NEW DELHI: Followed by $1 million raised in March 2021, direct-to-consumer (D2C) women’s footwear startup Monrow Shoes secured an additional $1 million as a super booster investment, becoming the first women’s footwear brand to raise funding twice within one year.
The company’s founder Veena Ashiya talks to TOI about the homegrown brand’s plans going forward. Excerpts:
Please tell us about your journey.
When I started my journey as an entrepreneur, it really took a lot of dedicated efforts to reach my goals as it was an uncharted territory for me. After acquiring my formal education from NIFT, I worked in the fashion and lifestyle industry for over 15 years, being a part of the fashion industry, I liked being stylish every time I stepped out, and no matter how far I would travel I would wear heels and travel through metros, subways, walk miles, and had a perception that heels cannot ever be comfortable.
However, with a passion for fashion and a love for heels, I finally decided to pursue my long-cherished dream of having my own brand and founded Monrow in the year 2017. It is aimed at bold and carefree women who love fashion and cannot compromise on comfort.
Monrow being a data and design-driven brand owing to its unique algorithm has seen immense success in the past five years and has been funded again which is the fuel in the jet I aspired for. Monrow Shoes & Accessories started with a seed funding of Rs 3.5 crore. The monthly topline is Rs 1.5 crore and the GMV run-rate is Rs 18 crore.
How do you track Monrow’s customer retention ratio?
Monrow loyalty numbers are close to more than 30%. We have found that more than 30% of our customers are buying their footwear from us repeatedly and it’s heading towards 50% this year. We track our loyalty numbers by tracking the lifetime journey of our customers with us. We track how many times customers have purchased from us in a year and on which occasions.
What will be your strategy going forward?
Recently, we launched our collection called Saree Collection which was designed and curated by me. This collection is a rich blend of Indian regional and traditional crafts. The concept of a ‘Modern Apsara’ is amalgamated into this design. The idea follows the traditional way of draping a saree into a modern style of strapping your heels. The heels can be worn in multiple ways the same way a saree can be draped beautifully around your body. The collection focuses on bringing traditional craftsmanship into modern chic patterns.
How do you plan to leverage the total accessible market?
In FY2020, women’s share in the footwear market was around 32% which is expected to grow to 34% by FY 2025. The west, north and south regions enjoy an almost equal market share in the range of 26-29%, while the eastern region accounts for 18%. For Monrow, the main target audience is millennials and GenZ living in tier 1 & tier 2 cities. In our research and customer behaviour, we have found that Monrow’s target audience owns 19 pairs out of which 16 are fashionable footwear, only three sneakers or crocs or floaters.
What’s the outlook for sustainable fashion for the future?
The market for vegan footwear is projected to increase at an 8% CAGR from 2022 to 2030, compared to a 6% CAGR from 2015 to 2021. Vegan leather is not only environmentally friendly but also provides an attractive and fashionable design base. We are strictly using vegan leather for our products.
The company’s founder Veena Ashiya talks to TOI about the homegrown brand’s plans going forward. Excerpts:
Please tell us about your journey.
When I started my journey as an entrepreneur, it really took a lot of dedicated efforts to reach my goals as it was an uncharted territory for me. After acquiring my formal education from NIFT, I worked in the fashion and lifestyle industry for over 15 years, being a part of the fashion industry, I liked being stylish every time I stepped out, and no matter how far I would travel I would wear heels and travel through metros, subways, walk miles, and had a perception that heels cannot ever be comfortable.
However, with a passion for fashion and a love for heels, I finally decided to pursue my long-cherished dream of having my own brand and founded Monrow in the year 2017. It is aimed at bold and carefree women who love fashion and cannot compromise on comfort.
Monrow being a data and design-driven brand owing to its unique algorithm has seen immense success in the past five years and has been funded again which is the fuel in the jet I aspired for. Monrow Shoes & Accessories started with a seed funding of Rs 3.5 crore. The monthly topline is Rs 1.5 crore and the GMV run-rate is Rs 18 crore.
How do you track Monrow’s customer retention ratio?
Monrow loyalty numbers are close to more than 30%. We have found that more than 30% of our customers are buying their footwear from us repeatedly and it’s heading towards 50% this year. We track our loyalty numbers by tracking the lifetime journey of our customers with us. We track how many times customers have purchased from us in a year and on which occasions.
What will be your strategy going forward?
Recently, we launched our collection called Saree Collection which was designed and curated by me. This collection is a rich blend of Indian regional and traditional crafts. The concept of a ‘Modern Apsara’ is amalgamated into this design. The idea follows the traditional way of draping a saree into a modern style of strapping your heels. The heels can be worn in multiple ways the same way a saree can be draped beautifully around your body. The collection focuses on bringing traditional craftsmanship into modern chic patterns.
How do you plan to leverage the total accessible market?
In FY2020, women’s share in the footwear market was around 32% which is expected to grow to 34% by FY 2025. The west, north and south regions enjoy an almost equal market share in the range of 26-29%, while the eastern region accounts for 18%. For Monrow, the main target audience is millennials and GenZ living in tier 1 & tier 2 cities. In our research and customer behaviour, we have found that Monrow’s target audience owns 19 pairs out of which 16 are fashionable footwear, only three sneakers or crocs or floaters.
What’s the outlook for sustainable fashion for the future?
The market for vegan footwear is projected to increase at an 8% CAGR from 2022 to 2030, compared to a 6% CAGR from 2015 to 2021. Vegan leather is not only environmentally friendly but also provides an attractive and fashionable design base. We are strictly using vegan leather for our products.
