Rashmi Shukla, Business Head, Jaypore, is an enthusiast about product creation and design, particularly in the fashion and apparel industry. Her passion led her into the fashion sector, and Jaypore gave her the opportunity to discover comfortable apparel and traditional crafts.
In an exclusive interview with BW Retail World Shukla talked about the brand’s vision, campaigns, challenges and more.
How were the last two years for your business? Tell us about the challenges and opportunities faced and any changes you made in your business model.
With Covid coming in, the wheels of this machinery began running faster. The pandemic presented new opportunities for Jaypore, particularly in the e-commerce space. The online marketplace served as the perfect getaway for us during Covid.
With more people shopping online, we saw a significant increase in online sales and were able to reach a wider customer base through digital marketing and social media efforts.
We saw a spike in interest for home decor with an increase in time spent at home. Originally a small category, we decided to act quick and introduce more items.
We predicted that post covid, the customers will be ready with their shopping carts and lining up to buy things that they were keeping away from for the last 2 years and it came true.
We saw our latest festive collection fly off the racks within days post-Covid. People went above and beyond to curate their best looks for the festive season, and we were ready with our elaborate range of apparel, home decor, gifting, footwear, accessories and jewellery.
As soon as the world opened up, we saw heavy footfalls in our stores and we resumed our retail store expansion. 10 stores became 15, and will become 30+ by the end of this financial year.
Your Brand in a way redefined social norms regarding dressing up. Kindly let us know the role of Marketing and especially advertising in building up a retail business.
Jaypore’s soul is rooted in bringing Indian heritage crafts to the forefront with a contemporary aesthetic so it is relevant for today’s India. We want to rediscover India.
Our products are a clear reflection of that and our campaigns also mirror it. For example, this year on Republic Day we started #TheFabricOfIndia campaign.
The concept of ‘The Fabric of India’ reflects how the substance of our country lies in its rich and diverse tapestry of people, languages, cultures and traditions.
Through this campaign, we delve deep into India’s craft offerings and celebrate unity in this diversity. We collaborated with Kalki Koechlin – a representation of India’s diversity to highlight India’s craft variety. Through a video and other social media posts, she beautifully lays the premise for #TheFabricOfIndia. Progressively, the campaign will feature Indians with more diverse backgrounds, donning diverse crafts, celebrating the true soul of Jaypore.
How do you see India’s textile and apparel exports growing for the upcoming fiscal year?
India has a competitive advantage in the global textile and apparel market due to its large workforce, favourable policies, and diverse product range. We take pride in representing this India in everything we do at Jaypore.
Our entire objective has been to save authentic Indian crafts from extinction. This has kept us in a dynamic circle, where we are ready for next. The practice beautifully worked out in our post-COVID prediction and hopefully will continue to steer us into the future.
In the era where the focus is on sustainability, especially post-pandemic, what’s your company’s focus concerning People’s Profits and Purpose?
We source responsibly from craftsmen and local sources, providing livelihood to many. 100 per cent of our current products are ‘Made in India’ and have a minimum carbon-footprint. Jaypore’s E-commerce platform has offerings from other sustainable players across the country. Together with our partners, we preach beauty in a timeless fashion and the art of repurposing through styling.
More than 50 per cent of fabrics used in the products are made up of natural fibres, especially cotton and silk. Nearly 50 per cent of our business comes from the ‘MADE-TO-ORDER’ business model, wherein, the garment is made only once the order is placed. This helps us to avoid excess inventory build-up.
A lot of our ranges use Upcycling and recycling older fabrics which provide circularity in products. This is not just restricted to apparel, our home products are heavily based on artisans making products out of copper, mitti, clay, etc., materials that follow circularity in the true sense.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail ethnic businesses grew 66 per cent YoY, driven by aggressive network expansion and brand-building initiatives. The Company’s ethnic wear business includes brands such as Jaypore, Tasva & Marigold Lane.
