beer Shampoo has won a bronze at the WARC Strategy Awards 2014.
    • 11th Realty Plus Excellence Awards​ – WEST Mid Segment Project of the Year (2019)
    • Hindustan Times Real Estate Titans Awards 2020

    FAQs

    Which company owns Raymond?

    Raymond group, a global conglomerate owns Raymond ltd.

    Who is the Chairman of Raymond?

    Gautam Hari Singhania is the chairman and MD of Raymond group.

    How many brands does Raymond own?

    Raymond owns 4 brands namely Park Avenue, Parx, Color Plus along with Raymond Ready to wear.

    Who are its competitors of Raymond in India?

    Raymond’s competitors in India are Siyaram’s & Grasim.

  • Business Model of Shein – How Does Shein Make Money?

    Shein has gained immense popularity among the youth. If you are a fashionista then you must have bought some trendy clothes from Shein at a very low price. The company has been very successful in the ultra-fast fashion market. Shein ships in 220 countries and provides clothes for men, women, and children.

    According to research, it was found that in 2021 Shein’s mobile app had over 7 million users in the US alone. The hashtag #Shein has generated over 6.2 billion views on TikTok. The estimated revenue of this company is $10 billion every year. Let’s see the Business Model of Shein in great detail.

    What is Shein?
    Evolution of the Fashion Industry
    Ultra-Fast Fashion
    Business Model of Shein
    Marketing Strategy of Shein
    What’s Unique About Shein?
    How Does Shein Make Money?

    What is Shein?

    Shein is a Chinese international B2C fast-fashion online platform headquartered in China. The company was founded by Chris Xu in 2008. The company sells clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, and other fashion items. Shein’s target countries are Europe, America, and the Middle East. The brand is very popular among Gen Z.

    Shein mainly works by targeting the audience who prefers western clothes. As for the target market, Shein mainly works for young people who want to be unique and socially acceptable.

    Before we have a deeper look at the business model let’s first understand how the fashion industry works. This will help us better understand the Business Model.

    Evolution of the Fashion Industry

    In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Zara and H&M introduced the world of fast fashion. Buying trendy clothes from the stores at a very low price was something new to the people.

    Zara introduced this phenomenon to the people and made a lot of money. The key components that helped Zara become successful were shorter manufacturing cycles, following the fast-moving trends, just-in-time logistics, and big investments in flagship stores located in most city centers.

    This enabled the stores to provide a wide variety of trendy inexpensive clothes that changed every week. Variety, speed, and convenience were the main factors of the fast fashion model.

    Until the 2010s this business model worked pretty well. Since then, e-commerce has penetrated the market which led to the growth of mobile commerce. Due to this, the fast fashion industry changed completely.

    Ultra-Fast Fashion

    Over time many people started using mobile and mobile commerce grew rapidly. Due to the internet, people were able to get information instantly. Everything shifted online. Using social media and other online platforms people were able to understand fashion trends instantly in a very short time.

    Fast Fashion evolved to ultra-fast fashion where only a few designs were created to test the likes of people. If the people demanded the clothes they were made in large numbers. The ultra fast-fashion retailer invested all its capital in capturing fashion trends even faster.

    Clothes and other fashion accessories were manufactured at a very high speed. Massive money was invested in logistics to deliver products to millions of customers without operating physical stores. Now, as you have understood how the ultra-fast fashion industry works and how the fashion industry has evolved let’s have a look at the business model.


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    Business Model of Shein

    Shein Website
    Shein Website 

    To understand the business model of Shein let’s first see how a fast food delivery company works. There are thousands of ghost kitchens everywhere. When you order food online the food delivery services take the food from these ghost kitchens and deliver it to your doorstep.

    Your preferences and the number of orders you place dictate the opening and closing of these ghost kitchens. Shein’s business model also behaves similarly. Shein does a partnership with these ghost factories and promises demand. They install their order system in these factories which helps them to track and deliver the orders efficiently.

    Shein teaches them how to manufacture things efficiently. In this way, Shein produces fashion items at a much faster rate. The company understands what things are booming in the fashion industry, produces product pages, checks the engagement behaviour, and then tells the factories to produce the products.

    Shein has a strong online presence. After reading about the evolution of the fashion industry and ultra-fast fashion you must have understood that a strong online presence and understanding the fashion trends quickly are necessary to be successful in this industry.

    Shein advertises aggressively on TikTok and other social media handles. After working for so long in this industry Shein is able to understand the fashion trends much faster than other companies. The company has further shortened the manufacturing cycles.


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    The Business model of Fast Fashion Brands has changed on a frequent basis in response to trends, customer preferences, supply and demand.


    Marketing Strategy of Shein

    Aggressive Marketing on Social Media

    Shein marketing on Instagram
    Shein marketing on Instagram

    The company’s marketing is majorly focused on social media. Shein has understood that social media has a great influence on youth. The company is the #1 brand for TikTok teens.

    Shein has an army of fashion bloggers that constantly post content on TikTok using the hashtag Shein. In return, Influencers get free merchandise. On YouTube, people share their experiences with Shein. Since the company provides a large variety of products many YouTubers are interested in reviewing their products.

