Bespoke: paving inroads to success

Bespoke services are slowly and steadily creating a buzz in the business world. Going into details, we can see that this already exists in the business world but is not significant.  On a recent visit to a Tanishq, I liked a piece of jewellery but there were a few aspects of it that did not appeal to me. When we were discussing about how it would look if a few alterations were made to it and right that moment, the saleswomen told me that whatever I wanted was possible to be altered just about the way I wanted it. That made me glad and also brought the realisation that retailers especially organised retailers are taking to customisation to serve their clients better and cashing in on what otherwise could have been a lost sale.

Going forward, it will be what will govern the success of a brand in the marketplace. Potential for bespoke services ranges across the board for industries like apparel, jewellery, ice cream, chocolate, bakery, footwear etc. A made to fit or taste article gives a customer abundance of joy and this is what brings them back every single time to a particular store. Service is what the business industry runs on especially in retail. Customisation is a novel ingredient added to augment the echelon of services being presented by brands to their clientele.

B- Town pro franchising

Customers would not need to go on a look out to bigger towns and metros for finding customised articles, thanks to franchising. Bespoke services can reach smaller cities bringing about a little of organisation and integration of the people as well while bringing about a great level of ease and convenience to the customers. In franchising, replicating high quality of standardisation is easier than an amateur setting up those services in smaller towns as somewhere or the other the lack of professionalism will uproot.

On the bandwagon

Bespoke is not a new phenomenon, it has just made its way back into the business realm. Earlier present in the unorganised market, it has now made inroads into modern organised retail.

Cream and Fudge, a brand from the GFA umbrella, and expanding via franchise route is a first of its kind concept which offers an innovative mix-in concept of hand folding ice creams on a frozen marble stone with a choice of sumptuous mix-ins like candied fruits, crunchy cookies, pie fillings, nuts, fudge, brownies and more. The company is also one of the siginificant franchise brands to have opted for bespoke services. Joseph Cherian, CEO, GFA Global said, “Customer experience is at the forefront of everything we do for each of our brands. Cream and Fudge offers the world’s creamiest ice creams and allows customers to participate in the selection and creation process of the ice cream. We want our customers to have this unique experience whether they are choosing from the wide selection of ice creams in the menu or creating their own ice creams.

Ferns ‘N’ Petals (FNP), the first company to introduce the concept of flower boutiques in India adopted franchising in 2002 and presently, has presence in 45 cities pan India. The company generates maximum revenue from the franchising model, as most of its outlets are franchised. FNP also offers customised services which customers can experience in terms of daily or occasional gifting or for floral decoration in weddings, corporate events and individual parties. Pawan Gadia, CEO, Retail & Online, Ferns N Petals Pvt Ltd shared: “Bespoke is an essential service by which a company can become more successful and popular. Therefore customers can get a few changes done in all our offerings. We customize all our services according to the needs of our customers. Moreover this facility is present in all our outlets, whether company owned or franchised.“

India's leading textile company Raymond with strengths in textile manufacture and marketing is a pioneer of modern day franchising. The company has the largest network of over 550 exclusive retail shops spread across the country and overseas. As per the expansion plan, the company is looking to scale up operations and expand franchisee network in towns with population less than 5 lakh. The objective of expanding into such Class IV and Class V towns is to increase Raymond’s existing expanse through franchising and reinforce its leadership position in the fashion and lifestyle space. Raymond also offers a ‘Made-to-measure’ service at some of its stores where expert advisory and customisation service seamlessly blends the best of personalised tailoring with modern manufacturing processes to offer the best of both worlds in terms of fabrics and fit to their customers.

At Tanishq also you can customise a design as per your liking.

Touch of luxury

The Indian luxury segment has also taken to this phenomenon with a significant increase in the recent past. According to the India Luxury Trends report by Technopak, a client opts for niche bespoke services such as dinners based on customised menus from renowned chefs from overseas destinations, signature perfumes, personalised dials in watches, name initials on handbags and so on. Indian consumerism is increasingly moving from ‘need based’ to ‘aspiration inspired’ and this is accented more within luxury where the threshold to splurge is already prevalent.

Blues Clothing Company, the exclusive franchisee for a host of other luxury brands, including Italy's leading names -- Versace Collection, Corneliani, Cadini, VJC and Gianni Versace and a pioneer in the luxury market also offers custom tailoring to its customers. Set in a spacious tailoring lounge, the customised tailoring is handled by an efficient team while the back end operations of cutting and tailoring are taken care of by skilled cutters, tailors and craftsmen who give fine touches to the customer’s requirements.

It is in recognition of bespoke services that Zoya, a brand and jewellery retail chain from the house of Tanishq, launched its Bespoke Design Service, where jewellery designer Nisha Naik was roped in to assist patrons, have one-on-one chats with them and customise pieces for them.

Moving forward, it is evident that bespoke services will for sure become an integral part not just for the industry but also for the brand names. Riding on this wave, the success and profits will see a great rise.

