We aim to reach tier II and III markets: Nakul Bajaj

Kindly shed light on the journey of Darveys.com. What was the inspiration behind launching the same.

 Darveys.com was launched in July 2014 as a paid members only luxury portal which connects luxury boutiques/stores across the globe to customers In India. It gives consumers the ability of purchasing from over 800 stores across the globe by the click of a button. The price for the same products is different in various countries and one can't know which store is selling the same item at the lowest price worldwide, which is the problem Darveys solved. For instance, you want to purchase a Jimmy Choo Clutch, Darveys finds the store providing the same clutch at the lowest price worldwide and allows the customers to purchase that directly via Darveys, so the customer no longer needs to travel abroad or hop from one store to the other in search of discounts. They can be sitting at the comfort of their home and we will deliver the item at the prices abroad and in that way you can avail upto 60% off on your favorite luxury brands.

The journey so far has been amazing to say the least and we’ve have seen our share of highs and lows but we always feel disruptive companies are like an ECG machine, the day it is flat it means you are no longer alive. And when the heartbeat sinks to the lowest, is when it hits its highest point.

We are a paid members only portal which requires a onetime lifetime membership fee of Rs. 2000 to be able to purchase from us. If a customer is not a member, they can’t see the prices of most products nor can place any orders on the website. Since inception we have grown to over 1,20,000 registered members and the numbers are growing consistently.

What is your take on luxury market in India. Kindly state few numbers to quantify the same?

 According to various studies, the luxury retail market in India is expected to grow to USD 30 billion as contrary to the previous expected growth of 18 billion mark by the year end. There has always been a huge price disparity between the rich and middle class in the country. But we believe that the reason why luxury market is growing in India is because the luxury brands have become much more accessible to the middle class due to the rising average per capita for the upper middle class in our country and they constitute a major part of the country’s population.

Offline stores have limited stock, space and high cost inventory which is a major hurdle in the growth of luxury market, but that’s where Darveys steps in. With no inventory and extensive variety of products from worldwide stores, we are helping to make luxury brands all the more accessible to everyone in India which further is responsible in the growth of the luxury market.

Kindly shed light on your current brand portfolio. Going forward, what new brands are expected to be the part of Darveys.com

 With a tie up with800 luxury boutiques/stores across the globe and 25,000+ new arrivals, customers can browse through the selection of 120+ luxury brands sitting at the comfort of their homes in India. The extensive variety ranges from Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Calvin Klein, etc. to high end brands like Valentino, Fendi, Burberry, Armani, Balmain, etc. and customers can enjoy upto 60% on most of the designers.  Also, we’ll soon be launching our highly awaited kids collection which will furthermore introduce a plethora of brands on the website.

Fake luxury is the biggest challenge in the luxury category? What kind of measures the company has taken to counter the situation

To ensure 100% authenticity, we offer our customers an Authenticity Guarantee of refunding 2X price in return in case of any lapse in judgement on our end. In 5 years of being operational, we have never had a single case like that, as we have world class processes to ensure authenticity of each item sold on the website. All the products go through a stringent quality check procedure to ensure only the best are send out for delivery. Our commitment to sell 100% authentic luxury brands has helped us win a recent landmark judgement at the Delhi High Court based on the fact that we have always been committed to only selling genuine items.

Have you raised any kind of equity or institutional money? 

Darveys.com is a self funded profitable company and at this point we are not looking at any institutional funding.

 Who do you see as your biggest competition?

 Our business model is really unique so competition only helps us, as our prices are always better than others and we have access to over 100,000 skus from 800+ stores worldwide; however to give a more concrete answer to that, the competition would be International Online Retailers abroad which till now have not been able to reach out to the consumers in India.

 At last, kindly highlight your growth plans?

  Our short term goal would be penetrating and increasing our reach in tier II and III cities. Also, we’ll soon be live with our mobile application which will make the shopping experience of our customers personalized, interactive and easy as they will get time to time push notifications of our latest deals and discounts. In the long run, we are looking at international expansion about which the board will give an official statement soon.