    Affiliate Programs

    Shein’s affiliate program has helped the company to increase its conversions. In this program, people can earn a commission by recommending Shein products to others. If they place the order you get a small commission. Due to these affiliate programs, many teens have promoted their products on social media. This has increased the company’s reach.

    What’s Unique About Shein?

    Shein is the most preferred fashion brand by the young generation. There are multiple things in Shein’s business model that makes it different from other:

    Model

    To have the upper hand over its competitors the company uses the digital-first model. The digital-first model enables the customers to make a purchase by the means of a digital platform and get it delivered at their preferred locations.

    Marketing Strategy

    Shein uses a micro-influencer marketing strategy. There are several micro-influencers in coordination with Shein and the company provides them with gifts at the end of each month. This give-and-take relation makes a better marketing strategy for the platform.

    An Indian Actress Advertising Shein Sale on her Social Media Account
    An Indian Actress Advertising Shein Sale on her Social Media Account

    Use of Social Media

    Social Media users have noticed Shein on their screens while scrolling through social media platforms like YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram, etc. The media influencers contribute majorly to the selling of Shein products at such mediums. This strategy enables Shein to directly showcase its product in the market.

    How Does Shein Make Money?

    Shein’s revenue model is simple. The company earns money by selling products online. They sell a cheap version of trendy clothes and fashion items via their mobile app. The company uses the vertical integration strategy.

    Shein earns its revenue in multiple ways. The most preferred method is by selling clothes. Shein purchases clothes in bulk quantity for a cheaper price and then sells them at a higher percentage.

    Apart from this, Shein also replicates the high-end dresses to sell them at relatively lower prices. This practice also increases the sales of Shein and hence making an additional column in the money chart.

    Apart from all the above money-making options, Shein also provides in-app advertisements on its platform and generates some revenue through it too.

    Shein Revenue for 2020-2022 in US Billion Dollars
    Shein Revenue for 2020-2022 in US Billion Dollars

    Conclusion

    Shein understood fast fashion better than other companies. As the company provides a large variety of products at a very low price many people love shopping through Shein. The company has a lot of Influencers on various social media platforms which helps them to increase its popularity.

    In the west, many people prefer Shein over Amazon. This shows how much the company has grown over these years. To stay in this race for a longer period the company needs to identify the fashion trends quickly and provide those clothes to the people before it gets out of fashion.

    FAQs

    Who is the CEO of the Shein?

    The current CEO of Shein is Chris Xu.

    Who owns the company, Shein?

    Shein is owned by a parent organization named Nanjing Lingtian Information Technology with four major shareholders named JAFCO Asia, IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital China, and Tiger Global Management.

    Why is Shein so successful?

    There are numerous reasons for Shein to be counted as a successful firm. Some of the factors responsible for making Shein successful are its effective marketing strategy, customer value, and brand model. Shein values customer satisfaction over profit and is in a give-and-take relationship with its influencers to advertise.

    Is Shein a profitable company?

    Shein does not provide many insights into its financial details. However, with the available information, one can easily estimate that Shein is a profitable company.

  • Zilingo Success Story – How is the Engineering the Future of Fashion?

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Zilingo.

    Like that of so many other sectors, fashion and apparel’s digital transition has advanced dramatically under COVID. This has influenced not just how people engage with brands and merchants, but also how the market runs within, including inventory management, prices, and logistics, as well as production and product design.

    A sector that has always (and continues to be) centred on the foundation of ideas, creative, and innovative expression is now incorporating more technology into the equation, implementing innovation to new levels.

    Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain. It was formed in 2015 to make an interconnected and accessible supply chain approachable to all.

    Here’s the success story of Zilingo that covers all about Zilingo, the Startup Story and Growth of Zilingo, Zilingo Competitors, Zilingo Revenue, Zilingo Business and Revenue Model, and more, you can check ahead!

    Zilingo – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Zilingo
    Parent Zilingo Pte Ltd
    Subsidiaries Zilingo Business
    Industry E-commerce
    Headquarter Singapore
    Founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor
    Founded 2015
    Key People Dhruv Kapoor (Chief Technology Officer), Jim Perry(Chief Financial Officer), Aadi Vaidya(Chief Operating Officer), Marita Abraham(Chief Marketing Officer)
    Areas Served Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the United States
    Website zilingotrade.com

    About Zilingo, and How it Works?
    Zilingo – Industry
    Zilingo – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Zilingo – Founders and Team
    Zilingo – Startup Story
    Zilingo – Mission
    Zilingo – Business and Revenue Model
    Zilingo – Funding, and Investors
    Zilingo – Acquisitions
    Zilingo – Growth
    Zilingo – Competitors
    Zilingo – Challenges Faced

    About Zilingo, and How it Works?

    Zilingo is a B2B platform that connects all parts of the fashion industry’s supply chain, from raw material suppliers to merchants to buyers. They offer a wide range of technical help, including data science, online platforms, and other virtual services, as well as company sourcing and finance.

