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After almost two decades of focussing on the overseas market, Chennai-based e-commerce platform Cbazaar is turning its focus back to the Indian market, while strengthening its international presence.
The company is getting into other categories such as work wear and is looking to raise capital for its expansion plans. Rajesh Nahar, Co-founder, Cbazaar, said, “We were ahead of time when we started Cbazaar in 1998 that we had to choose international over India.”
Cbazaar was started as Chennaibazaar.com to sell essentials and groceries online in Chennai and as a rail and bus ticketing platform.
Overseas venture
It was a time when the internet penetration was low and the internet market was yet to grow. So, in 1999, it started the gifting business targeting the Non-Resident Indians, who wanted to send gifts to India, and later moved into Indian ethnic wear. The company now sells custom-made Indian ethnic wear online and exports to over 150 countries. The US, Europe, the UK and Canada are its biggest markets, with the India in the fourth place.
‘Opportunity missed’
Nahar explained that when the e-commerce boom happened in 2000, and players such as Flipkart came on the scene, the company had to the made-to-measure segment with a focus on overseas market.
“It was an opportunity missed for us,” he said. “So now we are getting back into the Indian market,” he added.
The profitable company was initially bootstrapped and raised $7 million between 2012 and 2014. Nahar said that the company has been profitable since it started its gifting business in 1999 but lost money during the e-commerce boom when it offered deep-discounts and increased marketing cost since 2012.
“We turned profitable again in FY2018 when we cut down on the marketing cost and discounting and downsized the team,” he added. The company now has a team of 130 that includes fashion designers, technology experts, and marketing and customer support.
The company is stepping-up its presence in India and is looking to raise $10 million for branding and marketing in India as also for the overseas expansion plans.
Experience stores
“We want to open 100 experience stores in India and the US through the franchise model,” Nahar said.
These will be store-in-store and standalone formats, with in-house designers. Customers can walk-in, choose a design and take designers’ help to customise them.
These designers will be trained by Cbazaar. The company already has two experience stories in Chennai and New Jersey.
“We are in talks with players to open more such stores in Tamil Nadu,” Nahar added.
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