The growth of physical retail, i.e., offline retail market, has never seen the pressure that it has over the last five years. The recent pandemic followed by lockdowns further escalated the challenge with most consumers preferring online retail over heading to stores due to the fear of catching the virus. This led to two extremely turbulent years for physical retail where several businesses had to shut down and many, small entrepreneurs and large corporations alike.
While retail consumption is getting back to pre-pandemic levels, the pandemic has moulded certain habits and consumption patterns permanently. In India, online consumption is rapidly on the rise and quick commerce continues to gain ground. Consumers are valuing touchless, quick, seamless retail purchase experiences and the need for convenience has risen exponentially. Businesses across India and all over the world are quickly adapting to these changes. The recent rise in digital literacy has led to an influx of investment in c-commerce firms, levelling the market for new players to set up their base, while churning out innovative patterns to disrupt old functioning.
One of the simplest ways in which offline and physical retailers can stay relevant is by extending their store fronts for consumers to make purchases 24/7 and possibly take their stores closer to the consumer. The easiest way to enable this is with unmanned kiosks or smart digital vending machines. The pandemic and evolving consumer behaviours in India are challenging these old tenets. Given the need to provide 24/7 service and convenience to consumers, nothing can be faster than a strategically placed automatic vending machine from where a customer can pick up the products they need and pay digitally. Not only creating experiences like these will enable brands to know their customers better, it would also mean not compromising on margins given the direct access to the end customer. Also, given that vending or ‘instant commerce’ never sleeps, it can help businesses keep the registers ringing even at off hours without any staff. Buy online and pick up offline, never was faster!
Some of the emerging brands of Eastern India which are also going for online services are Rare Planet, Biswa Bangla, Kompanero, Little Shop, Khadims, Earthwear, GKB Opticals, Success Menswear, Turtle, Starmark, Indian Silk House, Leather Talks, Goodricke Tea and many more. This is a testament to the success of brands in the east.
Let’s take a look at some of the popular brands.
The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind.
BISWA BANGLA
In 2013, Biswa Bangla is an MSME enterprise established by the Government of West Bengal which came into existence to promote the state’s dying arts and crafts. The first store to sell products under the brand came up in 2014 in Kolkata. Their products are authentic, hand-crafted items that connect connoisseurs to the lives of Bengal’s people and their myriad expressions.
Shop for West Bengal Handicrafts from Biswa Bangla at https://www.biswabangla.in/
RARE PLANET
Rare Planet was launched by Ranodeep Saha in 2017. It is a place of talent, and it provided a huge platform for these incredible talents, to showcase their creativity. It focuses on selling the products, such as mugs, copper bottles, cups, plates, handmade products, and more. The company expanded from four stores to 32 stores and revenue grew from Rs. 70 lakhs per month to Rs 4 crores per month.
Buy online at https://rareplanet.com/
EARTHWEAR
Earthwear was conceptualized in 2011 as a womenswear brand with a focus on the revival of Indian crafts and skills. The brainchild of Vineeta Ganeriwala Gupta, Earthwear combines sustainability with sensibility. With a vision to create a modern interpretation of age-old crafts, the brand is working towards creating a bridge between the traditional handicrafts and their modern-day use.
Check out their products from https://earthwear.in/
STARMARK
Initiated in 1999, Starmark is owned by Eastern India’s leading business house, The Emami Group. Starmark, a pioneer of large-format leisure retail in Kolkata is a leading store for countless books, stationery, toys, music and gifting needs now taking orders online.
Shop Starmark products from https://starmarkonline.com/
LITTLE SHOP
Little Shop is Kolkata’s favourite kids store and a household name, in families with children. It caters to all ages, from newborn to the age of 14. It has 12 stores in Kolkata, at the most prime locations in the city. Besides kidswear, the stores carry an entire range of shoes, toys, books, stationery, newborn merchandise, furniture and kids’ accessories. The move to ‘Online’ is one more attempt to make things easier for parents.
Shop their products from https://www.littleshop.in/
KOMPANERO
Kompanero was founded in 2014 with a clear aim of offering high-quality leather bags to the consumers. Since then, with a dedication towards handcrafting desirable and marvellous masterpieces, the firm is crafting top-notch as well as beautiful bags & accessories. Kompanero bags available online. Apart from their own website, Kompanero is also listed on Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra.
