Taking the ‘Practical Fashion’ Footprint Forward

Vajor, a private label, has carved a niche for itself in the women’s fashion and lifestyle space in a very short span of time. A synonym for practical fashion, Vajor was established in 2014 after Nathasha AR Kumar, Founder and CEO, Vajor, found her true calling. “I was always fascinated by fabric and was interested in creating brands and products. When my B2B venture got monotonous due to less opportunities for innovations, I explored B2C space and that was how Vajor was born,” Kumar shares.

Vajor started with minimal viable products. Kumar got only 100 products uploaded on the website without even investing in the inventory list. Over a period of one year, Kumar analyzed the products working for the brand including the color, fabric and price and started creating products alongside. “We got more traction from 25-40 years of young adults and sold comfortable clothes more,” she adds.

Trend in women clothing

There is a shift happening in the fashion space with conscious fashion gaining popularity. “There are lots of small time private labels which have a high possibility of creating conscious and eco-friendly fashion. Conscious and bohemian fashion is here to stay. Bohemian fashion has been running for past five years and according to the trends it is going to continue for another years to come,” she explains.

Vajor’s Collection

Vajor is a monthly collection led brand, where the collection is updated every month and has a different theme each time. The price starts from INR1200 and goes up to INR3800. “We are creating a different storyline every month. We work with design ideas not only from India but also from abroad, like we did the fakirani collection, which is inspired by the 'Fakirani Jatts', a tribal community of Kutch, Gujarat. Sometimes it is a clothing collection or it could be an accessory collection and decor collection as well,” she says while describing her brand’s collection. Next month, Vajor is launching everyday wear ‘VajorRoot’ which would be available throughout the year.

Vajor believes in change and it constantly evolves business model and product line in order to grow into a big organization. Talking about the USP of Vajor, Kumar says, “We are a community led brand which makes us work with accurate data and feedback from consumer and not on assumption. Today, we have a community base of 3-4 lakhs. Consumers always look for connectivity, and we bring connectivity factor into the picture via interactions with the community and the feedback they provide. We are eco conscious brand, never use leather or polyester, if it is PU then it is pure organic because we know our consumer base. Vajor gets most of its business from Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. We also get traction from Jaipur, Chandigarh and likes. Our emerging market is Hyderabad.”

Online to Offline

Vajor has an omni-channel presence and gets its traction from both online and offline channels. Speaking about the move from online to physical stores, Kumar says, “Sooner or later a brand has to embrace the omni-channel strategy in order to thrive in the market. We always aspired to have physical stores where we can interact with our consumers and talk about our storyline.” Vajor's stores are ‘Gen-Next’ stores as compared to traditional outlets. The stores provide a holistic experience through regular events and activities that bring consumers a whole new experience. “Consumers not only buy products but a storyline and ethos,” she adds.

Franchise Offers

The success ratio of a brand is higher when a franchise comes on board along with the brand and put the efforts on the ground. It is a partnership that has to go hand in hand. “We as a brand bring the strength of our entire product and community range. Today, people are not brand loyal it is very important to find the sticky factor to earn their loyalty. Over the years, Vajor has been able to build that pull. Vajor is trendy and is associated with practical fashion. We understand the complete eco conscious and bohemian lifestyle. Our product story and sales team is strong which help in better ROI in terms of market value,” says Kumar.

“We would like to associate with the franchisee who understands ‘Gen-Next’ fashion and consumer driven products not only in fashion but home and lifestyle space as well. We are open to franchise with different space and category. If a person is interested in décor then he/she can choose décor and open an outlet. We would provide branding and marketing support to bring more footfalls in the franchisee store. Vajor is growing 120% Y-O-Y. Our franchise ROI must be better than the market standard. We will get ourselves actively involved to ensure the store is successful and has a better ROI not only through product sale but experience as well,” Kumar says.

Franchise Facts

Number of Stores: 15

Investment: 25-40 Lakhs

Area: 800-1800sq ft.

Expected ROI: 33%

Expected Break Even: 1.5-2 Years