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\nSimran Lal and Raul Rai, founders, Nicobar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When Simran Lal and Raul Rai\u2014co-founders of the fashion and lifestyle brand Nicobar\u2014celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary recently, the two had a rather insightful chat. \u201cSimran asked me to rate how the past 12 years have been. My reaction was, let\u2019s keep it upbeat,\u201d Rai says with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cShe [Simran] wanted both of us to point out 12 things that stand out in our minds in the past years as a couple and why. And how we would like our next 12 years to be like together. I said it\u2019s a bit of a risky plan,\u201d Rai laughingly admits, but he is fully aware that even on a professional level, the husband-wife duo maintains a similar approach: long-term perspective. In the past three-and-a-half years, the couple has built Nicobar with a distinct identity among home-grown fashion and lifestyle labels, blending Indian sensibilities with functional aesthetic. The New Delhi-based brand has actively engaged with local artisans and the larger design community to build a contemporary product line across fashion, home, and travel accessories.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
Harper\u2019s Bazaar India editor Nonita Kalra says the brand embodies the contemporary aesthetic of India. \u201cIt is rooted in heritage, but is in equal parts playful and hyper creative. Your classics come with a twist. It is all these things that work in its favour. Plus its pricing is just aspirational enough to know you are getting top quality,\u201d says Kalra. Today, Nicobar has 15 stores across the country, including four pop-up stores [temporary storefront space] in New Delhi and an active online platform contributing 25% to its total sales. The business also has a strong overseas presence, shipping merchandise to more than 200 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n
Rai is clear about building the brand and scaling up. \u201cIn my view, Nicobar will be more than 10x-20x its size over time, but it could happen either in five years or 10 years. I am in no hurry,\u201d says the 50-year-old co-founder and CEO. Rai does not disclose the financials of the company, but he reveals that the company does about 250 orders a day across categories, with an average order value in the range of \u20b96,000-\u20b97,000. It typically sells about 800-900 products a day, including all its stores and the online platform.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Nicobar](\"https:\/\/images.assettype.com\/fortuneindia%2F2019-10%2F5fe13ada-b241-48c5-a1bc-0af2c2bb9fbc%2FIMG_0975_copy.jpg?w=668&q=95\")
\nNicobar store at Chanakya Mall, Delhi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Each of Nicobar\u2019s stores reflects the brand\u2019s aesthetic: minimal, simple, and modern.<\/p>\n\n
According to financial documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, Nicobar Design Pvt. Ltd recorded a loss of \u20b93.2 crore, while its total revenue stood at \u20b97.2 crore for the period between June 5, 2017, and March 31, 2018. However, Nicobar is aiming to break-even during the October-December quarter this year. \u201cWe will generate money. We want to grow it profitably. We have had profitable months in the past,\u201d says Rai, pointing out that it takes \u20b950 crore-\u20b975 crore over a period of about five years to build a business of this nature.<\/p>\n\n
Nicobar was launched under the Lal family-owned entity Eicher Goodearth Pvt. Ltd, which also owns retail chain Good Earth, one of India\u2019s most successful luxury lifestyle brands. Good Earth was founded by Lal\u2019s mother Anita Lal over two decades ago.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
The Lal family\u2019s entrepreneurial journey began in 1948 when Goodearth Company was set up by Lal\u2019s grandfather (Man Mohan Lal) to sell and service imported tractors. He later partnered with German firm Eicher to venture into tractor manufacturing. In the 1960s, her father Vikram Lal joined the family business and in the early 1980s it was named Eicher Goodearth. The billionaire Lal family owns automobile company Eicher Motors Limited (EML), the maker of popular motorcycle brand Royal Enfield.<\/p>\n\n
Eicher Motors nearly sold off Enfield because of its mounting losses until Lal\u2019s brother Siddhartha Lal turned around the company\u2019s flagship motorcycle business in the late 1990s when he was in his twenties. For FY19, EML posted a net profit of \u20b92,203 crore on a revenue of \u20b99,797 crore from the motorcycle business alone. Despite Lal\u2019s enviable business lineage, she says she never saw herself as an entrepreneur. \u201cI stumbled upon it and since then have tried to learn and grow,\u201d Lal says. \u201cBut today I do see myself as a creative entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n
