Luxury goods have India on its radar as one of the promising emerging markets. The awareness about the luxury brands is low in the country but the sustained economic growth has put a lot of disposable income in the hands of a growing middle class. Brandmile, a luxury e-commerce start-up in India has positioned itself perfectly as per the demands and requirements of the market. They have made luxury goods affordable for the new buyers by buying up last season’s inventory from luxury brands and selling it online to its consumers.
Even when they sell at 70% discounts of the original price they still retain a decent margin. And that’s the reason why the venture has become profitable within ten months of its launch. The e-commerce site calls itself a shopping club and it is not open to every surfer on the net. It is exclusive and private and interested folks need to apply before they can shop on the site. Launched in June 2010, Brandmile is already profitable with a customer base of 150,000 users and boasts of two offices in India, one at Mumbai and the other at Noida.
Dirk van Quaquebeke, a co-founder of the site, confirmed that the site is registering double digit growth, month on month at the moment. Dirk with his background in the venture capital industry, understands the economics and process of the business model well. Initially the site was launched as a dual set up in the UK and India but the economic conditions and the strong demand and growth forced their hand to go full time on India. This is just the beginning for the year old site. Now that it has consolidated its position it has aggressive plans for expansion after concluding the current round of funding. Some big announcements are expected by the end of the year.
Via: penn-olson
