Richa Kar: Even today, most of the women in our country are working. In such a situation, there is a girl who started a business for which her parents were not ready. Even today, when women or girls go to a shop to buy their undergarments, they wonder whether there is any man in the shop. So imagine what would have happened 13 years from now. But at that time one had told her family about starting a business of selling undergarments. The family members of this girl (Richa Kar) opposed her idea. But he did not give up and today has taken his business to new heights.
Richa Kar did wonders by opening a lingerie company.
Actually, we are talking about Richa Kar and her company Zivame. Richa Kar is the founder of Zivame, the country’s largest lingerie brand. He laid the foundation of this company without caring for the society. Richa grew up in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. His family was not very modern. Therefore, when she entered the lingerie industry, her family did not support her. The truth is that her parents were embarrassed by Richa’s work. It is a different matter that the daughter earned fame by setting up a business worth crores of the same lingerie.
Who is Richa Kar?
Let us know here about the journey of Richa Kar’s success. Richa Kar was born on 17 July 1980 in a middle-class family in Jamshedpur. He graduated from BITS-Pilani. Born in Jamshedpur, Richa lived with her parents and her father worked in Tata Steel. Richa did her PG Diploma from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), SBKM in 2007. After this, he also obtained a master’s degree from here. Gained experience from companies like Spencer’s and SAP Retail Consultancy.
How did the idea of opening a company come about?
While working in a consultancy, Richa Kar started monitoring the online sales of Victoria’s Secret. From this it became clear that Indian women face many challenges in lingerie shopping. This inspired Richa to start a brand which we know as Jivame. During this time, Richa Kar got a business idea.
She (Richa Kar) observed that women feel very shy while buying undergarments. Richa tried to find a solution to this problem. He told his mother about the undergarments business. Mother rejected this idea. Mother asked how will I tell that my daughter sells undergarments.
Started business despite opposition from family members
Richa (Richa Kar) explained to her mother and the way for doing business was cleared. He started Zivame in 2011. It was an online platform where women got the opportunity to buy lingerie in a comfortable and personal environment. More than 5,000 designs, more than 50 brands and more than 100 sizes were available on Zivame. Because of this huge collection, Jivame very soon gained popularity among Indian women. Initially, Jivame sold only lingerie, but later it started selling women’s clothing, fitness wear and sleepwear as well.
The company started in 2011 got Tata’s support
Seeing the success of Zivame, Ratan Tata invested in it in 2015. This cost the company several million dollars. Jivame continued moving forward. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani and his daughter Isha’s eyes fell on it. Reliance Retail and Brands owner Mukesh Ambani has bought Jivame in a big deal. This has further strengthened the company’s hold in the industry. Its annual revenue has exceeded Rs 100 crore. In 2020, Reliance Retail acquired Zivame. Although Richa Kar had resigned from the post of CEO in 2017 itself, she is still on the board of directors.
