“Indian designers have always been recognised for their expertise in the ethnic wear market, particularly sarees and lehengas for women. However, there have been very few Indian designers who sell t-shirts or cargos for men. As a result, men in India have often relied on global brands like Zara and Tommy Hilfiger for their wardrobe needs,” Anchit Kapil, cofounder and CEO of Crepdog Crew.
There is no denying that social media has driven countless trends over the last decade or so and one of them is the rise of streetwear fashion. While some may perceive it as a fad, it is proving to be more in the realm of fashion and lifestyle.
Originally rooted in the West, streetwear in India started gaining prominence in the early 2000s and is today characterised by a blend of comfort, individuality, and cultural expression, drawing inspiration from skateboarding, punk rock and hip-hop culture.
Not to mention, streetwear in itself has become a cultural movement today. In fact, a Deloitte study estimated the Indian streetwear market at INR 5.3 Lakh Cr in 2023.
Moving on, the growing adoption of streetwear, especially among Gen Z, has paved the way for collaborations between homegrown and international brands, creating new opportunities for Indian designers, who have often struggled to make an impact on the global pulpit. These collaborations are bringing fresh ideas to the Indian streetwear aisle.
Driven by the vision to support young Indian streetwear designers, Kapil, Bharat Mehrotra and Shaurya Kumar, launched Crepdog Crew, a streetwear aggregation and sneaker reselling platform in 2020. Today, Crepdog Crew (CDC) has 50 homegrown streetwear brands, including Balav, Farak, Kilogram, Natty Grab, and Wrapping Theories.
The CEO told Inc42 that Crepdog Crew wants to cater to the niche 5% of the Western wear market, which is yet to be tapped by major players like Myntra and Nykaa Fashion, creating a platform for emerging Indian designers.
CDC’s online retail platform boasts over 15,000 SKUs, including limited edition sneakers from brands like Adidas, Nike, New Balance, On Cloud and more, and on the apparel front, it has exclusive tie-ups with homegrown Indian designer brands. It also sells watches, collectables, and accessories.
The D2C platform currently operates three stores in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and is planning to open another store in Mumbai soon.
Crepddog Crew reported a revenue of INR 69 Cr in FY24 and aims for INR 150 Cr in revenue by FY25.
Since its inception, the platform has raised INR 14 Cr from investors, including Harminder Sahni, Masaba Gupta, Nikhil Mehra, Pharmeasy’s Dharmil Seth, Rahul Kayan, Siddharth Shah and Yogesh Shukla.
Crepdog Crew’s Early Days
Before launching Crepdog Crew, the cofounders were already running their respective businesses and had no plans to launch a streetwear brand.
At the time, Kapil was a successful restaurateur and had already set up cafés like Bunta Bar, Fork You, and Summer House in New Delhi. In 2019, he established Cocktail Library, a bar consultancy firm.
Meanwhile, Mehrotra was the managing director of Rhobus Communication and Kumar served as the director at Balak Ram Banarsi Dass & Company.
Their journey began only in 2019 when one weekend the cofounders tried to order a pair of sneakers on Instagram.
“We were looking for Yeezys, a popular line of shoes created through a collaboration between rapper Kanye West and Adidas. To our surprise, only two to three brands were selling those sneakers and were reluctant to respond,” Kapil said.
They observed that there wasn’t a dedicated reselling platform for sneakers. This observation became a eureka moment for the cofounder friends, who were not only looking at the gap but also an opportunity in the unorganised reselling sneakers space.
With this in mind, the trio created an Instagram page and started selling sneakers as a side gig. They were surprised to receive an outstanding response from consumers in just three months. This encouraged them to launch the CDC website in October 2020.
Next, the cofounders thought of building more than just a marketplace for sneakers. Therefore, they decided to add fashion to their brand. After extensive research, they found that streetwear had a lot of potential and decided to stick with it.
Notably, there are only a few brands in the Indian market that provide high-quality streetwear options in the price range above INR 5,000. This is where the cofounders want to make a dent.
