Revolutionising the world of fashion with her classy and trendy attires. Rani Emaan indeed is improving the image of Pakistani designers not just there but across the globe. Kudos for her hard work and the stance. She is a motivation to the women of Pakistan.
Farzeen Irtizaz’s story was a bit different from others as it started after her surviving a disaster. Now heading a huge business, Irtizaz got her foot and back injured during the earthquake of 2005.
“While in bed, I knew I couldn’t let myself be dependent on anyone,” she said. Her husband who was in the army, was also by her side and she was grateful for the fact that she did not lose anyone.
One of her friends from abroad asked her to do something while sitting at home and Irtizaz decided to start a clothing line. Now she is selling it to millions of women across Pakistan as well as in New York and George Town in America.
1. Please enlighten me over the history and the very early times, when Rani Emaan was created?
I basically started in 2007, from my home. Because my intention wasn’t to do it professionally, I used to do it for my friends and family. Then there is my friend Deeba who is also my business partner in US, she made me start this, and asked me for her clothes initially so that I could have sent her. I began with a capital of around 25000 which is impossible in today’s age and it’s not even that 2007 is very far, but I feel the hard work pays off and I have really worked hard. Gradually, the people around, i.e. the friends and family started seeing the work and then one of my friend asked me for a Bridal dress; and the bridal was a hit. So that’s how we were motivated and then people started coming themselves.
2. How was it for you to make your place in a market where business entities had already established a share and grabbed customers, while you were completely a newbie to it?
My intention personally, as I mentioned earlier, was not to take it to a professional business level. But eventually when I and Deeba (my business partner) made up our minds, we didn’t face much of an issue in that regard. I did it on a small front earlier and nice of the people that they themselves started coming and trusted me. Actually, they were aware of my taste and work so that made it easier for them to rely. So then eventually, it lead onto a chain from the buzz of the already contended customers and that is how the share was developed.
3. Overtime, the customer loyalty develops and you satisfy your customer but Grabbing a customer for the first time, what are the strategies for that?
Look, it’s not that you have a heavy load of finance that you would start off with a big outlet and you’ll make it touch the skies. Other things actually count. I have always focused a lot on the quality and on the satisfaction of my client. It’s not just about money, it’s about the commitment you give to your client, the quality you provide. You might bring in the customer for the first time but if you don’t deliver what they have perceived, they won’t comeback. So, I feel the things that really count in taking you up is the product and the satisfaction. Plus; the client dealing i.e. the behaviour with the customer really matters, you must be friendly, you have to go on to their level and ensure their satisfaction and that what do they want.
4. Do you feel setting up prices with the right strategies is most important for your sustenance in the market?
Yes, I do feel that these things are important as they allow you to attract the customer for the first time with a reasonable amount being charged and let you to hit the masses. Ensuring that the product that you have sent to the shelves doesn’t come back to you is a huge area of concern and for that we have two different strategies based on the locality. One is the national the other International. With the perk of having less expensive labor and raw material in our parent country i.e. Pakistan is a blessing which lets us then keep our profit margins lower outside.
5. How aligned is your strategy as an organisation with your strategy of setting up prices?
I feel monetary concerns are the prime reason for existence for a company or organisation to be functioning and that makes it fundamental for the strategies to be aligned with the bigger picture. We have strategically developed and set percentages to determine the profits and monitor the cost analysis to ensure that the growth is significant.
6. Are there any hindrances or problems in executing the financial plans with the operations or Raani Emaan?
Internally, I’d say No. We manage to ensure the alignment in practice, However the pressure from the buyer gets to appear often since the competition is cutthroat and the expectation of the consumer in relevance to comparing the price and the value being provided is very sharp. At times when you are doing well in terms of growth things appear to be smoother but every now and then the pressure from the market does arise, specially concerning the part of continuing a decent market campaign and spending on the advertising and other important areas majorly.
7. What is your view of today’s market?
The market today is immensely competitive and puts all the pressure on you to re align your strategies of pricing and product development every now and then. If you don’t, you simply would be swept out. The unscrupulously fast growing numbers of competitors have made it a little harder to maintain reasonable shares out of the product.
8. On the BCG matrix where you classify your products into a matrix, under 4 heads. (I briefed her over what BCG matrix is). How’d you classify your products into it?
- The stars would be our Bridal wear
- Cash cows would be our party wear
- Dogs would be our casual and formal wear
- And our kids wear would be the question marks.
9. How strongly do you consider market prices while setting up your product prices?
We are focusing a lot on the prices. If you compare our stuff with the other designers; it is better than the best designers and we are charging much lesser. But yeah if you go and compare our prices with the general market then we certainly don’t match because we must maintain the quality of the work and the required standards.
10. What is the part that you consider hard dealing with in the business?
Providing the best quality in low or reasonable prices and maintaining it over time is very difficult. I and my team have always focused on giving more product for lesser profits.
11. How do you deal with the various kinds of customer base while targeting them? Or do you have one strategy for all?
Our relationship is very direct with the client. The most important thing is that the client doesn’t enjoy until and unless you are direct with them. We conduct our interviews ourselves; we do our fashion shows ourselves. This makes us focus on putting our various kinds of customers into chunks. We sort them as per the level of service and product quality they require and then set up the prices for them.
That was all, Thank you!