Vector Retail announces the launch of a unique digital platform built for trading luxury products and services called PlushDoor (www.plushDoor.com). The website has been founded by three INSEAD alums – Suresh Singh, Saurabh Srivastava and Arun Kumar Pathak – under the guidance of V. “Paddy” Padmanabhan (Unilever Professor of Marketing, INSEAD), Arun Bhatia (Renowned Industrialist), Rajiv Vij (Founder, Carzonrent), and Daljit S. Sethi (Chairman, Aura Art).
This will be an online aggregator platform which will evolve into a luxury ecosystem offering the best luxury brands across the ecosystem. PlushDoor is starting operations with six verticals – luxury automobiles, jet services, luxury yachts, art and paintings, luxury housing, and lifestyle products.
Based on the market feedback, the plan is to expand the list of articles, brands, verticals, and geographies.
Per various research reports, the luxury segment in India has been growing at a brisk pace of 25 per cent CAGR and has reached US $ 18 billion+ in 2016, showing a lot of promise. The enabling factors are Awareness, Global Convergence, Rising Income, Aspirations, and Accessibility.
However, here are still big gaps in the luxury market like quality of retail space, very high rentals, trained manpower, limited geographical reach, and poor RoI. PlushDoor aims to plug these gaps by playing a key role in addressing these issues on their digital platform, which is specifically built for trading luxury Products and Services only.
“Luxury is actually a mindset and an aspiration. We want to be in the minds of people, be a partner and reason for their happiness. PlushDoor has the potential to make a paradigm shift in the way customers buy and sell luxury products and services” says Saurabh Srivastava.
Given that the platform will be targeting a niche segment, PlushDoor is extremely selective and stringent about the brands they bring on board.
“We will only partner with authorized sellers or manufacturers. All the products listed on the platform are either directly from the authorized manufacturer / distributor or in case it is pre-owned then certified by the authorised agency / distributors. Unlike ordinary marketplaces, PlushDoor will not follow the discounting model,” said Co-Founder Suresh Singh.
“The luxury e-commerce site will adopt a multichannel strategy to engage with its clientele. Based on a ‘Click & Mortar’ model, it merges online and offline channels to offer customers the benefits of exploring numerous possibilities by showcasing multiple brands at one place enabling fast online transactions clubbed with traditional face-to-face service,” adds Founder, Arun Pathak.
Customers will have an option to purchase products online or select the products online and collect them at the store. The objective is to provide them with an enhanced shopping experience providing more choices, greater flexibility, convenience and better service.
To this effect, PlushDoor has already collaborated with some top international and Indian brands in the automobile, aviation, luxury yacht and boats, real estate, art and paintings, designer wear and lifestyle segments.
And that’s not all. Individual customers can also sell on the website. In categories including automobiles, vintage cars, art and housing, an individual can approach the website for selling items, which are then routed through their authorized partners and can be listed on PlushDoor for sale.
The luxury e-commerce site is based on a ‘Click & Mortar’ model - it merges online and offline channels to enhance customer experience
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