This article has been contributed byPragya Priyali, Founder and Creative Director, Unrush.
Starting a business is exhilarating. The idea, the passion, the drive—it all fuels the early days. But when you’re bootstrapping, meaning you’re building with limited external financial support, sustainability becomes the real game-changer. Many founders dive in headfirst, hoping things will work out.
However, without a clear roadmap, they often find themselves lost, overwhelmed, or worse—out of cash. Having built my own direct-to-consumer (D2C) fashion brand from the ground up, I’ve learned firsthand what it takes to create a sustainable business while managing a tight budget. Here are the key principles that have guided my journey.
1. Plan for the Long Haul
Before anything else, map out a 3-4 year financial plan. This isn’t just about setting goals; it’s about understanding when your business will become cash-positive and how much capital you’ll need to reach each stage of growth. Consider best-case and worst-case scenarios—aim for the best, but prepare for the worst.
It’s tempting to dive in and figure things out along the way, but trust me, flying blind is a recipe for stress and failure. Without a plan, you won’t know if you’re performing well or struggling, how long it will take to become profitable, or where you’re losing money. I’ve seen too many founders burn out simply because they had no sense of where they stood against their ambitions.
Your plan will also help you decide whether the scale of business you can realistically achieve with your available resources is worth pursuing. In many cases, founders realize early on that the numbers don’t add up, saving themselves time, money, and heartache.
2. Nail Your Unit Economics from Day One
From the beginning, you need to be crystal clear on how your business will be profitable. What’s your competitive advantage? Will you differentiate through product innovation, marketing efficiency, or supply chain mastery? Standing out in today’s crowded market is not optional—it’s survival.
Your pricing strategy is crucial. Are you playing a mass-market game with low margins, or are you building a niche brand with higher margins? Either way, every item you sell must generate profit. Too many businesses chase vanity metrics like revenue growth without ensuring that each sale contributes positively to their bottom line. A brand that bleeds money on every transaction is just a ticking time bomb.
As a small brand, you can’t rely solely on performance marketing forever. In the early days, you may need to allocate 90% of your marketing budget to paid ads, but that’s not sustainable long-term. Quality products create loyal customers, reducing your dependence on paid acquisition over time.
When customers return because they love your products, your cost of customer acquisition drops. Eventually, your marketing mix should shift toward organic growth, referrals, and community-driven efforts, bringing down paid marketing spends to 60% or lower. The alternative? A vicious cycle where you constantly burn cash on performance marketing to drive revenue, until you run out of money and the business collapses.
4. Don’t Chase Valuations—Chase Profitability
The startup world glamorizes billion-dollar valuations, but if you’re bootstrapping, forget about impressing investors and focus on business fundamentals. Scaling through relentless spending is easy—anyone can do it. But what happens when the money dries up?
Even if you plan to raise funds later, your business must be built on strong financial principles. Investors look for businesses with solid unit economics, a clear path to profitability, and sustainable growth strategies. But here’s the kicker: if you build your business the right way from the start, you might never need funding at all.
5. Choose Your Partners Wisely
Early on, you may not have the budget to hire top-tier talent full-time, and that’s okay. Instead of settling for subpar hires, consider working with high-quality agencies and freelancers who bring expertise and flexibility.
The quality of your brand is directly tied to the people working on it. Cutting corners on talent may seem like a cost-saving move, but it often leads to expensive mistakes down the line. Be strategic with your hiring and partnerships—invest where it truly matters.
6. You Can’t Do Everything Yourself
As a founder, it’s natural to want control over every aspect of your business. But you are not a superhero, nor do you need to be an expert in everything. Your time is best spent on big-picture strategy, innovation, and growth—not micromanaging every detail.
Surround yourself with partners and team members who excel in their areas, allowing you to focus on what truly moves the needle. Learning to delegate is one of the most valuable skills a founder can develop.
The Bottom Line
Building a sustainable business on a bootstrapped budget is not easy, but it’s absolutely possible. It requires meticulous planning, financial discipline, a strong focus on product quality, and the ability to scale efficiently. By staying grounded in solid business principles rather than chasing external validation, you can create a brand that thrives, not just survives.
If you’re starting your journey, remember: sustainability isn’t just about the environment—it’s about building a business that lasts. And that’s the real win.
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)
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
This article is contributed by Karam Suri, Founder of Dusk Attire.
The digital age is a widely used term across the globe for quite a long time now. Be it, toddlers or elders, everyone is hooked to social media and digital platforms for their personal reasons. Be it business or entertainment, digital platforms have something for everyone. From starting a home-based baking business to launching an online fashion brand to just watching your favorite shows, these platforms cater to everyone’s needs.
Every time someone steps into the business world, they have a bigger picture in mind and strive day in and day out to make their dreams a reality. Something as trivial as essentials to luxury items, everything is attached to a brand name. Such is the influence of these brand names on our minds that it becomes unsettling if we don’t get the items from our desired brands.
There are thousands of fashion brands in India, some selling similar products whereas others have created a niche for themselves. The competition is so high that some brands disappear into thin air, and some stand the test of time and go on for generations. Everyone starts from small. A small establishment in a busy market, a small counter in a flea market, a small home-run business, or a small brand launch operating only online. Each individual(s) starts from somewhere and how well are they able to market their brand is what the success of the brand depends on.
Fashion startups start small, catering to their known circle in the initial stage. Gradually, word of mouth helps and they either launch their brand online or locally and nationally at various fleas and exhibitions. Moving on, if the finances allow, they might be opening a stand-alone store or putting up their outfits at multi-designer stores. In order to do all these things, marketing plays a huge role.
