Luxury gets a new initiative
The luxury fashion retail business in India has been booming for years now with multi-designer stores opening by the dozen in big metro cities. But while some shut down due to sub-standard management, a few have been successful by investing cleverly and bringing best-selling brands into their fold. Purple Style Labs, the brainchild of Abhishek Agarwal, has made successful inroads into the Indian fashion scene in spite of the pandemic and creating havoc in the Indian fashion world. Founder/director Abhishek Agarwal and creative head Anjana Sharma unveil the plans in an exclusive interview with Meher Castelino.
You have an online presence as well as offline. Which is more profitable?
AA: We do not look at online and offline businesses separately; rather, we are a pure omni-channel platform, where both arms leverage strengths of one another. Online gives us a wide exposure of customers globally and offline centres help us in selling high-value products to customers, which need the touch and feel experience.
Tell us about the founding of Purple Style Labs (PSL).
Abhishek Agarwal (AA): Purple Style Labs (PSL) was founded by me in 2015. The idea behind PSL was to work with Indian designers towards building the country's largest luxury house by creating a dynamic team of creative and analytical people. In the journey, the acquisition of Pernia's Pop-Up Shop in 2018 was the first major landmark in a long journey ahead.
Why was the project started? What is the aim of the company as far as fashion is concerned?
AA: I have always believed that India has a lot of strong brand equity built over the last few decades, but very few of them have translated into commerce. The basic idea of PSL is to bridge the missing luxury retail element between fashion designers and global customers. Hopefully, in another five years from now PSL should own the largest multi-designer distribution through Pernia's Pop-Up Shop across the globe with over ₹1,000 crore sales and simultaneously be a house to over 10+ designer brands. The Wendell Rodricks brand acquisition is the first in our journey.
Pernia's Pop-Up Shop seems to be the main brand. What about Masaba in which PSL has also invested and now the Wendell Rodricks brand?
AA: Our journey with Masaba has been pretty successful. Both companies are able to work in synergy on a lot of things bringing economies of scale and sharing of knowledge. The Wendell Rodricks brand is a recent move, but we expect to scale it up very rapidly in the next three years.
How do you promote, advertise PSL since it is not very well known?
AA: PSL is just the parent company and stays low-key. Pernia's Pop-Up Shop and the brands are well known.
There are many fashion stores with a stable of designers from across the country. What is different about PSL?
AA: You are right. There are many and I am sure there will be many in the years to come. But the advantage of Pernia's Pop-Up Shop (owned by PSL) is that it is omni-channel with a strong online presence and a market leader with ten stores among Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and London as the first international location. Our global distribution is our leverage over regional multi-brand stores.
PSL has two platforms-Pernia's Pop-Up Shop and The Stylist. Won't these two cannibalise each other?
AA: Pernia's Pop-Up Shop is our active growth catalyst that has grown 10x within two years of acquisition. The Stylist was an experiment we ran for few months in 2019, but we plan to re-launch it in late 2021.
Who is your target audience? Are you aiming at the luxury segment only?
AA: Currently, yes. But as I mentioned we hope to cater to a broader set of customers through platforms like The Stylist.
What is the turnover of the company since it started?
AA: Currently we are clocking over ₹100 crore GMV run rate (~$15 million) and expect to grow to ₹700- 1,000 crore (~$100-150 million) by 2025.
What is the main difference between the two?
AA: Pernia's Pop-Up Shop has a much wider offering of over 500+ brands to a global customer base with a high average order value. At The Stylist, we are looking to appeal to the aspirational customer base that is looking to own something from mainstream designers but for a reasonable price of under ₹10,000. We plan to work with few names from top 20-30 designers and create special capsule collections.
Will PSL have its own in-house brand like many other fashion houses do?
AA: We do not want to create private labels from scratch. We believe that brand building is a function of time and there are many designers who have spent decades of their life doing it. Our approach will be to constantly acquire brands or take majority stakes to make it part of the larger house. Our first investment was a minority stake in the House of Masaba and the Wendell Rodricks brand was our first acquisition. In the next few years, you can expect many more to follow the suit.
How are the designers selected for the store and online?
AA: We have an experienced team of 15+ merchandisers, including veterans at management who take the decision of listing brands.
There were many other projects like Kimaya, which has now closed down. Will PSL last the full stretch?
AA: I think omni-channel is the key differentiator for PSL. We are aggressive and capital-efficient at the same time. Pernia's Pop-Up Shop is the New Age version of Kimaya and we have already surpassed Kimaya's scale at peak. PSL on the other hand has a much broader vision towards the Indian luxury industry and will keep finding its way to sail through.
Isn't the luxury fashion house concept a little passé?
AA: The global luxury industry is 60 per cent owned by the top five houses. When you are looking to build long-term business models, then it does not make sense to be distracted by short-term market movements. I personally believe that PSL can be India's LVMH equivalent and occupy a large market share of the Indian fashion industry in the next decade.
