Speaking about initiating the online marketplace, Sahni said, “According to Internet and Mobile Association of India IAMAI, gadgets and mobile related accessories are highest selling items on e-tailing websites like Amazon and Flipkart. So I see tremendous potential in dedicated gadget and electronic e-tailing stores. I thought why not have a brand and website dedicated entirely to these products for gadget buffs like myself.”
With a simple revenue model of offline and online sales, Spider Design hasn’t approached any VCs so far and managing to run a successful bootstrapped venture. It targets everyone who is fond of updating with technology and using new gadgets.
The changing trends
According to IAMAI, gadgets and mobile related accessories contributes Rs.9936 crore or 41 per cent to the e-tailing industry. Higher incomes and a constant need to own the latest smartphones and gadgets among youngsters have driven this industry to greater heights.
Sahni informed that the biggest change the venture is experiencing that the customers started accepting new brands like Spider Design in front of conventional bigger brands which were leading markets since years.
“While the general perception is that gadgets are more of a craze among young men, we’ve seen lost of traction and orders from women and older men as well. Social media and advertising has broken down all segmentations that we may have in our heads”, expressed Sahni.
This is happening because now the customer is getting updated with latest news about technology and designs because of social media.
The competition
Undoubtedly, the competition is very tough in this segment, as every online marketplace consist of a vast portfolio in their gadgets and mobile category. Leading players are already competing and it would be difficult for a new player to sustain.
According to Sahni, people run away from gadgets because of their complexities. Therefore, Spider Design promotes simplicity, with a range of multi-functional gadgets.
Apart from this, to compete with biggies, Spider Design initiated an in-house RnD department who is working all the time on developing designing and procuring the latest and most affordable products from around the world. The venture is also working on after sale customer experience to stand out from the rest of the market.
Logistics, inventory & distribution
Spider Design has a vast portfolio ranging from different speakers, headphones, speaker phones, portable speakers, cable connectors and many accessories that combine fashion and technology. Spider Designs is pushing the edge with both aesthetics and technology.
At this stage Spider Design is selling its products on all leading e-tailing sites which have their own logistics tie-ups. Apart from this it has more than 120 offline dealers across country and it is also processing to develop its own distribution channel.
Spider Design’s warehouse is located at Mathura road in Delhi and has also developed a sourcing and supply channel to avoid large stocks.
Performance so far
Spider Design started its journey with 3 employees and within a year now it has more than 30 employees taking care of different departments such as online product management, accounting, logistics, marketing, and inventory management.
“We see every part of India as our market because of our innovative products; however the absence of offline retailers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities have given us a lot of traction and bookings”, added Sahni.
Sahni still feels user experience is way better on a PC than on an app. According to him, this is the reason e-tailers like Myntra are going back to mobile site.
Road ahead
Sahni informed that in future when the time and stage is right they will go for funding rounds. Lots of acquisitions are taking place in the industry and this venture is also open for such fields.
“Within this year we planning to take our SKU to 1000,and we are planning to introduce more brand in consumer electronics and health gadgets under same roof. Our sales has grown 600% in last 6 months and we like to move in the same phase,” concluded Sahni.