Building a brand requires marketing as much as passion and dedication to rise above just being a startup. Social media is the place to be if you want things to go viral. It will help you create the right kind of buzz to tap into the target audience. There are numerous ways to leverage the power of social media to your benefit. Marketing gimmicks depend on how creatively enabled a person is. There is truly no end to this. The basic idea like making a brand page and posting about the brand and outfits on the feed and stories worked for everyone initially. It still works as your customers have to be updated with what the new launches are, what the brand is doing if there is anything out of the box happening with the brand, or just a regular update of what’s taking place on a day to day basis. Another thing that helps fashion startups turn themselves into a brand is investing in influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is the way forward if you want to rise from the ground level, reach a wider mass and turn yourself into a brand. In Layman’s terms, you get a known or popular face on board to market your brand’s product(s), they reach out to their followers by putting it up on their stories, or social media feed or endorse the brand as a whole and influence their followers. This helps in tapping onto a larger mass and increasing the clientele. It automatically drives up the sales and eventually, the brand starts getting famous. A short-term influencer marketing plan has the possibility of running into a long-term commitment if the brand sees desired results. The shift change of an influencer marketer to being a brand ambassador can be beneficial to both the brand and influencer. The possibilities are endless, it is all about the action plan and how well you can execute it.
Speaking about fashion startups rising to being brands, Karam Suri, Co-Founder of Dusk Attire, says, “Today’s generation is extremely conscious about what they are buying. Trendy and versatile outfits are usually the popular choice as they can be worn at various occasions. Elegance is the word everyone is focused on. Be it party wear or loungewear, people want to pick the best of everything. When the demand is clear, brands should step up and cater to them in the best possible way. It is true that influencer marketing is essential and it is definitely the way forward, as the customers connect to the known faces faster than a random marketing advertisement.”
Karam Suri further says, “At Dusk Attire we aim to fulfill everyone’s wishes of owning trendy loungewear. This pandemic gave us a huge lesson in comfortable clothing too. We aim to cater to the same demand and stay true to the name, all our collections are apt for the street to sheets whilst keeping excellent craftsmanship and comfort as a priority.
No business is run on a 100% success module. The risk is always high, but the determination to keep pushing yourself towards the goal of establishing your startup as a brand is what makes the difference. Numerous marketing tools are at your disposal, use them wisely, and see how things start falling in place. As much as age-old techniques of word of mouth marketing and advertisements help, in today’s time investing in proper marketing options like celebrity gifting, influencer marketing, and social media marketing, to name a few will help equally. And once your audience connects with the brand, it becomes a responsibility to maintain that bond and make sure you are the first choice for your customers.
Draw inspiration from the brands whose names are synonyms to the products. Yes, you read that write. Such is the impact of a strong brand like Cadbury that today nine out of ten people who go to local shops to buy chocolates, directly say Cadbury when in reality they might want some other chocolate. This is when you know you have established yourself as a brand and etched an image in people’s minds when the name of the brand becomes the product’s name.
Company Profile is an initiative by Startup Talky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Chanel.
The growing appetite for the fashion industry has never settled since the late 1800s. Reports claim that it was the time when the seeds for fashion shows and other fashion events were sowed. Despite all the hardships that unfolded during the early and mid-1900s, the fashion industry continued its uphill path. The industry today is valued at $3 trillion and accounts for 2% of global GDP.
Chanel is one such luxury fashion company that was established over 100 years ago. Started as a small millinery shop by a fashion designer in 1909, Chanel today has expanded its operation worldwide and has over 20,000 employees. This article covers the success story of Chanel, its founders, competitors and every aspect of this establishment.
Chanel is a luxury fashion brand that was founded by Coco Chanel in 1910. The company was based in France, whereinafter 110 years, the board has decided to shift their global headquarters to London. Chanel deals with luxury clothes, jewelry, perfumes and other fashion goods. This luxury brand mostly focuses on women’s outfits and accessories.
Chanel serves as a trend-setter in the fashion industry. Coco Chanel, as a fashion designer and a businesswoman, made sure that the elegance of her brand never fades despite world wars and geographical and environmental barriers. Besides the outfits, Chanel is known for its wine,watches, perfumes and skincare products too. The company today operates over 310 boutiques worldwide that are located in opulent communities like airports, extravagant stores, high streets, etc.
Chanel – Founders and Team
Founder of Chanel – Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
Chanel remains a privately held company owned by the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was a business partner with Coco Chanel. Here are the founder and other key people associated with Chanel:
Gabrielle Chanel (Coco Chanel)
Gabrielle Chanel was the founder of the luxury brand ‘Chanel’. ‘Coco’ was a nickname given to her during her time as a songstress. She was orphaned at a young age. Facing the world on her own since childhood gave her confidence and strength. Coco Chanel’s qualifications as a fashion designer and daring nature aspired her as a successful businesswoman.
Pierre Wertheimer
In 1924, Pierre Wertheimer joined hands with Coco Chanel as a business partner for 70% shares in the company. The agreement was that Wertheimer should finance the production and distribution of Chanel’s perfumes. Another person named Theophile Bader was given 20% shares for marketing the same in his departmental stores. Later, Coco Chanel had some disagreements with them and happened to file a lawsuit against Wertheimer. She lost complete control of the company to Wertheimers in 1954.
Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer
Alain and Gerard are currently the co-owners of Chanel. Alain serves as the chairman of Chanel and Gerard heads the division of Watch. They are the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer.
Leena Nair
Leena Nair is the Global CEO of the brand Chanel. She was appointed to this new role in January 2022. Leena Nair has earlier been a part of Unilever as its Chief Human Resource Officer. She is an Indian and was born and brought up in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
The story of Chanel began in 1910 when its founder Coco Chanel opened a hat store named ‘Chanel Modes’ in a flat in Paris. Etienne Balsan, who was a friend of Coco, helped her with his bachelor’s apartment. Arthur “Boy” Capel, the lover of Coco Chanel, funded her early business. He helped Coco to set up her own stores in Paris. This also helped her to expand the business from only hats to sportswear and other outfits for women. As the business started to grow Coco Chanel kept increasing the outlets and widened her focus on other products like perfumes and jewelry. Her love affairs and loyal friendships helped her succeed in her early stages of Chanel.
Chanel – Mission and Vision
Chanel has a mission “To be the Ultimate House of Luxury, defining style and creating desire, now and forever”. The company stood to its mission right from its inception. It created new styles and never compromised with its grandeur and opulence.
The vision of Chanel is to give worldly experience to the customers through its products that remain timeless. The wearer should enjoy a quality product with utmost comfort is the primary vision of the company.