    When a small localised store tries to move online or attract more people, they are confronted with several challenges. Funding, technologies, accessibility, and rivalry from more prominent, more established companies also impede them.

    Although their commodities may have unrealised potential on the global market, many merchants find it difficult to make a profit in that environment. When seeking to sell to a statewide or worldwide audience, small businesses sometimes have to go through multiple intermediaries and incur numerous costs. They are losing money because their margins are being stretched. Zilingo focuses on this problem, assisting small enterprises in receiving their due.

    Zilingo is a comprehensive, adaptable platform that helps small businesses increase efficiency and revenue. This service is available to merchants in a variety of nations and brings together a large number of producers and manufacturers.

    Simultaneously, the design, production, and other parts of the final product remain decentralised. Small vendors may be independent and true to their style without paying a listing fee, which Zilingo does not charge its manufacturing workers.

    Their varied staff, decentralised culture, technical innovation, and devotion to assisting smaller businesses set them apart from the competition. They offer a wide range of items obtained from many countries and providers, all of which are supported by this platform. This enables small companies to deal directly with a bigger market, such as brands or other clients, over the internet.

    Products of Zilingo

    Zilingo operates as a technology platform that is empowering the global supply chain. It provides innovative products and trade services to power brands, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, factories and more. Zilingo offers:

    Z Trade – This vertical helps Zilingo to extend the facilities of sourcing custom-made apparel, fabric, yarn and more.

    Zilingo Trade
    Zilingo Trade

    Z Factory – This Zilingo vertical helps Zilingo to let the factories optimise their operations.  

    Zilingo Factory
    Zilingo Factory

    Z Connect – Z Connect of Zilingo offers omnichannel, inventory management and marketing solutions as services.

    Zilingo Connect
    Zilingo Connect

    Zilingo Services

    Zilingo services are:

    Z Marketing – Zilingo offers marketing solutions to help brands maximise their sales. This is done by the in-house experts that Zilingo houses.

    Z Fintech – Z Fintech uses the transaction data to offer companies and individuals better access to capital for the growth of their businesses.

    Z Logistics – Zilingo offers the optimisation services of logistics costs and provides others with the facilities of flexible payments.  

    Zilingo – Industry

    From the development of the needle and thread to the emergence of e-commerce, fashion was always at the leading edge of innovation. Fashion, like technology, is forward-thinking and progressive.

    The fashion industry has been one of the world’s largest, with a market value of more than $3 trillion expected by the end of the decade. Fashion technology is evolving at a quicker rate than ever before. Fashion firms are working with technology suppliers, buying startups, and even developing their technologies to expand their streams of income and marketing strategies.  

    Similarly, the sector is re-evaluating operations across the supply chain in a drive to reinvent itself as it confronts a long-overdue confrontation with its social and environmental consequences.

    With organisations and businesses growing into new sectors of the fashion business, there is a clear trend toward adopting technology to improve the consumer experience. New fibres and mixes are emerging as manufacturing methods improve, allowing for greater product diversification. The fashion industry’s retail sector is putting a lot of emphasis on making the consumer’s buying experience easier and more enjoyable.

    Collaborations are resulting in fascinating new goods by combining the talents of several sectors to develop something efficient and innovative. With a constant stream of new and interesting propelling the fashion industry forward, these unlimited possibilities have more room to grow.

    Zilingo – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded “Zilingo” in 2015, the name being a spin on the term “zillion,” which also means ‘Gift of god.’ Bose got the idea for Zilingo while on vacation in Bangkok and realised that many SMEs lacked an online footprint. Dependability, freshness, and expressivity are all symbolised by the word Zilingo.

    Zilingo Logo
    Zilingo Logo

    Zilingo’s tagline says, “Dare to be Bold”.

    Zilingo – Founders and Team

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor - Founders of Zilingo
    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor – Founders of Zilingo

    Ankiti Bose

    Before establishing Zilingo, Ankiti spent three years in management consulting and venture capital at Sequoia Capital and McKinsey & Company. She focused on digital commerce possibilities on digital devices at Sequoia. She worked on strategy and operations in a variety of sectors at McKinsey & Company.

    Ankiti graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai with a Bachelor of arts degree in Maths and Economics. Ankiti adds a wealth of experience and expertise in the mobile e-commerce market to Zilingo.

    She takes a hands-on, analytical approach to operations and strategy decisions, and she was heavily involved in all the elements of strategic and operational decision-making of the company. She was the CEO of the company before she was ousted from her role in April 2022. Ankiti Bose was associated with financial irregularities of the company and was eventually suspended from her duties for 51 days, and after this suspensation, she was finally terminated.

    Ankiti Bose again has quit the Zilingo board, as of June 30, 2022. She has stated the same from her Instagram handle, adding that the board even failed to show her the reports from Kroll and Deloitte. The firing of Ankiti Bose from the CEO position and this resignation that she brought in to quit the Zilingo board, has two faces. Here, while the board is citing financial irregularities under Bose, Ankiti has brought up harassment complaints to the investors and claims that these were the reasons that changed the board’s mind against her. However, the Zilingo board denied all the allegations of any wrongdoings whatsoever.

