TheRodinhoods

Best medium to launch and run an Accessories Label? Online or Offline? Standalone or Multi-brand retailers?

Hi,

Let me give a little bit of background. I, and a friend from NIFT, have been playing around with the idea of launching a slightly upscale leather accessories brand (starting with handbags, wallets, iPad covers, etc.) We have done quite a bit of research and figured out the manufacturing, production and design side of things, but we are a little confused about the best way to start off.

We don’t have the money to open a store in a Mall (which would be the ideal launch-pad if money was not a problem).

We will have a website and sell our products there, but as girls who shop online, we know that it would be difficult to convince people to buy a bag from an unheard-of company(unless it was very cheap) online. Would it be a better bet to start off by selling our products on Flipkart, Myntra, etc? Does anyone know how that process works? As for physical stores, is it better to have a standalone store, or to sell through retailers like Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, etc? We are considering having some pop-up shops to get an initial buzz going. Any help will be appreciated.

P.S. Our target customers are stylish professionals who need to carry a lot of stuff to work, but don’t want to carry aunty-like bags. And at the risk of sounding immodest, we actually have pretty cool designs.

Thanks!