The company has gone from manufacturing 1,000 pieces of apparel a month to now clocking in over 1 lakh units. In five years, Veirdo has serviced over 2.5 million customers, 60% of whom place orders every two to three months
In contemporary times it is pivotal for a company to keep up with technology in order to yield growth and prosper. Veirdo is a textbook example of just that. Dhaval Ahir, Co-Founder, Veirdo, and his team have not been just edgy with the company’s name but also with their products that have catered to more than 2.5 million happy customers who keep coming back for more. This group of childhood friends who come from a technological background decided to start a different company, one that sells to today’s generation.
In its genesis, Veirdo was only in the printing business and competing against large textile moguls such as Levi’s. However, it expanded and decided to use technology to its advantage, distinguishing itself in the textile fraternity and thus creating an unforgettable mark of its true capability in the market. Furthermore, the company also set foot in manufacturing and started to invest more in technology and marketing for its brand; hence creating the trail to chart success in contemporary times. Initially the company’s manufacturing unit started with five machines but now has grown manifold.
“Availability is our main USP; we are barely out of stock,” says one of the co-founders. This is the reason why the company yields such large amounts of income as people almost have an unlimited supply of the latest trend available to them on their fingertips. Veirdo also has a large amount verity in terms of design and prints. Founded in September 2016, Veirdo’s growth in the last five years mirrors the overall rise of India’s fashion e-commerce sector. By 2024 its online sales are expected to account for 14% of India’s total fashion GMV of USD 133 billion, according to a Red Seer report.
When asked about the out-of-the-ordinary name, the co-founders say: “We chose the name Veirdo because we wanted to do something different altogether.” Veirdo was set up with a small investment of Rs 5 lakhs and four employees and now has closed the last fiscal year with a turnover of Rs 34 crore and around 150 employees on board. The co-founders came to Ahmedabad in order to step foot in the textile industry; they relocated themselves entirely and initially found it to be very difficult for the company to get a strong foothold. However, defying the odds, Veirdo in the first year of operations (2016-17) recorded sales of Rs 1.5 crore, which has seen a 20 fold increase until March 2021.
The company went from manufacturing 1,000 pieces of apparel a month to now clocking in over 1 lakh units. In five years, Veirdo has serviced over 2.5 million customers, 60% of whom place orders every two to three months. By 2023, the start-up looks to double the customer base, reach a turnover of Rs 150 crore and create 700-800 new jobs. Though Veirdo has created a dent in the textile world and now is counted in the big league, the company and its co-founders decided that they were not completely done yet which led to them manufacturing clothing for women with the setting up of company in 2019 called Juneberry.
It makes dye T-shirts for women and is among the fastest growing brands. “We used whatever experience we had with Veirdo and applied it to Juneberry, which is what has made it a grand success,” states one of its co-founders. “If we were to launch any brand, we can do it with ease because of our experience and for the fact that we now the market very well,” he adds. During the pandemic the company manufactured PPE kits for hospitals and stopped production only for a week even at the height of the crisis. Overall, Veirdo manufactured 6 lakh PPE kits and supplied them all over the country though tie-ups. The young company does not only dye and manufacture for its own brand but also customises for esteemed colleges like IIM and IIT by designing apparels for them. MICA, a well-known business school, is also one of the customers Veirdo customises for. One can find many of Juneberry’s products on the e-commerce platform Amazon.
Veirdo is now looking for micro influencers while improving its video marketing abilities to strengthen branding and awareness. In conclusion, the hard working team of co-founders have set the bar very high and are the new-age textile competitors in a transforming world of technology that sooner or later everyone will have to adapt. In that sense, Veirdo has got a head-start in this field which will take the company to heights in the coming future. When asked about the challenges faced by the company, the co-founders say, “It’s not about the problems but about how you solve the problems and come up with solutions when one begins a start-up. There is no giving up.” It is this attitude that has clearly been the trigger for the company’s growth.