    Dhruv Kapoor

    Dhruv Kapoor is an IIT Guwahati alumnus and is known as the CTPO of Zilingo. He worked at the gaming company Kiwi Inc., as a software engineer, before joining Zilingo. Kapoor was a Software Engineer at Yahoo before that.

    Aadi Vaidya, the Zilingo COO, quit Zilingo after 7 years of being with the firm, as of July 30, 2022. Along with talking highly of his tenure with the company, where he learned too many things to sum up in words, Vaidya stated that he is geared up to meet with interesting people, read, travel and re-prioritise. Aadi is now looking to embrace his next adventure.

    The resignation of Aadi comes after Ankiti was separated from the firm in May 2022, and Ramesh Bafna, the CFO of Zilingo, stepped down in the same month. Besides, Naushaba Salahuddin, the head of PR and communications, also quit the beleaguered company in the meanwhile.

    The employee strength of Zilingo now ranges between 201-500 employees, as per its LinkedIn profile.

    Zilingo Shareholders

    Zilingo Shareholding Pattern - Zilingo Shareholders
    Zilingo Shareholding Pattern – Zilingo Shareholders

    Zilingo – Startup Story

    Ankiti was once on a vacation trip to Bangkok with her pals. The majority of the sellers at Thailand’s Chatuchak market came from distant communities miles away. They were unable to market their products on the internet. The main reason is that they lack both technical and economic expertise.

    She chose to do business in Thailand because it could benefit over 8000 small businesses there. She founded Zilingo, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular online platforms. By developing the right customers throughout the world, particularly merchants, obtain larger advantages in their product range.

    Ankiti earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai in 2012. In 2014, Ankiti met Dhruv Kapoor during a house party. They shared the same talents and abilities, as well as the desire to establish a business by permitting a more inventive technique.

    Dhruv worked as a software developer for a well-known gaming firm, while Ankiti worked as an analyst for Sequoia India. During the party, Ankiti and Dhruv established a deal that allowed the two of them to leave their jobs and start their own business. Both of them quit their jobs within four months to work on Zilingo, a fashion e-commerce technology company.

    Two of them put their resources and savings of around $30,000 into the Zilingo startup concept. The Sequoia company also put money into Zilingo. With its innovative and open-minded founders, Zilingo has had more success. Eventually, Ankiti became the CEO, and Dhruv the CTPO of the company.

    Zilingo – Mission

    Zilingo’s mission is “to provide a platform where thousands of fashion merchants could sell and become part of the digital economy.”

    Zilingo – Business and Revenue Model

    On the back of its robust business model, Zilingo had geared to revolutionize the clothing and accessories industry by assisting small firms in bypassing intermediaries on their journey to a massive internet market. It decided to provide traders with an end-to-end cloud-based platform that not only connected but also provided technical and financial assistance to numerous independent participants.

    The company operates as a B2B platform in the fashion industry that offers small businesses the resources, networking, financial, and technical help they need to interact with other small businesses and their larger client base. To grow their firm, a small retailer or designer can now acquire raw materials from suppliers, manufacturers, and even tech help.

    Zilingo has raised over $347 million in funding and had almost closed in terms of valuation to become one of the Indian unicorn companies, but that didn’t happen ultimately. However, it aspires to become a big player in fashion by building symbiotic connections with small merchants and enterprises since they are committed to enabling small firms in the sector. It wants to become a platform that enables small brands to band together and continue growing, in rivalry with multinational companies.

    The Zilingo revenue model primarily depends on the business-to-business operations that Zilingo does, of matching brands with suppliers. In 2019, the same operations successfully contributed to 80% of the revenues that Zilingo received.  


    How to Market Your Products on Meesho?
    Want to become a reseller and sell on Meesho? Here’s a step-by-step process to promote your products and tips to Improve sales on Meesho.


    Zilingo – Funding, and Investors

    Zilingo has received 7 funding rounds in total as of June 20, 2022, which might receive yet another funding round worth around $8 mn in equity in tranches to prevent the voluntary liquidation of the company, as stated by the letter that the founders of the company have forwarded the board, according to reports dated June 20, 2022.  

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Jul 1, 2021 Debt Financing $40M
    Dec 5, 2019 Venture Round
    Feb 11, 2019 Series D $226M Sequoia Capital India
    Apr 4, 2018 Series C $54M Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital India, Sofina
    Sep 12, 2017 Series B $18M Burda Principal Investments, Sequoia Capital
    Sep 5, 2016 Series A $8M Sequoia Capital, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Venture Capital
    Nov 9, 2015 Seed Round $1.9M

    Zilingo – Acquisitions

    Acquiree Name About Acquiree Date Amount
    nCinga nCinga is offer an all-encompassing solution for the apparel, manufacturing and telecommunication industries. Dec 17, 2019 $15.5M

    Zilingo – Growth

    Zilingo has achieved quite a growth since it started. The company has powered innovation for 20,000+ companies worldwide. It even chased the unicorn valuation and reached $970 mn in net worth before the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. The customers of Zilingo include reputed brands like Flipkart, FirstCry, Myntra, Wrogn, Nykaa, Aditya Birla Group, Radnik, Dressmen, Redwolf and more. Zilingo went from being a company that was all set to raise millions of dollars to one that needs to fight for its survival. Remarking on the same, Ankiti Bose, the Former Founder, CEO, and Board member, said “hundreds of employees and customers are also in a state of limbo and do not have any clarity on their future: just like me.”  

