Ananya Birla, daughter of Mangalam Birla- the country’s eighth richest man (according to Forbes), is all set to launch Svatantra Online Services Pvt. Ltd aiming to run e-commerce luxury website Curocarte.com.
The report was first reported by Livemint.
The 22-year old has been working on Curocarte for over a year and looks to launch the website this month. As per reports, it will source the home decor products like think frames, vases and more, from nine countries across Asia and Europe including India.
Young aspiring people is the website’s main target as it looks to add them from SEC A1, A2 and B1 households. It will sell handmade products sourced from around the world to India’s elite and also to a global audience.
This segment has seen lesser players till now, who offers products to the affluent Indian’s home décor needs. Curocarte will have to compete mainly with Villeroy & Boch.
Birla has been working on Curocarte for the past 14 months and will launch the website in September. Curocarte will cater to young people who aspire for more, Birla said, adding that those from are the company’s target audience.
SEC stands for socioeconomic classification of households according to education of the chief earner and the number of consumer durables owned.
Birla admits it will be a tough market to enter. “It is a tough business we are getting into… “Can’t give a timeline (for breaking even),” she told Livemint.
Her first venture, which is two-and-half year-old micro-finance company Svantantra is on its way to profitability though. It will close FY 2017 with revenues of Rs.500 crore, growing more than 100% from approximately Rs.235 crore in financial year 2016, revealed she.
Indians are not traditionally known to go for premium price of Indian luxury brands as they aopt for global luxury brands. So, it’s a long shot for the young entrepreneur.
