Alok Nagpal - MyNoise.com - Online Specialized Adventure Gear Store

“Noise “Head-Wraps” are the first of its kind adventure/sports gear launched in India. Head-Wrap has a multitude of uses and can be worn in many different ways throughout the year, as a scarf, bandana, headband, scrunchie, alice-band, face-mask, balaclava, neck-tube, wristband and more - making it the most versatile accessory you can own.” - says Alok Nagpal of Noise Adventure Store.

YourStory.in caught up with Alok to know more about his e-commerce platform and the Fashion label.

Alok, Tell us about Noise.

Noise is a young fashion brand taking its inspiration from the sense of “free spirit and desire to be heard” within today’s generation. We launched with an international platform as The Official Headgear Merchandise of Common Wealth Games 2010, later introduced Multi-functional Head-Wraps in India which was soon followed by “The Official Merchandise of ICC World Cup 2011”.

Noise “Head-Wraps” are the first of its kind adventure/sports gear launched in India. Head-Wrap has a multitude of uses and can be worn in many different ways throughout the year, as a scarf, bandana, headband, scrunchie, alice-band, face-mask, balaclava, neck-tube, wristband and more - making it the most versatile accessory you can own. It is wind resistant, breathable and wicks away perspiration, hence keeping cool in summers and warm in winters.

"Noise – is for everybody from the fashion conscious college-goers, clubbing crowd, sports person, travel & music lovers. Head-Wraps is a very specialized category and till date no other sports/casual wear brand does that in India. We have launched 2 variants of head-wraps too in market i.e Polar Head-Wraps and Neck Wraps, however we are soon launching other mass categories like T-Shirts, Caps and Bandanas into the market.

The idea behind the whole brand is to enhance and simplify the style statement for this huge young segment. We are focusing on developing new innovative, flamboyant, comfortable, multi-functional yet simple fashion apparels and accessories.

When was this started? Where are you based? How big is your team? Are you looking at hiring?It was launched in September 2010 fortunately with a launch-pad of CWG 2010. We are based out of Gurgaon(Delhi NCR) and have an extended set-up in China. We have a 10 member team till date, and yes we are looking forward to hire more people soon.

So, what is the story behind Noise?

I started Noise with my NIFT Batch-mate Amit Khatri. Having a cumulative experience of more than 14 years in Fashion, Sourcing & Marketing we have been looking for an opportunity to enter the domestic market after having gained experience in the Exports market. However, we were very clear that we have to enter with something which is exciting and relevant for Indian youth. It took a good amount of research to hunt something like Head-Wrap out of all options which is exciting and can build a base to nurture an Impactful Fashion brand for the future. The name was suggested by a close friend Ritika Gupta’ who is also a known Fashion Designer.

How did you meet your co-founder Amit?

Amit and I have known each other since our Post Graduation days in NIFT, Hyderabad that is starting from 2002. We both have worked for prime corporate houses in Fashion, Entertainment & Marketing during our earlier years. I believe we complement each other in skills and that’s what keeps us going strong.

Tell us about your background.

Though coming from a commerce background, Music & Fashion have been the two major areas of interest which motivated me to attain professional qualification in Music as well as Fashion. Hence I would say I am a musician by hobby and marketer by profession. I have over eight years of experience in Fashion, Media and Entertainment industry.

What are the biggest challenges you faced while starting this up? How did you overcome them?

The biggest Challenge was to introduce and educate about the new product category “Head-Wraps” and how it can be used in many ways by Indian customers, retailers and apparel distributors. I would not say we have fully overcome it, however it’s a process which will go on till each youngster is aware of this Multi-Functional accessory. We create buzz in the market through strong PR, Events and Official Licensed Merchandise for big events.

Consequently in a span of time Noise' has gained popularity amongst the Indian audience and has been the official Head-gear merchandise for lot of prestigious National & International Sports Music events like ICC World Cup, CWG 2010, Delhi (Sep- Oct 2010), PSA Squash Master, Dec 2010, Delhi : International Squash Title, Sunburn Festival Goa 2010 (Asia's Biggest New Year Festival), NH7 Weekender Music Festival, Pune in Dec 2010 : The Biggest Music Festival of India.

Which technologies is your e-commerce platform built on?

PHP and Joomla.

How do you market this portal?

Being new to the detailing of an online portal, It’s a learning process for us to make www.mynoise.in a user friendly portal. The whole portal is again managed by a friend , named Ankit who runs his own web company in Mumbai & Delhi. However, we try to keep our portal very simple for our users.

Did you fundraise to startup? If not, are you looking at fundraising?

We both put in our personal earnings and savings to start this project from the scratch. And we are looking for investors who can trust our vision and capabilities for making Noise a cult fashion brand in India and few other territories too in the coming years.

Tell us about the size of the market that you are trying to tap into.

The current size of the Indian sportswear industry is worth 365.8 Billion, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 33% during 2010-2014.

Let us know about your expansion plans.

We are expanding into the Head-gear category with products like Bandanas, Bandit Caps, Polar Head-Wraps, Neck Wraps and Stoles.

Along with accessories we will be launching other categories like T-Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Jackets & Boxers which will surely be loved by our youth. Their uniqueness will be reflected by the designs, print techniques and the super fine quality of fabrics.

We further plan to increase our retail network with the increase in our product category.

We have got a tremendous response from our online customers. We are retailing through our own portal www.mynoise.in, where customers get special discounts and the maximum variety. Also we also retail on special schemes through our other online partners like www.fashionandyou.com, www.tradus.com, www.buzzintown.com and more.

Our team is working aggressively to introduce a trend of customized Head-Wraps/Bandana’s for the corporate houses. It’s a new idea and replacement of a just a cap. Corporate sector is a big potential for us along with the upcoming exclusive licensed merchandise projects like Formula One in India. Apart from all that, we intend to also enter into EBO’s and currently looking for like minded bold investors having a penchant for new, exciting and dynamic market like fashion.

So, why wait, check out http://mynoise.in/ and let us know what you think of “Head-Wraps”