Charagh Din: Making a style statement everyday

Mumbai-based Charagh Din is a pioneering shirt brand,

having provided generations with shirts of every kind. From designer party wear and formal wear to business wear and casual wear, Charagh Din at any given time stocks over 25,000 pieces of shirts in its 10,000 sq. ft. EBO in South Mumbai, making it the world’s single largest retail outlet for shirts, according to the Limca Book of World Records.

 Charag Din also retails online through its website, with customers from all over the world. The website was set up in 1991 and today has 75,000 customers in its database, with an average 600 hits across per day. Recently the website has undergone an upgrade and now potential customers can magnify the product and have a closer look at the texture and weave. Additionally, 25 new designs are being uploaded every day, simultaneously with the retail outlet in Mumbai. The moment an item is sold out either at the shop or on the online store, it is taken off the website to avoid customer disappointment. However, Charagh Din has no plans to partner with any other brand online and has not yet used social media like Facebook and Twitter to promote the brand as they feel these are not the results Charagh Din is looking for.

 The brand prides in its exclusive product portfolio. As Raju Daswani, partner, says, “We do a range every day, giving our customers everything. One can say a style statement happens every day at Charagh Din.” He added that, “Being a single EBO, we can afford to be different. We do everything from prints, checks to kurtis and fancy stuff that the bigger players cannot afford to do as it means stock piling at the end of the year.” Charagh Din has the distinction of being the pioneer in introducing the coveted linen shirt, which it has been selling for the last 25-30 years.

In fact, Charagh Din is perhaps one of the select few brands that have never held a sale and this as per partner Raju Daswani is because they never have any leftovers to clear stocks. Instead it rewards customer loyalty by giving the 16th purchase in one year, free.

Charagh Din also has a different target audience – it targets the affluent urban teenage boy, who it believes once converted, will stay with the brand for life. In-store customer experience is paramount. Raju Daswani opines, “From the moment a person steps into our store, the relationship begins. We spoil or pamper them. We give them a chair, coffee even before they buy anything. Which other stores don’t even bother about. And we do this regardless of whether they buy or not, because they need to feel good at the end of the day.”