Online platform to rent designer apparel Flyrobe to expand to offline stores

New Delhi: Flyrobe, an online platform to rent designer apparel and accessories, is expanding to offline stores to increase revenue and acquire more customers.

“In last one month (since the launch of its first store in Delhi), offline has shown average order price to be close to Rs10,000—about 3X of what we see in online orders and four out of 10 footfalls converting into an order” co-founder Shreya Mishra said in an interview.

In February, the Mumbai-based company piloted with a 450 square-foot store in Delhi. It now plans to open up to eight larger format stores of 1,000-1,500 square-foot by December 2017, across Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, expecting them to contribute 20-25% of revenue.

“One time occasion wear, like (for) weddings is largely an offline market. The stakes are high because brides and grooms pick up two or three products (apparel) at a time, making offline stores a natural expansion for us to be where our consumers are.” Mishra said.

Several start-ups that began online have also set up an offline presence. They include companies such as online furniture retailer PepperFry and online lingerie brand Buttercups Intimate, which have opened so-called experience stores where the customers can touch and feel the products and order online.

“In going online to offline, while our core of business remains online, offline stores act as a sales touch point and a way of brand building for us. A user sees 300-350 products in the store, tries some of them and can make an online order from the store. This also builds the consumer’s trust in the brand that in case they don’t find something in the store, they can go through a wider catalog online and directly make an order. “ said Mishra.

Claiming to rent to out apparel of retail value $1 million per month, Flyrobe currently has over 5,000 products, procured from over 80 designers. While the retail price of a piece of apparel can range between Rs8,000 and Rs200,000, Flyrobe rents it out for between Rs799 and Rs30,000 for four days, sharing 50% of the rent earned with the designer.

A team of 40, Flyrobe online serves customers in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.