Open Talk @DSIM
An Interview with Richa Kar, Co- Founder & CEO of Zivame.com
Zivame is India’s premier online lingerie store, featuring over 5000 lingerie styles. The collection is curated and hand-picked from the top national and international brands. Based out of Bangalore, Zivame started operations in August 2011. Zivame was established to make good quality lingerie accessible and affordable across cross sections.
Q1. Hi Richa. Welcome to DSIM. We are going to talk about Zivame today, what it is, how it all started up and what it has become. Why did you think of calling the venture, Zivame.com?
Ans. Zivame is a leading online lingerie e-tailer in India, born out of a vision to ensure that every woman has access to quality innerwear in an environment free from social discomfort. Founded in 2011, Zivame was conceptualized to change the way women shop for lingerie, providing an inclusive experience that every woman deserves. Though the word lingerie is derived from the French word linge, we wanted a brand name that our consumers could identify with. Ziva in Hebrew means brilliance or radiance and Ziva-me implies ‘radiant me’.
Ans. While I was researching the Indian innerwear market, as part of my role at SAP and Spencers, I came to realize that lingerie is an underserved category in India. Purchasing intimate wear in a physical store is an awkward and hurried experience for most women in India because of the embarrassment of having to interact with male salespersons to discuss sizes and styles. There is also limited availability of sizes and style as retailers stock only the fast moving products. Additionally, any sort of counsel on fit, size and style is hard to get from sales people as their priority is only to push sales. This creates a lot inconvenience and a less desirable and unsatisfactory experience of purchasing lingerie.
Q3. Interesting & unique idea! What role does mobile play in your marketing efforts in India?
Ans. While technology and gadgets may seem like a male domain, women are not far behind when it comes to using technology, especially while shopping online. Last month, we recorded 60% of the total traffic on the site from mobile devices. With the launch of the Zivame app, we expect the majority of sales coming from there.
Ans. My advice to upcoming entrepreneurs is to dream big. When you are your own boss you have to be ready to do the oddest and smallest of jobs as and when required. Always hire people who are better at what they do than you because they will help you grow faster. I believe that if you are strong, focused and passionate about what you want to do, everything else falls into place.