Chanel – Name and Logo
Chanel logo
The name of the elegant brand ‘Chanel’ is derived from the founder’s name Coco Chanel. The logo of the company consists of two ‘C’s interlocking each other. This logo was designed by Coco Chanel herself in 1925. There are a couple of reasons being circulated for those two Cs. One reason unfolds is that the Cs stand for the name of its creator Coco Chanel. Another claims that one C represents Coco Chanel and the other stands for Capel (Arthur “Boy” Capel).
Chanel – Challenges Faced
As a century-old company, Chanel has faced numerous challenges throughout its journey. Within just four years of seeding the company and one year since it started sprouting, the First World War started. WW1 caused a huge difference in fashion, demand for clothes and scarcity of fabrics and employees. Even the manufacturing units were struck in warzones. This was the major setback faced initially by the company.
The next challenge arose during the Second World War. Chanel happened to close the doors of its outlets in 1939 following the war outbreak. The doors of Chanel remained closed for years. When she came back into the business in 1954, Coco Chanel and the company had lost their reputation due to her rumoured involvement in the war with Nazis. Also, it was challenging to cope with new generation designers which she eventually did in her 70s.
The death of Karl Lagerfeld, who was the creative director at Chanel since 1983, created a huge gap in the company’s creative department. His contribution to Chanel was priceless.
The Covid outbreak stumbled Chanel’s business to a great extent in 2020. The CFO of the company said that the Covid impact on the luxury fashion sector could last up to 2 years and the recovery might take some time.
Chanel – Acquisitions & Investments
Chanel has made several investments and acquisitions over the years. Here is the list of those companies that Chanel has invested in:
Company Name
Date of Acquisition/Investment
Investment Round
Amount
Arcaea
Oct 27, 2021
Series A
$78 Million
P2 Science
Jan 29, 202
Series C
$12 Million
Sulapac
Dec 11, 2019
Venture Round
€15 Million
Evolved By Nature
Jun 12, 2019
Corporate Round
–
Sulapac
Dec 7, 2018
Funding Round
–
Samanta
Jul 11, 2019
Acquisition
–
Orlebar Brown
Sep 30, 2018
Acquisition
–
Colomer Leather Group
Aug 31, 2018
Acquisition
–
Other than the above companies Chanel has acquired a 40% stake in Renato Corti and Mabi. Mabi is a high-end handbag manufacturer and Renato Corti is involved in the leather business. A 34% stake was procured in the lingerie and swimwear manufacturer Grandis. The overall investment had cost $169 Million for Chanel. The company also took over the majority stake in the Italian knitwear company Paima for an undisclosed amount.
Chanel – Growth
The growth of Chanel has been consistent and extraordinary. Despite all the hardships, like World Wars, the loss of its founder, the death of the creative director and many more, Chanel kept marching forward by enhancing its existing division and introducing new ones.
Starting an outlet in an apartment with the help of a friend in 1910, Coco Chanel opened an independent store in 1913. The hat business was extended to sportswear. The number of stores increased along with their product varieties. In 1920, Chanel started the stylish haute couture style of dressmaking. The year 1924 saw the introduction of Chanel’s costume jewelry and signature cardigan jackets followed by the popular Little Black Dress in 1926.
After a setback during WW2, Chanel came back strong with the introduction of gemstone jewelry and iconic handbags in 1954 and 1955 respectively. After Coco Chanel died in 1971, the company lacked a potential creator and designer. But in 1983, with the addition of Karl Lagerfeld, the Godfather of Fashion, Chanel’s innovation and growth were on an uphill phase. By 1990, Chanel became a popular global luxury fashion brand and still continues to be.
The following are some of the competitors of Chanel:
Gucci
Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion brand founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. It is one of the top competitors of Chanel. Gucci’s products and services have excellent quality and finish that has a great reception among customers. Though Gucci is 11 years younger than Chanel, they both almost stand beside each other in the competition.
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton, popularly known as LVMH, is another French luxury brand similar to Chanel. It was established in 1854 and is one of the leading fashion brands in the world. Louis Vuitton manufactures products for both men and women. The company has set benchmarks for the design and quality in the industry.
Prada
Prada was established in 1913 and is known for its leather products and travel and fashion accessories. The company markets its products through its 618 outlets spread across the world and also online. Prada is known for its quality, color and fabrics.
L’Oreal
L’Oreal is just a year older than Chanel and was incorporated in France. It is one of the largest cosmetics companies in the world. L’Oreal competes with Chanel through its perfumes and skincare products.
Chanel – Future Plans
Chanel is working towards giving its share of contribution against climate change. The chairman of the company. Alain Wertheimer said that the company is shifting plans to go green and use 100% renewable resources in their production by 2025. They have a strategy planned for this and named it Mission 1.5°.
Chanel has launched a program named ‘Chanel Culture Fund’ to encourage and support creators and artists across the world. This fund is supposed to help organizations and partnerships to conduct programs that promote culture and society. Chanel believes that this program will help them develop international partnerships, which in turn benefits their business.
FAQs
Who is the founder of Chanel?
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel is the founder of Chanel.
What business is Chanel involved in?
Chanel is a luxury fashion company that produces and sells ready-to-wear women’s clothes, perfumes, watches and skincare products.
Who is the CEO of Chanel?
Leena Nair has been appointed as the global CEO of Chanel in January 2022.
Right now the Fashion market mainly favours tiny fashion boutiques, new fashion designers, and dedicated outlets that make a personal style statement. It is clear that there is a lot of scope in this field.
Anyone who has ever owned or launched a business will attest that it requires time, study, and smart resource management. Long, hard hours and the funds needed to convert your vision into reality are a struggle that every new firm encounters. It’s no different when it comes to starting a fashion business. Here are the best five fashion startup ideas to help you get started with yours.
Here are the top 5 fashion business ideas to start a fashion startup in 2021.
Fashion Event Production Company
It’s not simple to put together a fashion show. Designers and models are consulted by fashion event producers, who may even train them.
Helping the designer with runway show casting and knowing how garments should be displayed on the body and how the models should hold themselves are part of being a fashion event producer.
Before starting this job, you need to have a basic understanding of fashion shows, work with creative individuals, and be adaptable enough to cope with a variety of personalities. The amount of money you can make is determined by the number of clients you have and how large they are. You won’t need workers or even an office to get started because the initial costs are low.
