Naman Sharma, head of retail at Blissclub shares the Bengaluru-based activewear brand’s focus areas, expansion plans and channel performance details…
Bengaluru: Minu Margeret quit her eight-year corporate career to embark on her entrepreneurial journey and start Blissclub, which specializes in women’s activewear.
As an avid ultimate frisbee player, she had been driven by the quest for the perfect fitness gear during her MBA days at ISB Hyderabad.
When her quest for a co-founder bore no result, she began the venture independently, bringing Blissclub to life in March 2020.
The growing emphasis on health and self-care and the resultant boom of the activewear segment bode well for her business. The activewear market is on the brink of sustained expansion, projected to escalate from $357.2 billion in 2022 to an impressive $686.4 billion by 2032, according to Global Market Insights.
Today, the Bengaluru-based brand has a thriving online business and also operates nine stores, positioned across five cities—two stores in Bengaluru, three in Mumbai, two in Hyderabad, and one each in Delhi and Indore.
Money matters
In May 2022, the company raised $15 million from Eight Roads Ventures and Elevation Capital as per media reports. Angel investors including Sriharsha Majety, the chief executive officer of Swiggy; Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth, Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, cofounders of Licious and Amar Nagaram former chief executive of Myntra too participated in the funding round.
In the financial year March 2023, Blissclub recorded a four-times jump in revenue to touch Rs 68 crore reported media.
Omnichannel Approach
To mark its venture into offline retail space, the digital-first brand opened its first physical store in Bengaluru at HSR Layout in early 2023.
“We’re proud to be thriving both online and offline. Our direct-to-consumer (D2C) website is a major revenue driver, complemented by our presence on marketplaces like Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa Fashion, Tata CLiQ and Ajio,” said Naman Sharma, head of retail at Blissclub in an exclusive interaction with IndiaRetailing.
“The offline channel has swiftly climbed into the early double digits, making a substantial contribution to our overall revenue. Its consistent growth is evident as we continue to open new stores each month,” he added.
Choice of location
To find the best locations for opening stores, Blissclub has developed an in-house store location selection framework that considers online performance at a pin code level and incorporates market intelligence from its business development team.
“Our focus is on strengthening our footprint in tier 1 cities before extending our reach to tier 2 cities,” said Sharma.
“The decision-making process is guided by factors including catchment attractiveness, the performance of relevant sports or premium western women’s wear brands in the vicinity, facade area, store size, and visibility from the thoroughfare, among others,” he added.
The retailer also entered into a multi-brand outlet (MBO) store in Delhi that has proven to be a successful collaboration, benefiting both Blissclub and its MBO partner.
Expansion plans
Blissclub is strategically gearing up for a robust expansion of its physical presence, focusing on major metropolitan areas and cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
“We have also set our sights on other dynamic cities such as Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi, Jaipur, and Lucknow. To cater to diverse preferences, our stores in these cities will be strategically positioned, with a mix of both mall and high street locations,” said Sharma.
