SUMMARY
The D2C brand thrives on its ‘rooted in India’ motto, keeping in mind Indian women’s body types, complexion and preferences
The Origin Story
Although Duke University is far from any fashion district, Priyanka Agarwal never had any difficulty buying trendy clothes online while pursuing her studies there in 2009. On returning home, she found that ecommerce was still nascent in India, and women keen on Western wear often struggled to find outfits that suited their body types and other preferences. Realising that a new label would be required to dress up the homegrown fashionistas, she joined forces with sibling Shivani to launch Uptownie.
The Differentiator
The D2C brand thrives on its ‘rooted in India’ motto, keeping in mind Indian women’s body types, complexion and preferences, as well as local climate conditions. The goal is to align these lifestyle essentials with global trends to produce a fashion range that is comfortable, contemporary and boosts confidence. Certified by SGS, Uptownie upholds the promise of quality while every piece is stitched with a meticulous focus on design, cut and colour. It does not import Chinese goods or does white labelling. Instead, most of its products are made by contract workers in and around Kolkata, guided by the founders’ family legacy of manufacturing and export-level quality control.
The Growth
As a fashion startup created by new-age women to empower their counterparts, Uptpownie challenges fashion stereotypes by celebrating all body shapes and sizes. Hence, its products are fast gaining recognition beyond metros. Its products are sold on its website and across all major marketplaces. But in the past year and a half, the focus has been more on website sales, collecting customer data and feedback and brand building to drive growth. It clocked 45% YoY revenue growth in FY23, with its team size growing to 100+ and the number of Instagram followers going past 250K.
What’s Next
Uptownie will enter offline retail in a big way by 2025, setting up exclusive brand outlets and adopting a shop-in-shop model for big-format stores. It will also introduce fashion accessories and offer more plus-size products across categories. In the current calendar year, it aims to work on Insta content to take its following past 400K and build an app to catapult digital sales.
