Personalised styling in era of mass production
FR Tech is an Indian deep-tech startup firm revolutionising the way fashion retailers sell and interact with customers with an automated personal styling technology solution-iLuk. It provides a functional value to the shopping experience by helping partner retailers engage their customers better. Through iLuk, partner retailers can offer personalised styling solutions that are suitable to their body-type. Founder & CEO Sandeep Chatterjee and CTO Ravi Katha discuss the journey of iLuk.
How and why did you get into fashtech?
Sandeep Chatterjee: We started by creating interactive consumer engagement solutions with technology. We understand that is the way forward. We are in transition from a customer loyalty-driven business model to a more meaningful customer relationship oriented model. From the beginning of organised fashion retail, customers were doing the same thing-carrying clothes to the trial room and after the trial, making their purchase. We wanted to create a technology that is fun and provides functional benefits to customers, and at the same time allows retailers to develop meaningful relationships with customers.
How is Iluk different from the 3D body scanners and other such technologies?
RK: Body scanning is just one part of the technology. There are many body scanning technologies; some are invasive and some not. Some use laser, while others use infrared. In our pod we use simple cameras to do the body scanning. Our scanning process is non-invasive and safe even for an expecting mother. We have a lot of other technologies that work over body scanning like taking different measurements instantly; we have a built-in artificial intelligence algorithm which analyses the customer body type and then offers personalised styling suggestions based on customers' body types and customers' fashion sensibility. While other body scanners do a good job of scanning the body and creating a 3D avatar, our technology does much more and provides an amazing user experience to a customer.
How easy is it to meld with the other software or ERP systems being used?
RK: We have built Iluk with the possibility of working with whichever framework the customer is using. Our partners do not have to make any changes in their present framework to integrate Iluk.
When did you start FR Tech Innovation?
SC: We started market research in January 2015. After extensive conversations with customers across the country we tried to map out possible developments. We believed that the future belongs to hybrid retailers. The high-street retailers will have to do much better to engage their customers digitally, and e-retailers will need to have an offline engagement model sooner rather than later to have a long-lasting relationship with customers. We started FR Tech in August 2016 with the idea to be the catalyst in the transformation process on the way fashion retail is done now (irrespective of the fact whether you are a e-retailer or a high-street retailer) and how it will be done in the future.
What were the challenges you faced while developing Iluk?
SC: Challenges were all around; we were creating something that has never been created across the globe in a very popular domain. We were starting on a deep-tech project that is difficult to undertake in India. Deep-tech projects require lot of resources and there is no guarantee of success as these projects are mainly research and development-based projects. In our country, the probability of getting funded for deep-tech projects is next to impossible. Most investors look for safer ideas and more assured projects to invest in. We are lucky in being able to generate our initial funding through family and friends, develop a proof of concept and then get an angel investor. Getting an able team headed by our CTO, Ravi Katha was a blessing that helped us overcome the technical challenges. We have been lucky that each person who has invested in this project shared the same vision for Iluk along with the co-founders. Investor trust and patience is important for deep-tech projects. Our incubator CIE based out of IIIT Hyderabad have extended us amazing support. The degree of difficulty in the project kept us focused and helped us enjoy the journey of bringing an idea alive with Iluk.
How many apparel brands/companies are your clients?
SC: All big fashion retailers in India have engaged with Iluk and we expect to roll out the pods soon.
Are Indian apparel retailers/brands ready for such digitalisation?
SC: We have found Indian apparel retailers to be extremely enthusiastic with Iluk. We believe the organised retail industry in India wants to stay ahead of the curve and are open to using digital technology if it helps them have a more meaningful business relationship with consumers.
How did this idea come about?
SC: Through consumer research we realised loyalty points and discounts have been done to death by retailers. Most importantly, discounts and other such carrots are good enough to get new customers to try out your product, but what would one do to ensure that customers keep coming back? The cost of customer acquisition is growing, but that is no guarantee of customer retention.
Ravi Katha: We wanted to create a technology that would offer meaningful functional benefits to end customers, and personalised styling suggestions seemed the right thing to offer. In a mass production world, we can offer personalised styling suggestions with Iluk. Does it get any better?
Who are the major investors in FR Tech? What was the seed capital you began with?
