How trueBrowns is Planning to Capture Size-Inclusive Market in India?

trueBrowns, a  homegrown, size-inclusive, new-age Indian apparel label founded by NIFT alumni, Udita Bansal, was conceptualized in 2016.

The brand embodies the ethos of inclusivity by housing a varied range of sizes from 2XS to 6XL, and caters to higher sizes as well on a made-to-order model, without any extra charge. With the product line being urban ethnic wear, trueBrowns manufactures products with a design sensibility that stays relevant for years and size offering that covers extreme sizes in both spectrums. This has led to the brand witnessing an average year-on-year growth percentage of 50-60 percent.

With their plus size and customisation offering at no extra charge, they aim to capture a market size of $500 billion with a growth of 5.9 percent CAGR (Allied Market Research).

trueBrowns is a brand committed to its foundational ethos as well as building and introducing a financially feasible revenue model for fashion labels in an industry that largely functions on unorganized revenue streams and is mostly offline. The brand is disruptive and edgy and aims to be a pioneer amongst fashion start-ups.

In an interaction with IndianRetailer, Udita Bansal spills the beans on the impact of pandemic, future plans and a lot more:

Here are the excerpts:

What is the retail strategy of the brand?

trueBrowns is the digital-only brand. Currently, the focus is to expand the network in the digital market space. We sell through our own website and marketplaces like Nykaa, Ajio and TataCliq. Opening the physical retail store is not on the cards as of now. We are focusing on spreading brand awareness and building consumers. 

According to you, how bright is the future of customised apparel in India?

According to a report from Deloitte, “demand for customised outfits is going to expand. The customised garment will occupy 30 percent of the market by 2030.” 

So, there is massive scope for custom-made outfits. We have been providing options of customisation from day one, which is free of additional charge. Apart from this, there is a market of $21 billion for the plus-size category and that is why both customised garments and extreme sizes have a bright future ahead.

What steps you took to sail through the pandemic?

The brand was shut from March to mid-May. By May-end, we started manufacturing masks with limited operations while ensuring social distancing and following hygiene protocol. The masks helped us to sail through the challenging period. We are selling a set of mask every 8 minutes. During the festive period, the sale jumped up to 200 percent. 

Pandemic had a huge impact on the supply chain. Raw material sourcing became difficult as a lot of vendors/ suppliers shut down their production/ increased prices due to low manpower. The brand worked on developing new sources of procurement, resource availability and have been able to develop a stronger and more diverse supplier network.

What are your future/ expansion goals?

trueBrowns is going to be a digital brand for the next two years. We are going to focus a lot on our brand's website for expanding its presence in social media. A lot of marketing strategy is going to be rebuilt. To reach out to new consumers and to penetrate into the wardrobe of current women customers, we will be be launching tank tops, priced around Rs 1,500-2,000.

In 2021, the brand aims to fortify its online presence with specific brand and digital marketing initiatives and reduce third party contribution to about 75 percent; with 25 percent coming from the brand website.