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 Highlights
| Startup Name | The Kaftan Company |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | Hyderabad, India |
| Sector | Textile |
| Founder | Prakruti Gupta Rao |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Revenue | $4 Million |
| Total Funding | Self Funded ~ Rs.20 Lakhs |
| Website | thekaftancompany.com |
The Kaftan Company – Idea and starting up
The Kaftan Company – Founder
The Kaftan Company – Logo, Vision & Mission
The Kaftan Company – Major challenges faced
The Kaftan Company – Team
The Kaftan Company – Industry details
The Kaftan Company- The Product / Service
The Kaftan Company- Business and Revenue Model
The Kaftan Company Funding
The Kaftan Company Competitors
The Kaftan Company – FAQs
The Kaftan Company – Idea and starting up
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
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 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.
Ashwini
The Kaftan Company – Major challenges faced
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.
Vidhi Punamiya
The Kaftan Company – Industry details
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.
Chayanika Goswami
The Kaftan Company- Business and Revenue 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. 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.
Vidhi Punamiya
The Kaftan Company – FAQs
Who is the Founder of the Kaftan Company?
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.