However, for your firm to be successful, you will need to conduct a lot of self-promotion. For this sort of employment, relationships and referrals are essential. Business cards, networking through industry websites, and user-friendly websites that display both an online and physical portfolio are all required.
Personal Styling Business
A personal stylist aids in the enhancement of a client’s image. Stylist services may be necessary for certain individuals before a significant occasion or even incorporated into daily life. A personal stylist’s responsibilities include hair, cosmetics, clothes, and anything connected to a client’s appearance.
This company is an important element of any community because it helps people succeed in an increasingly image-conscious environment.
Someone with prior expertise in fashion, hair care, cosmetics, or a similar industry is perfect for a personal styling business. While no formal training is necessary, having a network of potential clients may be quite beneficial in getting your business started.
Fashionistas with prior experience in sectors such as radio, cosmetics, or public relations will usually have an advantage. You’ll also need good communication skills and a desire to work one-on-one with folks. While many individuals may be interested in your services, young professionals will be the primary market.
These are up-and-coming individuals for whom the image may be a determining factor in both their career and romantic goals. You have the option of billing your clients by the hour or by the session.
Plus-size Clothing Startup
Opening a plus-size clothes store may be a terrific business endeavour if you’ve ever struggled to find the proper fit or have a passion for making fashion more accessible to everyone. Although no formal degree is necessary, a background in fashion or retail may be quite beneficial. Those who have difficulty fitting into typical clothing stores have the same wants as women who do.
These women are catered to by a plus-size clothing firm, which sells attractive apparel in their sizes. Although most plus-size fashion companies concentrate on plus size women, certain men’s plus size apparel businesses cater to larger guys.
Startup expenditures might be high, with space and goods accounting for the majority of your spending. Look for low-rent commercial space, establish your business on an internet platform like Shopify, or try specialising in a single sort of apparel to reduce inventory.
Your company may stay tiny, but there is a lot of room for expansion in the market. Thus there is a lot of space for growth.
Best Clothing Business Ideas
Start a Sewing Business
A sewing company, unlike many other sorts of enterprises, may be run from home. A sewing company run from home has the extra benefit of giving more comfort and privacy during fits. With minimal initial expenditure, you may establish a small home-based sewing company.
Sewing firms customise garments via embroidery and other decorative arts to produce one-of-a-kind individualised styles in addition to creating and changing clothes.
If you enjoy fashion and have a knack for sewing, starting your own sewing business may be a lucrative full-time or part-time endeavour. While this is best suited for people with a high degree of ability, various educational programmes are available for fashionistas interested in learning the technique.
The initial expenditures of a sewing business are often minimal because you can run them from your home. You could already have a lot of the equipment you’ll need to get started, and you can factor the cost of your supplies into the price you offer your clients.
A sunglasses line is often a high-end eyewear line for upper-crust customers. In 2016, sunglasses earned about $3.6 billion in income, making this a lucrative career choice for many.
Starting your own eyewear business is a terrific way to get your foot in the door of the fashion industry. The ideal owner will have a keen sense of style and design. While no specific knowledge is necessary, you should have a fundamental grasp of how your concept will be developed into a product. It’s also crucial to observe safety requirements while creating UV-protected items. Finding a means to generate distinctive articles and a memorable business can help you flourish in this competitive field. In most cases, the owner is solely responsible for creating and promoting their eyewear.
They can either make the sunglasses themselves or collaborate with a manufacturer to finish the process. Sunglasses can be purchased online or in a physical store. In most cases, owners will collaborate with distributors to have their products offered in other retail outlets.
The materials you choose to employ and your location will determine your startup expenses.
The worldwide clothing market is currently valued at $3 trillion and accounts for 2% of global GDP. And the fashion sector in India is growing at a pace of 24.2 per cent each year, implying that it would be worth $18,732 million in 2022.
Looking at the numbers, it’s clear that this market has a lot of promise, and the need for small enterprises in this field is growing all the time.
FAQs
What are the most valued fashion brands in the world?
Most valued fashion brands in the world are:
Nike
Louis Vuitton
Hermes
Gucci
Zalando
Adidas
Tiffany & Co.
Zara
H&M
Cartier
What are the top fashion brands in India?
Some of the top fashion brands in India are:
Van Heusen
Park Avenue
Pepe Jeans
Levi’s
Allen Solly
Nykaa
Peter England
What are the Fashion Business Ideas to start a fashion startups?
Some of the top fashion business ideas to start a fashion:
Zara is a Spanish fashion retailer with headquarters in Arteixo, Galicia. Apparel, jewelry, footwear, swimsuits, grooming, and fragrances are among the company’s products, which include fast fashion. It is the biggest business in the Inditex group, which is the largest garment retailer on the planet. Zara is one of the most popular retail clothing brands in the world, if not the most popular. It strives to foster a sustainable enthusiasm for fashion across a broad range of customers, distributed across many regions and different ages, with its stunning debut of the notion of “quick fashion” shopping since its founding in 1975 in Spain.
Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera launched Zara, the world’s most famous fashion retail firm, in 1975 in Spain with a capital of 30 Euros. They intended to call their store Zorba after the movie Zorba, but there was also a pub with that name on the same street. As a result, they chose Zara because having two Zobra within the same neighborhood would only create confusion. Zara used to sell low-cost knockoffs of famous, high-end apparel and style in the beginning.
Rosalia Mera | Zara Founder
Zara’s strategy for fashion and operating model gained popularity with Spanish customers during the next eight years. As a result, nine additional outlets have opened in Spain’s major cities.
Inditex was founded in 1985 as a trading corporation, laying the groundwork for a supply system responding fast to changing market trends. Ortega coined the term “instant fashion” to describe a revolutionary design, manufacturing, and distribution approach that could shorten lead times and respond to new styles more quickly. This was fueled by significant expenditures on computer technology and the use of organizations rather than solo artists for the essential “design” component.
Zara’s business strategy is precisely designed, effectively incorporating all of the aspects that leads to the improvement of this global undertaking. There really is no single commercial operation that is directly liable for this company’s success. Joint venture, growth strategy, efficient supply chain management, and other unconventional actions and ideas all contribute to the growth of this kind.
