Interview with Amit Maheshwari

Amit Maheshwari
CEO
Exclusively.com

There is a huge void in the online premium and luxury fashion space

Amit Maheshwari, CEO of Exclusively.com, recently acquired by the e-commerce major Snapdeal, talks about handling fashion business online, and how long it takes to establish the brand which caters to customers in the online space.

Snapdeal is already a big name. Now that you are responsible for fashion on Exclusively.com, how will you try to make the brand grow further?

The move to Exclusively.com is a continuation of my journey that began three years ago in Snapdeal. As a CEO, I am focused on building a highly scalable premium fashion business at Exclusively.com together with forming a very vision-oriented and vibrant team focused at driving Exclusively.com to be the pioneer in online fashion business.

Will you resort to offline activities just like other portals do to promote business online?

There will be a constant endeavour to do what is right for the business. If offline activities seem lucrative, we will be open to those options.

How much is social media helpful in establishing a brand?

Social media connects every person in the world today. It plays a very vital role in creating awareness as well. Social media holds the power to make things go viral. There is yet to be a stronger existing medium. Hence, it is a key element in establishing a brand.

Do you believe that e-shopping will replace real shopping in the future? Will people only window-shop?

E- and M-commerce seem to be the future of fashion retailing. The only way to cope with the ever-changing dynamics of the market is by understanding the needs and lifestyles of the consumers and then walking through every facet of their lives and be on par with global trends.

Apart from metros, do you face good traffic on the portal from smaller cities? What are the challenges you face there?

At Exclusively.com, we are not just serving the Indian audience from metros and mini-metros. A large part of our business is driven by the global audience. Currently, we have a very small percentage of consumers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. We are actively working on a business strategy to quickly penetrate and capture that segment of consumers.

How much importance does a fashion portal give to media, outdoor advertising and television?

As part of any good marketing plan, we will reach out to the right target audience. Each of these channels will play a prominent role. Media, outdoor advertising and television are very strong mediums to reach out to a larger audience that are yet to move to online shopping, hence making it imperative.

What is your target audience? How will you make the brand popular when there are already many players in the market?

At Exclusively.com, we have the first mover's advantage of having luxury brands or designers on board, which is yet an unexplored market in the e-commerce world. This, combined with additions and evolutions which we plan in the near future, will be able to position ourselves as India's ultimate fashion destination. We will cater to a larger audience that no other player in the market has yet been able to achieve.

What is the innovation you have in mind for promoting fashion goods on your portal? How much are Indian consumers aware with respect to fashion as compared to their counterparts in other countries?

There is a tremendous void in the online premium and luxury fashion space. Exclusively.com complements Snapdeal's existing ecosystem and provides a consolidated offering for the luxury and lifestyle shopper. It aims at making it India's first online luxury mall. With new collection and service augmentations in the pipeline, nationwide reach, robust technology platform and deep consumer insights, Exclusively.com aims to increase its reach and offerings.

Published on: 30/10/2015

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.