Swati Nathani

Zudio hit the $1 billion revenue milestone in FY25 less than a decade after its launch. The Tata-owned mass-fashion brand is rewriting the playbook for value retail in India, and 2025 is already a breakout year. Here’s how Zudio achieved it: 🔹Expanded at speed →The brand doubled its store count to 765+ outlets across 235 cities. It added 132 stores in Q1 alone and strengthened its presence in both metros and Tier-2/3 cities. 🔹Drove revenue growth →Zudio contributed significantly to Trent Ltd’s 27% revenue jump to ₹4,291 crore in FY25, even though net profit declined due to heavy investments in expansion. 🔹Focused on everyday low prices →Instead of relying on deep discounting, Zudio offered consistent value at low prices. This approach helped maintain healthy margins while appealing to price-sensitive, fashion-conscious consumers. 🔹Entered new categories →Zudio launched Zudio Beauty stores to bring its “affordable and trendy” approach to cosmetics. 🔹Went global →Zudio opened its first overseas store in Dubai to serve the Indian diaspora and explore global opportunities. 🔹Engaged customers year-round →The brand ran its Independence Day Sale with up to 70% off and offered attractive seasonal deals across summer and monsoon collections. Zudio shows that value fashion can be profitable, scalable, and aspirational when supported by smart pricing, efficient supply chains, and aggressive expansion. It is not just competing in the market. It is actively redefining it. Marjolein Van Brandwijk Ashutosh Sharma Pradeep Seth Steven Swaby Venkatesalu P #Zudio #TataTrent #RetailGrowth #ValueFashion #AffordableStyle #Expansion #FashionTrends #IndiaRetail2025

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Mumbai-based KNOT, a quick commerce fashion platform has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Kae Capital. The round also saw participation from Sparrow Capital, Boundless Ventures, and founders of SNITCH, The Souled Store and Bonkers.corner. Existing investors, including WEH Ventures, All In Capital, and Kumar Saurabh (Aukera Grown Diamond Jewellery), also participated in this round. The new funding will support KNOT’s product development, expansion to cities beyond Mumbai, and stronger partnerships with fashion brands. Archit Nanda | Rachit Bansal 🔗 Read full article link in comment #Knot #quickcommerce #fashionbrand #fundingnews #startupupdate #viestories

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Meet the couple who built one of India’s fastest-growing fashion brands — from scratch to ₹99+ Cr. Rimjim Deka spent over a decade building her first startup. But her name? Nowhere on it. Behind the scenes, she obsessed over product, customer emotions, and every tiny detail. For nearly 10 years, she carried the weight of creating something she wasn’t publicly credited for. When she exited, it took more than 2 months to recover emotionally. But she didn’t stop. 🧠 She started again — this time, not alone. Together with her husband, Partha Kakati, who left his secure government bank job, she co-founded Littlebox India — a fast fashion brand built on instinct, emotion, and speed. Her 10 years of fashion experience met his love for building and deep expertise in tech and operations. They started in 2020. Crossed ₹20 Cr in 2022. Now, in 2025? ₹99+ Cr. She leads product and creative direction. He runs systems, tech, and backend operations—a co-founder duo with clarity, trust, and zero noise. 🧠 They entered one of India’s toughest categories — fast fashion. - Low loyalty. - High return rates. - Trends are changing every 10 days. But they brought structure to the chaos. Within just two years, Little Box achieved a 22% retention rate. While most fashion brands struggled with 30%+ return rates, Little Box held steady around 20%. 📉 Then came a shock — their Instagram page was banned. The team panicked. But the founders didn’t. “It’s just Instagram. We’ll build it again.” That one sentence speaks volumes. Platforms come and go — but founders with clarity? They stay. On Shark Tank India, five sharks kept changing the deal. But the couple wasn’t chasing valuation. They wanted all five sharks, not for money, but for the strategic skills each brought. 🧠 Their biggest strength? Positioning. They don’t just sell clothes — they sell moods. Their website and Instagram don’t feel like catalogues. They feel like emotion in motion. While others fight for discounts and styles, Little Box connects through storytelling and community. That’s how they scaled to ₹99+ Cr — without ever being loud about it. 🔥 She built her first brand without credit. Together, they built their second with conviction. Little Box isn’t just a fashion label. It’s a masterclass in quiet confidence. ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── 🛠️ This is one of many brand stories I’m researching for my upcoming book: Built to Grow, Not Burn — a deep dive into the patterns, mindset, and structure behind brands that scale sustainably versus those that merely survive. #BuiltToGrow #D2C #BrandBuilding #FounderStories