The firm is known for its expertise in promptly providing fresh merchandise to stores. Zara uses a tight program in order to accomplish this. Supervisors buy goods twice per week at specified times, and fresh clothes come twice a week on schedule. Zara’s success is built on this ethic.
Fast Fashion is one of Zara’s main concepts. The concept of a fast manner is comparable to that of FMCG (Fast-moving Consumer Goods). Fast fashion is typically employed to appeal to a younger and middle-aged demographic. This type of clothing does not go out of trend; rather, it runs out of stock. The quick fashion cycle is basic to comprehend. A young individual purchases a simple set of clothes that can be used 6-8 times before the material begins to fray. It causes the person to buy new clothes, which leads them back to that place, and the cycle repeats. The foregoing are some of the primary strategies of Zara:-
1. Vertical Integration is the key Vertical integration is a value or supply chain control method in which a corporation owns or manages its manufacturers, resellers, or store outlets. Industry profits from vertical integration because it allows them to regulate operations, cut costs, and enhance efficiencies. Vertical integration, on the other hand, has drawbacks, such as the considerable financial expenditure necessary.
Zara’s vertically integrated supply chain allows it to maintain direct oversight while also providing speed and flexibility to their clients. Zara employs cutting-edge techniques to ensure that they can quickly bring new concepts to market that are exactly what clients want, whenever they want it.
2. Centralization Zara has a profound, consistent, and swift pace that revolves around quick shop delivery. Every Zara store places two orders per week on particular days. Carriers depart at precise times, and supplies reach at particular times in shops. When clothes arrive at their destination, they are already labelled and priced, making them ready to sell right away.
Because of this well-established pattern, every employee in the production process – from design through sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and retail – is aware of the timing and how their actions affect other departments. This applies perfectly to Zara buyers, who exactly know when to go shopping for brand new clothes.
Zara’s dependence on centralized order fulfilment allows businesses to run extremely efficient operations, from early strategy to execution to shops. Further illustration as to why continuous improvement and supply chain management are crucial to revenue and scalability is the business’s strategy.
3. Inventory management Zara can supply more frequently and in limited volumes during the season because of the fast turnover from manufacturing plants adjacent to its marketing headquarters in Spain. If Zara’s swiftly created style in an effort to follow the current fashion fails to sell successfully, there is little harm done. Because the amount is low, there aren’t a lot of unsold copies to get rid of. And, since this failed experiment was short-lived, there may still be time to attempt another style, and then another.
Zara prides itself on remaining on top of the latest trends and radiating an upscale vibe, but its production process is the real show-stealer. These industry-leading procedures elevate it from a mere clothing store to a market leader in fast fashion executed well. Zara excels at guaranteeing that everything goes as planned, as it has more control over its production and business network than most of its competitors. Zara’s main strategy is to diversify through various vertical integrations in order to develop.
FAQs
Where does Zara get their clothes made?
Zara manufactures its most fashionable items in Spain, Portugal and Turkey.
Where is the biggest Zara store in the world?
The biggest Zara store is in Madrid, Spain.
What is Zara most famous for?
It is most famous for its Fast Fashion.
Who are the founders of Zara?
Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera are the founders of Zara.
Kaftans are slowly becoming popular and coming into trend. You will find them in the wardrobe of every woman out there. The Kaftan Company is a clothing brand which specializes in designing and manufacturing amazing kaftans. The products of the company are available on many leading online fashion stores.
The Kaftan Company was launched as an entrepreneurial initiative in February 2016. It was a spin-off to their other brand called Shibori Designs which was western wear apparel brand. The idea spawned during a great sell-through. It was identified when 80% of the total sales of Shibori Designs were coming from kaftans. Additional research and due diligence showed us that there wasn’t a particular company dedicating their product line to the graceful and comfortable kaftan silhouette. This was when they wished to capitalise and be the first to introduce kaftans for all occasions and very simply “The Kaftan Company” was created.
As is the case with any start-up, the initial days required a lot more thought into conceptualising the brand and gaining clarity in the vision of the brand as it continues to grow. Since kaftans are not a widely accepted form of garment, it was a challenge and a scare to go into the market all in. Thus, the team took it slow and entered the market with caution. They provide a vast variety of colours they use in the chosen fabrics and the general free fall of a kaftan identified best with a butterfly, which they later integrated and made it look clearly symbolic with their logo.
The Kaftan Company – Founder
Prakruti Gupta Rao (founder of The Kaftan Company)
The company was founded by Prakruti Gupta Rao. Prakruti did her MBA from Schulich School of Business, Toronto. Later, she worked at Mercedes Benz Financial Services in Canada in the role of Global Project lead.
The founder, Prakruti Gupta Rao says “Perseverance is something that has gotten us through many challenging times and adhering to the concept of “never give up” to achieve what you truly believe in”.
The Kaftan Company – Logo, Vision & Mission
The Kaftan Company Logo
The Kaftan Company aspires to be the world’s most recognised brand for kaftans, with an aim to offer customers the best possible product selection, quality, value and excellent service. When anyone is shopping for a kaftan, the company want them to think of The Kaftan Company as their first choice. The mission of the company is to blend tradition and innovation and be a market leader in creating uniquely appealing kaftans.
Initial challenges faced by the company include educating the consumers on the concept of the kaftan. They noticed in their initial days of launch, that as traditional and old as it may be as a garment, the customers still need to see the kaftans in images or try them, particularly in tier II and tier III cities. Customers think they will not look good in a kaftan. But the way the company has designed its kaftans, it looks beautiful and fits well for any shape and size. The challenge was to just convince users to say yes to give it a chance.
The Kaftan Company – Team
Along with Prakruti, her husband co-operates her by handling all the major operations as the CEO. The company provides employment to more than 45 people. They promote women empowerment with 80% skilled labour being women and all key positions including accounts, administration, designing, merchandising etc. are all managed by women. The business operations and production unit of The Kaftan Company is based out of Hyderabad, India.
Indian domestic textile and apparel market is estimated at US$ 75 billion in 2020-21. The market fell 30% from US$ 106 billion in 2019-20.The market is expected to recover and grow to reach US$ 190 billion by 2025-26. This presently contributes to 5% of the current GDP and 14% of the overall index of industrial production.
