In 2018, DaMENSCH -- an apparel wear brand -- began its journey with just three pairs of trunks and briefs in the men's innerwear category. The founders had identified a huge gap in the men’s innerwear market and took it as an opportunity to provide innovative products, and sparking awareness in the Indian market about the need to focus on essential wear for men, a segment, which was mostly neglected.
“When we launched modal innerwear at our price point, we received a fantastic response from our customers. We witnessed a significant increase in repeat customers, which gave us enough confidence to expand our product portfolio,” stated Gaurav Pushkar, Co-Founder, DaMENSCH.
In 2021, the brand launched the outerwear category with more focus on innovation in its products. The outerwear collection involves signature 500 Days T-shirts, joggers, shorts, and a statement popcorn range. The collections mostly focused on providing high quality, sustainability, and maximum comfort to its customers.
With healthy growth online, the brand decided to venture into offline, launching its first store in Mantri Square Mall, followed by stores in Jayanagar and Brigade road in Bengaluru. Further, to strengthen its commitment and have a stronger omnichannel presence, DaMENSCH decided to open one store every month till March 2023.
“Our vision is to become the best essential wear brand in the country and to cross Rs 1,000 crore revenue by retaining our loyal customers and delighting them with products that are cutting edge,” commented Pushkar.
Ideation
The idea behind the brand was to tap the most neglected and challenging part of the male wardrobe, which is the innerwear. DaMENSCH embarked upon its journey to create products for modern men that were distinct in features and desirable in feel.
“As an environmentally conscious generation, it was imperative that when we started this journey, we also kept the problems of the planet in mind. We believe that our entire segment would be the apparel of choice for our target customers of conscious, progressive millennials and Gen Z. We want to be an integral part of their wardrobe,” asserted Gaurav Pushkar.
Currently, with its 5 main categories including activewear, sleepwear, loungewear, Innerwear, and winterwear, the brand has over 25 subcategories and a further 250 stock-keeping units. Additionally, the brand plans to expand to newer categories, with its vision to become an indispensable part of every Indian’s wardrobe.
Brand Positioning
Being an innovation-first brand, the majority of DaMENSCH’s products have been crafted using cutting-edge technology. “We are high on fabric tech and so we innovate to make our customers more comfortable and confident. From the beginning, both our innovative products and price points helped capture a strong and loyal customer base. We are proud of having helmed in an era of R&D in men's innerwear, and we will continue to push the envelope on it,” stated Pushkar.
Additionally, when DaMENSCH was launched, the innerwear market was divided into Mass pricing (Rupa, VIP), Mid pricing (Jockey), and Luxury pricing (Calvin Klein), which left a gaping opportunity for DaMENSCH to make an entry.
Furthermore, the brand intends to launch novel categories, which will help it become a strong player in the essential wear segment. It will also be opening new stores in prime locations to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience.
Technology and DaMENSCH
“As a brand, our differentiation has always been innovation, as we have managed to bring technology into fabric engineering, whether it’s the Deo Soft proprietary fabric of Deo Soft underwear, which is odor canceling, or the Bamboo Vests and Thermoregulating Polos that are made out of recycled plastic, we have innovated across all the 4Ps of Marketing,” asserted Pushkar.
Infused with innovation, DaMENSCH's product range of innerwear includes ‘Deo-Soft’ - India’s first odor-canceling underwear, ‘Neo-Skin’ - thermo-regulating vests made from a curated composition of sustainable bamboo fibers, among other products catering to the comfort of the modern man. The brand plans to connect with cohorts through its technological superiority and contemporary design.
In addition, the brand’s ‘All Degree Polos’ is 100 percent eco-friendly, made of Coolmax Eco fiber tech, which creates polyester from recycled plastic while adding superior moisture-wicking capabilities.
“All our collections are made with the technical expertise to provide the best customer experience. Our contemporary designs are for modern men who think differently. We marry designs with today’s forward-thinking men and our product ranges are evidence of this thought process,” added Pushkar.
Growth and Marketing
DaMENSCH has grown 3x year-on-year, having successfully raised three rounds of funding, the recent being Series B, wherein it raised $16.4 million led by A91 Partners, along with participation from investors such as Saama Capital, Matrix Partners, and Whiteboard Capital.
Currently, having three stores in Bengaluru located in Mantri Square Mall, Jayanagar, and Brigade Road. DaMENSCH will soon open its next store on Commercial Street.
Furthermore, the brand’s retail and marketing strategy are to have 100 stores by 2024, intending to have Rs 500 crore offline by 2025 and an equal amount online as well. “We believe in providing our customers with a seamless shopping experience, therefore, based on our learnings we aim to expand fast in other key markets as well - Mumbai and Delhi - followed by other cities,” stated Pushkar.
D2C and Social Commerce Strategy
The founders believe that their customers are digital natives whose comfort lies in buying products online. Its target audience are conscious consumers, who would want to research their product before making any purchase decision. Therefore, DaMENSCH has a D2C brand as well, which caters to all the digital native male consumers, who are conscious and confident of their choices and value sustainable brands.
Currently, the brand is only looking at conservational commerce as part of its social marketing strategy and will be launching the same tentatively in April 2023.
Being an essential wear brand largely, DaMENSCH rarely experiences any returns or exchanges given hygiene reasons. Also, owing to its quality, it witnesses less than a 3 percent return on its products.
Future Plans
“We would want to explore growth opportunities in every manner, which includes new markets. Though we currently don’t have immediate plans, we do believe that there is a lot of affinity in the consumers of Indian and South East Asian markets, and therefore in time would definitely want to venture into such markets,” said Gaurav Pushkar.
The brand has thus been keeping an eye on metaverse and while the current number of active consumers on metaverse is highly restricted, it believes the platform has tremendous potential.
Five years from now, DaMENSCH aims to be the Number 1 essential wear brand in the country. The first Indian brand to cross Rs 1,000 crore in revenue.
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