Mantra for Creating a Successful Fashion Brand

Summary

The discussion with Mr. Siddharth Dudhoria highlights the various aspects of building a successful fashion brand, such as an effective supply chain management software, the growing importance of AI in determining fashion trends and consumer behaviors, and how customer preferences should be the priority of every growing fashion brand.

Introduction

Launching a successful fashion brand is no child's play. There are many aspects to starting a fashion manufacturing company, such as knowing the economics of the market, Marketing strategy, supply, raw materials, sales strategies, and of course, a stable and well-defined business plan. As it often becomes extremely overwhelming for new fashion brands to handle all the major functioning of the production process along with selecting the styles and designs, many tech-enabled manufacturing platforms handle the entire supply chain management and help in the smooth functioning of the fashion brand. Mr. Siddharth Dudhoria is the proud founder of the Bangalore-based fashion brand Snitch, which has gained immense popularity throughout the fashion world of start-ups. He started the brand somewhere around 2019, focusing on men's apparel with the idea of a “fashion-forward modern man”. Today, Snitch has an enormous customer base and delivers to around 20 states in India. Through the conversation between Fashinza and Mr. Siddharth Dudhoria, fashion brand start-ups can gather insightful ideas about how Supply chain management is the most significant aspect of building a successful fashion brand.

What is your story?

In the beginning, we were faced with the challenge of operating as a B2B business where we could go online, and sell our products on e-commerce sites like Ajio, Flipkart or Myntra. However, we chose to create our website and operate as a D2C business. This decision helped us a lot in engaging with our customers, as I think customer interaction is much more important than things like the brand logo. Today, most of our revenue is generated from our website.

What are the challenges that you face in sourcing?

We faced a lot of problems due to Covid while starting Snitch. The main problems were to keep the quality in check and to be on the frontline of the competition. Platforms like Fashinza make it a lot easier as they take care of the entire Supply chain management, starting from designs, sampling, and warehouses to transportation. the entire process.

How does technology help in predicting demand and in planning?

I think Artificial Intelligence plays a big role in sourcing and sales. In terms of sourcing, it is important to identify the kind of sales happening across various platforms. The evolving styles and the most popular zones help in planning the ads. So, in short, I think AI will help a big role in moving forward.

How do you maintain compliance and sustainability in the supply chain?

In terms of compliance, we have always been compliant in terms of factors like factory revenue. In terms of sustainability, we have opted for various sustainable options such as chemical free-washing, cornstarch packaging, and recycled shipping material. We also use recycled fabrics in our collection.

How do you deal with competition?

I think competition helps in constantly innovating new ideas. We strongly believe in doing our best and not overthinking about the competition. We believe that strong and confident decisions, listening to the customer's needs and planning are the key to success.

Consumer choices are changing rapidly. So, how is your brand coming up with the fast fashion choices?

I think all successful brands grow gradually. India is a unique country with various kinds of people. While some follow different influencers, others believe in their individualism. So, we try to cater to the differential needs of our customers with various style options on our website. We also have our marketing style. For instance, Recently, We came up with a program where when one customer buys from us, we allow them to become our ambassador and get incentivized when their followers purchase from us.

How are the market and trends for your category doing? How do you plan for upcoming seasons?

We prioritize customer preferences. Recently, our customers wanted us to come up with boot-cut trends, which has now become one of our biggest sellers. Many young people in Snitch keep us updated with the Genz and millennial styles and trends. For the upcoming seasons, Retro fashion is going to be a sure hit!

The way to becoming a successful fashion brand!

From the discussion with Mr. Siddharth Dudhoria, it is now evident how effective supply chain management is in the production process of fashion brands and manufacturers. To create a successful fashion brand, there are various significant aspects such as marketing strategies, sales strategies, designing, prioritizing customer engagement and preferences, and of course advertisement. All of these pave the way to creating a strong brand identity where the fashion brand will be much more than just a logo, it will be a legacy!

Key takeaways

1. Supply chain management is the most integral part of running a stable and successful fashion brand.

2. Listening to customer preferences and needs is a significant factor in deciding the way of the fashion brand.

3. AI plays a massive role in sourcing and creation of sales strategies as it helps in predicting and identifying various trends and changes in the fashion Industry.