Sabhyata to become a ₹200 Crore brand by the end of next financial year — aims to take the brand to 3 more countries

• Sabhyata, an ethnic wear brand that is now pegged at ₹120 Crore, is aiming to become ₹200 Crore brand by the end of next financial year.
• The brand is hopeful about its sales from Diwali — aims to collect 25% of its revenue from the on-going festive season.
• Now on 110 stores in India, the ethnic wear brand will be adding 50 stores every year in India and expand its presence to Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore in three years. It will also be available on Myntra from next month.
• Built on strong word-of-mouth, Sabhyata has also launched its third campaign to increase customer retention and brand value.

While most e-commerce platforms lure their customers with high discounts and big media splash during the festive season, Sabhyata, an ethnic wear brand, is pinning all its hopes on its single advertisement, organic social media promotions, and offering good-quality product range.

Launched in 2003, Sabhyata has truly believed in its product and in the power of social media since the beginning. It started advertising in the mainstream media only three years ago, before that, word-of-mouth did wonders for the brand.

Chayan Verma, Head of Marketing, Sabhyata believes the reason behind this strong word-of-mouth was its variety of products and cost-effectiveness. It targets working women, who need new attire every day for work in their limited budget, says Verma. Even now, 80% of Sabhyata’s marketing monnies go to social media and the remaining 20% are divided between in-cinema ads and a little bit of outdoor advertising. After 16 years of its existence, the brand has only three big campaigns in its kitty.

In 2011, Sabhyata only had three stores and the tables only turned in the last seven years when the brand started growing at the rate of 800% YoY. Now, on the back of the festive season and the promotion around its new campaign, Sabhyata further aims to grow from ₹120 Crore to ₹200 Crore by the end of this financial year.

While 95% of its revenue comes from women’s ethnic wear, Sabhyata will be increasing its focus on men’s collection in two years as the number of its stores in India increase.

Now on 110 stores in India, Sabhyata aims to launch 50 stores every year and in three years, the brand also will be taking its ethnicity to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

It is also present on Flipkart, Amazon, and will be available on Myntra from next month. However, Verma says these platforms can only offer visibility and since its inception, Sabhyata hasn’t believed in offering discounts. “The only thing you get on e-commerce is brand visibility and repetition of your old stocks. E-commerce, right now, is a discounting market altogether. It is very difficult to sell fresh stock on it. So from the marketing and branding point of view, we are focusing on that, but not on the point of revenue.”

One Campaign a Year

Sabhyata plans to launch only one advertisement every year during Diwali. Being an ethnic brand, festive season plays an important role in spurring its growth and contributes about 25% to its overall revenue.

On why only one campaign a year, Verma expounds, “From a marketing point of view, we have learnt that Diwali is the best time to put in any ads and that’s when you get the eyeballs from customers.”

Objective Behind Sabhyata’s latest ad

Sabhyata’s latest advertisement starring Jatin Sarna, Sheeba Chadha, and Anupriya Goenka aims to redefine the relationship between a daughter-in-law and her mother- in-law. Through the infamous domestic Saas-Bahu war around who will make the tea, the video showcases how when both women refuse to budge from their point, making one of them move to the kitchen seems to be an impossible task.

Finding himself in a difficult situation for having to keep up as an ideal son for the mother’s sake and an ideal husband for the wife’s sake, the man of the house is found going back and forth to reach the unconventional answer. Having absolutely zero knowledge of the technical know-how near the stove, he moves in to rescue the festivity of the day.


Sabhyata is one of the few brands in India to on-board an infamous character - Jatin Sarna, best known for his negative role in Sacred Games. For the longest time, brands have shied away from using a villain in their advertisement.

Verma tells us that it was an intentional choice. “This man (Jatin Sarna) has been portrayed in Sacred Games as kind of a womaniser and we wanted to bring this character into the film specifically just to prove a point; he eventually learns a lesson. People actually can relate to this guy, I suppose those ‘typical guys’ who are, shying away from household work and we wanted to portray what society expects from them,” he adds.

With its advertisement of this year, Sabhyata aims to increase brand value and customer retention. According to Verma, retaining customers is the biggest problem that garment players of all kinds are facing. A single mistake in today’s market, says Verma, and the customer is long gone. It is with campaigns like these that Sabhyata is facing the challenge upbeat.

“The objective is not to make revenue -- it's about creating the brand value in the minds of the customer, especially the women out here. When someone is wearing a Sabhyata product, he/she should be proud of what they are wearing,” shares Verma.

Media Plan

Sabhyata believes in getting the most bang for its buck. The ethnic wear brand has spent ₹15 lakh on its latest advertisement, which was conceptualized and made in-house, and might spend ₹5 lakh more on pushing the advertisement on digital media. “We have only invested in the advertisement. If the idea and concept is right, you don't need much marketing funds to sell it,” believes Verma.

Plan Ahead

Going forward, Sabhyata will be working towards being the most recalled ethnic brand in India.

“In the next three years, we see Sabhyata with 250 exclusive outlets and more than ₹ 300 crore turnover. Sabhyata will also be present at all the LFS stores, be it Central, Pantaloons, or Westside. Apart from that, we want to be present on all online platforms. We want the brand recall to be so strong that when someone thinks about ethnic collection, Sabhyata is at the top of their mind. Through these digital efforts, we try to celebrate all relationships and connect to our audience in ways they understand and can relate to,” concludes Verma.