It’s not every day that one comes across an entrepreneur who specializes in selling lingerie online. That’s what makes Richa Kar different.
As founder of Zivame.com, Kar has positioned herself as an Indian lingerie e-retailer. Retailing lingerie in brick and mortar stores is invariably fraught with difficulties. It’s obvious that the online world brings along a fresh set of challenges. So The Textile Magazine caught up with the e-retailer to find out what makes her tick.
When Kar began to work as a retail consultant for an IT firm, she won’t have imagined that she was sitting on an opportunity waiting to be tapped. “I had the opportunity to research on Victoria’s Secret. I came across a very startling fact that 70 per cent of Victoria Secret’s revenue comes through online sales, and that got me thinking. I researched a bit more and figured out that in India the lingerie brand penetration is very low and that there is big need for good quality lingerie across India,” said Kar.
Most retailers don’t stock the entire range as they have a very limited shelf space. Even worse, most women don’t find cup sizes that fit them. “When you walk into a store, it is not a very comfortable experience shopping for lingerie as most stores are manned by men. Indian women are not well educated about the variety and types that the modern lingerie industry offers,” she reasoned.
It then occurred to her that this particular segment, lingerie, was very amenable to online retailing as there are no limitations on the quantity stocked, and that’s how her label stocks everything from size 30 to size 40 in all cup sizes. It also offers a private environment where women can shop without unwanted interference.
Zivame means ‘Radiant Me’, and starting the endeavour was a natural progression for Kar. Moreover, the textile industry plays an important role, in terms of revenue generation in the Indian economy. The significance of the textile industry is also due to its contribution to industrial production and employment. Currently, it is the second largest employment provider after agriculture and offers employment to more than 30mn people.
Early days
“Initially the biggest challenge that we faced was to create awareness about Zivame and gain consumer acceptance as we were trying to change the way women in India buy lingerie,” recalled Kar, founder, Zivame.com. However it wasn’t long before the early stage investors realized the importance of bringing about this change in the society and stepped in to offer Kar assistance in setting up Zivame.
Initially, investors even doubled up as mentors, and there were instances when they mentored Kar, steered her in the right direction, connected her to relevant people and opened doors for her as and when required. “They also guided us to invest in the core areas like people, marketing and technology in order to build a great brand and that helped us immensely in the long run,” she recalled.
Clearly such support has stood her in good stead. The brand founded in 2011 has come a long way. Though it’s online sales, the brand has built a clientele through tech tools like search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). With the result, the data base mining processes have been very specific to an individual’s choice in order to cater to their requirements with a wide range of women’s lingerie essentials starting from MRP of Rs. 199 onwards.
Zivame clicks
“At Zivame.com, we sell approximately four bras a minute. With the aim of becoming the ultimate lingerie destination in India, we are looking at introducing more innovative products under the Zivame label,” said Kar, sharing her forthcoming plans.
Another area that the entrepreneur is keenly focussing and working on is improving the service that is being offered to customers. It is intended to highlight the importance of fit and ensure that all women in India discover their right size. The label is working towards expanding the fitting lounge for this purpose. All this is being backed by designers who are researching and working on bringing out products for the private labels.
Richa Kar grew up in Jamshedpur. She completed her engineering from BITS Pilani in 2002 and after having worked briefly in the IT industry she acquired a Masters’ degree from the Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies in 2007. Later she worked with a retailer and global technology company before she started Zivame.com.