KAARYAH raking moolah by just the 'right fit'

KAARYAH, an eCommerce portal dealing in women’s fashion wear, has won accolades for offering 18 size options, besides getting funding from Ratan Tata. Unlike discount binge online, this online retailer vouches on perfect fit which is something not readily available in case of women’s wear. In a candid interaction with Retailer, Nidhi Agarwal, Founder & CEO, KAARYAH shares the insights about the brand while elucidating on the plans to scale up.

What is the USP of KAARYAH?  

KAARYAH is the only women’s western wear brand available in 18 size options, offering the ‘Best Possible FIT’. It is the only brand that allows women to shop not just by size but also by shapes like apple, pear, hour glass, and rectangle which further ensure accuracy of FIT. The brand conducted an in-depth market survey before incepting and truly used consumer feedback collected then to make its products.

Aside from solving the problem of FIT in women’s western wear, KAARYAH introduced unique ‘problem solvers’ to tackle issues like gaping buttons, love handles, shirts tucking out of trousers which is again exclusive to the brand. KAARYAH offers the world’s largest catalogue for women’s shirts and trousers and is equipped to turn a consumer demand into product quickly, therefore being truly customer-centric.

What is your business model?

KAARYAH operates on a unique algorithm called ‘My Perfect FIT’ which allows women to determine their body size and shape and tells them which of the 18 sizes would be their ‘Perfect FIT’. KAARYAH aspires to be one of the world’s largest brand for women’s western wear offering the ‘Best possible FIT’. The brand rides heavily on technology at every level/department to ensure genuine disruption at the back-end and seamless user experience at the front end.

How do you differentiate yourself from other players operating in same space?

To start with, KAARYAH offers 18 size options as opposed to other brands offering a maximum of 6 or 11 sizes. At KAARYAH women not only find their ‘Perfect FIT’ but also highly personalized wardrobe solutions.

Our business model allows us to improvise and personalise like no other apparel brand can promise to. Our innovative products apart from offering the ‘Best Possible FIT’ also come with unique problem solvers that are exclusive to KAARYAH.

We have the largest catalogue in the world for women’s shirts and trousers and also the highest refresh rate with 250-300 new designs introduced every month. Our return for FIT is lower than industry average internationally.

What is your target group and their demographics?

KAARYAH aims to cater to wardrobe needs of women who want to look good but keep busy, not just corporate women but also busy home makers. A KAARYAH shopper could be an 18 year old or even a 45 year old, our diversity of sizes and styles allows us to cater to a varied consumer base. While we do supply largely to all metros, interestingly a significant chunk of our business comes from tier 2 or non-metro cities.

Isn’t price perception a challenge in apparel market, especially when every now-and-then brands come up with discounted offering?

KAARYAH being a brand does not ride on discounts. We are instead looking at solving the larger problem i.e. FIT & comfort in women’s western wear. Our aim as a brand is to ensure women do not compromise on comfort for fashion and vice-versa.

What have been the challenges while scaling up and how do you address them?

Securing funding was among the greatest challenges we faced while setting up and scaling, but owing to our agile and WC efficient business model, we were at near breakeven within 14 months of inception. Acquiring talent too was a challenge in the early stages of the business but fortunately we managed to build a great team bit by bit.

Where do you see more demand coming from (city wise) and what is your average ticket size?

KAARYAH has received immense response from the metros and is getting consistently popular in tier 1 cities. Having said that; we also see significant sales coming from non-metro/ Tier II cities.

How much funding have you raised and what are plans for further funding?

 KAARYAH has raised its pre-Series A round with Ratan Tata, Mohandas Pai and The Saha Fund and we are seeking another raise.