Here’s How Kashmiri Handicrafts Brand Kashmirica Saved on IT Costs With Shiprocket
“Beauty of Kashmir can’t be compared by the whole world.”
Picturesque mountains, gushy rivers, dense forests, green meadows, and warm people – everything about Kashmir is beautiful. From being on the top of every traveler’s list to being called the heaven on earth, Kashmir’s beauty is unmissable.
It has a rich history and cultural heritage and produces various crafts, such as pottery, woodcrafts, stone-carving, jewelry, etc. The Kashmir handicrafts have their own uniqueness, yet they are traditional. They have also been showcased in many Bollywood movies. The Kashmiri dress style tells a lot about its history, culture, and people. The beauty of Kashmiri dresses is incomparable.
The Kashmir handicraft industry was severely hit due to the COVID-19. The lockdown was imposed throughout the country to curb the spread of coronavirus, and the livelihood of the hundreds of people in J&K associated with the handicrafts industry was severely impacted. One of our online sellers, Kashmirica, also suffered greatly. However, as the lockdown uplifted, the brand slowly came back to its original shape with the help of its shipping partner, Shiprocket.
How Was Kashmirica Established?
Kashmirica was established by the husband-wife duo Mir Saaeid and Nasreen Nazeer in 2019. It has its headquarters in Srinagar, Kashmir, and has offices in Delhi and Kochi.
Both the founders have their roots in Kashmir. While the wife, Nasreen Nazeer, hails from a business family dealing in the wholesale and retail of Kashmiri Arts, the husband, Mir Saaeid, is a marketer by profession.
Since her college days, Nasreen helped in her family business, and over time, she developed an interest in designing, sourcing, and financing. The idea of selling authentic Kashmir handicrafts always fascinated her.
Her husband, Mir Saaeid, has a professional degree in International Business from a British university. He possesses years of experience in marketing, and he has worked in India, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom.
With their respective experiences and the product-marketing mash-up of the husband-wife duo, they established Kashmirica.
The eCommerce platform aims to bring the best of Kashmir’s luxury handicrafts, art, and culturally-driven products to the world. Their product line primarily encompasses pashmina shawls and mufflers, kaftan tops, Kashmiri suits, daily wear, and home décor items. Their target market includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the UK, and the US.
Kashmirica’s mission is to help the skilled artisans of Kashmir. Generally, the artisans don’t get adequate returns for their hard work. Besides, the distribution agents and other channels add their commission that makes the Kashmiri handicrafts very expensive. Therefore, despite being the primary creators of stunningly beautiful handicrafts, the artisans earn very less.
In Nasreen’s words, “we believe it is important to aid the local Kashmiri artisans, or their art would die. It is also our concern to improve the standard of living of these brilliant craftsmen.”
The online start-up has tied up with some of the valley’s best artisans and has listed the products at moderate prices on their e-store. The founders take care of the genuineness of the base raw materials and the final craftwork to ensure the quality of all the products.
In its initial months, Kashmirica faced many challenges, specifically related to logistics and frequent internet shutdowns in Kashmir. To overcome this challenge, the founder duo established a warehouse in Kochi and an IT office in Delhi.
Starting With Shiprocket
Logistics and eCommerce shipping were the prime challenges faced by the start-up. However, a friend referred Shiprocket to Mir and Nasreen, and it was an instant hit for them as it eased many of their business operations.
Shiprocket is a complete customer experience platform for direct commerce that has made eCommerce shipping convenient for online sellers like Kashmirica. With comprehensive coverage of more than 29,000 pin codes in India and across 220+ countries and union territories around the world , Shiprocket offers a set of feature-packed products that has helped over 150K businesses.
In the words of Mir Saaeid, “Shiprocket has solved the puzzle of shipping for us. It has multiple courier partners, which means more pin codes are covered. It saves our investment in IT.”
