How Monrow Shoes & Accessories Plans to Achieve Threefold Growth by Next Year

The Indian footwear market was worth $11.7 billion in 2021 and is further projected to reach $25.5 billion by the year 2028, growing at a CAGR of 11.70 percent during the period 2022 – 2028, according to Blue Weave Consulting.

Today’s footwear market is driven by the rising demand for superior quality footwear, in conjunction with product innovation and premiumization. In addition to this, the industry is further enhanced by the increasing emphasis of manufacturers on the development of innovative designs, while also keeping the comfort of consumers in mind.

This has resulted in the introduction of modern products that are comfortable, along with being fashionable which is the essence of the D2C brand Monrow Shoes & Accessories.

With a passion for fashion and a love for heels, Veena Ashiya, Founder of Monrow Shoes & Accessories, decided to pursue her long-cherished dream of having her own brand and founded Monrow in the year 2015. The brand is aimed at bold and carefree women who love fashion and cannot compromise on comfort.

“Monrow being a Data + Design-driven brand owing to its unique algorithm has seen immense success in the past 5 years and has been funded again which is the fuel in the jet I aspired for,” she said.

Brand Presence

Apart from its website, Monrow is present on all major marketplaces like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Nykaa, Ajio, Tata CLiQ, etc.

Monrow has its offline presence in Centro, Reliance trends, Shoppers Stop, Sohum, etc.

“Our retail presence is in 41 stores and we plan to expand to 90 stores this year,” Ashiya stated.

Its target market is women living in Tier I and II cities.

Why Launched as a D2C Brand?

The D2C segment has multiple trends that drive the industry to a highly consumed gambit. The brand has tapped into the most important D2C trends like Conversational commerce, Influencer marketing, AR/VR trends, Instant delivery along with fashion trends.

Conversational Commerce - The field of social media has generated millions of options enabling contact with customers aiding in replying instantly, solving queries, and calling them to build personal rapport.

Influencer Marketing - Influencers have taken over the social media world influencing millions of users. The D2C brands have tapped into this by collaborating endlessly to promote their brands and establish mutually beneficial relationships with content creators.

AR/VR/Live Streaming - AR/VR/Live streaming provides D2C brands with the platform to establish their brand image while keeping in touch with real-time and reality.

Instant Delivery - D2C brands are now maintaining industry standards that involve instant deliveries within 1-2 business days that establish customer loyalty and trust on a better level.

Fashion Trends - Fashion trends have a directly proportional relationship with D2C brands where they affect each other. During the pandemic, fashion trends were evolving at a triple-fold speed bringing in comfortable loungewear, baggy clothes, bulky footwear, and accessories. The Monrow Anti-Sneaker collection tapped into this while keeping in mind the customer behavior and requirements during Covid times when working from home was the existing norm.           

Product Portfolio

With the goal of creating the most comfortable footwear, Monrow offers a wide range of collections for both Millennial and Gen Z women. The brand offers customers with a wide variety of styles and options, including flats, kitten heels, wedges, platform heels, stilettos, boots, and loafers.

“Our classic kitten heels, wedges, flats in black, nude, beige, gold, etc have always been top sellers,” Ashiya asserted.

The brand’s customer analysis has allowed it to come up with bold and beautiful collections such as the Animal Print, Sari collection, Loafers, Embellished festive edit, etc. It has curated strategies after listening to its customers and come up with pocket-friendly, DIY designs like the Sari collection while keeping in mind that its customer base is also inclusive of Gen-Z.

“We carefully listen to our customers and have devised a customer listening tool to understand our customers' requirements. We also keep ourselves updated with the latest trends and technologies to be incorporated into our products and operations,” explained Veena.

“We are in the process of releasing the most anticipated Y2K collection, which promises to be extraordinary in every way,” she added.

In addition, the brand plans to launch 2-3 collections each year.

Funding Galore

Starting with a seed fund of Rs 3.5 crore, Monrow is a 40 crore turnover in just a span of 5 years and has been funded twice with the participation of investors such as LC Nueva along with existing investors such as 9 Unicorns, Let’s venture, VCats Blume Ventures. Apart from this, Propell Fund has also invested in the brand for the first time.

The brand has registered year-over-year growth of more than 2x the previous turnout in spite of the pandemic alongside a 30 percent customer retention rate.

With its Tier II strategy, Monrow has become the highest generator of sales per sq. ft. in modern offline retail options like the Future group.

READ MORE: How Bright is the Future of India's Footwear Industry

Goal Ahead

The brand’s revenue in the financial year (FY’21-22) stood at Rs 13.05 crore.

“We are estimating a growth of around 3x for the next year,” Ashiya noted.

As a women-centric brand with more than 50 percent women employees, Monrow aspires to become an incubator for the most ambitious women ever.

“Our objective is to position Monrow as the most talked about fashion brand of India, Monrow as a D2C vegan and sustainable brand with USP fashion and comfort,” she concluded.