Fabindias Bissell
In a country where “fashionable” is often synonymous with “western”, and Indian chic, from a handful of designers, sells at outrageous prices, Fabindia has taken the contrarian path to success. “The focus of modern marketing in India is to try to make a consumer pay high prices for brands on the strength of their association with western culture. Is that fair to consumers in a country that has an incredible range of rich cultures?” asks William Bissell, Managing Director, Fabindia, the Delhi-headquartered retailer of handloom garments and other craft products. Bissell’s strong belief that middle class Indian consumers could be nudged towards better appreciation of India’s traditional crafts and skills prompted Fabindia, in 1992-93, to shift focus from the export market to the domestic one. In retrospect, that belief seems almost prescient. The strategy has resulted in Fabindia growing from a one-store show in the mid-1990s to 95 stores in 41 cities now.
The retail chain describes its merchandise as “crafts-based, hand-processed, natural, and contemporary”. The underlying message is that buyers of Fabindia products are exhibiting a sophisticated appreciation of the arts and skills of home-based artisans and staying away—for a change—from mass produced items. The company spends nothing on advertising in the mass media, relying, instead, on instore promotions and exhibitions. “Our promotions are based on our ideology of promoting Indian handicrafts and helping craftspeople. So, we organise ‘crafts mornings’ where we invite artisans to speak about their art to an audience. We also invite experts to speak about themes like environment protection and organic foods, which our products relate to,” says Sunil Chainani, Director, Fabindia.
Challenge: Create a well-orchestrated backend and front-end to manage growth
Strategy: Going in for a variety of retail formats
Outcome: It has stores at very convenient locations that have allowed it to expand its business |
The company has expanded its product range from apparel to furniture, organic foods, body care, and recently launched handicrafts-based jewellery. The focus of marketing has also been on increasing the reach of Fabindia in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai and making the products more affordable, with an eye on the expanding its middle class consumer base. The location of stores seems well thought out; a few in Mumbai are housed in heritage buildings and one in Bangalore is in a house designed by famous architect Charles Correa. And store managers are trained to help and advise customers (for example, a young couple) on how to set up their new home. The formula is working like clockwork. Fabinidia posted sales of Rs 260 crore in 2007-08.
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Kapil Bajaj