The Kaftan Company- The Product / Service
The products in Kaftan Company are basically very well crafted kaftans for women. They make a range for sleepwear, daywear, holiday wear and have recently also introduced “cocktail” wear kaftans. It is very different from other brands because of their in-house digital prints, their extreme care and diligence while stitching, and size range from Small to XXXL. It is nearly impossible for anyone to find such a vast range if kaftans under one brand. Typically, fashion brands may present 1 or 2 kaftans in their portfolio of garments. They chose to differentiate themselves by creating each and every product using the comfortable kaftan silhouette.
People at The Kaftan Company do not use any particular technology. However, they use the necessary software and other tools for their day to day activities. But for designing, they believe their own talent and uses the least technology to keep the art alive.
The Kaftan Company uses tradition and innovation in creating uniquely handcrafted kaftans that the world has yet to experience. They are a very honest brand that focuses on comfort, good quality fabrics, impeccable quality, and trendy designs.
The Kaftan Company uses a ‘clicks and bricks’ business model to retail their products. Clicks and bricks basically mean being present on both type of platforms, viz., online and offline. Clicks come in the form of their own e-commerce website as well as e-commerce channel partners, both in India and internationally (Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, etc.). The bricks include multi-brand boutiques across the country and internationally.
The Kaftan Company started selling kaftans’ internationally via online-channel partners in the U.S (Amazon.com), U.A.E (Souq.com) and U.K (StrandofSilk.com) and have nearly confirmed distributors in the African Subcontinent and East Asian markets (Malaysia).
Company uses a Mark-Up/Down revenue model in the retail of its kaftans.
The Kaftan Company Funding
The Kaftan Company is entirely a self-funded enterprise. They began their operations with a capital of INR 20 lakhs.
The Kaftan Company Competitors
While the fashion space includes many brands as potential competitors, they are primarily indirect for The Kaftan Company. They do not consider any direct competitors at this point given the initiative to be a fashion brand solely revolving around the design and production of kaftans in their entire portfolio. However, there is also a kaftan company in the United States that sells only kaftans under the name Kaftan Communities.
Prakruti Gupta Rao is the founder of the Kaftan Company.
When was the Kaftan Company founded?
The Kaftan Company was founded in 2011.
Is the Kaftan Company an Indian Company?
Yes. The Kaftan Company is an Indian Company with its headquarters in Hyderabad.
What is the Kaftan Company’s Business model?
The Kaftan Company uses a ‘clicks and bricks’ business model to retail their products. Clicks and bricks basically mean being present on both type of platforms, viz., online and offline.
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 Voonik.
There was a time when women/men used to take their friends to go shopping just to have a little help in the selection process. Roundabout the same time, people were paying huge amounts to the stylists and designers to get a personalized style statement.
To shift this paradigm online and optimize the whole process to being smooth and handy came in Voonik in 2013. Get insights on Voonik’s Company Profile, Voonik Founders, Funding, Competitors, Business Model, Growth, Revenue and more.
Sujayath Ali and Navaneetha Krishnan launched Voonik to personalize the shopping experience for men and women. Yes, Voonik initially was launched for both men and women but later they decided to only focus on women’s clothing.
Now, Voonik is a personal clothing shopping app for women, allowing them to buy apparel from multiple brands and fashion stores, according to their body type, lifestyle, and budget.
Voonik enables women customers to directly shop like on any other e-commerce portal or the customer can provide some inputs like her body shape, skin tone, height, and personal style to let the application advise some dresses for her.
Sujayath Ali and Navaneetha Krishnan are the founders of Voonik.
Founders of Voonik
Sujayath Ali
Sujayth did his MBA in Technology and Finance from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering from MepcoSchlenk Engineering College.
Before Voonik, he was working as VP, head of Visa Checkout merchant program at Visa. He has also worked for Amazon as a senior product manager in the states for 7 Years.
Navaneetha Krishnan
Before co-founding Voonik, he worked for Freshdesk as a Principal Developer, Narus Networks as Tech-Lead and Aryaka Networks as Technical Architect. Voonik originally started with a 12 member team which now grew to more than 150 employees.
How was Voonik Started?
Navaneetha and Sujayath went to college together and have known each other for more than 20 years now. Navaneetha was not very new to the startup scene because he had been a garage stage engineer at big companies like Zoho, Freshdesk, and Aryaka. And as we know, the other co-founder, Sujayath was in America spending 7 years at Amazon and Visa.
“We first discussed the idea of starting something together over a Facebook chat session” Says Sujayath.
Back then, Navaneetha had an idea for a SaaS offering based on his long and intriguing experience at Zoho and Freshdesk. On the other hand, Sujayath pitched an idea of creating an entirely new way of shopping to enable the users in buying what suits their build, lifestyle, and budget. The former was convinced by the idea of the latter, both quit their jobs and that’s how the idea of Voonik was originated.
Voonik – Name, Logo and Tagline
Voonik’s tagline is “Everyday Fashion”, suiting its tagline, Voonik offers a range of options in every fashion category for the Indian urban market.
Voonik basically is a marketplace where the retail stores register and get to showcase their products. Voonik brings multiple online stores into a single cart. So it showcases product ranges from stores like Jabong, Snapdeal, Fashionara, Fashionandyou, Yepme, Zovi, etc.
Revenue Model
The revenue model of Voonik is generated by charging a 15 percent commission on every sale to the brand or the seller. And the deliveries are done by a third-party logistics partner.
Voonik – Funding and Investors
Voonik has raised a Total Funding of $34.5 Million till date.
Here is the Vooniks Funding Details:
Date
Amount
Round
Investors
February 2014
$500k
Seed
SeedFund
June 2015
$5 Million (~Rs 32 crores)
Series A
Sequoia Capital, SeedFund
June 2016
$20 Million
Series B
Sequoia Capital India
July 2016
$3 Million
Debt
InnoVen Capital
February 2017
$6 Million
Series C
RB Investments Pte. Ltd.
Voonik – Startup Challenges
Costly Shipping
Our biggest challenge for Voonik in the initial days was extremely costly shipping. It was particularly losing money on every shipment. And so the venture decided to work on projects where the team observed shipping across each category.
