D2C As A Channel Cannot Be Ignored Anymore: Da Milano Cofounder Sahil Malik

Speaking at Inc42’s The D2C Summit 3.0, Sahil Malik, cofounder of omnichannel luxury leather product brand Da Milano, said that D2C as a sales channel cannot be ignored anymore, given the pace of the segment’s growth.

Malik talked about his initial impression of the ecommerce experience and said that the demand for luxury products increased rapidly after the pandemic.

“We were more of an offline structure before the pandemic, but our online sales jumped 200-300%, which was quite unusual and wasn’t expected. So, D2C has become a very very strong channel and has been growing at a very fast pace. Today, it has become a channel of ease and comfort, with a focus on delivery and good quality and it cannot be ignored anymore,” said Sahil.

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Speaking about the impact of the pandemic, Da Milano cofounder Shivani Malik said, “I think we’ve seen demand like never before, post-pandemic. People want to carry fashion-forward products. They don’t want to have repeat value, which is working for us because our customer is coming to us more often.”

Sahil said that with new applications, software and technologies coming in, D2C is going to be a significant channel. “India is a very large country and it is not possible to open a store in every remote area, but you can make your product reach the remotest areas of the country (with D2C),” he said.

Founded in 2001 by Sahil Malik and later joined by his wife Shivani Malik as cofounder in 2007, Da Milano is an affordable luxury D2C brand providing customers with a lifetime service warranty. The brand focuses on leather goods and accessories, operating stores across the Indian subcontinent and in several countries in the Middle East.

The Delhi-headquartered brand also has plans to expand to Southeast Asia soon. Da Milano follows an omnichannel approach and sells the products on its website and across ecommerce platforms.

Over the past few quarters, D2C has emerged as a fast-growing subsector in the ecommerce sector. As per Inc42’s latest report, ‘The State of Indian Ecommerce Q3 2022. Infocus: D2C’, 180 funded D2C brands raised $4.5 Bn in funding between 2014 and Q2 2022. The fashion segment accounted for $1.5 Bn, or a third, of the total funding amount in D2C.

While ecommerce funding is undergoing a downturn, funding in D2C grew to account for 52% of all ecommerce funding in Q2 2022. As per Inc42’s analysis, the total addressable market (TAM) for Indian D2C brands is set to cross $302 Bn By 2030, growing at a CAGR of 24% during 2021-2030.

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