Bespoke services are slowly and steadily creating a buzz in the business world. Going into details, we can see that this already exists in the business world but is not significant.  On a recent visit to a Tanishq, I liked a piece of jewellery but there were a few aspects of it that did not appeal to me. When we were discussing about how it would look if a few alterations were made to it and right that moment, the saleswomen told me that whatever I wanted was possible to be altered just about the way I wanted it. That made me glad and also brought the realisation that retailers especially organised retailers are taking to customisation to serve their clients better and cashing in on what otherwise could have been a lost sale.

Going forward, it will be what will govern the success of a brand in the marketplace. Potential for bespoke services ranges across the board for industries like apparel, jewellery, ice cream, chocolate, bakery, footwear etc. A made to fit or taste article gives a customer abundance of joy and this is what brings them back every single time to a particular store. Service is what the business industry runs on especially in retail. Customisation is a novel ingredient added to augment the echelon of services being presented by brands to their clientele.

B- Town pro franchising

Customers would not need to go on a look out to bigger towns and metros for finding customised articles, thanks to franchising. Bespoke services can reach smaller cities bringing about a little of organisation and integration of the people as well while bringing about a great level of ease and convenience to the customers. In franchising, replicating high quality of standardisation is easier than an amateur setting up those services in smaller towns as somewhere or the other the lack of professionalism will uproot.

On the bandwagon

Bespoke is not a new phenomenon, it has just made its way back into the business realm. Earlier present in the unorganised market, it has now made inroads into modern organised retail.

Cream and Fudge, a brand from the GFA umbrella, and expanding via franchise route is a first of its kind concept which offers an innovative mix-in concept of hand folding ice creams on a frozen marble stone with a choice of sumptuous mix-ins like candied fruits, crunchy cookies, pie fillings, nuts, fudge, brownies and more. The company is also one of the siginificant franchise brands to have opted for bespoke services. Joseph Cherian, CEO, GFA Global said, “Customer experience is at the forefront of everything we do for each of our brands. Cream and Fudge offers the world’s creamiest ice creams and allows customers to participate in the selection and creation process of the ice cream. We want our customers to have this unique experience whether they are choosing from the wide selection of ice creams in the menu or creating their own ice creams.”

Ferns ‘N’ Petals (FNP), the first company to introduce the concept of flower boutiques in India adopted franchising in 2002 and presently, has presence in 45 cities pan India. The company generates maximum revenue from the franchising model, as most of its outlets are franchised. FNP also offers customised services which customers can experience in terms of daily or occasional gifting or for floral decoration in weddings, corporate events and individual parties. Pawan Gadia, CEO, Retail & Online, Ferns N Petals Pvt Ltd shared: “Bespoke is an essential service by which a company can become more successful and popular. Therefore customers can get a few changes done in all our offerings. We customize all our services according to the needs of our customers. Moreover this facility is present in all our outlets, whether company owned or franchised.“

India's leading textile company Raymond with strengths in textile manufacture and marketing is a pioneer of modern day franchising. The company has the largest network of over 550 exclusive retail shops spread across the country and overseas. As per the expansion plan, the company is looking to scale up operations and expand franchisee network in towns with population less than 5 lakh. The objective of expanding into such Class IV and Class V towns is to increase Raymond’s existing expanse through franchising and reinforce its leadership position in the fashion and lifestyle space. Raymond also offers a ‘Made-to-measure’ service at some of its stores where expert advisory and customisation service seamlessly blends the best of personalised tailoring with modern manufacturing processes to offer the best of both worlds in terms of fabrics and fit to their customers.

At Tanishq also you can customise a design as per your liking.

Touch of luxury

The Indian luxury segment has also taken to this phenomenon with a significant increase in the recent past. According to the India Luxury Trends report by Technopak, a client opts for niche bespoke services such as dinners based on customised menus from renowned chefs from overseas destinations, signature perfumes, personalised dials in watches, name initials on handbags and so on. Indian consumerism is increasingly moving from ‘need based’ to ‘aspiration inspired’ and this is accented more within luxury where the threshold to splurge is already prevalent.

Blues Clothing Company, the exclusive franchisee for a host of other luxury brands, including Italy's leading names -- Versace Collection, Corneliani, Cadini, VJC and Gianni Versace and a pioneer in the luxury market also offers custom tailoring to its customers. Set in a spacious tailoring lounge, the customised tailoring is handled by an efficient team while the back end operations of cutting and tailoring are taken care of by skilled cutters, tailors and craftsmen who give fine touches to the customer’s requirements.

It is in recognition of bespoke services that Zoya, a brand and jewellery retail chain from the house of Tanishq, launched its Bespoke Design Service, where jewellery designer Nisha Naik was roped in to assist patrons, have one-on-one chats with them and customise pieces for them.

Moving forward, it is evident that bespoke services will for sure become an integral part not just for the industry but also for the brand names. Riding on this wave, the success and profits will see a great rise.