- Chappers has redefined the famous kolhapuri chappals with vibrant colours and made them more comfortable.
- First in India to use a 3D customisation software, virtual reality and sensor to grab the opportunity.
- Plans to spread its wings across major shopping malls in India in the next few years and then into the UAE and Singapore.
- Startup seeks to raise Rs5 crores for expansion and eyes Rs3.2 crores in turnover this year.
- The focus will be only on the men’s category and have plans to launch a small range of sneakers.
Harshwardhan Patwardhan, who redefined what the famous kolhapuri chappals can be, is banking on technology to innovate and spread its wings.
Patwardhan, Founder and CEO of Chappers, was passionate about Kolhapuri chappals even when he was studying for Business Management in Nottingham, the UK, and even gifted the chappals to his British friends.
“When I came back to India, I started working with my dad in his transportation company. I was bored there and it was a dead business. At that time, I thought of starting my own business in 2015. I thought that Kolhapuri chappals had a huge potential, which has never been explored till now,” he told TechChannel News in an interview.
For the past 500 years, he said that Kolhapuri chappals have never changed and it is been made in the same way even now, same hard leather and available in brown colour.
“During the time, I was researching about Kolhapuri and eradicated the disadvantages and gave it a good grip, made it more comfortable and in different vibrant colours – red, neon, blue, etc. We started from Kolhapuri and the business picked up. During the Covid pandemic, I realised that there is a bigger gap in the footwear market,” he said.
When a man wants to buy a chappal, he said that there is very less variety and 85 per cent of the men’s chappals are available in only two colours – brown and black.
“As men, we were told that we cannot wear red, blue or yellow colours but when we travel to Europe, we see all of these colours worn by men. I realised that there is a bigger opportunity in India not in the chappals category but also the shoes category,” he said.
The brand gained acceptance with celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, and Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari, to name a few.
Enhancing people’s imagination
Chappers was the first footwear company in India to bring 3D footwear customisation screens to its stores.
When I started the customised shoe business, Patwardhan said that people were not able to imagine shoes in different colours.
“That is when we realised that we can use technology to enhance their imagination. That is when we developed India’s first virtual footwear customisation software. Now, we have footwear customiser in all of our stores and it will be available online in the next couple of weeks,” he said.
However, he said that since it is heavy software, the loading time is going to create a problem but “we are trying to optimise it.”
On their website, the customiser for kolhapuri chappals is already available but for the shoe category, it will be available in the next couple of months.
Chappers started their exclusive showroom in 2017 in Pune and have four stores in Pune and also in multi-branded outlets.
Customisation in two hours
This year, Patwardhan said that they will start B2C where customers can customise their footwear and will be delivered within 72 hours in metro cities.
“In Pune, we are delivering it in 48 hours. Since the world is moving so fast, I think we will able to customise a shoe in two hours at retail stores and two hours plus shipping time for online orders,” he said.
Chappers does not want to stick to their laurels and is exploring technology to do more.
Patwardhan said that they are developing a small senor machine, which will be available in all of our stores.
“When a person stands on the machine, it will create a 3D image of your foot and the machine itself will suggest you the size. We use VR for 3D customisation and we will be using AI for internal promotional messages and advertisements by collecting the data from the customers,” he said.
The startup is bootstrapped and has an EBTIDA margin of 25 per cent and a gross margin of 70 per cent.
“This year, we are looking to raise about Rs5 crore and are planning to have our presence in all the good malls of India, about 350 malls, in the next five years in a low inventory and kiosk model. We sell about 10,000 pairs per year,” he said.
One lakh customers in two years
Moreover, 65 per cent of its total sales still come from Kolhapuri, he said.
The startup has a turnover of about Rs2.5 crores and eyes Rs3.2 crores this year.
“We are delivering to 27 countries, individual orders, and have, so far, shipped 500 orders outside India. After five years, we are looking to have our presence in the UAE and Singapore. In the next two years, we aim to have one lakh customers,” Patwardhan said.
When asked whether they plan to enter into women’s footwear, he said that even though they produce in small quantities to close friends and relatives, they are not keen to enter into that space.
“The women’s footwear market is already saturated. If you go to a mall, 80 per cent of that women’s wear and men have only 20 per cent. Now, there is a sneaker wave going on, we are planning to launch a small range of cool sneakers to test the water,” he said.