SC: My co-founder Nasreen Waqar Naqvi has invested substantially in the project, and we are extremely thankful for the trust and faith she has had in us. Along with her, we have two close friends who have been involved with technology to see the merits of the project and commit early with their investment. After we had the proof of concept (POC) we got an angel investor from Bangalore, who has identified the promise of the product and been a very proactive investor.
What kind of sizing and styling woes does Iluk plan to solve?
RK: We are dealing with large number of consumers with different fashion sensibilities. We pay a lot of importance to what kind of clothes a customer is comfortable in, and then based on their body type we offer styling suggestions that would suit that person the most within his/her comfort zone. There may be times when customers may evolve, and our system has the intelligence to understand that and offer suggestions accordingly. Iluk provides a very viable solution of buying clothes that will not mismatch for fitment. Our fitment suggestions are highly accurate.
Will Iluk provide solutions as a stand-alone service, or is partnering with retailers the way forward?
SC: In India, Iluk pods will work with partner retailers. We see our partner retailer as a very important association and are committed to creating success stories along with our partners.
What did your pilot tests for Iluk say?
RK: We had an MVP version1 (minimum viable product) which we wanted to introduce in March 2018. We were set and our test consumers were happy with version1. Just as we were starting to plan the launch, the research and development team came up with some upgrades that we thought were extremely meaningful for the-end consumer; so, we delayed the launch to create the MVP version2. So, what we are launching now is a much better and more relatable technology from a consumers' perspective.
What was the interaction with the industry like?
SC: We introduced Iluk at an industry trade fair. The response was amazing. To be honest, we couldn't have dreamt of or hoped for a better response. We are humbled by the support and encouragement we have got from prospective partner retailers. We also realise that this comes with the responsibility of improving the product and helping retailers connect with consumers in a more meaningful and constructive way.
What is the cost of installing the pod?
SC: We are leasing the pods so there is no capex for working with Iluk. There are some interesting commercial terms which are more focused on our partner's success.
What are the improvisations/ innovations being added?
RK: There are many aspects of this technology, as well as the complete technology, that has been patented.
- Garment draping 2D Vs 3D: For example, in magic mirror if a customer is wearing a skirt and she is trying on a pair of jeans, the customer can see the image of the jeans placed at the appropriate place, but the image is placed in a 2D format. This means that as the customer turns around to see how the jeans looks from the side, the customer will be able to see the skirt which she was wearing earlier and not the jeans. Draping is 3D; so, when the customer turns around, she will be able to see how the jeans look from 360 degrees.
- Garment draping placement vs draping with physics: In magic mirror, the garment is placed on the customer; it is not draped. Iluk drapes a customer's avatar in 3D and applies physics which helps the customer visualise how the garment will look closer to reality.
- Garment placement vs garment draping: In magic mirror, a garment is placed over the clothes a customer is wearing. So, if the customer wearing a skirt is trying on a pair of jeans, she can see the jeans being placed at an appropriate area, but she will also be able to see the skirt around it. So, the customer then is expected to visualise how the jeans would look on its own without the skirt being around. In Iluk, the skirt will disappear and the customer can see only the jeans, make the decision and buy the garment.
The Iluk pod is placed in a customer's retail outlet. A consumer enters the pod to get scanned. The body shape is analysed and a 3D avatar of the consumer is created. Personalised styling suggestions are offered based on the consumer's body-type and particulars of what the buyer is looking for: e.g. weekend casuals. Once a consumer has created a 3D avatar, he/she can access the avatar from any device (tab, phone or PC) using the profile ID and password and shop for any part of the wardrobe and get personalised styling suggestions. Iluk provides a strong functional benefit of personal styling along with the convenience of shopping anytime from anywhere as per convenience.
Once you have created your 3D avatar, you don't need to go to the store if you don't want to; you can access your avatar from the website or app by keying in your ID and password. Your avatar would be accessible for 12 calendar months unless you have significant changes in your measurements. Since you can try the apparel on your avatar before you buy, one can be better assured about fit and not having to send the apparel back because of a misfit.
What was the cost of making the first Iluk Pod?
SC: Since this has been an arduous R&D-based project, it is extremely difficult to put a number for the cost. However, the success stories we create for our partner retailers will be the only way we would understand that the cost of creating this technology was worth the effort.
What is next for FR Tech?
SC: FR Tech would continue R&D to add new features to Iluk, even as we have some more interesting projects to work on. (HO)
