As part of our relentless pursuit to identify and share with our community some of the unique and compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, this week we spoke to Team Jisora to understand more about their journey, their vision and the way forward. Let’s read their unique story!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Team Jisora:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, tell us a little bit about your brand and the problems you guys are solving, please;
Jisora provides a line of clothes with the chicest and most fashionable designs with the most comfortable material and style.
Jisora is founded by 3 brothers and a sister, Kavya Sethi (18), Mehul Sethi (19), Tushar Sethi (20) and Khushboo Sethi (24). Yes, we do come from a family of entrepreneurs, our family has been in the clothing and fashion industry since 50 years. They are manufacturers and wholesalers of Sarees, Kurtis and Lehengas all over the country.
Since childhood, we have been seeing our family into this industry and we have gained some knowledge about fashion, colours and designs. Our clothing collection can be a part of every event for our customers. Our collection ranges from Sleepwear, Loungewear and Resort wear and western wear. Our focus is on providing comfortable wear that becomes our customer’s Lounge, work and travel essentials.”
Buying comfortable Clothing has been the most common change in people’s fashion habits over the last year. People want their clothes to be versatile because they might feel like wearing them at home or dressing it up or down as they wish. Everybody believes that nothing can replace the pencil skirt or shirt for the most appropriate and professional office look. But we can proudly confirm that we have changed the fashion statement. We have a lot of better options in the market that can be perfect for your office meetings and your evening night out.
As people stayed indoors more and more, ‘Lockdown Dressing’ became a thing. Every customer wants variety, and we are a customer-centric brand. We launch on an average 40-50 new designs every month. We understood that the coming fashion had become a means to escape boredom and a mix of comfort and style. We focused on designs that are a mix of home and office wear.
We use pure cotton fabric as people are genuinely becoming conscious because it’s been observed that women are choosing cotton sets instead of feeling claustrophobic in dresses that look good but don’t offer any comfort. And choosing natural fabrics like cotton becomes essential because problems like sweat, itching and rashes become common in synthetic materials.
Jisora provides a line of clothes with the chicest and most fashionable designs with the most comfortable material and style.
‘Jisora Jaipur’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please.
‘Jisora is a Marwari word that means satisfaction, and that has always been the core of our brand. We focus on providing the best quality and designs. Apart from that, we have a fantastic customer service team that is available every time for any queries, feedback or complaints. For us, the focus is not only on selling but is to make the customer a part of our Jisora family.
We don’t want the customer to buy it and keep it even if they are not happy. They should wear Jisora with satisfaction; it should make their Ji (heart) Sora (content). We try to provide a hassle-free return and exchange process so that the customer does not feel any pressure.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Fortunately, Covid did not make a massive impact on our business. Covid-19 did impact our operations, manufacturing became a little tough as there was a shortage of manpower. Order processing and order packing took a little more time than usual as we did follow all the covid precautions.
We have made sure to take all the precautions and managed that all our operations are done in-house. Jisora sells online, during lockdown a lot of people shifted to online shopping and there was a tremendous increase in the online market. We made sure that all the safety and hygiene precautions were taken and continued to deliver orders.
Also, as people stayed indoors more and more, ‘Lockdown Dressing’ became a thing. Every customer wants variety, and we are a customer-centric brand. We launch on an average 40-50 new designs every month.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives the team?
It was a changed world post covid. But our team held hands and we stayed positive. The best thing about our team is self-responsibility. They work as an entrepreneur and are responsible for their commitment to work. We have just placed our trust on them, the same way they have trusted us. We have a professional environment still we look out for each other as a family.
Hence, Thinkhall has a very positive environment to work in. It is a 360-degree decision-making centre, with transparent policies. This makes us an excellent place to work in and drives productivity.
Although a bootstrapped startup, and even when the team was at home due to lockdown, they were paid in full salary, without any kind of deductions.
Please share with us about your expansion plans?
> We plan to expand and increase our footprint in the offline retail market.
> We started kids wear recently and plan to dominate that market too.
> Our focus has been to dominate Women’s wear.
> We are not just limited to the domestic market. Our team is working day and night to meet our goal to broaden our online presence and dominate the Loungewear and western wear market.
What has worked well for you so far?
– We have something for all our target market, keeping their needs in mind, from a 16-year-old girl to a 60-year-old lady. We make products from XS to 6XL.We make kids wear too so from the age of 4 years to 15 years.
– Our range allows customers to wear our products on every occasion or setting.
– We are highly focused on providing the best quality and material.
– Every customer requires variety; we make sure to introduce on an average 40-50 new styles every month. · Our price point is our USP. Our average range is Rs.1000/- which is very reasonable.
– We are trying to understand the need of the moment, which is comfort and style. Providing an amalgamation of modern and traditional Clothing.
What is one strategy that you guys believe has helped you grow as a team/startup?
Innovation is something that helps us stand apart from the market. The new patterns, styles and quality automatically played a large part in marketing.
~ Our strategy was to make customers realise that our collection is not just something confined to home wear; it can be a part of their Work attire, Travel wardrobe, Day-out outfit, or sleepwear.
~ We make sure that our pricing range is reasonable. Our average price range starts from Rs.1000/-
~ Our focus is to provide variety; we launch an average 40-50 designs every month.
~ We strongly believe in customer satisfaction. Word of mouth has been our primary marketing tool.
Kavya Sethi – Founder & Director at Jisora
In your opinion – what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
In our opinion, mix of idea and a good team is important. Both are co-related to each other. Without a good team, a good idea is a waste.
An idea should be something that stands out from the market, something that is in demand but not capitalised by anyone. A good team then works towards making that idea a reality.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Follow your intuitions, feel free to discover and explore new opportunities. Sometimes a small step can take you places.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
