With over a decade of experience in the industry, he is known for his wide-ranging specialties that include strategy development, product innovation, developing a strong vendor base and procurement of materials.
Before taking over CityKart’s operations, he has previously worked with private equity fund TPG Capital-owned retail business, TPG Wholesale (Vishal Mega Mart) and Vishal Retail Ltd as Vice President.
- Being headquartered in a metro city, how do you identify the fashion preferences of the customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities?
These days, tier-2 and tier-3 cities are as fashion conscious as the metro cities. Both men and women are willing to explore beyond the traditional fashion inclinations. With our in-depth understanding of customer needs, thorough market research and customer’s response; we provide impeccable offerings for our buyers at the most affordable prices that justifies their both their requirements as well as their style sensibilities.
- How would you describe your entrepreneurial journey? What were the challenges that you encountered during the course of establishing Citykart? What are your learnings from your journey so far?
Coming from a family lineage of clothing business, I always had a penchant for fashion and retail. Witnessing the highly under-penetrated organised retail in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and understanding the purchasing capacity of individuals led to the launch of Citykart. Citykart came into existence with an aim to make fashion aspiration of customers in non-metro cities accessible and affordable.
There were certain challenges like lack of skilled manpower, unorganised supply chain, unavailability of resources and inadequate distribution channels that we encountered in the course of establishment. What was evident was that the expectations of an individuals never end and so do the challenges. However, strategical thinking, hard work and dedication has helped us attain new heights for Citykart.
It is also very important to sell what we expect to buy as a customer rather than selling what we want to and this is what I have learned being in this business.
- What is the one outstanding factor that differentiates you from your competitors?
Our motto at Citykart is People, Product and Experience. We believe in rendering a frictionless experience to our customers with high quality goods at the most affordable prices. At Citykart, we have armed all our resources to continuously deliver this promise of people, product and experience. From training our people to better manage customers’ expectation to delivering affordable products across all age groups, we are setting ourselves apart from the competition.
- Different cities follow different fashion trends. How do you manage that?
The fashion preferences of people are constantly evolving. For us at Citykart, customer satisfaction is quintessential. Hence, we depute our teams to study the lifestyles of people in every city and observe their shopping patterns and needs before designing any new product. Customer feedback also gives us a sense of fashion tastes preferred by the customers in different cities.
- Tell us about your latest collections.
With the approaching spring season, we will be coming up with our SS’20 collection incorporating trendy and comfortable outfits in floral and quirky prints and vibrant colours.
- How big is your presence at the moment? What are your expansion plans?
Currently, we are present in 47 cities with around 53 stores in 4 states namely U.P., Bihar, Assam and Nagaland. Next, we intent to set our footprints in Orissa. Our expansion plan also includes marking our presence in tier-3 and tier-4 cities by opening of 30-35 more stores.
About Citykart
A leading value fashion retail chain that aims to make fashion aspirations of customers in non-metro cities accessible and affordable.Sharply focused on the needs of the burgeoning middle class in tier 2 and 3 cities, the company today is represented by 53 aesthetically-designed and conveniently located showrooms in 47 cities across 4 states including UP, Bihar, Nagaland, Assam. With an average store size of 8,000-13,500 sq. ft., the company offers clearly differentiated value to customers in categories including fashion, furnishing and general household articles.
