The Consummate | 14 July 2024
Welcome to The Consummate! We bring our points of view, updates, news, and curated content to the consumer community in India and Southeast Asia.
In this week’s edition, we look back on our most recent episode of Brick by Brick: Building Insurgent Brands with Andrew Kandolha, Co-Founder, SATURDAYS, and much more.
In the Spotlight ✨
In a conversation with Sameer Mehta, Andrew delves into how SATURDAYS has evolved from a fledgling start-up to a tech-enabled omnichannel brand with an app, website, and 51 stores in 19 cities across Indonesia in a matter of 2 years. Tune in to learn how strategic location selection, operational excellence, and a customer-centric approach propelled SATURDAYS to revolutionize the eyewear retail landscape in Indonesia.
Currently Consuming ☕️
Zombie brands, fire sales & quiet closures are plaguing the DTC world
To some consumers, a zombie brand feels like it’s lost its soul and identity after an acquisition. Some investors, meanwhile, define a zombie brand as one that simply isn’t growing.
The evolution of customer care: AI and the Gen Z effect
The customer care function of the contact center is currently in the spotlight more than ever before, discussed even at the board level. Contact center leaders face unprecedented pressure in various forms: operational pressure to be efficient and reduce costs, enhance the customer experience, manage employees in increasingly complex environments, and expand the contact center’s role to include more advisory or consultative selling to build loyalty.
Customer expectations aren’t getting easier. With more platforms available for sharing information, disgruntled customers can amplify their dissatisfaction more loudly and broadly.
Luxury’s Big Menswear Opportunity in India
As Indian men become increasingly fashion-conscious, global luxury brands must adapt to a rapidly evolving market with growing competition from local designers.
Keeping Up With the DSGCP Family 🤝
Go Zero recently closed their $1.5 mn follow-on pre-Series A funding, grows 4x in one year
Pip & Nut adds trio of peanut butter stuffed snack bars– Original, Chocolate and Apple & Cinnamon.
Farmley recently hosted the first-ever Indian Healthy Snacking Summit where they launched the Healthy Snacking Report, a wholesome consumer insights study on the snacking preferences of Indian consumers
Koparo is featured on Brands of Tomorrow Season 2 on Disney+ Hotstar
Amit Damani, Co Founder, Stay Vista, featured on the Growth X podcast to discuss how he built a 220 Crore luxury villa startup.
That’s all for this edition, if you enjoyed reading The Consummate, share this with a friend!