Marketing strategies currently used by Fabindia

Touted to be India's largest private platform for products that are made from traditional
techniques, skills and hand-based processes, Fabindia has witnessed double-digit growth in
revenues in last one year, mostly because of the inclination towards sustainable fashion.

Fabindia endeavours to bring alive products and encourage lifestyles that celebrates our rich
Indian culture, craft traditions and wisdom. The brand has recently opened their experience
centre in Andheri, Mumbai. The experience centre is a mix of an interior design studio,
alteration studio, Tug Bug and Fabcafe along with home accessories, lifestyle and personal
care range.

This is the 24th experience centre, they have their centres in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bombay,
Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, and Pune. They are open in more than 10
locations. So, the idea is to have close to 25% of their own retail footprint by the end of this
year which will probably contribute or should probably contribute around 35% of their
revenues.

Fabindia distinct itself from others in a similar segment because of their philosophy, which
has been clear that the brand sees itself as that essential bridge between India's rich cultural
past and modernity at one level, and at another, a brand that connects that rural artisan and
craftsperson with the discerning Urban consumer.

They are perhaps the largest platform that reaches out to a maximum number of people and
customers in urban India. An advantage that they have built over a period of time is that they
have invested in their supply chain and their sourcing ability. So, that gives them certain
leverage in terms of reaching a greater number of people and connecting a greater number of
people with consumers.

Brands these days are offering more customised solutions. They, as a brand also do bespoke
clothing which is offered both through their online platform, as well as their stores.

Discount is not the only way of growing business, people are looking for good and
meaningful products. They are looking for brands which stand for a certain cause, certain
value. Consumers are also becoming cautious about using a natural alternative.

Responsible consumption is on an upswing and brands which drive products which do justice
to that philosophy of responsible consumption are brands that have a slightly higher upside
than the others. But India is a massive market, there is no 'one India', there are many India
inside of India. So, different geographies behave differently. Overall consumption is going to
increase and become wider. People have access to production brands in smaller markets,
unlike earlier times. Everybody is moving towards more responsible consumption.
Everybody is using products which have certain value or cause attached to it.

Customer loyalty in the long run, is driven fundamentally by brands, which offer customers
an alternative lifestyle choice. Fabindia provides consumers with the opportunity to make
certain conscious alternative choices when it comes to consumption. And that is the reason
they promote products which are handcrafted/handmade.

Their marketing strategy has always been a good mix of above the line, below the line, digital
and CRM.

They do a lot of Print ads, especially in newspapers on product announcement and collection
launches. Apart from that, they do a lot of work on Digital and Social, videos and influencer
marketing. And that is done almost on a monthly basis.

Consumers these days are looking at their purchase decision through a slightly finer lens,
they are weighing their purchase slightly more than they used to. But Fabindia has a good
brand image and good products, which have an intrinsic value in them, intrinsic philosophy in
them, that’s why people gravitate towards them.

Small Customer survey

A lot of the commodity level purchase is going down and branded purchase is getting more
and more difficult. To know about Fabindia’s customer satisfaction level and brand
awareness, we did a small survey having a sample size of 108 people of Patna (Bihar). We
used simple random sampling as our sampling method. We prepared a questionnaire to
collect the data.

Questionnaire
Name
Gender?
 Female
 Male
 Prefer not to say
  Others
Age
 <18 years
 18-22 years
 23-27 years
 28-32 years
 >32 years
Family Annual Income
 < 5 Lakhs
 5-10 Lakhs
 11-15 Lakhs
 15-20 Lakhs
 >20 Lakhs
How do you perceive Fabindia as a Business?
 Ideal
 Successful
 Average
 Just another retailer in market
 See a lot of potential in brand to grow more
How would you rate the products and services of Fabindia in terms of?
 variety - 1 to 5
 quality - 1 to 5
 design - 1 to 5
 customer service - 1 to 5
From where do you shop Fabindia’s products?
 Fabindia stores
 Fabindia websites
 Other online retailers
 Other retail stores
 Never bought Fabindia’s products
How often do you buy clothes from fabindia?
  It's always my first choice
 Only when some occasion or festival is there
 Very few times
 never bought
Are you satisfied with the pricing that brand does for its products?
 yes
 no
 I can't judge this
Where do you see Fabindia’s advertisements?
 Social media and other online sites
 Hoardings, Newspapers, Posters & other print media
 News channel, Radio
 I don't see Fabindia's advertisement much
According to you on what below mentioned things should brand improve?
 Product Quality
 Product Variety
 Offers for customers
 Pricing
 Services
 Marketing
 Availability of products
 Others
Any Feedback for brand that you would like to give?
Response to these questions are as follows:
Gender?
Some important findings through the survey are:
1. 58.6% people see Fabindia as a brand which is average and has a potential to grow
more.
2. 52.8% people shop for Fabindia’s products from Fabindia’s stores and only 17.6%
from their website.
3. 13.9% people never even bought Fabindia’s products.
4. 38% people buy Fabindia’s products only when there is some occasion or festival.
5. 25.9% people don’t even see any Fabindia advertisements.
6. 57.4% people mostly saw Fabindia’s Advertisements on Social media platforms and
other online sites.
7. When asked about improvements the brand should make- 54.6% people said price,
39.8% people said product variety, 31.5% people said offer for customers and 25%
people wanted to improve the product quality and marketing.
Even though the survey was on a small scale, we can see that there is a lot of scope for
improvements.
 Marketing Strategies that can be helpful for Fabindia
Fabindia has indeed come a long way in the Indian retail market. It has pioneered branded
womenswear and popularised products made from traditional techniques and processes and is
also among the first brands to offer a premium shopping experience to the end-consumer.
However, the Indian consumers are now more informed, and competition has increased.
Apparel as a category is transitioning from a need-based buying category to a lifestyle
category, with the consumer making purchases at will and from the locations that they choose
from. To cater to the changing demands of the marketplace Fabindia can us these market
strategies:
1. To include youths in their customer base they should reinvent their brand by product
variations and bringing in trendier product lines with the change in fashion. As
Fabindia had monotonous product designs over the years, they should try to change
with change in season and trends.
2. Most people are not even aware about the brand. So, they should focus more on
advertisement for example, they can hire a famous celebrity as their brand
ambassador. This will help them in connecting to more people.
3. As Social media is more prominent in youths, they can advertise through some
influencers. These influencers can be any person who supports the same cause as
Fabindia and that way they will not lose their essence.
4. Due to the changing economy and busy lifestyle, people do not have much time. So,
Fabindia should create a full-fledged retail market online. They currently have a
website but a lot of improvements can be done for example, they can have a virtual
trial room in which customers can easily check how a particular product will look on
them. That trial room can have a 3-D model, which can be generated with the
specifications given by customers like- age, weight, gender, body measurements, etc.
5. Currently Fabindia sells its products through only one e-commerce store i.e., Myntra.
It can expand its online horizon and can sell through many other stores.
6. It should make its product availability easier. So, that its products are available at the
right place at the right time.
7. They should try and bring products of low price also, so that more customers are
attracted.
8. They can use promotional techniques like discounts, free gifts or vouchers to attract
customers in to their stores. Their stores are so good and attractive once, the customer
enters high chances are that he will buy something.
9. They can introduce more variety of fabrics as there are only limited options available.
10. They can create an advertisement which can emotionally connect to people and they
can show the craftspeople and artisans story in those advertisements. This way they
will not lose their essence and will impact a larger customer base.