StitchMe is an online store for custom-made suits and all essential items in every man’s formal wardrobe. It entails a creative process which reinvents the way Indian men shop for formal wear providing them the right fit and trending designs. It helps you curate fabric and style for clothing of your choice and even request a designer to measure you while you enjoy an evening at home.
BWDisrupt spoke to the founders of StitchMe,
Amber Gupta and
Puneet Gupta to know more about their innovative businessmodel:
Edited Excerpts-What problem are you solving?One size fits all policy is an idea that is slowly becoming redundant as more and more people have started moving towards tailor-made/custom made clothing.
Explain your business idea?The impressive growth in the e-commerce industry as well as the increase in demand for customized clothing in the last decade has resulted in an opportunity which should be taken advantage of. At this juncture our objective is to provide tailor-made formal wear for men at affordable prices and with no compromises on quality.
Moving away from brick and mortar, lack of overheads like rent and inventory costs bring down the price while at the same time online registration and doorstep services reduce the hassles of repeated visits to your local tailor or the shopping mall and endless dressing room fittings.
Meet the Men Behind the Idea-Amber Gupta, A post-grad from IMT,Ghaziabad, working in the Sales & Marketing Field for over 3 years, he learnt hfunction w global businesses and how an organized structure can be brought into local business models. Amber always had a knack for negotiations and an urge to make sense of businesses around him.
Puneet Gupta, It is a post grad in International Marketing and has been handling business development, market communications & events for a leading healthcare company in Delhi for over 3 years, making good industrycontacts in the process. Puneet became an early adopter for many new products in the market and was always on the lookout for what was coming next. He was always intrigued by a product’s USP and what made it sell.
As per fashion experts, 90% men do not switch back to off-the-rack garments once they have tried custom wear. A decade back men used to settle for anything, but the rules are no longer the same due to changing environments, opportunities and options.
Men have realized the need to dress to make an impression. It is important to project the right image and to adopt a mode of dressing that accentuates your own character and personality which will result in a new inner confidence. People should no longer be driven by brand consciousness, but a combination of current trends and what they desire to wear. “Drive the brand, don’t be just driven by it”.
People are hesitant to adopt custom clothing because of the complicated process involving-
1. Getting the fabric at reasonable price
2. Getting a good Tailor
3. Multiple visits
4. Unable to visualize the final product
5. Exorbitant prices
Survey Findings-• Approximately 60% spend more than 1800 INR on Ready-made shirts and 61% spend more than 7000 INR for Ready-made suits and are not satisfied with the fit.
• "The complicated process" is a biggest deterrent to custom clothing with “Finding a good Tailor and repetitive travel all the way” topping the list.
• 83% would adopt tailor made clothes if all the hassles were removed.
What is the target audience?StitchMe focuses on men in the age group of 20-40 years as there is a growing need to dress to impress in the corporate environment and the occasional business dinners, company parties or weddings. StitchMe targets the male urban population of NCR with the propensity to order online.
Market sizing done by our team estimates the 2017 formal men’s apparel market in India at 72,000 Cr INR growing at 8.5% CAGR. A huge chunk of this potential comes from Delhi NCR. The NCR Market has estimatedly 44 lakhs urban male within the age group of 20-40. With a 23% internet penetration, ~10L individuals fall into the target market segment which is supposed to grow at 50% y-o-y.
Explain your business idea?The impressive growth in the e-commerce industry as well as the increase in demand for customized clothing in the last decade has resulted in an opportunity which should be taken advantage of. At this juncture our objective is to provide tailor-made formal wear for men at affordable prices and with no compromises on quality. Moving away from brick and mortar, lack of overheads like rent and inventory costs bring down the price while at the same time online registration and doorstep services reduce the hassles of repeated visits to your local tailor or the shopping mall and endless dressing room fittings.
What's your unique selling point?The website interface will help you choose the fabric according to color, pattern, price, etc. and give you an option of designing your suit/shirt/trousers according to your preference down to details such as collar shape, sleeve size, etc. or getting styled by our designer at the comfort of your home.
After the initial decisions are made you will get measured by your personal stylist (a designer from a reputed institute), see the fabric in person and get guidance on the design of your clothes. After you’ve been measured once there is no need for another stylist visit since your measurements will already be saved on the database. Guidance will be provided on the latest trends in fashion according to season, occasion, etc. thus bringing the concept of personalized designing closer to the middle class at affordable prices.
BW Reporters
Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
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