AKS, an ethnic fusion wear brand, which started its retail journey in May 2014, is planning to foray into the brick-and-mortar side of the retail business.
Apart from this, to scale up an online customer base and increasing offline penetration via shop-in-shop and B2B business modules, AKS is working on aggressive expansion plans in association with Myntra, its online promoter.
In an exclusive interview with Indiaretailing Bureau, Nidhi Yadav, Founder and Creative Head, AKS said, “As far as physical retail is concerned, we are planning to enhance our brand’s market penetration via MBOs and company-owned stores by the end of the year.”
The brand is also looking for franchisee partners as it plans to open outlets in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
At present, AKS is available on all the leading e-stores such as Myntra and Jabong.
“Apart from this, we are already shipping to Sri Lanka and Mauritius via B2B partner and we will be launching our own website – www.aksclothings.com – with international shipping in a month from now,” she stated.
AKS is also looking to raise US $12 million VC funding within the next four to six months. The funding would be utilized for expansion as the company will set up new projects in capacities of the existing one.
Tracing Brand’s History
Brand AKS was founded by Nidhi Yadav. While pursuing her fashion designing course in Italy, she thoroughly studied the business model of the iconic brand, Zara. Inspired by their success, she decided to replicate it in AKS, a brand of Yuvdhi Apparels.
Her foresight helped her to view untapped business opportunities in the e-commerce sector. Blessed with a creative bent of mind and sharp business acumen, she decided to embark on the fashion world with an ethnic fusion brand – AKS.
According to Nidhi: “AKS is not a premature idea, it is a very calculated, research-driven, and well-thought out concept.”
AKS was established with seed capital of Rs 3.5 lakh and a small warehouse of less than 1,000 units. The USP of the brand is capsule collections, quick replenishment models and price affordability for end customers.
The ethnic fusion brand, which is targeted to young ladies/girls from 18 to 35 years of age, students and working women, offers a vast range of ethnic women’s wear, including range Kurta/Kurtis, Palazzo, Ethnic Sets, Anarkalis, Leggings, and Mojri (traditional footwear).
Gurugram-based AKS also has an integrated network of printing, dyeing, stitching and manufacturing units in the Pink City, Jaipur.
Turnover Targets
The brand has witnessed more than 100 percent growth in terms of revenue, and recently, bagged Myntra’s Best Emerging Brand 2017 title.
“Taking into account our last year’s performance, we are aiming for a projected growth of 150 percent for the current fiscal year. The brand is expected to close this FY with a record revenue of Rs 50 crore, which is expected to rise by Rs 100 crore in the next fiscal” concluded Nidhi.
