In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Kankatala is one of the oldest saree brands. It has served the age-old weaving techniques for more than 7 decades. The brand has been popular throughout the world among the Indian diaspora who once visited the shop in India. And now the brand also has an online portal to target other customers.
As retail shopping came to standby thanks to COVID-19, everyone shifted to contactless shopping as it is safer. The company has been adding approximately 150 new sarees per week to complement the demand from saree lovers. The brand managed to sell more than 2,600 sarees during the lockdown. Making it an average of 25 sarees a day.
In India, after agriculture, handloom is the second-largest economic sector and a significant source of employment. Kankatala has been collaborating with India’s 50 main weaving clusters, and their weavers have been affiliated with them for three centuries, as most of their patrons. Over the years, the brand has touched the lives of more than 1 lakh weavers. By making it impossible for the weavers to make ends meet, the pandemic had put the company on a stand. To help them, the e-commerce site has also introduced discounts on select items for the first time. This has encouraged patrons to use their favourite items at reduced rates and weavers to start weaving again, making it a win-win scenario.
For a short span of 180 days, the portal hosts each Saree and most of the Sarees are sold out in that window. The e-commerce arm is a three-year-old entity that has provided a global presence to the brand and is headed by Anirudh Kankatala, Director of the third generation. His futuristic outlook meant that the brand was prepared better than the rivals to respond to the modern normal.