After finishing a master\u2019s in art history at Bangalore University, she did a product development course at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and joined her mother\u2019s venture in 2002. She worked in different capacities, streamlining the supply chain and merchandising operations of the retail business, before becoming the CEO. Today, Good Earth has 10 stores across the country and retail partnerships in Turkey\u2019s Ankara, Singapore, and China with a presence across the fashion, home, and wellness categories. Rai learnt the fundamentals of business during his days in investment banking and private equity. The Harvard Business School graduate\u2019s stints at Goldman Sachs and General Atlantic in New York and London taught him the importance of mentorship, culture, and long-term focus.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Nicobar](\"https:\/\/images.assettype.com\/fortuneindia%2F2019-10%2F97809db6-899c-4562-8b3b-a23f6fa4815d%2FIMG_0981_copy.jpg?w=668&q=95\")
\nNicobar store at Chanakya Mall, Delhi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When the couple was planning Nicobar, the challenge was to create a signature different from Good Earth for it. It was a busy time for Lal. She was running Good Earth and \u201cwas launching Nicobar simultaneously\u201d. \u201cGood Earth\u2026 was the culmination of all the years of learning. Then of course came Nicobar with all its madness as a startup with large dreams. It was a time of growth, change, and multitasking. Apart from co-founding it, I was the creative director of the brand which was very energising,\u201d says the 48-year-old.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
Today, Lal has her hands full as she juggles her work commitments across brands. Last year, Good Earth launched Paro, its sub-brand focussing on well-being and personal care. Paro is set to open a wellness retreat in the Himalayas soon. Despite being from the same stable, industry experts say Good Earth and Nicobar look nothing like each other. \u201cIf you didn\u2019t know they have the same background it would be impossible to say that they have anything in common,\u201d adds Kalra. Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of retail consultancy Third Eyesight, concurs. \u201cNicobar has a different position from Good Earth because the product profile is quite distinct. A consumer isn\u2019t concerned about whether brands have common ownership and, if so, whether they should look alike or different.\u201d Dutta feels each brand needs to ensure that it is distinctive, relevant to its target consumer group, and consistent in its brand attributes, be it product, pricing, store ambience, service, or communication.<\/p>\n\n
Today, each of Nicobar\u2019s stores reflects the brand\u2019s aesthetic: minimal, simple, and modern. While it is headquartered in South Delhi\u2019s Chattarpur, it opened its first store spread over an area of 2,000 sq. ft. in March 2016 in Mumbai\u2019s artsy Kala Ghoda area that houses galleries, cafes, boutiques, and designer stores in renovated heritage buildings.<\/p>\n\n
The India diaspora across the world is a potential catchment…the challenge here is to workout the systems and logistics to ensure timely availability and service at a reasonable cost.<\/blockquote><\/h2>\n\nThe brand\u2019s flagship 2,700-sq. ft. store is located in The Chanakya, a luxury mall in New Delhi. While the investment in setting up a store varies based on the location, rentals, and others factors, Rai explains that a store with a size of about 1,500 sq. ft. would cost between `50 lakh and `1 crore. The couple laid the groundwork for Nicobar a year and a half prior to the launch of its first store. It started putting together a team from 2014. Rai and Lal spent the first three months meeting candidates to get the right team. After 250 meetings, nine were hired.<\/p>\n\n
Aparna Chandra, design head (clothing) at Nicobar, says when Lal and Rai met her to discuss her joining the team, they said they were trying to create a brand that would be spearheaded by conscious design and constant improvement. \u201cThe brief was to create beautiful, functional pieces. When they asked if I would do Nicobar, I said yes almost immediately. Their style sensibility and ethos was right up my alley: simple, clean, relaxed. I knew that they were the ones I wanted to do this with,\u201d says Chandra.<\/p>\n\n
