Fashion is an everyday part of our life now.
What you wear or how you look determines people’s impressions of you and your own self-esteem as well.
We spend our lives looking at high fashion endorsed by celebrities, and it affects our personal tastes too. However, high fashion is usually too expensive for the average Indian, so how do we meet our fashion wants?
We see in both western and Indian fashion industries that celebrities usually have their own designers and stylists, thanks to whom they churn out the best trends. However, for lower and middle-class families, finding high-quality products at reasonable prices is almost impossible.
Surbhi Jain, a middle-class homemaker, talks about her experience visiting large shops, fashion stores, and factories and discovering that if you want a high-quality product, you must pay a premium price. Most of us will relate to such experiences.
Surbhi wanted to change that. She believed she should build an original platform where she could provide contemporary outfits at the best price.
Enter: Woman Dreaming Big
Surbhi Jain founded Keevu. She shares her humble journey of being a housewife in her mid-twenties who overcame all obstacles to make her dream come true.
As a college student, she was interested in fashion design. She would regularly design clothes at her home & come up with unique outfits from scrap cloth materials.
Surbhi recounts seeing so many women, both married and unmarried, having lots of ideas in their minds, but when it comes to implementation, it’s quite difficult.
These women face a lot of issues; familial, financial, and personal. For many of them, marriage is a stopper to their dreams. Yet, some persevere and keep aiming for larger life goals, whether professionally or personally.
Surbhi herself spent 5 years just endlessly supporting her husband backstage. She finally stepped up to the spotlight with Keevu. Surbhi wants to prove herself and be an inspiration for others like her. She believes in taking risks and wants to fight for her dream no matter what.
Her family has always been encouraging from the start. She was fortunate to get her husband’s and his family’s support following their marriage.
With renewed vigor, she ultimately made the decision to start again with her passion and develop it into the business it is today. Every design on Keevu’s platform is Surbhi’s own making, and she carefully handpicks only the best pieces for sale on Keevu.
Other Challenges
Surbhi says the immense support from her family helped her bypass many challenges. She has always felt completely independent about her career choices.
However, running a business isn’t a piece of cake. Due to competitive prices, it’s very hard to explain & convince customers that Keevu doesn’t cut corners on quality. Customers don’t always feel comfortable spending more money to get better quality.
There are a few challenges from the production point of view as well. Finding good quality fabric and other inputs is a tough job yet necessary for creating the best output.
What Keevu Offers
Surbhi came from a family with a more than 25-year history of producing women’s clothing. Surbhi believed she was underutilizing her ability as a manufacturer since getting married. She had never considered honing her own design abilities for a career.
But one day, with her husband’s encouragement, she made the decision to establish a business. Keevu was thus born. Surbhi’s talent and creativity went into every fiber of the brand.
Keevu specializes in both contemporary and traditional clothing for ladies. Surbhi individually designs each of Keevu’s collections, keeping in mind current trends while adding a traditional touch.
There are many businesses on the market that are specifically focused on this sector, but what sets Keevu apart is the high quality of its products and its attractive pricing. According to Surbhi, there are several imitation brands like Keevu, and although their items may appear to be the same, there is a significant variation in quality.
Keevu has its own production facility where it creates and produces each collection on-site. As a result, Surbhi can concentrate on offering just the best items at fair prices.
The first item produced by Keevu was a selection of women’s Kurtis. Today, It also includes more items like suits, handwork dresses, gowns, Pakistani suits, unstitched suits, cotton dresses & suits, sarees, boutique dresses, and more.
Surbhi plans on adding many more products and variety to Keevu’s offerings.
Getting Through It All
More than anything, Surbhi’s advantage in this journey has been her ability to recognize market demands, enabling her to draw in new clients continually. Most of the consumers Keevu has have come via recommendations from friends, family, and coworkers.
Keevu’s consumers are brought in by Surbhi’s understanding of the ever-changing trends and offering fashionable outfits in accordance.
Since Keevu’s introduction on April 1, 2022, sales have increased from 0 to 400 units each month. In the future months, the brand anticipates expanding significantly further.
Given the consistently high demand from clients, Keevu has begun several offline exhibits in several cities, including Mumbai, Surat, Delhi, Pune, and more. The offline market accounts for most of Keevu’s traffic, with direct orders frequently coming through recommendations from friends and family.
Future Plans And Inspiration
Going ahead, Surbhi has three objectives for Keevu. She wants Keevu to become widespread throughout all of India’s cities. She wants to take Keevu to a global scale and compete with the biggest brand in terms of quality and cost. She also intends to concentrate on lowering costs and raising quality even further.
Surbhi encourages people, especially women like her, to try to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. Even if you have a full-time job or are a housewife, you can work on a side business.
The most important things you need are your own determination and a hand to help. Support from a family member or friend will help you every step of the way. In her words:
“I would suggest to new hustlers to start something unique in life. Be unique & learn from others but also follow yourself. If you have any skill, talent, or idea just work on it. If not the first, maybe the second, or even the third idea will throw you into the success path. Do not worry about failure; it too leads to success.”
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