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TIGC is one of India’s leading homegrown fast-fashion D2C men’s wear brands, established by Anant Tanted in 2011. One of the first brands to be launched from the house of The Indian Garage Co., TIGC has won the Highest GMV Award from Myntra and the Ajio Growth Driver Award. In 2022, the brand ranked among the top 10 highest-selling fashion brands in Myntra and ranked No.1 among external brands on Ajio. Recently, the brand signed India’s top batsman, Suryakumar Yadav, as its brand ambassador.
1) Please tell us a little about your entrepreneurial journey
I come from a family of garment manufacturers, which inspired me to pursue a career in the fashion industry. I started off by organising an exhibition of surplus branded garments during my college days. To gain further technical expertise, I worked with one of India’s leading apparel manufacturers for 2 years, where I gained invaluable production and fabric knowledge. I started my own brand, TIGC, in 2011, after realising that there was a gap in the value fashion market for menswear in India.
Initially, the brand had a singular focus on providing men with casual wear at affordable prices through an offline distribution channel. However, due to a few challenges during the first three years, we shifted our focus completely online. TIGC became a full-fledged D2C brand that is inclusive, affordable, and on par with international fashion standards.
2) Kindly brief us about TIGC, its specialisation, and the products that it offers
The Indian Garage Co. is a digital-first, technology-enabled fast fashion brand that has become India’s foremost homegrown direct-to-consumer value brand, catering to all age groups. The brand’s USP lies in its ability to offer designer-quality clothing at an affordable price range.
TIGC’s success is attributed to its commitment to delivering exceptional designs, coupled with reliable and speedy delivery. These strengths have propelled TIGC to the forefront of the fast fashion industry, making it the go-to brand for fashion aficionados who seek to experiment with their style and want to stand out from the crowd. The collection includes over 2,500 styles across men’s casualwear, including trendy shirts and chinos, the most popular styles today. The brand is driving innovation by providing tech-led fashion to consumers with its in-house technology product, Chanakya.
TIGC has won the Highest GMV Award from Myntra and the Ajio Growth Driver Award. In 2022, the brand ranked among the top 10 highest-selling fashion brands in Myntra and ranked No. 1 among external brands on Ajio. We recently strengthened our product portfolio by launching the latest casual menswear collection in collaboration with popular Indiancricketer Surya Kumar Yadav.
3) What inspired you to start a D2C fast-fashion brand?
The Indian Garage Co. initially established an offline distribution channel to offer affordable fast fashion for men’s casual wear in India. However, the brand faced limitations when retailers imposed their preferences and filtered the product catalogue, hindering the brand’s potential to reach its target consumers. To overcome this challenge, the brand recognized the potential of e-commerce and pivoted towards establishing a strong direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand.
As a result, TIGC built a robust infrastructure that enabled the brand to offer trendy, aspirational fashion at competitive prices and with fast delivery to a wide number of audiences.
4) What were some of the key milestones and challenges that you faced along the way, and how did you overcome them?
We are pleased to say that The Indian Garage Co. is a bootstrapped and asset-light company. This has propelled us to achieve a remarkable GMV of 300 crore while being EBITDA positive. Since inception, we have consistently demonstrated our ability to generate profits, positioning ourselves as a thriving and prosperous business.
Our foremost challenge involved transforming multi product factories and nurturing smaller entrepreneurs to develop dedicated and captive capacities, which is on par with the efficiency of the modern factories. Despite the serious capital constraints, we managed to provide the necessary technical expertise to enable the micro-entrepreneurs to become independent. Additionally, we faced the task of reorganising the traditional mindset of garment companies to embrace a monthly fashion launch model, which presented its own challenges.
Another big challenge we faced was to fight the consumer perception of being a value fashion brand. There is a common notion in the market that value-based products compromise on quality and authenticity. Overcoming this perception was crucial for our success.
Through our focused efforts, we successfully navigated these complexities and achieved substantial growth. Our commitment to an asset-light approach and disciplined spending has enabled us to establish a thriving business, delivering high-quality products and services to our esteemed customers.
5) What sets your brand apart from other fast-fashion brands in the market?
The Indian Garage Company distinguishes itself from other fast fashion brands in the market through a number of factors. Firstly, we have a young team and complete control over the design and delivery process. Unlike other brands who may purchase ready-made offerings from traders, we program the entire fashion process from the start to finish. So we are taking direct and unique fashion bets and not waiting for any retailers to select and offer us quantums.
Additionally, we have small lead time to market because of captive capacities and these are smaller factories which can turn around fashion very quickly. We also follow a monthly fashion launch cycle. Therefore, we are able to provide every latest trend in real time. Although these monthly launches are difficult to manage, we are proud to say that our model is based on that.
6) How do you ensure that your brand is sustainable and environmentally friendly?
We are utilising recyclable man-made fibres (MMF) and cottons which are recyclable to ensure sustainable and ethical fashion.
Our commitment to ethical fashion aligns with the values of the Gen Z demographic, who are known for being informed and concerned about the environment. By prioritising these practices in our production and sourcing methods, we hope to create a more sustainable future for the fashion industry.
7) How do you stay on top of the latest fashion trends and incorporate them into your collections?
We follow a monthly fashion launch cycle which enables us to provide every latest fashion trend to the consumers very quickly.
Additionally, we use various research tools to analyse market trends and customer demands. Our in-house designers also use these tools to highlight micro and macro trends, which helps us create unique designs that resonate with the customers.
In addition to this, we are developing a tool called Chanakya, which provides real-time insights into how our range is performing. This helps our designers to make informed bets and adjust our designs based on the data provided by the tool. This allows the company to stay agile and quickly adapt to changing market trends and customer preferences.
8) What was the inspiration behind turning into an entrepreneur?
My father, an entrepreneur in the garment industry, served as the driving force behind my decision to pursue entrepreneurship. He is a garment distributor and has worked with several prominent fashion brands.
Growing up in such an environment, I developed a keen interest in the apparel industry and honed my skills in apparel design and manufacturing. Observing my father’s entrepreneurial success, I was inspired to venture out on my own and establish my business. I had a passion for creating high-quality, stylish clothing that could boost people’s confidence.
The journey of entrepreneurship has provided me with an in-depth understanding of the difficulties and advantages that come with it. To thrive in any sector, particularly in the fast-paced and cutthroat world of fashion, requires significant hard work, determination, and persistence. Nevertheless, the chance to develop something new and one-of-a-kind that resonates with consumers is a gratifying experience.
9) What do you envision for the future of your brand?
The vision is to be the first homegrown brand to have a global fashion imprint and demonstrate the progress of new India.
The post “I built a homegrown brand with the vision to democratise fashion and make it accessible to all”- Anant Tanted, Founder & CEO, TIGC appeared first on Startup Reporter.
