Priyanka Sethi was in Paris when she realised that all big brands abroad had the best of designs but were getting their production outsourced in India and were sold expensive. That is when she thought of making her own brand where the production will take place in India and the designing done in their Paris office staffed with great trend researchers and designers. The result was Classicuir.
The global brand has been created as a separate division under Saroj International Group and investing huge amounts in designing and product developments. S&A team caught up with PRIYANKA to know more about the brand…
On company’s background and profile…
Our parent company Saroj international group has been in the leather industry for more than 55 years, manufacturing and exporting world class leather garments, bags and accessories to leading brands around the globe. We have three factories in Noida, and a vertically integrated tannery in the South.
While I was doing Masters at HEC, Paris, I realised that all big brands abroad had the best of designs but were getting their production outsourced in india and they were sold very expensive and that is when we thought of making our own brand where the production will take place in india and the designs will come from our Paris office where we have great trend researchers and designers, hence the brand Classicuir. Classic, timeless; Cuir, leather in French. Created to make available affordable luxury at competitive prices, the timeless leather products are designed in France.
How have you been managing in these uncertain time?
In these trying times, we saw that outdoor parties moved to more house parties, groups became smaller, and people’s purchasing power also changed. We saw the change in fashion trends and the mindset of people because of the internet everyone searches for new trends and styles online. We saw that people want to get value from their purchase. Instead of spending high amounts on PU bags, our bags are preferred as they are made of pure leather which gives value, durability and sustainability. We started our online store recently and the response is overwhelming.
On bags and accessories retail environments…
I feel that available brands are making the same old bags, their designs, sizes, materials are all similar and nothing new is being offered to the public, there is no demarcation between a PU and leather bag, even in terms of pricing, PU bags are also selling at a high value similar to a leather bag. Despite being plastic,the quality is something which is being compromised in the price being offered to the public. We created quality sustainable leather bags with international designs and competitive prices without any compromise.
Our vision is to have a wider distribution channel where we can make our bags available to all. We also want to target the smaller cities where options to buy real leather are less. We want to offer our customers affordable luxury
at affordable prices where quality and design make the products competitive and sustainable
On brand’s uniqueness…
Our idea was to bring the real essence of leather in the Indian market which was missing here in India. Having experience for more than 55 years, given the expertise in terms of machines and highly skilled workforce, we have introduced a fairly new concept of washed and tumbled leather, our leathers are vegetable tanned,i.e, no harmful chemicals are used thereby making our products eco-friendly and biodegradable, the leathers used are full grain and of the highest quality, our bags give you a very vintage yet contemporary feel, they age gracefully over time and can be passed on to generations.
On competitors…
In India, we do not see any major direct competition to our product line in terms of pricing, quality, and look of products as most of the other retail brands are making a very similar run of the mill products but our products involve lots of innovation and techniques of leather, workmanship, and finishing so practically it is not correct to compare our brand with any competing brand in the market.
On target customers …
Our audience is the modern women who value quality rather than price, who know the actual worth of carrying a genuine leather bag, that’s why our target audience starts from 28 -55 years women who are working, independent women, professionals, housewives who love to travel, having household income of min INR 30000, and really understand the value of leather.
Since our prices are not high or too low, we don’t target the masses and not the luxury segment but we target the premium category ,which is the maximum consumer base in our country. Our average pricing Is INR 4000, which can be easily afforded by an average middle class household. We don’t want to target the youth as they consider cheaper prices over quality and leather or non-leather does not matter to them but only cheap price points is their buying criteria, so they are not an ideal clientele.
The Indian market is cluttered with a long list of economically priced brands and mid-priced foreign brands. What is Classic Cuir doing to keep the competition at bay? That’s correct there are various brands out there, when we did our market research we saw many leather bags brand selling above INR 4000 to 5000 going upto INR 20000 easily, so we on the other hand have cut on our margins but have not compromised on the designs, quality and the value we are giving. We want to make leather an affordable luxury to all so our average pricing is INR 4000 for a good sized bag. We are not selling on fixed terms basis, we are open to size preferences / color preferences of the clients and they can be made to order as per consumer needs. We are giving warranty on our leather and the trims, which is an added advantage. We are also providing free shipping pan india even to the interior parts of india where accessibility is less.
How do you track trends in your market?
As we all know, we in India follow the west for latest trends, colors and our French designing team gets updated information on fashion trends from France, Italy and other fashion hubs so we are sure that our designs are latest and in line with fashion trends.
On challenges …
I believe trust is the biggest challenge for any new brand, to build customer trust and to retain them is the biggest challenge for us right now. Reaching out to the right kind of audience is also important. We have started with our own ecommerce platform. So right now among the fierce competition we are wanting to build our own family of clients, client satisfaction is our top priority and a challenge. I also believe that sustaining in a difficult market will also be a challenge but lesser one for us as we are confident about our products.
On marketing strategy…
As of now, we are online with our own website www.classicuir. com. We have tied up with vanilla moon shoes who make leather sandals for women. Our bags and accessories are now available in their stores at Dlf Mall of India and South Point Mall, Gurgaon. We will be expanding to more such stores and online marketplaces to reach maximum people.
On Digital strategy…
As of now we are focusing on all kinds of digital marketing, Facebook, Instagram ads, influencer marketing, PR, performance marketing, etc. We want to build brand awareness more than sales. We want people to have trust in us to be able to shop from us .
