JOIN US'Indian brands are at par with global brands'
Aimed at bringing a luxury shopping experience to the doorstep of indulgent and aspirational consumers in India, entrepreneur Priya Sachdev launched RockNShop, a global community of fashion boutiques.
Describing it as a platform which bridges the gap between luxury and Indian consumers, she says that the online marketplace offers both international and Indian luxury brands to its customers. Talking about her venture, she tells Shweta Sharma what luxury means to her, and how successful Indian brands are in the global fashion scenario.
How does RockNShop bridge the gap between Indian consumers and luxury?
Interestingly, we get our maximum traffic from places like Surat, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Shimla and Cuttack apart from getting orders from tier I cities. This clearly depicts that Indian consumers are evolving and their awareness levels are going up. They are no longer confined to products which are only available to them via malls or shops. The only drawback is the availability and access to luxury brands, which RockNShop is trying to fill.
How do you perceive Indian brands in global fashion scenario?
I am assured Indian brands today are at par with global brands, and have potential to be successful in the global fashion scenario. Indian handicrafts have always been popular among people from around the world, thereby proving that Indian brands are global. Indian brands are special as they have their own unique DNA, which is exquisite, intricate and vibrant.
What kind of competition do you face in the luxury e-commerce segment?
There is no real online competition for us in India today in this segment. The demand for luxury to premium brand exits in tier 2 and tier 3 cities where premium to luxury brands are not available. We are bridging that gap through seamless technology and making the shopping experience for premium to luxury products a reality, with just a click of a button. As per Euromonitor, the current online luxury market is Rs 169 billion and is projected to grow at 19 per cent year on year to Rs 400 billion.
What challenges did you face while setting up RockNShop?
The initial challenge was to understand and creatively use the digital platform to our best interests. Our current challenge is to constantly innovate since nothing run-of-the-mill can be applied onto our marketing strategies. We have to ensure that we are a step ahead of our consumer who is well-travelled and equally well-versed with fashion. Building strategies that keeps all consumers, old and new, engaged for long is a challenge that keeps us on our toes.
What is the nature of demand, and what does the Indian customer shop for?
The demand is mostly with women consumers between the age of 30 to over 50.
She is an indulgent, aspirational shopper. The indulgent shopper is shopping for current fashion and lifestyle trends, and the aspirational consumer is also shopping the same, but on EMI, or similar product at a competitive price or on special offer.
The Indian customer is shopping for current season fashion products in ready to wear, jewellery and accessories.
What does luxury mean to you?
Luxury for me is ‘time’. With the busy lives we lead today, time is purely a luxury. Time committed to shop in a mall has become a rarity today. Time spent on commute and the time dedicated to
plan a day for shopping seems a thing of a past. And, RockNShop targets the 'time poor, style rich customer'. RockNShop has achieved this, by allowing all premium to luxury shoppers to shop in the comfort of their homes.