Legacy brand Kankatala Sarees shines online in the new normal with a 95 percent rise in online sales since the lockdown.
Kankatala is one of the oldest saree brands in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and has represented the age-old weaving techniques for more than 7 decades. The brand has been popular amongst Indian diaspora spread across the world who once made a point to visit the store during their visit to India and now shops online from www.kankatala.com for various occasions including daily wear to bridal.
The portal hosts each saree for a limited period of 180 days and most of the sarees are sold out in that window. The e-commerce arm is a 3-year-old entity that has given the brand a global reach and is led by third-generation Director, Anirudh Kankatala. His futuristic vision ensured that the brand was equipped to adapt to the new normal faster than the competitors.
As retail shopping came to standby due to COVID-19, even the retail shoppers started frequenting the portal more as it is a contactless and safer way to shop. To complement the demand from saree lovers, the brand has been adding approximately 150 new sarees every week. During the lockdown, the brand has managed to sell more than 2,600 sarees making it an average of 25 sarees per day.
In India, handloom is the second-largest economic activity after agriculture and is a major source of employment. Kankatala has been working with 50 major weaving clusters of India and like most of their patrons, their weavers to are associated with them since 3 generations. The brand has touched the lives of more than 1 lakh weavers over years. The pandemic had put the industry on a stand by making it difficult for the weavers to make ends meet. To support them, for the first time, the e-commerce portal has also been offering discounts on select products. This has enabled the patrons to avail their favourite products at discounted prices and weavers to start weaving again making it a win-win situation.
‘We are thrilled to receive an overwhelming response from our patrons. Most of our weavers have worked with us for three generations. As a brand, we have stood by them in various circumstances and situations while we also ensure fair prices are paid to them for their effort. It is our bit to retain the weavers in the industry so they don’t drop out due to unemployment and keep the age-old art of weaving alive. With the pandemic hitting the world, they were most affected and therefore as a brand we utilized our online presence to clear out the stock. Their impeccable weaving was adored by our patrons. As a brand, we introduced a weekly drop of 150 sarees and discounts on select pieces. The goal behind this strategy was to not only offer handpicked Kankatala sarees to our patrons but also support the weavers during the tough times they have been facing due to pandemic. In coming months, you will see the brand introducing more innovations to cater to the changing needs of our consumer in the new normal’ said Aniruddh Kankatala, Director, Kankatala Sarees.
Must Read