They eventually came up with the right algorithms through permutations and combinations to make shipments more cost-efficient. And soon after, Voonik had a 20% gross margin on shipping.
Marketing
The second-biggest cost driver for Voonik wasmarketing. Apparently, to save recurring overheads, it stopped focusing on traditional channels like Facebook and Google.
Instead, Voonik approached innovative channels for marketing to make money immediately. One of these initiatives was referral programs that allowed Voonik to make money from the very first transaction.
Online fashion space is as crowded as it can get. New players are coming in fashion industry. And now with Instagram and its buzz, it has become very easy for people to sell fashion apparel online.
Given that, there’s so much happening out there in the online fashion zone. Be it creative concepts like style cracker who customly assigns stylists to its customers to make a box of accessories paired with the dress. Be it bag fashion portals like Myntra and Shein, all of these along with Voonik are competing neck to neck to cater to the same audience.
Voonik – Acquisitions and Mergers
TrialKart
Voonik acqui-hired TrialKart in 2015. TrailKart is a mobile platform providing a virtual dressing room experience to the users.
Getsty
In 2016, Voonik acquired Getsty which is a personalized shopping portal for men.
Vilara
In June 2016, Voonik stepped into the premium e-commerce segment by launching Vilara.
Dekkoh
In September of 2016, Voonik undertook an acquisition of Dekkoh which was a personalization and styling app.
Dekkoh
Voonik did not stop here. It has also acqui-hired three startups, Zohraa, Picksilk.com, and Style, to further build the platform and taking it deep towards personalization by adding more and more personal stylists and connecting them with its users through a chat-based app.
ShopUp
According to the reports in February 2020, Vooniks B2B business was merged with Bangladesh-based startup ShopUp. ShopUp is a platform that helps businesses go online. It enables e-commerce, store, logistics, sourcing, marketing and working capital requirements.
Schoolay
On February 2020, Vooniks B2C business was merged with kids activewear startup Schoolay.
Voonik – Growth and Revenue
Voonik reported 264% jump from losses of Rs 17.63 crore (FY19) to the Net Profits of Rs 28.7 crore (FY20)
Voonik had a revenue of Rs 44.76 crore in FY20 as compared to FY19 i.e Rs 21.45 crore
Voonik had over 10,000 downloads in the first month with an average rating of 4.7.
Today, it has over 20 Mn registered users
Total 17 million application downloads
Close to 2 million unique visitors per month
Displays more than 15 Lakh products from 22,000 sellers.
Caters to an average of 20,000 daily orders
Currently has a rating of 4.1 at Google Play Store.
Voonik – Awards
2014 – Voonik was amongst the Microsoft Ventures India’s list of 16 startups for its summer batch of the accelerator program.
Voonik has big plans of taking onboard offline boutiques and launching chat-based features. Currently, the app is only giving recommendations to the customers, but the users are not able to chat with the stylists. Hence their main priority in the long term plan is to take personalization to the highest level on Voonik.
Voonik – FAQs
Who are the Founders of Voonik?
Sujayath Ali and Navaneetha Krishnan are the founders of Voonik.
How much is Voonik Funding?
Voonik has raised a total funding of $34.5 Million till date.
How much is Voonik’s Revenue?
Voonik reported 264% jump from losses of Rs 17.63 crore (FY19) to the Net Profits of Rs 28.7 crore (FY20).
How does Voonik make money?
Voonik basically is a marketplace where the retail stores register and get to showcase their products. The revenue for Voonik is generated by charging a 15% commission on every sale to the brand or the seller.
What is Voonik store?
Voonik is an online marketplace operating in products for women’s fashion.
The Indian handicrafts sector provides livelihoods to millions of people around the country, especially women. However, linking small-scale rural producers to urban and global markets has been a challenge. Efficiently connecting buyers and sellers in the handicrafts and handmade clothing market could have an exponential impact by improving the incomes of the poor and help preserve crafts that are rapidly disappearing. CraftsVilla.com is aiming to do exactly that, using the power of the Internet.
In a world full of trends, being a classic is what Craftsvilla is all about.Selling ethnic apparel and accessories on its online portal since 2011, Craftsvilla was launched by Manoj Gupta and Monica Gupta.
Craftsvilla is essentially an e-commerce portal based out of India that mainly sells ethnic items for women like ethnic apparel, ethnic footwear, ethnic fashion accessories, ethnic handcrafted home accessories, and ethnic fashion and lifestyle products along with other parallel industry products like beauty products.
Founded in 2011 by Monica & Manoj Gupta, Craftsvilla is an online marketplace for unique handmade, handcrafted, organic, and gift items. The startup claims to have over 25,000 sellers on its platform, selling close to 3.5 Million products.
The platform aggregates artisans, designers, and retailers from all around the country on a single platform and directly connects local artisans and designers to global customers over the world. Also, this startup over all these years has launched several in-house brands namely Anuswara, Avanya, and Jharokha, all in the affordable and classy ethnic and handloom segment.
Craftsvilla – Products and Services
Craftsvilla ship globally and it’s free for goods worth more than $250. The startup claims to have over 25,000 artisans and designers selling over 4 million products. The products are categorized into different segments like Jewellery, Handbags, Home Décor, Clothing, Food & Health, and Footwear etc., each further divided into sub segments.
About 80% of the buyers are women. The push has been to revive handicrafts and make it conveniently accessible. They try to keep things colorful and lively and that attracts the 18-35 age group buyers. More than 50% of the orders come from Tier 2 cities. And as it is with e-commerce portals in India, 50% of sales are Cash On Delivery (COD).
Here are some examples of what you can expect on Craftsvilla:
The collection of Gowns is an ode to fusion friendly fashion and perfect for all sorts of occasions.
Their drape collection is quite enviable as it includes a plethora of styles including, Printed, Traditional, Designer Sarees and fabrics like Cotton, Satin, Art Silk and Georgette Saree.
They have new and novel collection of Kurtis full of embellished styles, embroidered kinds and hues of every kind.
There are times when you need an ethnic ensemble that is not only trendy but also timeless in terms of style, splendour and a perfect fit for that special occasion. That’s where their latest range of Lehengas comes in! From Net Lehenga Cholis to hip and happening co-ordinate Designer Lehenga Sets, Craftsvilla have it all!
