Bewakoof, an online apparel startup decides to switch to online destination model and has raised funding from the founders of Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. Currently Bewakoof is doing INR 1.5 Cr. through its own portal and this constitutes 100% of the sales. The brand claims to have grown 3 times in the past 6 months and more than 50% of their sales come from mobile.
Along with Snapdeal Founders, Nikhil Vora – Former IDFC Securities Managing Director and co-Head of Research has also invested in personal capacity. Nikhil also runs a consumer-centric fund named Sixth Sense Ventures.
The founder elucidates the switch to be in company’s favour to build a strong brand in the online retail space. Bewakoof is believed to be a fast fashion building brand which offers huge variety and frequent collection of in-trend fashion to consumers. Keeping in mind the product-to-market cycle as a key parameter Bewakoof believes selling through third party slows the process, increases the inventory level and also causes a delay in providing in-trend fashion.
Prabhkiran Singh, cofounder Bewakoof.com said, “We switched because this is where the future is. India will skip the organized retail revolution and the online retail will emerge to be a bigger market. We believe that 30-40 big online fashion brands with $100M+ revenue will be created online. The strongest of brands will become destinations for the consumers and the others will depend on marketplaces for their distribution. Bewakoof is a really strong brand and can stand on its own, becoming a destination for quirky fashion.”
In 2014 Bewakoof had plans of raising INR 25 Cr. to fund its growth plans as it looked to expand its portfolio online and increase presence across brick-and-mortar retail stores across India. However, changing its strategy Bewakoof has now switched to the destination model to be progressive and build its strong brand presence.
Some online retail brands have not figured out yet whether to build a destination or go big on distribution. BlueGape, merchandise startup was shut down because of the copyright issue.
