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Ayesha: Designed Personally

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Jacqueline Kapur

Ayesha has started 2 sub-brands UNKNOWN, for young men, and Lil Stars for kids. Additionally, it has developed a big range of scarves, bags and headwear, but its true calling still lies in fashion jewelry. The end of May, 2018 will see the launch of its 3rd sub-brand called JQ. Jacqueline Kapur, Co- Founder & President, Ayesha Accessories, has valid reason to be more optimistic about the brand. During an interaction with S&A’s Bobo Meitei, she said, I see Ayesha as the number 1 brand for young fashion accessories in India with a possible presence in other countries in Asia and the Middle East.

Product Diversification

We have started our 2 sub-brands UNKNOWN, for young men, and Lil Stars for kids. In addition to that, we have developed a big range of scarves, bags and headwear, but our true calling still lies in fashion jewelry. The end of May, 2018 will see the launch of our 3rd sub-brand called JQ. It will be a collection of jewelry pieces and scarves, which are designed by me personally and are targeted at the modern, design conscious women. All products are hand-crafted in India. The collection will be sold in our high end stores, the HO stores of Centrals and on Myntra exclusively.

Retail footprint  

Ayesha is at the moment in 20 exclusive stores and 55 MBOs. We sell in 23 cities all over India.

Retail space scarcity

Luckily most malls are very keen on having Ayesha in their brand mix. We have been awarded for the second time in a row the Indian Retail Award for the category of best fashion accessory retailer. The brand is not only well known among the youthful customers, but also among the retail professionals. So opportunities are plenty, but being able to afford a possible expansion plan is a different story. Ayesha is a 100% self-funded company until now, but we have now actively started to look for a possible partner to bring the company to the next level with an aggressive expansion plan.

Well performing products

Within the jewelry line earrings are our best selling items, in other categories scarves are selling very well. For kids, hair accessories are our no 1 sellers and on-line Unknown, our men’s accessory line is performing the best.

More retail footprint

We are very strong in the south and I am very happy to open our first independent store in Puducherry next month. Chennai will see two openings within the next quarter and then we will start putting some more attention on the north region, where we see very good responses in the MBOs, but haven’t opened many independent stores yet.

Omni-retail approach

For me personally, e-commerce will always be second to the off-line business. To be able to build a brand, name recognition, a connection with your customer you need to offer more than just a product and a discounted price. A visit to an Ayesha store is so much more than that.  However, we do not underestimate the power of the e-commerce and are very much present on all major sites.

Growth projection

I see Ayesha as the number 1 brand for young fashion accessories in India with a possible presence in other countries in Asia and the Middle East. I believe that we will be the trendsetters for the market, because we are not only on par with international trends, but -other than the big international brands- also keep the Indian and Asian design sensitivities in mind. Our marketing campaign PROJECT GIRLPOWER will hopefully reach many young girls and women and we will make a difference not only in their styling, but also in their approach towards life.