How many designers does PSL have?
AA: As a multi-brand platform, Pernia's Pop-Up Shop sells over 700+ brands across different categories of fashion, accessories and home/lifestyle. We work closely with around 20 designer brands where we also help them in other parts of their business, like technology and marketing.
How has the pandemic affected PSL?
AA: We are almost at the pre-covid-19 run rate. So, the turbulence due to covid-19 has been well managed by the PSL team. Being an online-first company has helped us in covid-19 as compared to other retail platforms that were more offline-heavy.
Circularity is the new buzzword that could actually make a difference to Planet Earth. As awareness grows, so will the demand. What is your focus on this aspect as you pick designers?
AA: As a multi-brand platform, we ensure that all the customers' demands are met. Hence, we have been working with many brands promoting the same.
How do you select the designers?
AA: As a platform, we already work with 99 per cent of the relevant brands from India. As far as the process of investment and acquisitions are concerned, there is no standard flowchart. But our basic filter is how strong is the brand recall for the designer. If there are 1,000 customers looking for the brand, then there is a 100x market which can indeed be.
You recently bought the Wendell Rodricks brand, which is synonymous with Goa. What are your plans for it?
AA: We have already set up a new design studio in the heart of Panaji, Goa. The Spring/Summer 2021 collection is in the making and we would launch a new flagship store in Goa in the next quarter with the new collection.
How do you see the luxury market evolving in India during this era of covid-19?
AA: The Indian luxury market is mostly wedding-centric. Contrary to the general perception, fashion and jewellery segments are more sought-after wedding expenses, currently leading to a huge pent up demand in our industry for the next few quarters due to extremely high numbers of scheduled weddings. Let us hope this balances the lost business for the industry during the last few months.
PSL has nine stores in India and London. Which has been the best city for you? What is the size of each store, and the number of designers with each?
AA: As of now we are the largest in Mumbai with three stores of 3,000-4,000 sq ft in prime locations of Juhu Tara Road, Turner Road, Bandra and Kala Ghoda. Delhi is catching up with our newly opened store at Emporio. Our uniqueness lies in the ability to churn over 100 designers in each store over the whole year. So, a customer can expect new brands and collections at the store almost every week.
There are 12 major investors and nearly 60 assorted investors. How will they help in the progress of PSL?
AA: PSL has been successful in getting the right set of investors for its journey including fashion industry veterans, financial experts, PE and VC partners and high-level executives from Indian corporate houses. We are looking to raise our first institutional round in the next quarter.
How do you see the future of the fashion industry in India after covid-19?
AA: I think every tragedy presents an opportunity too. Everybody was given 3-6 months to go back to his or her whiteboard and plan the long-term vision for the company. We have been working closely with many designer brands on new projects, which would be unveiled over the next few months.
Will the business of fashion be more online or offline?
AA: I think fashion will always be a blend of online and offline. Even though most of the marketing channels have shifted online, but the sales point would still be primarily offline. The winners would be people who are able to leverage both channels in a balance to maximise the contribution margin.
You have a lot of fashion experience having handled Lakmé Fashion Week as well as started Stylista.com. As creative head of PSL, what will be your portfolio?
Anjana Sharma (AS): At PSL, I work with the creative, marketing and merchandising teams looking at all aspects of content, look and feel of the site. I will now also be handling the Wendell Rodricks operations out of Goa.
How do you see the fashion business moving after the pandemic?
AS: I feel there will be a more "conscience consumption" approach and people will look for more long-term value. Investment pieces will take on importance with occasional trend indulgences. I also feel that everyone will creatively indulge in upcycling. Depending on the social distancing norms in play, wardrobes will evolve and consolidate, especially around weddings. The 'Made in India' tag has got a fresh lease of life, and now it is up to us to grow and keep it relevant and strong.
The Wendell Rodricks brand has been acquired by PSL. Since you were very closely associated with the designer, what plans do you have for it now?
AS: The DNA of the brand is classic and relevant even today. The aim is to keep the classics going, as they are timeless and work with Wendell's detailed archives.
As creative head, do you give inputs to the designers on what to design and what will sell?
AS: We are a data-driven company and where relevant we do give feedback to designers. In the end, we need to show numbers. If we spot a trend relevant for any designer, we do share information.
How do you see the luxury fashion business moving in India after the pandemic?
AS: Luxury has had to adapt to the online space and that will become bigger. In India, luxury is more focused around the wedding business and that will always remain an indulgence for Indians. I also see personal shoppers becoming more important.
What innovations are you planning for the stores to meet the "new normal" demands of customers?
AS: Appointment-based and virtual shopping are the key here. Store staff will take on a more 'personal shopper' approach. Small intimate store gatherings will be important, and I feel designers will also need to start interacting more on the floor.
20230103183907.png)
