\'I understand my customer\' does not exist anymore: Sandeep Kohli

Sandeep Kohli, Owner, Kohli Brothers shares his views on the apparel industry.

Tell us about your brand’s journey and achievements so far.

We came into the business of garments in 1991, prior to that we were basically into photography trade. We were the one to actually introduce the concept of brands in and the concept of the look and feel of the garment.

Besides, this concept did not exist at that time. Earlier garments were packed in boxes and sold. Further, we gave the market a feel of the national and the international brands.

How many stores are you running currently and how many are in the pipeline?

At present, we are managing five stores and we are planning to open 2 more stores this year. Primarily we are focusing on Lucknow.

Where are these two stores coming up?

We are focusing primarily on Lucknow. Besides, all our five stores are in Lucknow.

What consumption patterns have you observed in your region? What kinds of products are popular among the customers?

Nowadays, customers are more aware of the latest fashion and brands.

So, that pretext that, “I understand my customer” doesn’t exist anymore. Today, each and every customer is well read, well travelled, etc.

He does understand what is the latest product that is available or what is latest fashion that is available, and he is well aware of what he wants to buy.

Being there “locally”, I would say it gives you an advantage of customer’s loyalty on a personal front. Also, it makes you understand your customer better.

I believe interacting with your gives you an upper hand in understanding the customer and his preferences easily and it has nothing to do with understanding the market pattern feel.

What are your real estate preferences when it comes to running retail business in North India? Do you think malls earn greater revenue per square feet or it is the high street outlets that give you good returns?

I think it depends on the brands profiling and desired price point.

Example, if the product is premium, then I would definitely prefer a high street at any point of time. In case of UP, everything is available in malls whether it is Big Bazaar or a Tommy product. So, if I have a mass product which is not very premium, then malls are better places.

Kindly share your personal views on any particular high street or mall that gives good per square feet revenue earned in any of the mentioned formats.

The sales per square feet for a mass product will be much higher in a mall. And, for a high-end brand or for a premium brand, I think it will be high street.

Trends keep changing and the stores try to re-invent themselves with the changing times. What is your take on that? How often do you feel the need to re-invent your brand?

Absolutely, one has to change with time. In fact, we redo our stores in every three years. The patterns of selling keep changing: the way the products are displayed, the look and feel of the store and much more.

So, if you are dealing with your loyal customer base, even for them you need to re-invent your store. Also, it is important and inevitable, one has to change and that process is continuous and you cannot stop it.

What do you think of this e-commerce monster and how have you tried to tackle it? I guess you are not currently visible on the e-commerce platforms.

We are also looking at that business and how we can get into that sector. Currently, we are not into e-commerce. But at the same time, I feel that in case of the premium fashion business a customer spends higher value for a product. So he would definitely want to touch and feel the product before he is spending that kind of money.

Even before the sale period starts, a well-read customer can go online buy the same shirt he was eyeing for at 50 per cent less. That must hurt? Don’t you think you’ll have to do something about it before it gets too late?

May be yes, but I would still feel it’s a little early to take a call on that as of now. In the next couple of years, this trend might be a matter of concern. However, we are already working towards that, but I would not like to access it like a “threat-threat” situation right now.

So, it hasn’t affected your market per say?

It must have affected. However, I am not aware of the extent of it. But as of now, I don’t feel the threat and at the same time we are also thinking of entering into that market to handle a specific customer base. In the e-commerce business we would want to handle a very specific customer base, which we feel we might lose.

What are your future plans?

We started “Made to Measure” last year. Made-to-Measure offers customised products for our customers. It is a very strong area and one would have a lot of retention in terms of clientele. And, we are looking at a couple of stores within this year in Lucknow itself.