Nina Lekhi is the Founder, Managing Director and the Chief Design Curator of ‘Baggit ‘- the 30-year-old brand which has been following the ‘Make In India’ concept, since its inception. Baggit delivers quality bags and accessories made out of cruelty-free material. Nina Lekhi shares the inspiring journey of building her out-of-home business to a Rs 100 crore plus empire and growing across the globe.
Her journey to success kick-started when she failed in her very first year of college. That was a blow to her self-esteem. She was never known for failures therefore she needed to prove this to the world. Fortunately, she took it hard on herself and started working towards creating her own designs of bags through whatever materials she could source from the local market, at that point in time. She also took up a job to understand the nuances of the accessories business. Alongside the job, she was making bags and supplying them to retail outlets. Baggit started as a small scale business from within her home and gradually expanded to what it is today.
Baggit bags are sold over 1,000 counters, which includes large format stores such as Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Central, Pantaloons, etc, and 60 exclusive brand stores. Besides this, Baggit has a strong online presence at www.baggit.com and with leading online marketplaces, which includes names like Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, TataCliq and many more.
Creating The Baggit Trust
Baggit has always focused on providing the optimum product mix comprising of the latest trends to cater to all customer segments. With the launch of gg, they have developed a value line of merchandise for addressing the needs of the young customers who do not want to compromise on quality too. By addressing the needs of their end-user, hence it’s a win-win situation overall. Adding to this, they are also working on a sustainable product range that will soon hit the stores giving both clients and end-user variety in terms of collection.
Work life at Baggit
At Baggit, they strongly believe in values such as professionalism, respect, trust and excellence. When they recruit professionals, they train them and help them to adjust to the working atmosphere of the organization. They have executives who are still there with them for the last 25 years. Today, they recruit professionals based on their specialized sectors, they believe in converting industries into universities where they learn, train and grow, which also helps in the growth of their employees professionally and personally.
At Baggit, they stringently encourage work-life balance. Every year they organize camps, yoga sessions, regular vision seminars, etc. for their employees, which boosts wellness and develops a positive approach towards the company even during the challenging times.
Focus Ahead
Baggit has been able to reach out to the consumers in the country at the Tier I and II level. They are now looking at building a responsible international fashion business that celebrates ‘Atrangi-ness’ (the quality of being different and unique) globally.
MILESTONES
– 2000 – First exclusive brand outlet launched
– 2005 – Nina Lekihi voted as one of the most powerful business women by Business Today.
– Ranked the highest selling brand in Large Format Stores – Handbags category.
– 2014 – Peta Vegan Fashion Award – Best Brand Women’s Wallet category
– 2017-18 – Presence in international markets like Srilanka and GCC.
– 2019 – Presence across 1,000+ doors PAN India including 50+ exclusive business outlets
ACHIEVEMENTS
– Best Performing Retailer – Fashion Accessories – Inorbit (2010)
– Best Brand Award – Shopper Stop (2011 – 15)
– PETA Proggy Award – Fashion without cruelty (2014)
– Make In India – Award for Excellence (2015)
– Best TVC of the Year – The Activation Venues Forum Awards (2018)
– 26th most watched TVC (2018) – Campaign India Top 50 Ads of 2018
Credit: File
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