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Nykaa built a ₹11,775 crore beauty empire while its fashion division bled money at -8.3% margins. Same brand, opposite fates. Before, seeing the difference first lets see the result of Nykaa in 2025 In FY25, Nykaa Beauty crossed ₹11,775 crore GMV growing 30% year-on-year.  NykaaFashion limped to ₹3,804 crore with just 12% growth. Nykaa Beauty delivered 8.9% EBITDA margins with a GMV of ₹11,775 crore in FY25, the highest profitability in recent years.  Nykaa fashion posted -8.3% EBITDA margins with a GMV of ₹3,804 crore margins despite continuous investments. Both had great leadership backing. Both leveraged Nykaa's technology platform. Yet their paths diverged completely. Here's what made Nykaa Beauty profitable while Nykaa Fashion bled money: Trust vs Discounts 📌 Beauty built authenticity through inventory-based model 📌 Fashion eroded margins with aggressive discounting Repeat vs Random 📌 Beauty customers repurchase more frequently despite lower AOV (₹2,021) 📌 Fashion sees irregular purchases despite higher AOV (₹4,609) Experience vs Competition 📌 Beauty's 237 stores create touch-and-feel advantage 📌 Fashion fights Myntra/AJIO.com without clear differentiation Scale vs Struggle 📌 Beauty acquired 15.8 million active customers with sustainable economics 📌 Fashion managed just 3.2 million users despite heavy marketing spend Working in sourcing across markets, I've observed this repeatedly. Products with consumption cycles build sustainable businesses. Fashion's sporadic purchases make retention expensive. Even within the same company, customer behavior trumps everything else. Beauty solved a genuine problem of authentic products. Fashion became just another option. What makes you repeatedly buy from certain brands?

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Gen Z-centric fashion brand OUTZIDR has raised Rs. 27 crore (approximately $3.1 million) in a pre-Series A funding round, led by RTP Global with participation from Stellaris Venture Partners, its existing investor. The investment will support the brand’s rapid expansion and offline retail foray. Read more: https://lnkd.in/df3GfXxJ Nirmal Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Outzidr. Pavitra Gupta, Director, RTP Global Mayank Jain, Principal, Stellaris Venture Partners #D2C #business #news #market #update #apparel #fashion #funding #expansion

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How India’s apparel workforce must evolve — not just in skills, but in mindset, metrics and retention. In the second part of my interview with texfash.com, I shared perspectives on what it will take for India’s factories to compete globally — not by producing more, but by being smarter, more adaptive, and more responsible. Key themes we explored: - Workforce planning must begin before machines arrive. Phased hiring, induction training, and a caring culture are foundational. - Commercial awareness cannot remain limited to merchandisers. Every function — from design to dispatch — must align with market realities. - Retention goes beyond pay. Growth pathways, recognition, community integration, and workplace culture are equally critical. - Future competencies such as digital fluency, operational agility, and ESG/inclusivity will soon be non-negotiable. India’s apparel sector is no longer just building factories — we’re building futures. A globally respected, sustainable, and resilient manufacturing ecosystem will emerge only if we invest in people, culture and purpose, not just processes. You can read Part 2 of the interview here: https://lnkd.in/gK8Xd2Jt Groyyo Groyyo Consulting Subir Ghosh #ManagementConsulting #Consultant #ApparelIndustry #GarmentManufacturing #Skills #Upskilling #LNOD #Leadership #Competitiveness #India #Bangladesh #Vietnam

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