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Since 1954, K. Bhojraj has a long and well-preserved tradition of pursuing excellence by giving its customers only the best quality sarees at an affordable price. The journey, which started with a store at Triangular Park, has now become an institution. Legacy of Bhojraj today is one of Kolkata’s most well-known traditional Indian apparel brands.
Chetan Thakwani , K Bhojraj’s grandson and the current chairman, continues this legacy. In this interview, he talks about the handloom industry, how Legacy of Bhojraj has managed to keep competition in check, and what the future holds. Here are some excerpts
Can you tell us about some of the latest trends in the Indian handloom industry?
We have been catering to handmade sarees since 3 generations. With our products, our clients have been able to connect with slow fashion & sustainable clothing where people are now able to understand the importance of handicrafts. The importance of handmade natural dyes used to create colors in the fabric, which is circular, eco-friendly, and helps to recycle fashion.
How do you ensure that the handloom products offered by Legacy of Bhojraj are affordable for your customers, without compromising on the quality?
Our ideology from day one i.e. from my grandfather’s time is to work with the weaving community directly, eliminating the middle man. This makes the product; price friendly & quality is directly engaged & kept constant from our end.
How do you work with the weaving community to bring their traditional designs to a global audience?
That’s a time-taking process as working with so many communities from across the country is difficult. But travel is the key. We make it a point to visit each community at least once every 6 months. Our designs are very carefully selected & curated as per the requirements of our clientele base. Remaining work happens through digital connect i.e. WhatsApp & Telecall.
With the increasing popularity of sustainable fashion, how has Legacy of Bhojraj adapted to this trend, and what initiatives have you taken in this direction?
We never had to adapt to this new trend. We were already there in that space from before because that has been our USP from the very first day of incorporation. We are enjoying this transition in fact, because that motivates us to keep the handwoven community going.
In your opinion, how important is customer feedback in shaping the direction and growth of a brand?
Customer comes first. We prioritize customer satisfaction. For that we always tend to establish a personal touch & each & every sales executive at Bhojraj makes it a point to take care of our customers in store & online also. All our Google reviews are 100% organic. Our order return ratio of the online orders is also less than 2%, which endorses we take customer feedback very seriously.
With the rise of e-commerce, how has Legacy of Bhojraj adapted to this shift, and what strategies have you used to reach customers online?
Yes, the trends of selling have changed in today's time. I.e., apart from our very own Brick & Mortar store located in Kolkata, we are very active in Social Selling through our Facebook & Instagram Page. Furthermore, we have developed our YouTube Channel & now we are on the verge of starting our own e commerce website. It is not that this opportunity was grabbed upon due to the pandemic. We had envisioned to be in this space since day one of incorporation & just that the pandemic gave us the push to get there & get started.
Can you tell us about any challenges that you have faced in the retail industry, and how you overcame them?
Main challenge is Cheap replications that happens with big label brands in the fashion industry, also happens with the handloom industry as well. Product education is the key & each Sales person delinquently makes the effort to explain the product & its USP to our clients well. We have Certifications such as Silk Mark for Pure Silk products & would obtain Handloom mark & other necessary certifications in time to gain confidence in our customers for the Genuity in our products.
What is Legacy of Bhojraj's long-term vision for growth and expansion?
The idea is always first thing first is to serve the depleting community of handweavers / hand printers. For the same the idea is to get the brand to every household through multiple offline brand stores across the globe & online omni channels so that we can help to grow together.
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