It was the eagerness to diversify his family’s jewellery business in Kolar that made Narendra Bohra migrate to Bengaluru and foray into the sector of fashion retail in 1990. In this interview, he highlights how his venture with Raymond has shaped up over the years
Supported by his family, especially his father who provided all the encouragement to diversify into retail, Bohra started his endeavour with The Raymond Shop (TRS) on MG Road. From a humble start in Bengaluru, he has now come a long way, expanding his textile and garment retail business with 21 outlets across Bengaluru, Mysuru and Chennai. The company is grossing revenues of over Rs 60 crore, growing at 12% per annum over the last two years. Excerpts from the interview:
Raymond is an aspirational brand not only for customers but also for retailers. The brand enjoys incredible recall and offers latest designs and fabric complemented with the largest retail network, which makes them the leading men’s lifestyle brand. At present, we have five TRS (including 1 Mini TRS), five ColorPlus and two Raymond Ready-to-Wear stores.
You have a portfolio of custom-tailoring and readymade garment brands. What is the edge they offer to your business?
Our readymade garment stores and TRS complement each other as we are able to cater to the demands of every customer. However, TRS being a large-format store offering custom-tailoring as well as renowned brands like Park Avenue and Parx has been able to attract more customers. In fact, many of the youngsters are now attracted towards custom-tailoring as it offers them flexibility to innovate and have new designs.
What is the level of customer retention you have observed with custom-tailoring?
In our TRS, we have almost 70% of repeat customers, which come back to us for customised services. We have deployed a tailoring workshop with over 75 tailors and workers who stitch 120-150 suits, 800-900 shirts, and over 1,000 trousers a month. Overall, it contributes Rs 5 crore to our annual revenues.
Managing multiple stores requires huge efforts. What are the best practices you follow?
We have built a team of business development managers and store managers to take care of the daily tasks and management. Moreover, the software systems from Raymond enable us to fetch daily sales and inventory data, and give us a dashboard view of the stores’ performance. In addition, our staff works as our extended touchpoints to capture consumer trends and preference, which helps us plan inventories in advance accordingly.
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