Today, India has more than 50K digital-first brands. Many of these emerging brands are now exploring offline strategies. However, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, the director & cofounder of Wakefit, believes that in today’s landscape, it’s no longer feasible for D2C brands to have separate online and offline budgets for marketing, distribution or customer acquisition costs.
“Now, it’s about sales and distribution costs, and evaluating the performance of each channel in terms of revenue,” he added.
Ramalingegowda shared his insights during the fourth edition of Inc42’s D2C Summit 2023, as part of a panel discussion featuring Harsh Modi, the cofounder & CEO of Mulmul; Shreedha Singh, the CEO & cofounder of The Ayurveda Company; and Gaurav Khatri of Noise. The session was moderated by Dipanjan Basu, the cofounder & Partner at Fireside Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based D2C furniture and mattress brand was founded in 2016 by Ankit Garg and Ramalingegowda. Initially, Wakefit focussed solely on mattresses until 2018 and then started expanding its product categories.
Presently, Wakefit offers around 500 SKUs across 15-20 sub-categories. Approximately two-thirds of its sales are generated through its website, app, and offline stores, with the remainder coming from online marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.
In FY22, the company witnessed a substantial increase in total losses, which surged to INR 101.8 Cr compared to INR 37 Cr in FY21.
However, its operating revenue jumped nearly 55% YoY to INR 632.8 Cr in FY22.
In January 2023, the startup secured $40 Mn in a funding round led by Investcorp, with participation from existing investors Sequoia India, Verlinvest, and SIG. This brought Wakefit’s total funding raised to date to $145 Mn.
Ramalingegowda reminisced about Wakefit’s journey to venturing offline, noting that they always believed in establishing themselves as a digital-first brand. They saw online as a means to achieve non-linear growth and greater control over the consumer experience.
“We never had the conviction to go offline until we expanded into furniture. That’s when factors like the rent-to-revenue ratio and ROI period started making sense. When we noticed that at our pilot store, the average order value nearly doubled, and repeat customer behaviour was more prevalent, we realised that customers also craved this offline experience,” he added.
Ramalingegowda emphasised that marketing strategies across online and offline channels are progressively merging, making it challenging to calculate customer acquisition costs (CAC) differently for each channel. This shift underscores the importance of how a brand manages its business across various channels.
He also shared valuable insights and advice for D2C startups, emphasising that entering a new channel involves more than just launching products. It requires a fundamental shift in how a brand approaches product development, packaging, pricing, supply chain, and measuring outcomes.
“It’s not merely about introducing a product; it’s a profound change in how we perceive our business when entering a new channel,” he added.
Furthermore, Ramalingegowda stressed the importance of owning customer relationships and the complete customer experience. This entails engaging with customers who purchase products through various channels, ensuring their needs are met, and addressing any concerns.
“In our philosophy and belief system, it’s about taking care of the customer, regardless of where they make their purchase,” he concluded.
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