    Numerous media reports stated that the Zilingo company is all set to liquidate in order to pay its creditors off, while Bose has opposed this decision of the board, mentioning that would result in unsettling numerous employees.

    Zilingo – Competitors

    The top Zilingo competitors include:

    • deco network
    • Zalora
    • BlueCherry Suite
    • RLM Apparel Software
    • Printavo
    • ApparelMagic
    • SupplyCompass
    • Sync
    • TRIMIT Fashion

    Shein Success Story – Founder, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding and More
    Shein is a fashion brand founded by Chris Xu in 2008. Take a look at the business model, revenue model, startup story, funding and more.


    Zilingo – Challenges Faced

    Zilingo’s issues began with disorganized management and a lack of transparency in expenditures and quickly escalated into a violent ideological battle between founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, which risked swallowing the company whole.

    Lack of Proper Software

    In the early days, the capital-intensive B2C vertical and the lack of a software platform for B2B operations led to overpaying on marketing, staff committing fraud, and more.

    The Covid-19 Onslaught

    Zilingo was once a company that was a soonicorn, the value of which neared $970 bn in 2019. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues started dipping and layoffs followed. The revenues dropped to 1/3rd of what it was prior to the pandemic period, which was roughly estimated at around $40 mn. Even the Former Co-founder-CEO, Ankiti Bose also took a 30% pay cut as a result.

    Ankiti Bose is believed to have taken legal action against co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and is attempting to purchase back Sequoia’s 26% stake in the firm, notwithstanding her suspension.

    Ankiti Bose and Sequoia’s Shailendra Singh had a personal spat about the direction of the business, capital burn, and the absence of a route to revenue gains, all stemming from the company’s concentration on a rapid expansion that began in 2018. And that unfolded as conflicts between Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, the other co-founder, grew.

    There have also been claims that Kapoor and other top workers at the business concealed sexual harassment reports. Bose is reportedly considering suing Kapoor as well as buying back Sequoia’s investment in the firm.

    It was more like a jigsaw puzzle, with concepts and tactics that lacked practical vision and preparation. In the early years, the digital platform was mostly absent, and Zilingo burned through millions of dollars marketing and promoting the B2C fashion vertical. Founders argued over various ideas and even alleged practises of sexual harassment in the workplace throughout all of this. But now the case against Zilingo is that he committed deliberate fraud. At least, that’s what the board says, but we don’t know what the fraud was, how it happened, or how it escaped the notice of the board and key VCs like Sequoia, Burda, Temasek, Beenext, and others.

    The Zilingo board was already looking forward to a voluntary liquidation of the company, but the founders Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor have joined hands to make a management buyout offer of the company, as per reports dated June 20, 2022. The letter that was issued by the Co-founder and CTPO of Zilingo Dhruv Kapoor, mentioned that the new investor will infuse $8 mn in equity in tranches. According to this new offer, if the deal comes through, “pursuant to Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring, and Dissolution Act, Zilingo will be transferred to the ownership of a newly incorporated entity.”

    A look at how the events unfolded and the firing of the company CEO and Co-founder Ankiti Bose

    If you are wondering how Ankiti Bose was fired all of a sudden, then here’s a look at all the events that happened and led to the eventual firing of the Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose:

    April 12, 2022 – Ziling shareholders discovered financial irregularities and suspended Ankiti Bose until May 5th. Bose was first called to a meeting dated March 31st, 2022, and was briefed about serious complaints against her, and all about financial discrepancies and mismanagement. Bose, in turn, called the company’s actions a “witch hunt”.

    April 14, 2022 – Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital MD stepped down.

    April 19, 2022 – Zilingo Board discussed replacing Ankiti Bose, and talks of the company CFO Ramesh Bafna to be elevated as the CEO circulated.

    May 4, 2022 – The Zilingo Board appointed Deloitte to launch a probe after Ankiti Bose claimed that sexual harassment was an issue after she was suspended. Dhruv Kapoor also penned a note to the employees where he defended the company.

    May 20, 2022 – Zilingo fired Ankiti Bose, and stated that it can also take legal action against her.  

    FAQs

    What does Zilingo do?

    Zilingo is a B2B technology platform that provides innovative manufacturing, sourcing, and trading technologies to the global clothing distribution chain.

    Who founded Zilingo?

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    When was Zilingo founded?

    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015.

    Is Ankiti Bose still the CEO of Zilingo?

