Khazana-april 1 - Borrow It Bindaas

C2 •SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
KHAZANA
BY NEHA SARIN
Here’s to a ‘Bindaas’ Experience
Borrow it Bindaas is a fabulous online boutique where you can borrow or buy beautiful sarees and accessories and then
return it after the important wedding or occasion.India journal talked to Siddhi Khara, co founder and CEO of this unique
business venture and found out the reason why something like this works in the United states.
Q. How did the idea for renting out sarees come about?
A: Through our many frequent visits to India and growing up in the South Asian community in Southern California, we developed a passion for all things Indian- the movies, food,
and most of all the fashion.Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and a background in business
we always knewwe wanted to start our own business, especially one that created a synergy between
ourpassion for Indian fashion and our entrepreneurial spirit.The idea of renting sarees came from our
own experiences of having several Indian events to attend and observing that there was really a lack
of resources for the most up to date fashions at affordable prices. Furthermore it came from our
background of growing up in a family full of women and borrowing each other’ sarees and also
lending them to our own friends and families- and realizing there had to be a better way to
wear the most up to date ensembles without having to repeat each others sarees and most of
all without having to travel all the way to India and spend a fortune on sarees that were
going to be out of season any minute- and worst of all feel obligated to wear the sarees
again because you spent so much money on them. We quickly realized we could not have
been the only Indian women going through these issues- and that is how Borrow It
Bindaas was conceived.
The concept of renting and borrowing is a concept that is familiar to us growing up in
the U.S and we felt that bringing this concept to Indian apparel would really help solve
that age old wardrobe issue that all women have with Indian apparel- “How do I wear
the latest trends without having to spend a fortune doing so and trying to find a way
to wear it again because I spent so much!?”Borrow It Bindaas gives people a dream
closet full of the latest Indian apparel and accessories that customers can borrow for
their special event, feel like a million bucks and simply return it hassle free without
the headache of maintenance. We strive to give customers ultimately a “Bindaas” or
“Care-Free” experience in which they can dance the night away and truly enjoy
themselves in our high-end sarees and then simply return it without having to worry
about maintenance etc. We realized that women like ourselves, love to don themselves in the latest apparel without having to repeat their outfits with the same circle
of friends and without spending a fortune- hence why the concept of Borrowing/Renting is so practical. We ultimately want to become that “go-to” closet for all women who
want to wear the latest trends without having to spend a fortune doing so.
Q. What is your clientele like?
A: Our clientele has mostly been young women who are savvyonline shoppers. While we have had many young South Asian women rent from us- I would
say roughly 30 to 40 percent of our customers have been non-South Asian
womenwho have found us through the internet or have been recommended to
our site by a South Asian friend. Our customer’s have been from all over the
United States ranging from major cities (Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Chicago, Los Angeles etc.), to non-mainstream cities (Colorado, Oregon, Wisconsin etc.) We have been so grateful with the response and we all are very excited that the word is spreading about the breakthrough concept of Borrow It
Bindaas!
Q.How has the indian community taken to your business idea?
A: Since our launch Memorial Day Weekend of this year, we have had a phenomenal response. We have received great feedback from the Indian Community and they have been
very supportive in spreading the word about this breakthrough concept. Many from the Indian Community have acted very favorably about the concept of rental, because they can
relate to the practicality of the idea and because they themselves have been in the same
dilemma of spending too much on Indian apparel and realizing that what they have is outdated but feel obligated to wear it anyway because of the money that was spent on it. While
the concept of renting does cause a spark of skepticism with a few that are a part of the Indian
community, we are on a mission to break the preconceived notion that renting equates poor
quality and that is seen through our high-end inventory and amazing customer service. We at
Borrow It Bindaas do not ever compromise on quality and once an item has been rented more
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than a few times it is rotated out of our inventory to ensure that all of
our inventory stays versatile and fresh.
Q. How do you source your sarees?
A: We are lucky to have a team back in India spearheaded by our
Director of Merchandising, Ms. Manshi Gandhi. They focus on scouring the latest trends and cultivating relationships with designers.
Riddhi and I both personally travel to India and are very
involved with what styles will work here in the U.S. and
what will not. We work with a range of designers and
suppliers from all over India to ensure our inventory is
fresh and versatile. From the sexy styles of Bollywood
sarees in Mumbai to the traditional handcrafted sarees
of Kolkata to the Coutoure-esque styles of Delhi, we
have it all.
Q.How do you take care of sarees that come
back ripped or blouses that come back altered?
A: When borrowing sarees from us, we customize the
blouse according to what sizes the customer chooses from
the site, so there is no need for customers to tamper with
the blouse. In regards to damages,we have set up a
small mandatory insurance fee of $5.00 for Sarees
and $3.00 for accessories that covers small wear and
tear of the sarees. We have a dedicated team of
seamstresses and dry cleaners who are able to
handle small wear and tear. If the item comes
back significantly damaged, then we are subject to investigate the repair fee and/or replacement fee and we handle it on a case-by-case basis
with the customer. As of now, we have not had
any issues of this sort,and our sarees have come
back in great shape.
Q.What designers do you showcase?
A: We at Borrow It Bindaas strive to
showcase designers who are up and coming and ones that do not necessarily have
a name in the mainstream market in the
U.S. We feel that up and coming designers
have fresh and amazing inventory that
people cannot find anywhere else and we
serve as an outlet for them to get their
name out into the U.S. market.As of now
we have been working with several designers who are part of our suppliers
team and work also with designers one on one. We feature designer
Rupa Mehta who is known for her detail and handcrafted sarees.
We have sarees designed by Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, &
Archanna Kochhar.Some of the designers that inspire us are Manish
Malhotra, Ritu Kumar, Neeta Lulla,Archanna Kocchar, Sabyasachi,
Rupa Mehta, Shymal & Bhumika, Anita Dongre, Masaba, Satya
Paul and many more! What inspires us about each designer is how
each designer is versatile and has created a place for themselves in
this thriving market. Each designer’s creativity, be it Manish
Malhotra’s Bollywood Sexy Sarees to Ritu Kumar’s classic
handcrafted Sarees to Masaba’s pop art modern take on a Saree all
have their unique spin on the glamorous 6 yards.Many of our Sarees
have been designed or have been inspired by these amazing designers. We try to have a versatile collection of different designs
and designers so we are able to appeal to all tastes and styles of the
South Asian Diaspora.We hope to collaborate personally with these
designers as well as with up and coming designers based in the US
and India, so they are also able to get a chance to showcase their
work through a different avenue.
Q. Do you have a special arrangement with the designers?
A: Yes absolutely. We work with many of the designers on a personal basis and some via our own network of suppliers based in India.
Q. You have a team in India. How does that work?
A: We have a fabulous Director Of Merchandising, Ms. Manshi
Gandhi- who spearheads our team in India to scour the latest trends
and work on cultivating our relationships with our current designers and suppliers all over India.They also work to establish relationships with new designers. We work with our entire team on a
daily basis and of course that comes with many late night skype
calls, virtual meetings and blackberry messenger conversations at
any hour of the day or night. Our entire team both in the U.S. and
India are very dedicated and each individual has tremendous work
ethic. Everyone on our team has their own unique strengths and
when we all work together we deliver nothing less than the best.
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