“The fundamental reason being that fashion tastes of both countries are similar, which makes it easy to attract the Indian consumer”, says Danish Adamjee, COO of Khaadi, a popular Pakistani label known for its hand-woven fabrics and which plans to set up an online fashion store targeting Indian consumers.
The salwar-kameez, the predominant dress code for women in Pakistan, also till a few years back, a dress worn mainly in northern parts of India, is now finding acceptance across the whole of India, thereby throwing open a lucrative opportunity for Pakistani online fashion retailers.
“In the absence of legal trade between India and Pakistan, the best way to target an Indian customer was through an online portal and we are doing quite well, says Zahir Rahimtoola – CEO of Labels, an online apparel portal, started in 2006.
“Khaadi is already selling in the Indian markets through distributors and our designs have been well accepted by the Indian consumer, because the demand is very good. We hope to scale up business and open our own stores, once Pakistan grants India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status”, Danish informs.
Zahir adds, “Similar as we are, our design sensibilities are very different, which is attracting the Indian consumer. Currently, Pakistani exhibitions which are normally held in Delhi or Mumbai see Pakistani fabrics and garments flying off the shelf.
“However, we are trying to attract the pan-India consumer from Kashmir to Kanyakumari through Labels. We offer a vast versatility of products. Apart from our in-house label, we offer creations from 53 Pakistani designers with prices ranging from INR 1,200 extending to INR 100,000”.
“We are already selling our products online to consumers in the US, Canada and also Pakistan. We hope to cater to the Indian market within the next few months”, Danish reveals.
Discussing his future plans, Zahir informs, “Currently we are branding ourselves on social media channels. We now plan to target the Indian consumer through various Indian fashion magazines”.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India