    The former CEO-Co-founder, Ankiti Bose was fired by Zilingo on May 20, 2022. So, she is no longer the CEO of Zilingo.

    Why was Ankiti Bose fired by Zilingo?

    Ankiti Bose was sacked by Zilingo board because of financial irregularities noticed in the company in relation to Ankiti Bose.

    What are the Zilingo competitors?

    The main Zilingo competitors are:

    • deco network
    • Zalora
    • BlueCherry Suite
    • RLM Apparel Software
    • Printavo
    • ApparelMagic
    • SupplyCompass
    • Sync
    • TRIMIT Fashion
  • How K-Pop Became a Huge Part of the Korean Economy?

    Music is a cultural aspect of all human societies that is universal.  It plays a key role in all social activities.  Be it religious rituals, rite of passage ceremonies, weddings or community choirs, music brings everyone together in celebration.  Music is widely created, much like literature and visual art.

    The modern western world defines music broadly – an all-encompassing term to describe diverse style and genres.  Music is fluid – in that it keeps changing and evolving.  In the 21st century, music is helped by technological advances including the development of isomorphic keyboards and dynamic tonality

    What is K-Pop?
    Modern K-Pop Culture
    K-Pop’s Effect on South-Korean Economy
    Distinctive Features of K-Pop
    How K-Pop Went International?
    Growth of K-Pop
    Some Top Names of K-Pop Music

    What is K-Pop?

    K-Pop is an abbreviation that stands for Korean Popular music. It originated in South Korea in the 1950s and is the mainstream music of the region, commonly known as K-Pop.  To understand it easily, a comparison can be drawn to what Taylor Swift is in the United States.

    Part of the South Korean culture, K-Pop includes styles and genres from across the world – pop, hip hop, rock, jazz, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, classical and many more as part of its traditional musical roots.

    Previously, South Korean music was called gayo. It was only in the 2000s that the term K-Pop became popular. It is a term that is often used to describe Korean music and artists associated with the entertainment and idol industry of the country. American pop music culture has especially had and continues to have an effect on K-pop.

    Modern K-Pop Culture

    K-Pop Band - Seo Taiji
    K-Pop Band – Seo Taiji

    The hip-hop boy band Seo Taiji made the contemporary form of the K-pop genre in 1992. They were active in the mid-1990s. Their experimentation with different genres and styles of music as well as integration of foreign musical elements modernised and reshaped the country’s contemporary music scene. They were the pioneers of integrating rap into K-Pop music.

    This led to the formation of some of the most popular pop groups in the Korean music industry. SM Entertainment was established in 1995, JYP Entertainment in 1997 and YG Entertainment in 1998.

    The year 1996 also saw the first ever K-Pop group in existence which was H.O.T. This was the group that started the K-Pop culture that is prevalent and followed even today. With the emergence of BoA and TVXQ in 2003, K-Pop’s popularity soared.

    K-Pop’s Effect on South-Korean Economy

    Hallyu – meaning the Korean Wave – is a large influx of South Korean music, movies and TV shows into the western world. The speed at which its popularity has grown, especially K-Pop music, helped generate a large amount for the South Korean economy.  This helped relieve the stress that the economy was under during the 1997 Asian Financial crisis.

    The world-famous song ‘Gangnam Style’ by the South-Korean artist Psy, generated approximately USD 8 million in YouTube revenues on its release in 2012.

    The seven-member K-Pop group BTS took the world by storm with their music gaining USD 4.9 billion for the South-Korean economy. The high point was with the release of BTS’s all-English song ‘Dynamite’ which topped the Billboard Global chart for 18 weeks and generated USD 1.43 billion.  

    The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Culture and tourism conducted a joint study that showed the revenue generated by BTS’s hit song would be able to provide approximately 8000 jobs during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This revenue was then utilized to bring these jobs to fruition.

    The Hallyu in its totality has helped boost the South Korean economy by developing exports to the tune of USD 9.48 billion. K-Pop merchandise, in particular, made a significant addition to this number by raising revenue to the tune of USD 114.5 million.

    K-Pop has also created advertisements to generate revenue for the country’s economy. The better-known endorsement was between Korean Air (South Korea’s National Airline) and the K-Pop group SuperM.

    A group of 7 members, SuperM created a futuristic safety video that provided information on the safety feature of the Aircraft, alongside an original song and choreography that was specifically created for the video. This helped boost the national airline’s business and in 2020 Korean Air’s revenue stood at USD 11.2 billion.

    Tourism and Culture are the key focus of the South Korean economy. It is highly endorsed by K-Pop groups and idols. Music and Tourism work in tandem to bring money into the South Korean Economy.

    Distinctive Features of K-Pop

    Generally, an umbrella term encompassing all music from South Korea, K-Pop has some unique and distinctive features and characteristics that define the music style.

    Fashion Influencers

    The K-Pop idols are known for their colourful and stylish clothing. Their wardrobe ranges from street-type clothing to elegant wear to themed clothing. Many K-Pop idols are fashion influencers driving current trends, particularly the younger generation.