Buy Kompanero products from https://kompanero.in/
KHADIMS
Khadim’s began in the 1960’s as a humble shoe store in Chitpur to become a popular and much-loved footwear brand of the new millennia. Since Khadim’s started its retail journey in Kolkata, the brand has been serving masses with comfortable, affordable & durable shoes for all members of a family from generations. Apart from their website, currently they are on Flipkart, Amazon, Shopclues, Myntra and Reliance lifestyle e-store.
https://kompanero.in/
INDIAN SILK HOUSE AGENCIES
Business should be open to new ways to improve their system. Here’s why Traditional Business-like Indian Silk House is moving to Online Operation. Unlike a traditional brick-and-mortar store, selling on an online store can reach to a large mass. Indian Silk House has a stylish assortment of outfits in their store with some exquisite and delightful collection of ethnic sarees from their online store that will make you stand out from the crowd.
Shop traditional Sarees online from https://www.indiansilkhouseagencies.com/
ADI AKSHAY
Adi Akshoy & Co. is the leading and oldest saree brand in West Bengal with unique variety of sarees including hand-loom Linen, Dhakai Jamdani, Kanjivaram, Ghicha, Fancy Katan, Katha Stitch, Printed Silk. Not only sarees, we have the exceptional ranges of other gorgeous women outfits like lehenga and Salwar. These outfits are very well known for the richness and flamboyance which they add to the women, now can be shopped by visiting their website.
MENSWEAR – TURTLE
Turtle’s journey began in Kolkata in the year 1993 with a humble production capacity of 20 shirts a day. Today, the brand is a powerhouse of manufacturing and retail, offering a range of apparels and accessories passionately created by the talented in-house design team. Their subtle design sensibilities and unique sense of global trends has elevated the them in the fashion landscape of eastern India with revenues of over $30 million by reaching mass audience through online services.
Shop online from their website https://turtle.in/
SUCCESS MENSWEAR
Success was established in the year 1996, at Kolkata, West Bengal as the brain child of Mr. Rajnish Sethia. Starting out as a trouser manufacturer, today it has come of age. It now assembles a man’s complete wardrobe, consisting of suits, blazers, jackets, waist coats, shirts, trousers and denims along with value-adding accessories broadly classified into formal, casual and party-wear segments. They are also available online.
Visit them online at https://successmenswear.com/
GKB OPTICALS
GKB Optic is an Indian retailer of optical products, and operates a chain of retail stores in India. The company was founded by Brijendra Kumar Gupta in 1959. Headquartered in Kolkata, the company has over 70 stores across India and employs over 600 people. People can get the latest collections of branded eyeglasses, sunglasses & contact lenses online for men, women & kids at exciting prices with hassle-free exchange.
Shop their products from https://www.gkboptical.com/
HIMALAYA OPTICALS
Founded in 1935, Himalaya Optical is one of the largest and fastest growing Optical Retail Chains in India. The company specializes in providing eye care and eye wear solution in the form of spectacles, contact lenses, prescription sunglasses, branded sunglasses, other accessories and comprehensive eye examination services with online facility.
Visit them at their website at https://himalayaoptical.com/
LEATHER TALKS
Leather Talks specializes in handcrafted premium genuine leather accessories with wide range of products since 1973 are also available online.
Buy genuine leather products from https://www.leathertalks.com/
GOODRICKE TEA
Goodricke Group Limited is an India-based tea producing company headquartered in West Bengal. It is a subsidiary of Camellia Plc. U.K., a global Group spanning four continents encompassing tea, food storage and distribution, agriculture and horticulture, and investments. With more than 140 years of experience, they are the second largest tea producer in India and own 29 tea gardens and 29 manufacturing factories in Darjeeling, Assam, and Dooars in the foothills of the Himalayas. Now the exclusive Indian teas from tea gardens can be bought online from their website at https://www.goodricke.com/
SENCO GOLD
Senco Gold works consistently towards providing an Omni channel experience both in-showroom as well as through their websites complementing their ability to reach customers. In addition to physical showrooms, they have also adopted a “Phy-gital” model. To ensure that they reach geographies beyond their physical showrooms, they intend to continue building a brand presence in the country through available e-commerce and online channels, including continued and seamless customer experience for online and offline sales through their websites, mobile, chatbots, their mobile application and the Showrooms.
Visit them online at https://sencogoldanddiamonds.com/
The retail sector has been dealing with different challenges right now. The pandemic has led the businesses to rethink and reimagine the whole concept of retail to cope with the new normal. To adapt to the shifted consumer behavior, many retail brands have gone phygital in the recent months. Owing to social isolation, consumers are warming up further towards online purchases. Interestingly, the consumer base has also gained momentum with the adoption of technology among senior citizens and citizens living in rural cities. Solutions like contactless payments and digital receipts will play a vital role in providing conscious consumers with safe shopping means along with convenience. Phygital will be the new normal and its timely adoption would help businesses to survive and thrive.