Besides Chandra, the core team includes Divya Kapoor, design head for the travel vertical, and Arya Nerker, who heads design for the home segment. Kapoor has worked with British home-furnishings retailer Cath Kidston and London\u2019s Selfridges prior to Nicobar; Nerker has spent a considerable part of her career as a brand and home designer for Good Earth. Nicobar is mindful of its sourcing, using more of sustainable fabrics and materials such as organic cotton, bamboo, and tencel (cellulose fibre found in wood pulp). Currently, its warehouses are 85% plastic-free. The company is looking to double its footprint over the next two-three years, adding four-five stores a year. It is also not ruling out international expansion. \u201cWe always wanted to create a culture and a brand for the long term. Rooted in India, yet globally relevant,\u201d says Rai.<\/p>\n\n
Dutta points out that Indian brands tend to get pushed into niches but as the number of customers that are both discerning and have the ability to spend grow, home-grown brands will get better traction to scale. \u201cThe Indian diaspora across the world is a potential catchment, especially through online platforms and apps. The challenge here is to work out the systems and logistics to ensure timely availability and service at a reasonable cost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being around each other all day long has only helped strengthen the bond between the entrepreneurial couple. \u201cThere is huge trust and respect. That is the foundation.\u201d For many, bringing work home is a huge no-no. In Lal and Rai\u2019s case, there\u2019s no escaping it. \u201cSince we are spouses, the danger is to carry home issues from work. We do that sometimes and it gets stressful,\u201d says Lal. \u201cHowever, for the most part we have managed quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This story was originally published in the November 2019 issue of the magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
The brand\u2019s flagship 2,700-sq. ft. store is located in The Chanakya, a luxury mall in New Delhi. While the investment in setting up a store varies based on the location, rentals, and others factors, Rai explains that a store with a size of about 1,500 sq. ft. would cost between `50 lakh and `1 crore. The couple laid the groundwork for Nicobar a year and a half prior to the launch of its first store. It started putting together a team from 2014. Rai and Lal spent the first three months meeting candidates to get the right team. After 250 meetings, nine were hired.<\/p>\n\n
Aparna Chandra, design head (clothing) at Nicobar, says when Lal and Rai met her to discuss her joining the team, they said they were trying to create a brand that would be spearheaded by conscious design and constant improvement. \u201cThe brief was to create beautiful, functional pieces. When they asked if I would do Nicobar, I said yes almost immediately. Their style sensibility and ethos was right up my alley: simple, clean, relaxed. I knew that they were the ones I wanted to do this with,\u201d says Chandra.<\/p>\n\n
Besides Chandra, the core team includes Divya Kapoor, design head for the travel vertical, and Arya Nerker, who heads design for the home segment. Kapoor has worked with British home-furnishings retailer Cath Kidston and London\u2019s Selfridges prior to Nicobar; Nerker has spent a considerable part of her career as a brand and home designer for Good Earth. Nicobar is mindful of its sourcing, using more of sustainable fabrics and materials such as organic cotton, bamboo, and tencel (cellulose fibre found in wood pulp). Currently, its warehouses are 85% plastic-free. The company is looking to double its footprint over the next two-three years, adding four-five stores a year. It is also not ruling out international expansion. \u201cWe always wanted to create a culture and a brand for the long term. Rooted in India, yet globally relevant,\u201d says Rai.<\/p>\n\n
Dutta points out that Indian brands tend to get pushed into niches but as the number of customers that are both discerning and have the ability to spend grow, home-grown brands will get better traction to scale. \u201cThe Indian diaspora across the world is a potential catchment, especially through online platforms and apps. The challenge here is to work out the systems and logistics to ensure timely availability and service at a reasonable cost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being around each other all day long has only helped strengthen the bond between the entrepreneurial couple. \u201cThere is huge trust and respect. That is the foundation.\u201d For many, bringing work home is a huge no-no. In Lal and Rai\u2019s case, there\u2019s no escaping it. \u201cSince we are spouses, the danger is to carry home issues from work. We do that sometimes and it gets stressful,\u201d says Lal. \u201cHowever, for the most part we have managed quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This story was originally published in the November 2019 issue of the magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n