    Hybrid Sounds

    K-pop includes music and musical instruments from various cultures within its structure of music.  It blends traditional Korean music with western influences like jazz, rock, hip hop, etc.

    Systematic Training

    Aspiring K-Pop idols are selected for intensive live-in training programmes by entertainment agencies. They receive training in media, choreography, vocal coaching and practising live performances. They are placed into various groups depending on their unique style of personalities, voices and performance skills. Sometimes, the trainees can be in these programmes for a few years honing their skills while they wait to be placed in groups.

    Groups

    K-Pop groups usually consist of at least 7 members. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. They generally are in numbers in a group so that K-Pop fans have a variety of idols to choose from.

    Choreography Excellence

    Dance routines are a critical and significant part of every K-Pop group. Choreographers work extensively with the groups to create unique routines, that are sometimes repetitive, to complement each song. These motions are created repetitively to appeal to a large fan base.

    Popularity of K-Pop Worldwide
    Popularity of K-Pop Worldwide

    How K-Pop Went International?

    In the early 2000s, bands like BoA and TVXQ started a new generation of K-Pop idols that made this music genre popular in the neighbouring Japanese market and continued to grow from there.  

    With the advent and help of social media and networking, K-Pop music spread rapidly and gained fans internationally not only in Asia but Latin America, North Africa, South and East Africa, the Middle East and throughout the Western world. In 2012, Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ hit the radios all around the world and K-Pop emerged as a popular style of music.

    The last decade has seen K-Pop’s fame and recognition rise significantly, especially with mainstream western audiences. This has largely been due to the massive success of bands like BTS (BangTan Boys), a popular boy band that was formed in 2010 and Blackpink.

    BTS and BlackPink
    BTS and BlackPink

    These bands have continuously given chartbuster songs. In fact, in 2017, BTS was the first group in the genre to perform at the American Music Awards.

    This stage introduced them to millions of western viewers. They continue to ride on their success with the release of their first-ever English-language single called ‘Dynamite’.  It topped the charts in 2020 after its release.

    Growth of K-Pop

    The year 2018 saw significant growth in the revenue of K-Pop. It reached a 17.9% in revenue growth and continued its climb by reaching a 44.8% revenue growth in 2020 positioning itself as the fastest growing market of the year.

    According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry’s ‘Global Music Report’ of 2019, Korean Popular Music was ranked six among the top ten music markets worldwide. BTS and Blackpink were the artists that were leading this market growth.

    Some Top Names of K-Pop Music

    It is not uncommon for artists to perform as a group for about a decade and then move on to establish solo careers. However, some groups are long-lasting and successful. These groups vary in their music styles, genre, number of group members or even image. The one thing they have in common is great music accompanied by great dance and performance.

    Some of the famous K-Pop names in the industry are BTS, Blackpink, Twice, Red Velvet, iKon and Seventeen. There are even solo K-Pop artists who have made a name for themselves like Taeyeon, BoA, IU, Taemin and Jay Park. There are many more groups and solo artists that are known for their music and performances.

    South Korea’s popular music is garnering their government’s support as the government also reaps economic benefits from the popularity of K-Pop. The government is now applying cultural diplomacy as soft power. Whatever is said and done, music brings everyone together. And K-Pop example is a great showcase for that truth. K-pop has contributed over $5 billion to Korean GDP, making it one of the big parts of the country.

    FAQs

    How much does K-pop contribute to the Korean economy?

    K-Pop helped boost the Korean economy by $9.48 billion in 2018 and $12.3 billion in 2019.

    How did BTS help South Korea?

    BTS contributed about $3.6 billion to the South Korean economy.

    How does BTS contribute to the Korean economy?

    BTS contributed to Korea’s economy during the pandemic when the concerts of the famous band were still going on.

  • Flyrobe Business Model: How Does Flyrobe Make Money?

    Indians never fail to amuse themselves with their traditional attire, especially in ethnic wear on occasions or events. On the other hand, wearing such clothes costs like anything in this world, even if you are wearing them for one day or keeping them permanently.

    That’s why Flyrobe has made a favourable store by conferring rental dresses at affordable prices. Besides that, customers can buy the products by paying the full settlement.

    Flyrobe – About
    Flyrobe – Products and Services
    Flyrobe – Target Audience
    Flyrobe – Business Model
    What Is Unique About Flyrobe’s Business Model?
    How Does Flyrobe Make Money?

    Flyrobe – About

    Flyrobe is an online rental clothing company for men and women. Instead of owning a one lakh dress for a one-day occasion, renting it at an affordable rate would do wonders. Flyrobe sells handmade ethnic wear of the RIB brand and charges fare only on the rental dresses but they ask you to pay extra if you exceed the specified due date.

    On the other note, there are no delivery fees or transportation charges and also the company grants one more expedient to the customers where the required product delivers within 3 hours.

    Notably, Flyrobe is an online clothing portal that sells as well as rents western attire, ethnic, accessories, designers, and men’s and women’s collections which was launched in 2015 by Pranay Surana, Tushar Saxena, and Shreya Mishra.

