An Excerpt from the interview:
What made you start your venture?
The Beach Company addresses many needs of the modern Indian shopper. We bring fashion, practicality, and a range of swim products to the consumer. The range has been curated to tap the Indian holiday fashion market, but has quickly grown to address the entire holiday wardrobe for the entire family.
What has been the key to your business’s success?
Focus. We have consistently delivered the largest range of swimwear, beachwear, and holiday essentials at competitive prices and with the fastest delivery. We have not branched out into categories that do not directly relate to our customers’ needs for a great vacation or day at the water.
What are the major challenges in your line of business and how did/do you overcome them?
Sourcing was a major issue as most of our products are not available here in India. Imports, volatile exchange rates, and awareness were the major challenges. However, with a committed merchandising team and a personal shopper team to guide customers, we literally built this up person by person.
Do you have a mentor who guides/advices you on matters of the business?
Regrettably, no, but I do turn to my wife very often for merchandising advice!
Have you benefited from the use of any specific technology for your regular operations?
Yes, we found the use of templated e-commerce platforms across all the function areas of our business- from payment gateways, to the site itself. This helps us gain a tremendous advantage by minimising operational costs and getting the most of software that is consistently being upgraded.
What strategy do you follow for Customer Satisfaction & Expansion?
Although we sell a lot of everything, at the core, we’re just a bunch of people who like skipping work and heading down to the beach. We basically keep asking ourselves the same question: what else do we need to enjoy our holiday better? And then we translate that into sourcing and offering a range of new and innovative holiday products for our customers. We expand everyday online, & have been opening multiple point-of-sales to target the offline client as well.
What, according to you, are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
A lot of people forget the most important thing, which is to BELIEVE in yourself and your idea. And more importantly, always work to deliver on what you say, and stay focussed (even when everyone around you is losing it!).
visit The Beach Company: http://www.thebeachcompany.in Like them on Facebook: The Beach Company