Though India is changing at a fast-forward pace, still there are some topics that are considered as Taboo and cannot be discussed online [as well as offline, especially with elderly people]. I am sure as soon as you read the word Taboo, many thoughts would have come to your mind. Some instances like buying a condom at a nearby store, shopping for lingerie, discussing openly about topics related to sex awareness, etc. do make us feel shy as well as uncomfortable. One such sector is Lingerie [for women] which is the foremost attire for women and due to the changing fashion trends, women have also become choosy about their lingerie selection.
Monica Anand, Founder & CEO of Undercover decided to break that atboo and started her line of intimate wear with an aim to make lingerie all about fashion and comfort. Monica Anand draws inspiration from everyday things and people around her. A keen observer of people’s behaviour, evolving patterns and changing lifestyles, Monica is an entrepreneur, a people’s person and an unshakeable optimist at heart. Her indomitable spirit gave birth to the vivacious range of the detachable bra brand-Switchers, which truly redefines fashion and comfort.
Born in the United States, Monica has her grounding well-rooted in India. A graduate from Mumbai University with a Post-Graduation from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, Monica has worked with leading corporates, including ICICI Bank, TATA AIG Life Insurance and MNG by Mango, USA. Undercover has been a wonderful beginning for Monica’s work in the lingerie space. Over the last 5 years, she married her observations on the lingerie industry and the needs of the consumer to launch Switchers by Undercover. Switchers is a first of its kind modular, mix and match bra that allows the user to mix and match their bra, pushing the line from innerwear to fashion wear.
Today we have a chat with Monica Anand about her entrepreneurial journey, building the Switchers brand, the changing Lingerie segment, etc. So, let’s get started with the Q&A…
How did you come up with the idea of venturing into the Lingerie segment ?
As a consumer, I was unsatisfied with the way my lingerie interacted with my outerwear. The 2 just never seemed to complement each other. One was always worried about wearing sleeveless, deep backs, racer backs, sarees, etc. because it lead to the question of What to do with lingerie. Options available would be biting silicon straps, stick on bras on in sewn cups, all of which were decent support but no where on fit or comfort.
That’s when I thought of the need for a super comfortable bra that detaches at various places to create better interaction with one’s outerwear without compromising on fit or support. I discussed the idea and execution with family, friends and professionals from the lingerie industry before finally going ahead with the product.
Can you share some details about the team behind UnderCover/Switchers ?
Under Cover Lingerie was started by me as the sole founder. I began the company with part time support from my family and have now taken it ahead on my own.
I am an MBA Graduate from SIBM in Pune. After spending the first decade of my career in banking and insurance, I recognised a need for better lingerie and nightwear at affordable rates and created my own lingerie venture in 2011.
How much is the overall market size of online lingerie that Switchers is trying to address ?
Switchers will address women in the age group of 15~30 in the metros and T-I cities.
Discussing about Lingerie [both from men, women] is considered a taboo [or rather awkward], how did you convince your near & dear ones about your intention to venture into it ?
I wouldn’t say it was difficult, but I would say that my family was surprised by my decision. Their concerns were that I was leaving a secure job to start a business and that the business was of selling lingerie. Add to that the novelty lingerie that we began our business with. I think they all thought I was a bit out of my mind, but they were supportive none the less.
Apart from retailing on Switchers, does your team retail the lingerie collection on other marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
Switchers is already available on Amazon Launchpad and will soon be available on Flipkart and LimeRoad as well. We are also exploring partnerships with other online retailers who are focused on fashion.
How do you ensure that ROR [Rate Of Return] is kept to the bare minimum since women could be very picky about the size, material,etc. [and reverse logistics accounts to huge amount of cash-burn]
We ensure intense quality checks and checks at the point of packaging to minimise returns and customer dissatisfaction. This is something we had to learn from experience. We would rather discard stock with errors than attempt to pass it on to a customer. That is very damaging in the short term.
There are lot of startups like ButterCups, Zivame, PrettySecrets, etc. that are trying to solve the ‘Perfect Fit’ Bra [as well as innerwear] for the women. What are some of the USP’s that Switchers offers vis-a-vis products offered by the competitors ?
When creating Switchers by Undercover, we worked closely with our target audience to understand exactly what their issues were with respect to lingerie, in particular-the bra. Our main takeaways were:
- Different occasions and outfits call for different bras, which in all likelihood will not be very comfortable or supportive.
- Women with larger cup sizes find it difficult to find fun bras
- One’s favourite comfortable bra and fashion bras are 2 different products
This sent us back to the drawing board. The bra has traditionally been a one-piece garment. In order to create better interaction with outerwear, we have broken it into 3 parts. The cups, the back and the shoulder straps. The roles and requirements of each of these parts is very different and taking the bra apart allowed us to re-imagine each section individually.
To understand their individual strengths and limitations. Doing this has allowed us to use processes like hand embroidery to create high fashion accessories, which completely change the look of the bra without compromising on fit and comfort, making it a great fashion statement.
Please walk us through funding of UnderCover [Self/Angel/VC] and are you looking out for external funding ?
We are currently self funded but are now exploring funding to expand the Switchers line and marketing.
Can you please talk about the top selling products of UnderCover [and does the collection also include lingerie for pregnant women/any other customer segment].
At Under Cover Lingerie, panties and baby-dolls are our best selling products. We currently retail premium lingerie for all women.
Does Switchers only have online presence or you also plan to venture into offline retail [as many e-commerce companies are now pushing for omni-channel presence] ?
Switchers is currently available on our own website, Switchers has also been selected as an innovation and is sold on Amazon Launchpad and on Limeroad. It will very soon be available on other fashion portals as well.
We are very keen to explore offline as a mode of distribution for Switchers.
Who are the logistics partners of Undercover/Switchers and is there any discrete packaging followed for the items sent to customers to keep the privacy intact ?
We have partnered with FedEx to be our courier partners for Undercover & Switchers given their brilliant delivery timelines and service. Our products are shipped discretely in plain white secure bags to maintain our customers’ privacy.
Please share some details about the customer’s age dynamics [who shop on UnderCover] and some success stories ?
For Under Cover Lingerie, our customers were in the age group of 25~45 and spread across Metros and T-I cities in India.
For Switchers, our audience is younger aged 15~30 and is essentially based in the Metros.
We have received great interest on Switchers and most of our products have been gaining great interest. We haven’t met a prospect that didn’t love the idea. We are really looking forward to the future of Switchers.
Does Switchers also provide ‘Try & Buy’ facility for it’s customers ?
Not yet, but we will be able to offer that when we go offline. The wonderful thing about Switchers though is one only needs to try the bra once, then can accessorize to their heart’s content without worry.
Monica, you have donned multiple hats [before venturing into entrepreneurship] like merchandising manager, marketing manager, product manager, etc. how much of this varied experience helped you in your entrepreneurial journey ?
Every single thing I have done till date has contributed to my journey at Under Cover Lingerie and Switchers. My experience in merchandising had obvious benefits while those as product and marketing manager have built my skills on P&Ls, ROI, marketing, brand and distribution.
Do you also plan to venture into other segments [apart from Inner-wear] and if so, please share some details about the same ?
With Switchers, we have so many ideas on the lingerie side that it will be a while before we extend the product into other segments. Although it is part of our vision, we aren’t in the position to share details yet.
We thank Ms Monica for her time and sharing valuable insights for our readers! If you have any questions for the Monica & her team about the market, impact on retail segment, entrepreneurship, etc., please email them to himanshu.sheth@gmail.com or leave your question in the comments section.