Soch: Evolving from a Regional Retailer to a Pan-India Brand

In nearly 15 years of its existence, Soch has grown from strength to strength and is now present in more than 200 consumer touchpoints across the country in over 50 cities. Among its many milestones, two that stand out include the commencement of its website in 2014 and the launch of its first store outside the country in 2019…

- Charu Lamba

Premium ethnic wear brand Soch was incepted in the year 2005 with a store at Forum Mall, Bengaluru. In nearly 15 years of its existence, the brand has grown from strength to strength and is now present in more than 200 consumer touchpoints across the country in over 50 cities. It is also available to consumers through its webstore Sochstore.com and via online fashion aggregators like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, PayTM Mall, GoFynd and Tata Cliq etc.

Among its many milestones, two that stand out include the commencement of its website in 2014 and the launch of its first store outside the country, in Nepal, in 2019.

Over the years, the brand’s product range has also seen a continuous expansion – it was one of the first brands to launch kurti suits as a category in 2015 and also took the lead in enriching the consumer experience via digital interventions like inventory linked large format content displays in stores and Omnichannel retailing.

In an exclusive interaction with IMAGES Retail, Vinay Chatlani, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Soch talks about the retail journey of the brand, the international growth and also reveals what’s next for his brand.

Excerpts from the interview:

What was the reason behind betting on a category that was largely dominated by unorganised players?

My father and I have a fair bit of experience in retail, even before we started Soch. The idea for Soch was born from the insight that the modern Indian woman has a need for curated, stylish and on-trend ethnic wear, and that there was a vacuum in the market in this category. Our bet was also that with increasing disposable incomes, and more and more women joining the work force, they would gravitate towards a shopping experience that not only guaranteed them the quality backed promise of a brand, but also reflected their own persona.