Ethnic Dukaan.com is one of the few e-sellers in the country with an in-house setup of designers and artisans, combined with products sourced directly from weavers and manufacturers across. It is the online portal of Aashirvad Sarees, which has been dealing in Indian women´s wear for the past three decades. Currently, over 600 weavers, designers and artisans are either directly or indirectly engaged in the production/making of these products. Ethnic Dukaan.com has 95 per cent in-stock products, ready for same-day shipping and can also be customised to one´s choice. The range includes sarees, salwar suits, kurtis, bridal lehengas and accessories fit for various occasions.
Virendra Bardia, CEO, Ethnic Dukaan.com, talks on the growth of his company and his thoughts on e-commerce.
How has your company fared all along its growth phase and what was the turning point when it took off.
The company has been growing from strength to strength since its inception. We have been getting steady streams of online visitors, however, since we had done the mobile site separately, the growth has been really sharper. From a turnover of Rs 4 crore in the last 18 months, we are looking to Rs 20 crore turnover in the next three years.
What has been the marketing strategies in the retail and stores development over the years?
Being an e-commerce enterprise, we have been very customer-centric with all our activities especially marketing. We are trying to bridge the gap between feel and touch in the apparel industry by ensuring that the customer gets what it wants and we are absolutely bang on with the proper description and are ready to help for any customer queries round the clock. We also have oracle-based CRM tools to assist us on the same.
E-commerce has been creating a lot of craze in the country. What are your thoughts on this upcoming phenomenon?
People are looking to order from the comforts of their home; from their mobiles or tabs so the challenge is to reach out to the right audience and then provide the right kind of products in a trustworthy environment at genuine prices. We have to provide them the ease of touch and feel virtually so that we can negate the advantages of the offline and reach out to a global audience.
What are the current trends the industry is witnessing? What are your thoughts on the current retail market in India?
The industry is now giving ample space to new ideas and innovations especially in the technological side. The growth of online retailers like has given rise to more innovations and broadening the horizons of competition thus benefiting the end customers in a big way.
Explain about your production facility? Does Ethnic Dukaan manufacture sarees in-house?
Fabrics are chosen with care by a team of select designers; exquisite artisanship and stringent quality control at every step is backed by a strong in-house production framework. This strong value proposition (of product and price) is backed with competencies which come in with the experience of being market leaders since last 30 years, resulting in getting the best of products directly from the source. Ethnic Dukaan.com has 95 per cent in-stock products, ready for same-day shipping and can also be customised to one´s fit and size.
Apart from sarees, what other products do you offer?
Ethnic Dukaan.com offers intricate designs and high-quality products at reasonable prices to international customers across the world. The range includes sarees, salwar suits, kurtis, lehengas, and dress material and accessories. Ethnic Dukaan has also introduced the concept of customised sarees that will be designed keeping in mind the need of the buyers. Please let us know more on this.
Customisation is an essential ingredient if you value your customers. The choice to craft what you need connects customers well with its brand. We customise saree blouses, which is our speciality.
Are your products available in retail stores as well?
No, our products are not available in retail stores; we have our presence online. We are trying to focus essentially among the NRIs especially in the US and the UK. But, we do get a lot of orders from countries as varied as Hungary, Russia, Israel and Australia as well.
Currently Ethnic Dukaan has about 600 weavers and artisans a board and plans to engage 25,000 weaver and artisans in the next five years. Share more details.
Since our products are handloom-based, we have been seeing good growth in it throughout and thus the people who are creating the same at the grass roots are be benefiting hugely from it and we see a huge spurt in this number in the next five years.
What are your future plans?
We do intend to work towards expanding ourselves slowly and steadily. As a dynamic business, of course, the larger goal is to be able to present to maximum destinations globally. We do have a heavy demand from overseas Indians that are always shopping for desi occasions on our website. In the coming times, we wish to be able to provide more variety and options to choose from.
In future, we plan on creating a shopping app.
We understand that the new age generation enjoys shopping at the click of a button on their mobile phones. The app designing is an important process and we wish to do it right. As soon as the softwares and dynamics are in place, we should be able to introduce our mobile app services soon.
We should look to triple the sales in the upcoming season and we intend to take our current turnover of Rs 3 crore to Rs 20 crore in three years.