When selling online it is important to observe customer trends and devise means to capitalize on these. Since customers love its affordable fashion, Voonik is looking to cut prices by bringing more artisans and product manufacturers on board.
Reducing dependency on Retailers & Wholesalers
By increasing the number of products from weavers and manufacturers to 33%, the etailer can reduce its dependency on wholesalers and retailers. This is the expected reality in the next 12 months.
The co-founder and CEO of the online fashion portal, Sujayath Ali said, “Rather than going to a master weaver or a franchisee or a wholesaler, we want to move completely towards manufacturers, weavers and shoemakers, so it becomes a platform for these people. The idea is to go to the core base. For example, when it comes to silk, we directly go to the weavers in Uppada.”
He also revealed that currently, 20% of the products on the platform come directly from manufacturers and artisans. This has allowed the etailer to offer goods at affordable prices. Removing middlemen from the equation means less cost. However, Voonik still depends on wholesalers and retailers for new products yet to receive feedback from customers.
The ecommerce company has 8,000 active online sellers for whose products it receives 10,000 orders a day. Out of this, 75 % of orders come from beyond the country’s top-10 cities. Most of these orders originate from tier 2 and 3 cities.
Online marketplace, Shopclues, is also banking on affordable fashion to expand its business. Is this a better way as opposed to high-fashion from private labels on platforms like Myntra and Jabong?