FABLESTREET IS PLANNING FOR THE ‘NEW NORMAL', SAYS FOUNDER & CEO AYUSHI GUDWANI

Launched online before recently going the offline route, FableStreet has primarily been a direct-to-consumer brand. Amid the lockdown, the premium women’s workwear brand is further strengthening its online channel and revamping product categories basis the ‘new normal’. Founder, Ayushi Gudwani talks to IMAGES Business of Fashion to share how technology will play an important role given limited human interaction due to social distancing, at least initially post-lockdown, if not permanently.

- Rosy Sharma

The COVID-19 pandemic left many a retail operation in the lurch, with stores shutting down worldwide and online operations left high and dry with the supply chain not functioning due to a global lockdown. As lockdowns are easing, and retail is re-opening in phases, many brands are reimaging themselves to better serve the COVID consumer.

One such brand is Fablestreet. Like all non-essential businesses, FableStreet also witnessed a hit in sales when it was forcibly shuttered in the first stage of the lockdown. So, when the government allowed retailers to reopen stores and e-commerce businesses to resume operation including delivery of nonessential items, FableStreet instantly got into action. “Our immediate strategy was to get our deliveries back on track and ship orders with immediate effect, which we have started doing,” said Ayushi Gudwani, Founder and CEO, FableStreet.

According to Gudwani, India is probably sitting on more than a billion dollars’ worth of Spring/Summer 2020 inventory, which is not a revenue-generating tool for brands anymore but actually a cost they will have to recover. “Any recovery of inventory which is lying around is good for a brand. So overall, there will be a good amount of sales, a significant amount of liquidation and margins will be affected for the next 3 to 6 months. Brands need to clearly plan ahead in terms of how much of Spring/Summer 2020 inventory can be moved to Autumn/Winter 2020,” she explained. “Hence, look at what could be used for the future. And to explore new channels of sales such as partnerships and collaborations to reduce current inventory and overcome this crisis.”