The last couple of years has shaken the existence of many companies in all sectors. We have seen bankruptcy, shutting of businesses, payment struggles, and many other economic hardships due to the lockdowns. It is only hope, that has kept all of us in the business world afloat. But all is not lost and we, as the dominant race, have started to dig out of the hole and once again strive for the stars. During current dark times as well many entrepreneurs started innovating and catering to a new breed of customers. These customers are very particular about what they need and will not settle for anything less.
Within the new world order and evolving consumer behavior, Women Entrepreneurs have made a mark for themselves. No longer are the women satisfied by being a mother or housewife. Women entrepreneurs across industries are adapting to the current times. They are crafting new businesses and products with an aim to impact the ecosystem.
The pandemic has transformed the fashion retail segment and women entrepreneurs are standing tall against this adversary. Over the past few years, India has had record growth in women’s entrepreneurship. This International Women’s Day let’s look at 3 Women entrepreneurs standing tall amidst the various uncertainties faced by the Fashion Retail Sector.
Shivaani Jain and Saanchi Jain, Co-Founders, Once Upon A Trunk
Co-founded in 2015 by Shivaani and Saanchi Jain, Once Upon A Trunk is a company with an aim to become a perfect synonym for luxury fashion. India’s first online marketplace for designer clothes and fashion goods, the company has some 1 lakh products across 300+ designers. It was skill sets in marketing and fashion that played a key role for them to pave the way for their business. They attribute their success to their family’s support as well.
Amongst many accomplishments, the duo survived Covid without laying off their employees and with full vendor support. “Covid struck all businesses hard. We were stuck physically; hence fulfilling orders became a huge challenge initially. It was challenging to deliver orders, so we cut down on the marketing expenditure and worked with organic marketing from July to September 2020. Later, we bounced back strong with our team and utilized those savings to support our vendors with stronger marketing tactics. The trusted goodwill of 300+ designers, 1 lakh+ customers with a 35% repeat rate has been a great addition to Once Upon A Trunk making it stand in the women’s lifestyle segment,” said Shivaani.
From motherhood to entrepreneurship to balancing other full-time jobs, Indian women manage everything – Saanchi believes said that it’s “somehow ingrained in Indian women”.
Barkha Bhatnagar Das & Meghna Kishore, Co-founders, Greendigo
Greendigo is a new company that is making organic the norm for kids by providing clothes from 0-12 years old. Former bankers, Meghna Kishore and Barkha Bhatnagar started Greendigo with an initial investment of Rs. 15 lakh and in a few months had crossed 500 customers with 20-22% being repeat customers. The sibling duo saw a gap in the kidswear market and took it upon themselves to offer organic clothing for kids.
Meghna Kishore, Co-Founder, Greendigo articulates, “Our unflinching, deep rooted belief in our cause of providing good quality, safe and comfortable clothing for children kept us going through all the challenges and hurdles that came our way. One of our key milestones was the certification of Greendigo by GOTS. Their stringent checks and balances along the entire supply chain, from farms to consumers was indeed a validation of our tight-loop supply chain in our endeavour to offer our customers only the best quality sustainable and organic garments. Another accomplishment for us is that now we are a carbon neutral brand right from seed till the customer’s doorstep. We already use organic fabrics and employ sustainable manufacturing practices to significantly reduce our CO2 emissions. But there are still emissions which are unavoidable. We are tackling these unavoidable emissions by investing in offset projects such as renewable energy, forest conservation and energy efficiency.”
However, the pandemic did have an effect on the start-up company. Though it was founded by two women, it wasn’t because of this dynamic that they were challenged- the pandemic posed a barrier to progress.
“We never view ourselves as women in an industry dominated by men. We are passionate about making organic clothing the new normal and strive hard to have a voice in the industry. Having said so, the first and the biggest hurdle that we encountered not as women, but as entrepreneurs, was to set up a clean, sustainable, tight loop and reliable supply chain. During Covid too, we focused on safeguarding ourselves on three key parameters – disrupted supply chain, delayed or unfulfilled customer orders and safeguarding internal stakeholders.”
Barkha Bhatnagar Das, Co-Founder, Greendigo
Samyukta Nair, Founder, Dandelion
Samyukta Nair is an Indian entrepreneur who has launched businesses that include restaurants, a Concept store, Clove and a sleepwear label. She has also ventured into homeware with her concept called Dandelion LIVING. Nair is inspired by her family where her father and grandfather motivated her to create a path of her own.
Samyukta tells, “Growing up, all dinner table conversations ranged from the latest trends in fashion to the newest developments in hospitality and that really sowed the seeds for both my entrepreneurial ventures in fashion and food. I fondly remember the year we started Dandelion; we created a three-part edition of Dandelion pyjamas, especially for Sonam Kapoor Ahuja to unwind in during her downtime at Cannes, which became an overnight sensation. Having Dandelion patronised by some of the bests in India who made us part of their intimate moments truly has me thrilled.”
Samyukta went through a series of hurdles during her entrepreneurial journey but the right kind of innovation and pivot strategies, such as AI helped her get to where she wanted to be.
“I don’t think women entrepreneurs face challenges in India alone, there is a proverbial glass ceiling and perception plays a huge role in undermining the competence of a woman. Luckily, this is fast-changing. During Covid, we looked strategised and later launched Dandelion LIVING and a loungewear collection in collaboration with Param Sahib which gave us new and interesting touchpoint to engage with those who already let us into their world with a distinctive and memorable product offering,” asserts Samyukta.