Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai recently hosted an interactive session with Harsh Lal, the co-founder of The Souled Store, an online clothing and accessories store that has gained popularity over the years.
Organised as a part of the institute’s Thought Leadership Unplugged series, the hour-long interactive session gave an insight to students into the challenges faced by start-ups at an early stage and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected online business in India.
“When the lockdown hit us in 2020, our operations were shut down for two-and-a-half months from March,” he said.
Talking to the management students, Lal emphasised on the importance of being resilient and nimble on the feet to come out with solutions and to sustain a business.
The session saw the students freely asking various questions and Lal answering them. Sharing his experience of running an online clothing and accessories store, he said, “Customers are not looking for the cheapest products or the biggest discounts. They are looking for a product that would give them value for money.”
The entrepreneur also shared expansion plans of opening multiple shops including a few outside Maharashtra in the coming months.
The session concluded with an informative question and answer session where he emphasised the importance of brand perception created through A-list celebrity endorsements, highlighting how the company was roping in influencers to create brand perception.
The Mumbai-based casual wear brand had raised Rs. 75 crores as a part of its Series B funding led by Elevation Capital. It will be using the capital to expand its product portfolio, on both licensed merchandise and casual wear, while building better brand awareness and offline retail presence pan India.