Is small the new big for fashion retail?

If it werent for a Vespa perennially parked outside the Kala Ghoda store youd probably pass by Obataimu and miss it The indie concept stores capacity to surprise have a customer feel like they have embarked on a voyage of discovery through the zigzag bylanes of Mumbais art district does not end there Inside the glasswalled faccedilade of the sixyearold boutique is housed a resolute inventory modelmdashto design and tailor clothes and leave behind zero wasteWhile retailers may find 600 sq ft snug its founder and designer Noorie Sadarangani felt it was enough to imagine a consolidated workshop tailoring school and retail area Obataimu has always resisted the chain model writes Sadarangani in an email We are more of a studio than a traditional shop I definitely think this resistance to the conventional model makes it much easier to stay alive in such extraordinary times when life has become stranger than fictionA few steps ahead and around the bend is Filter an art and design concept store thats picked up a cultlike following for introducing Mumbaiinspired collectors piecesmdashstationery books home deacutecor posters photographs and clothing Created by adman Alok Nanda the store operates out of 600 sq ft space staffed by Vipul Ajoy Advani heads the role of creative director Filter turns 10 at the end of the year and we had planned to make a few cosmetic changes But now with the lockdown we dont know says AdvaniAjoy Advani is the creative director at Filter an eclectic design and art storeA short walk south to Colaba behind the Taj Mahal Hotel is Samyukta Nairs Clove a twoyearold experiential retail store focused on everyday luxury We are small but agile stresses Nair My staff of two consists of fashion students while I curate the merchandise she says staying clear of a topheavy management model Cloves 700 sq ft interiors are designed to make the customer feel like its your home and carries an assortment of Made in India young and known labels acrossfashion and lifestyle categories including home deacutecor footwear and chocolates With entrepreneurial experience in foodmdashNair has cofounded Jamavar restaurant at Mayfair Londonmdashand now fashion she says the challenges they pose are distinct The store audience is split between international tourists and Indian shoppers But with the Coronavirusenforced travel embargo and restrictions to move around locally we are using the lockdown as a time to understand the new customer Comeback is always better than a setback Nair says with a laughWhile Sadarangani and Nanda have survived the ongoing lockdown restrictions because they own the property where their stores stand Nair says that her landlord has been wonderfully lenient All three extend intimate shopping experiences while practising lean operations and low overhead costsSamyukta Nair founder and curator of CloveTogether they are part of the independent storeowner tribe of Mumbai that could offer a solution to the biggest crisis that the global fashion retail industry is facing The rules of retail are changing irrespective of size or nature of business The next big trend would highlight the importance of smaller leaner locally sourced and community focused formats shares Maithili Ahluwalia the erstwhile ownercurator of Bungalow Eight a concept fashion and lifestyle address in ChurchgateMaithili AhluwaliaAs the world settles into various degrees of lockdown a freeze on supply chains offices and shopping has sounded the death knell for department store giants high street brands and venturebacked startups The industry was already On High Alert but fast forward a few months we are now on red alert with global fashion sales predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent in 2020 according to a report by the Business of Fashion and consultants McKinsey After only two years WWD reported Carla Sozzanis concept retail space 10 Corso Como closed the doors of its New York location on April 1 citing economy amid the Coronavirus crisis The Neiman Marcus Group one of the leading American department store chains is expected to declare bankruptcy in the coming days reported The New York Times on April 21Against this tumultuous global retail landscape its Indian counterparts are not entirely immune to the supply and demand setback But if theres one remarkable takeaway from the crisis it is this the era of bigmdashspace staff budgetsmdashhas drawn to an end Small businesses could perhaps play a bit more of an advisory role in future macroindustry restructuring sharing insights on being more holistic communal and vertically integrated Sadarangani thinksBhagyashree Patwardhan rented three rooms in a Portuguese bungalow in Sangolda village around North Goa to launch Paper Boat Collective PBC in 2013 Her concept lifestyle store now occupies eight rooms and an organic cafeacute in the courtyard What remains unchanged is her determination to run a tight ship provide sustenance to locals and advocate diverse handmade and natural products befitting a contemporary and responsible India Patwardhan says Ive been mindful of keeping my business small During the lockdown my immediate priority is to take care of my staff of seven pay their salariesOriginally from Pune Bhagyashree Patwardhan lived in Mumbai before adopting Goa as her new home She launched Paper Boat Collective in 2013 a concept store encapsulating everything charming about Goa all under one roofPart of her conscious framework also includes working exclusively with homegrown designers Maku Shorshe Crow Karomi and House of Wandering Silks and sustainable social enterprises such as Wild Ideas Blue Mango and Avani Kumaon Weve stayed away from big established names and believe in seasonless easy comfortable clothing that works all year round adds PatwardhanIts not as if no one saw it coming The clicksversusbricks debate was already wearing thin as more retailers began considering multichannel retail Sadarangani says they were planning to launch an online shop concept in July this year with a showandtell experience and event space in Los Angeles We will move forward with the launch but with much simpler format and smaller budget she says For Filter Advani feels its hard to have an online presence even though there is a need to go digital We work on a small batch of orders to retain exclusivity which makes it difficult to get around logistics between the two platforms he explains Its worrisome believes Nair not having an online presence during social distancingPatwardhan wonders how PBC a dream built to appeal to five sensesmdashto amble browse touch feel enjoy the space and productsmdashwould translate in the digital format And she is not aloneRadhika and Abhishek Poddar launched Cinnamon in October 1999 on Walton Road in Bengaluru making it among the first concept stores in India In 2014 it moved address to the 19th century colonialera property in the Ulsoor borough of the Garden City I am not much of an online shopper somehow it cannot rival the physical store experience says Radhika Poddar A pair of flip flops displayed alongside books cutlery and home deacutecor sharing space with clothing rails Cinnamons buys are thrillingly different from standard departmentstore fare curated by Radhika for last 20 yearsApart from featuring an artefact or two from Sri Lanka and Bali we have singularly worked with local talent like Jason Cheriyan and designers such as Gaurav Jai Gupta Payal Khandwala Eka and Sunita Shankar The Made in India sentiment has almost become our defining aesthetic Radhika feelsRadhika and Abhishek Poddar launched Cinnamon in 1999 making it among the first concept stores in IndiaThe Coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the economy has merely exposed the failing fundamentals of bloated fashion businesses Ahluwalia suggests The pause in business as usual could eventually open up opportunities to also contemplate the bigger picture To secure a future retailers need to pause and interrogate deeply is my business model sustainable and relevant to the environment is the positioning and cost structure congruent with my vision what is my value proposition and who is my customer Often smaller independent businesses have the strongest voiceCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news