‘Her’ wish is their command

CEO of Sakhi By Chandras, Neeta Rajendran, says that in order to stay on top, it’s absolutely necessary to cater to a woman’s fashion needs to the T.

Tell us about your new store in Jayanagar; word has it that it’s really different from the older one?
Well, we’ve had about seven years of learning with our Indiranagar store; you could say that the one at Jayanagar is a culmination of all that learning. The new Sakhi has a different format and we’ve also expanded ourselves quite a bit. You can now find more accessories and footwear. We’ve been able to put in better thought into what consumers might like. From the feedback we’ve received, people tell us that the Jayanagar outlet befits the brand.

What kind of new collections can one find at the store?
The new store has a lot of new stuff in terms of design; in fact, I won’t deny being a little partial in that sense. We’ve got a lot of organza for the coming summer and even those designs that are timeless and can be worn anytime but with a hint of summer in them… We’ve also worked on a lot of kanjeevarams, to cater to the upcoming Sankranti festival. But a lot of these kanjeevarams have been handled differently in order to cater to a lot of younger women. So for instance, the zari border is there but in an innovative manner.

You mentioned jewellery earlier; what can one expect here?
We have been promoting terracotta for the longest time. And this season, we’ve taken jewellery designs of yesteryears and added some fun elements to them to suit a more contemporary environment. Apart from that we’ve also sourced some really beautiful jewellery from Jaipur like uncut rubies set in silver etc. Women who fancy ethnic jewellery are really like the whole earthy and Indian route that we are taking. Apart from that, for the younger crowds, we’ve got some interesting collection faux pearls set differently, in brass for instance, which are doing quite well. And these faux pearls don’t look like plastic beads, mind you! Girls are using them innovatively too; for example, a mala of faux pearls can be worn as a waistband as well as a necklace.

Do you think in a city like Bangalore, despite all the brands that are coming in, we need more stores that cater to the ethnic side of women?
Absolutely! When you’re dressing up a woman, you need to consider the fact that she might need new shoes, a bag and even jewellery to go along with her new acquisitions. If she’s buy a sari for a specific occasion, there’s no point in going from one store to another if she can find everything under one roof. And this trend we discovered from our online store. The whole purpose to add fabrics for suits, blouses, jewellery and even clutches and shoes, apart from the saris that we already had, was to cater to that need of a woman.