Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Aashika Sadh: I got the idea of my business when I saw that there was a gap in the Indian market for women's western clothing. It lacked the right fit for petite, plus and other odd sizes. Even the styles were not suitable for a trendy urban woman. On the other hand, the European high-street fashion brands had these aspects covered.
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by ASHTAG ?
Aashika Sadh: ASHTAG is an online fashion store offering exquisite clothing and accessories to customers across the globe at an unbelievably affordable price. We also provide services like personalisation on garments and fashion accessories. We take occasion specific bulk orders for corporates and event planners. We also provide end-to-end B2B manufacturing solutions for fashion brands and upcoming labels.
Great Companies: What makes ASHTAG different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Aashika Sadh: Backed by the parent company with industry experience of 70+ years, ASHTAG has a smooth set-up for manufacturing which reduces the cost, the lead time and the wastage. This also means better quality and customised clothing is easily available. Additionally we also do personalised printing/embroidery for any quantity at a minimal cost which cannot be found anywhere else.
Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Aashika Sadh: The biggest struggle we face is the brand visibility and awareness. Most consumers who are looking for high-quality party products, are not aware of ASHTAG, we are trying to reach out to maximum audiences through online channels but it is a struggle advertising digitally in the fashion space as it is too cluttered.
We have learnt that our customers are our biggest advertisers and word of mouth is our biggest sales channel even till date.
However, we are using meta and e-commerce portals to reach out to maximum new customers so we can help them through our services.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for ASHTAG ?
Aashika Sadh: We plan to grow extensively, aggressively advertise so more people know about ASHTAG and we wish that every Indian household has tried at least one ASHTAG product. We wish to grow 10x with external investment and be the go-to fashion brand for all women.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Aashika Sadh: Be digitally relevant, there is no other way out. What can't be seen, can't be sold. For longevity, keep the quality high and do not go after reducing the cost.
Brand integrity and customer service is the key to success because as we say "Quality Never Goes Out Of Fashion".