Craftsvilla changes business strategy to survive; renewed focus on private labels

Craftsvilla, the online ethnic fashion retailer, has rejized its business strategy to survive in the cut throat ecommerce world. The startup has reduced its workforce by 50% and is now focusing on growing the share of its in-house private label brands to 30% in the next 6 months by launching them on other marketplaces as well as offline stores, and create differentiated verticals for products catering to separate audiences.

Manish Kalra, the Chief Marketing Officer of Craftvilla, said that “We launched Jharokha.com, an online retail portal dedicated to handicrafts and handlooms of India, about two months back. We also plan to launch our in-house brand Avanya on other online marketplaces and offline stores within two months”. Craftsvilla last raised $35 million capital in 2015 from Sequoia India and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

In addition to the online ecommerce business, the company is also relying heavily on its latest logistics technology startup Sendd for generating additional revenues. It plans to open it up for other businesses on a pay-per-use model. The startup claims to have reduced cash burn across functions, including marketing, and improved margins to cover the variable costs. It has also put its international expansion plans on backburner, and is instead focusing on traffic generated from non-resident Indians living in Southeast Asian countries.