A fashion platform for hand-crafted items with en element of discovery: Tjori.com

Mansi Gupta says the sale of hand-crafted fashion and lifestyle products is finding a fan following in India too, after touching UK, Canada and America. A distinguished concept, new collections and products are introduced on a weekly basis under ‘Tjori Events’ on Brand’s site, but only for a limited period.

Retailer media caught up with Mansi Gupta, CEO and founder, Tjori.com, to talk about the online discovery concept, her inspiration from various cultures and traditions and its popularity with Indian customers.   

 

Run us through the challenges you faced with Tjori around the launch time.

I was very new to eCommerce, especially operationally, when we first started Tjori.com. We have had 72 straight hours of work, web site crashes and standard start-up issues at the initial stage, but I sincerely believe that an experience like running your own start-up, there is no other career that can even come close into comparison. Start-ups have new learning daily and the most valuable ones. The high of creating something and shaping it the way you want is phenomenal.

 

By the time the handicraft products would reach your customer in America, its price would have doubled. How are you addressing the issue?

We work directly with the grass root level craftsmen, weavers and artisans: basically from the first source of the product and thereby avoiding the middleman. This gives us the ability to deliver the products directly from the point of their origin to consumers’ doorsteps, thereby minimising on insane prices and an amazing value.

 

What is the business model of Tjori? How is it different from other online businesses?

Tjori is a discovery platform for finding the most discovery-worthy products from across the globe. We work directly with the manufacturers, suppliers, designers and craftsmen and showcase the products from hyper local markets in various parts of the world, which are otherwise hard to find and have a legacy and generations of skill and craftsmanship. We hand-pick/curate these exclusive products from deep pockets from the countries of their origin and sell directly to our customers.

There are many players in this space selling handcrafted products from India (for example) but no one is into global sourcing and manufacturing these regional specialities from various countries.

 

What’s your supplier base like in America - the number of suppliers, areas covered etc?

Currently, we don’t have an elaborate supplier base in America, we are focusing more on countries like south-east Asia, middle-east and South America, given the amazing cultural heritage they carry. There is so much waiting to be explored from these geographies that we haven’t exhaustively looked at America for sourcing so far.

 

How do you tie up with artisans and craftsmen, how many of them are onboard? Shed some light on how do you source products?

We act as a platform for our suppliers to showcase their products to Indian as well as International markets, which is otherwise difficult for them if they don’t sell directly to other geographies across the globe. In addition, they closely work with us for new product development as well which brings them additional revenue and an extensive product offering. We have an upwards of 500 suppliers who we work with and the number is increasing every month.

 

What is the number of SKUs and what are the price-points they are available at?

There is an extensive variety of product SKUs that we have with new additions happening daily. They are available at various price points ranging from very low to mid as well as higher side of the price spectrum.

 

Are you looking to expand into other territories as well?

In terms of sourcing, we are continuously adding more products from new geographies, new categories of products are getting added every month. In terms of the target markets, our current focus is India, USA & Canada and looking to extensively target middle-east and Europe next.

 

Future plans (expansion and growth).

Growth, expansion and building a community of customers for the concept, so that we can be the only place that comes to people’s mind when they think of buying unique products or anything from any other place they had visited or want to visit. In terms of sourcing, we are continuously adding more products from new geographies, new categories of products are getting added every month. In terms of the target markets, our current focus is India, USA & Canada and looking to extensively target middle-east and Europe next.