And last year, even amidst the pandemic-induced challenges such as lockdowns and operational hitches, the brand’s annual receipt stroked Rs 7.8 crore. “One of the reasons that my business was able to tide over the first beckon of the COVID-1 9 crisis was because of the supporter that the e-commerce platform afforded, ” says Prathap Babu, the founder of the clothe label. Reya is an apparel brand that has its roots in Chennai. Founded by Prathap in 2013, it exploits e-commerce platform Flipkart to reach customers from Meghalaya to Jammu and Kashmir, clocking around 1,000 orderings every day.

“I am able to cater to clients in different regions of the country with the same efficiency, fasted and cost, ” says Prathap. This is possible because of two determining factor: Flipkart’s logistics and warehousing backing, and its reach. Reya simply furnishes its products at the Flipkart fulfillment centres that are closest to patrons, The requires are hence discharged from the nearest warehouse, instead of all the way from Tamil Nadu.

In 2019 -2 0, Reya clocked an annual receipt of Rs 6.5 crore. e account administration team at Flipkart was speedy to react to queries, and hinted business approaches backed by data and analytics.”

Reya retails a range of women’s and men’s wear on Flipkart. The men’s wear is made at its in-house production unit in Tirupur. “We source the raw materials, which are then tailored, ” Prathap says. “While there are other labels that use same aspect fabric, the toll is often 40 percent higher than Reya. The in-house production unit has helped us drive the cost advantage for the brand.”

Interestingly, for the women’s apparel Reya sells, it does not own a manufacturing division yet. The clothes are sourced from Surat and Rajasthan. “But the manufacturing is done based on the designs we render. And, this helps to return distinctness to the women’s wear.”

A latitude wander of growth

As a firebrand that began its excursion on Flipkart in 2013, Prathap has been privy to the e-commerce platform’s increasing grocery reach and the scaffold expansion while simultaneously making down the order shipment era from six dates to same day delivery. “With Flipkart regularly expanding assistances across thousands of pin codes, we have seen a consistent swelling in the inflow of fiats. The additive of new produce categories brought more people to the platform. This also had a cascading effect and helped us.”

Prathap attests for Flipkart’s ability to drive growing for small businesses and labels. “With Flipkart, it’s about consistent proliferation. In my knowledge and experience, I have not come across a platform that parallels the expansion and stability that Flipkart equips, ” Prathap says.

The growth is not driven by simply the platform’s reach, freedom of bringing or even product quality. Prathap points to the access to Flipkart’s data analytics and steering. “The advertising benefits we receive from Flipkart have helped us regain visibility for produces that evidenced fewer degrees. We were advised to create Product Listing Ads( PLAs) as well, which helped us gain many more customers for the business, ” he explains.

Today, Reya stands out as one of the more popular and highest selling firebrands on Flipkart.

“Over the years, we have received several allotments from Flipkart for our execution on the platform. We have also been graded frequently as one of the best performing sellers on the marketplace in Chennai, ” Prathap says, brimming with a sense of attainment. “Every year, I am breaking my own record for sales. As much as I work hard, I credit Flipkart for my accomplishment. With the customer reach, logistics and guidance in terms of originating the business, Flipkart helps us focus on increasing our business as it takes care of most of the operations.

Reya’s journey from a small-time apparel business to becoming a originating firebrand is not unheard of. In fact, various dealers of successful symbols on Flipkart like Reya, have had a humbling start. Prathap says, “My association with Flipkart started with exclusively single digit fiats, and that modified after numerous months of perseverance and gradual expansion of my portfolio. Today, my portfolio has one of the widest ranges of apparel.”

Quality at the heart of business growth

For a label that retails exclusively online, the product quality is what helps to establish trust and connect. “In a physical retail store, a business has the opportunity to convince the customer who is in front of you. For an online supermarket, the product speaks for the label, ” Prathap notes.

He shares an instance when Reya envisioned a plunge in product quality that went unnoticed. This resulted in a dip in auctions. But after taking note of customer feedback, Prathap realised the challenge at hand. Fixing the quality issue envisioned the make regain its auctions quantities. “As a vendor, your focus should be on the make. Because, Flipkart takes care of the rest.”

Prathap is optimistic. He says work is underway to expand Reya’s manufacturing capabilities. “We are constructing men’s T-shirts in-house. And, it has become our bestseller. We are looking at manufacturing trousers and innerwear as well.”

Prathap’s tryst with entrepreneurship or decision to become a seller on Flipkart wasn’t strategy. “Right after college, I started working in an insurance company in Chennai, ” he recalls. “While the experience was reinforcing first, with hour swelling opportunities became restraint or came at a cost of moving municipals. I wanted to be based in Chennai for my family, ” he adds. That spurred Prathap to take a shot at entrepreneurship. “Tamil Nadu has a strong manufacturing sector, especially in apparels. I began an export business. However, when I learnt about Flipkart, I decided to take a detour and explore opportunities in the Indian market. Today, I was glad to see that I trusted my instincts.”

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