    Currently, the business is planning to open 30  branches in different cities to dilate their services in the country. The company is operating in 10 major cities in India and has two offline stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Delhi.

    Flyrobe – Products and Services

    Flyrobe is known for its Ethnic attire, which is made by its handcrafted RIB brand. Subsidiarily, The company sells branded clothes such as Zara, Armani, GLITZ, Sabyasachi, DIOR, etc. to the customers.

    Flyrobe also sells designer collections, and accessories like sunglasses, bracelets, rings, and chains. Furthermore, Flyrobe offers party dresses, lehengas, sherwani, tuxedos, and other branded collections.

    Flyrobe Website
    Flyrobe Website

    Flyrobe comes up amazingly with its new arrivals of handcrafted dresses which are given as rentals at a reasonable price. In case you are buying such dresses from Flyrobe, it is said that it costs an arm and a leg.

    The store also touts celebrities’ look outfits and renowned designer’s outfits, whereas Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Singha, Parineeti Chopra, and others have played a part in the growth of Flyrobe.

    Flyrobe – Target Audience

    Every woman admires herself when it comes to traditional wear, so it is highly recommended for the age group 20 to 40 years, who love to wear ethnic attire to any occasion to amuse others with their classy look. So Flyrobe targets women majorly by selling or renting women’s collections at a pragmatic price.

    Flyrobe – Business Model

    Unlike other clothing companies, Flyrobe renders their clothes in rental to the customers at a cheaper rate. They rent the on-demand product for a four to eight days period and charge no delivery fees. But if the specified rental period became due, then the customers are asked to send an email to the company in requisition for the dilatory.

    It is saddening when one buys an expensive dress for 50 thousand rupees but wears it only for a one-day event. That’s why Flyrobe sounds good when expensive clothes are available for rent at an affordable rate to the customers for 4 to 8 days without delivery charges.

    What Is Unique About Flyrobe’s Business Model?

    Being on top of its game, Flyrobe uses unique ideas that make them stand apart from its competitors. Some of the ideas used by Flyrobe are:

    No delivery charges

    Flyrobe provides an excellent service to its customers by way of free pick up and delivery to the address provided by the customer. This is one of the few reasons why Flyrobe is popular among its competitors and customers likewise. The delivery of western clothing within 3 hours with no pickup and delivery charges was coveted by the customers of Flyrobe.

    Services offered in 16 major cities

    Flyrobe offers its service in 16 major Indian cities: Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Agra.

    Rented outfits at a cheap price

    The very reason why Flyrobe is favored is because of renting good quality ethnic and western wear at a cheap price affordable to people. This allows people who would want a lehenga for a 3-day function to not spend a fortune on buying a lehenga but also wear one that makes a statement.

    Offers a wide range of clothing from top designers

    Who wouldn’t love wearing a lehenga from the maker of Anushka Sharma’s wedding lehenga and not having to sell their kidney in the process? Flyrobe offers ethnic and western clothing from top designers like Sabyasachi, Zara, Armani GLITZ, Dior, etc. to its customers and has multiple partnerships with several agencies and designers.

    Online and In-store presence

    Flyrobe’s online reputation across 16 Indian cities at a reasonable rate of rent for a minimum of four days has customers crowding their site. Customers who want to make alterations to the dress can visit their stores and get a fitting done for no cost.

    How Does Flyrobe Make Money?

    Flyrobe is gaining much recognition with different types of audiences favouring its concept. Flyrobe makes money in more than one pattern. The majority of the revenue collected by Flyrobe comes from its online sales. As per its founders, 65% of revenue is collected from its online sales.

    Apart from that, Flyrobe charges a commission from its sellers on each successful renting and purchase. There is also the option of a subscription plan available for its users which provides additional benefits to the user.

    On the other hand, Flyrobe charges a fixed amount from then in return for the subscription model. Flyrobe also earns its revenue from the advertisements provided on its platform.


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    Conclusion

    Flyrobe’s unique idea created an industry that is thriving and profitable. It is well received among those people who would love to wear high-end fashionable ethnic wear to marriages and functions as these are celebrated as grand festivities in India but can’t afford to purchase them for a one-time affair.

    And the ability to wear International branded western wear for rent is an option that is positively tempting to those who love fashion. The largest rental platform’s presence in 16 major cities in India and the offline stores only help in increasing the reach of Flyrobe among masses of people who are planning a budget wedding dress.    

    FAQs

    What is Flyrobe?

    Flyrobe is a startup focused on fashion-based products which allow them to be rented and purchased. Majorly, it is an apparel-based renting platform.

    Who started Flyrobe?

    Flyrobe was started by Shreya Mishra, Tushar Saxena, and Pranay Surana in 2015.

    Can I rent my clothes on Flyrobe?

    Yes, Flyrobe allows easy renting of individuals’ clothes on its platform. One can easily rent their clothes on Flyrobe until and unless the dress meets all the eligibility criteria of the startup.

    Is Flyrobe Profitable?

    Flyrobe is a profitable business as its revenue collection has been noted to have significant growth over the years.