When Is the Right Time to Open an Offline Store?
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I’ll share a conversation I had recently in Bangalore during an apparel sourcing event. I met one of the marketing heads of Aravind Ltd., and I decided to pick his brain.
After giving him the context on what I was doing, I asked him point-blank, “When should I go offline?”
His answer surprised me.
He said, “In today’s world, you should start online. You’ve already done that, and you’re seeing good numbers. But unless you’re hitting at least ₹10 crores in revenue – ideally ₹100 crores – you shouldn’t think about exclusive offline showrooms.”
Why? Because offline stores bring massive fixed costs – rent, interiors, staff, inventory stocking, and utilities.
Once you open a store, the pressure to hit those monthly sales targets becomes relentless. If your revenue is still at an early stage, the burden of maintaining an offline showroom can easily drain your cash flow.
This added another perspective to my mind.
If you’re running a fast-fashion brand where trends move quickly, and volumes are high, you might justify offline stores earlier, maybe at ₹5–10 crores a year.
But if your brand is about minimalism, premium quality, and timeless products (like ours, where we don’t even print logos visibly), then exclusive showrooms don’t make sense until you’re significantly bigger.
That doesn’t mean offline presence is completely off the table. There is a clever alternative.
Multi-brand outlets.
Instead of shouldering the cost of your own store, you place your products in existing retail spaces where people already shop. That way, you get visibility, footfall, and sales without the overhead of running your own outlet.
So here’s the conclusion:
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Early stage? Stay online. It’s lean, scalable, and efficient.
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Growing past ₹10 crores? Explore offline carefully, only if your business model supports it.
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Want some offline exposure before that? Test through multi-brand showrooms, pop-ups, or shop-in-shop formats.
The right time to set up an offline store isn’t about excitement. It’s about numbers, sustainability, and clarity of brand vision.
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