Complete with traditional kinds like Silver, Golden Plated and Oxidised, their collections of Earrings and neckpieces have something for everyone, right from statement making to subtlety sensational ones.
Craftsvilla – Founders and Team
The founders of Craftsvilla are Manoj Gupta and Monica Gupta.
Monica Gupta and Manoj Gupta
Manoj Gupta, Founder and CEO – He is an IIM graduate and a venture capitalist, founded Dreams Early Stage Fund and was Board Observer at Snapdeal before launching Craftsvilla. Prior to Craftsvilla.com, Manoj was Principal at Nexus Venture Partners where he invested in ecommerce companies in India. Manoj has also started a Tech company in San Diego, US from 2001-2006.
Monica Gupta, Founder and COO – She is graduated from San Diego State University.
How was Craftsvilla Started?
The idea for Craftsvilla struck the couple during their visit to Kutch, the hub of ethnic apparel and accessories. They saw supply in abundance with no channelized demand segregation and a portal that could connect the suppliers and the buyers not just in India, but globally. This is exactly how Craftsvilla was born.
Following this, the company was launched by Manoj Gupta and Monica Gupta in 2011 with funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Initially, this ethnic-focused startup was incepted with 80 employees and 5 offices across the country.
But it so happened that by 2012, this venture completely exhausted the entire amount of INR 10 crore series-A funding. And due to this, the company had to downsize to an only 10-member team and carried their business operations in a small one-room office.
With the downsizing coming too early for Craftsvilla, if it was anybody other than Manoj Gupta, they’d have easily given up. But not the Craftsvilla founder. He kept faith in himself, in his idea, and his passionate team of 8. And in just a short span of 5 years, this ethnic fashion portal, Craftsvilla went from an allegedly failed startup to a big-named company with a huge valuation of $250 million with more than 4 million products in its inventory.
Craftsvilla – Business Model and Reveue Model
The business model of Craftsvilla majorly focuses on removing middlemen from the supply chain mechanism and increasing the livelihood of local artisans and cultured designers to help them create/promote their brand, with preserving the Indian culture, traditions, and values in a broader picture. In current times, the company charges a 20% commission on every transaction which excludes service tax.
Craftsvilla – Funding and Investors
Their latest funding was raised on Mar 20, 2020 from a Venture – Series Unknown round.
Here is a list of all the funding rounds of Craftsvilla:
Normally, entrepreneurs face challenges after the inceptions of their startups. This was not the case with Manoj Gupta. He faced the most crucial challenges right before launching Craftsvilla. It so happened that when Manoj presented his idea of launching an online portal that would sell ethnic stuff to his friends and family, he, unfortunately, received a lot of unenthusiastic feedback relating to it.
Most of his acquaintances pointed out that there is no real market for ethnic fashion wear and there clearly hasn’t been a successful replica of it in the industry across the globe. But Manoj was firm on his idea and despite negative response, Manoj believed in his entrepreneurial idea and the potential that he saw in the untapped market filled with opportunities. Later in the same year, he went ahead and launched Craftsvilla with his wife.
Craftsvilla – Name, Tagline and Logo
Craftsvilla has a tagline. “The Marketplace to discover India”. This tagline goes perfectly with the site, because it has huge range of Indian products & almost all the products are made keeping in mind the Indian craft & culture.
Craftsvilla Logo
Craftsvilla – Competitors
There are a lot of e-commerce portals in the country that deal with ethnic fashion and lifestyle products combined with other western and beauty products. Hence Craftsvilla competes with big and small online marketplaces like Myntra, LimeRoad, Voonik, Amazon, Flipkart, and Fabindia among many others.
Craftsvilla has more than 62 outlets in total across India in cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Kolhapur, Coimbatore, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Varanasi.
This ethnic fashion and lifestyle online marketplace is pegged at around $300–500 million in size.
It claims to have over 25,000 artisans and designers on board.
Craftsvilla currently is selling over 4 million products.
Craftsvilla – Revenue
In FY18, Craftsvilla’s revenues spiked by 3.6% from Rs 30.35 crore in FY17 to Rs 31.45 crore. The expenses from Rs 116.33 crore to Rs 59.13 crore. Losses followed the pattern and decreased from Rs 85.98 crore to Rs 27.68 crore.
Craftsvilla – Acquisitions
Craftsvilla acquired 3 organisations – F2SO4, Place Of Origin and Sendd.
Acquired
Date
Amount
Sendd
January 2016
$4.5 Million
Place of Origin
February 2016
–
F2SO4
April 2016
–
Place of Origin is an online retailer of ethnic food curated from sellers around the country. The online platform currently offers a range of products, from sweets and confectionary to local snacks and health food sourced directly from sellers across several cities.
Chandigarh-based F2SO4 was founded in 2015 by Delhi-based IIT alumni, Amrit Singh and Sachin Goel along with Partik Bhuchar. The startup was an app-based venture that offered branded and high-end designer clothes on rent. The startup was earlier bootstrapped and was founded as an apparel-as-a-service platform.
For the future goals, Craftsvilla is aiming straight on pushing its offline foray. For the same, the venture is also planning to invest INR 100 crore to open more than 1,000 outlets in the coming years.
Craftsvilla – Partners
Craftsvilla has tied up with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, for e-marketing of handloom products from small weavers. As per this agreement, Craftsvilla has tied up with Weavesmart, an online marketplace that offers handloom weaves from across India.
Craftsvilla – FAQs
Who is Monica Gupta?
The founders of Craftsvilla are Manoj Gupta and Monica Gupta.
What is Craftsvilla?
Craftsvilla is essentially an e-commerce portal based out of India that mainly sells ethnic items for women like ethnic apparel, ethnic footwear, ethnic fashion accessories, ethnic handcrafted home accessories, and ethnic fashion and lifestyle products along with other parallel industry products like beauty products.
What is the Tagline of Craftsvilla?
“MarketPlace to Discover India”
What is the Business Model of Craftsvilla?
The business model of Craftsvilla majorly focuses on removing middlemen from the supply chain mechanism and increasing the livelihood of local artisans and cultured designers to help them create/promote their brand, with preserving the Indian culture, traditions, and values in a broader picture.
Jeenal Jain