“There was either Myntra, offering clothes below INR 2,000, catering to the mass segment or expensive brands like Zara, Collective and Tommy Hilfiger,” Kapil said.
He added that the market gave them the clarity they were looking for, and they decided to cater to the 5% affordable luxury segment rather than the 97% led by platforms like Myntra and Ajio.
“Also, we take pride that we have created a launchpad for brands that are at their 0-1 journey, ensuring that their progression from 1 to 100 happens with us,” Kapil said.
They also noted that many luxury brands were already manufactured in India, with Indian designers playing a significant role. So, they decided to launch Crepdog Crew.
From Sneakers To Streetwear
As promising as the plan sounded to the founders, they faced disappointment within a year of launching their brand. “Sneakers were doing well from the start, but after launching the streetwear collection, we did INR 8 Cr in total revenue, with only INR 25 Lakh coming from streetwear,” Kapil said.
They realised they were doing something wrong and discovered that while the sneaker market in India was vast and growing, streetwear was still tough to sell online.
“Consumers were buying shoes, but they didn’t even know we were selling fashion. No one was ready to buy an expensive shirt from an Indian designer online, and our product images didn’t do justice to what we were offering. We had to find a way to bridge the gap between the online experience and the in-store touch and feel,” the cofounder said.
This realisation triggered them to launch their first flagship store. Keeping their premium target consumers in mind, they focussed on creating a unique store experience at premium locations.
In 2022, the founders opened the first flagship store, CDC Experience, in South Delhi. Inspired by New York’s subway station, this 6,000 sq ft space hosted a selection of limited edition sneakers from top brands and streetwear collections.
It also has an outdoor area featuring a basketball court, and a café, Brisk, for customers to relax. The store aims to provide a complete, immersive experience and serves as a community hub.
Just after the first store launch, the brand reported a revenue of INR 25 Cr in FY23 with INR 7 Cr coming from streetwear.
From here, there was no looking back for the CDC founders. Soon they opened their second store in Mumbai. Located in Bandra, the founders claim that the store features the largest sneaker wall in Asia (58 feet by 12 feet), displaying over 600 limited edition sneakers, along with more than 50 handpicked designer streetwear and accessories brands.
“After launching our Mumbai store, we generated a revenue of INR 69 Cr in FY24, with INR 19 Cr coming from streetwear,” Kapil said.
Recently, the brand also launched a 7,000 sq ft store in Hyderabad. The store goes beyond streetwear and sneakers, offering exclusive collectibles, hats, sunglasses, and other limited-edition products.
What’s Next For Crepdog Crew?
Currently, CDC claims to be profitable, and the founders have ambitious goals to elevate the retail experience across their stores.
By January 2025, they have plans to open a store in Colaba, South Bombay, and are aiming to raise additional funds before FY25 end to support the launch of at least 15 more stores over the next two years.
“We don’t want to be present all over the country; we want to focus on key cities in India. Our goal is to have one store in each major city, with a total of 35 stores across India in the next 3-5 years,” the Crepdog Crew cofounder added.
The long-term goal for the brand is to expand globally, particularly in markets where designer and Western wear are sold at much higher prices.
According to Kapil, a T-shirt priced at INR 5,000 in India could be sold for 350 euros internationally, as “designer” products tend to attract lucrative margins. With this in mind, Kapil aims to make CDC a designer brand abroad.
Although Crepdog Crew founders have a strong hold on their vision, the Indian streetwear market is rapidly growing, with several new and established brands eyeing the space.
In the affordable luxury segment, platforms like Myntra and TATA CLiQ are expanding, while international brands such as Footlocker and StockX are bringing luxury and limited-edition sneakers to India. Other platforms, like Superkicks India, also sell exclusive sneaker drops.
With the increasing interest of many in sneakers and streetwear, CDC will need to differentiate itself going ahead. However, the bigger question for now is: Will its playbook of catering to the 5% affordable luxury segment be enough?
