Shubhra Chadda is the co-founder and CEO of Chumbak, an Indian lifestyle brand that sells products like bags, phone covers, and accessories. Founded in 2010 with an initial investment of Rs. 45 lakh, Chumbak now has over 100 product categories sold in 40+ stores across India as well as online. Chadda has a business background, having worked for companies like KPMG before co-founding Chumbak. The company focuses on tier 1 cities in India for retail expansion and uses digital marketing strategies to promote the brand online.
3. COMPANY OVERVIEW
Chumbak was founded in 2010 as an idea for creating a range of fun
momento for India and Indians with an initial amount of Rs 45 lakh.
They retail over 100 categories across 40+ stores pan India.
Their lifestyle products - bags, phone covers, key chains, wallets, etc.
Chumbak has strong visibility, both online and offline - at its
exclusive stores and multi-brand outlets.
Chumbak manufactures total of 38 categories, with 400-500 products.
In July 2013, it set up its first store in Bangalore.
4. SHUBHRA CHADDA
Subhra is the Co-founder and Head of Product and Design in
Chumbak.
She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mount
Carmel College, Bangalore, and Masters in Public Relation and
Advertising from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in 2002.
After that, she worked for many Multi-national companies KPMG,
Nirvana Films, NetApp and Nortel Networks.
Her last job was with Nortel Networks as Marketing Communication
Manager.
5. BUSINESS MODEL
Smaller Stores - 150-200 sq. ft.
20 stores and counters across five cities.
In house Planning, Production & Distribution.
Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore contribute 60 per cent of
total sales.
6. EXPANSION OF CHUMBAK
The retailer aims to have 50
flagship stores by the end of
fiscal 2019.
It is also moving on to take the
omni-channel approach to attract
consumers by offering enhanced
shopping experience.
The fashion retailer will majorly
focus on Tier I cities such as
Bangalore, New Delhi and
Mumbai for retail expansion as
it reported a deeper growth in
these cities.
Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Pune, Ahmedabad are among
other major cities where the
retailer will carry out its
expansion plans.
The company now also sells its
products in Japan and West
Asia.
7. CHUMBAK MARKETING STRATEGIES
Chumbak is a rare breed of startup that launched with mere online presence via digital
marketing platforms such as social media, search engines etc.
The brand has an active blog, and active on Instagram and Twitter and has a
YouTube channel.
Chumbak follows a ‘digital only’ marketing budget with the bulk of it spent on
Facebook and the rest of Google AdWords.
Chumbak is eyeing annual revenue of Rs 400 crore in the next three to four years.
8. What makes Chumbak successful?
They have loads of items to choose from, in the range of Rs 95-1,495.
They recorded breakeven within the first three years of business.
They believe that the most important thing is to know your customer.