Mr Button, Helping Men Get Dressed, In Style
Young entrepreneurs are starting up in areas unheard of. For instance, fashion segment which was once considered the domain of women is slowly giving way to men. And betting big on this shift are Deepak Khetan and Sonam Chauhan, who have co-founded Mr. Button. Sharing the concept of business, Deepak says, “Fashion conscious men want clothes that fit them well and they want a good deal of variety. I was very conscious about my clothes and so were my friends’ right from our graduation days. Very few stores were available for men that offered variety and customised fittings. This inspired me to start Mr. Button, a fashion store for men.”
Deepak is a post graduate in Design Management from Birmingham institute, UK and Sonam is an MBA degree holder from FMS, Delhi. While Deepak had a stint at Cheese Design firm and had organised his own fashion show before plunging into entrepreneurship, Sonam jumped into it right after her MBA degree. “We try to bring a unique mix of content and commerce that allows men to discover their style and help them find better-fitting clothes.” All products of Mr Button are hand tailored and delivered to any part of the world within two weeks. They have a store in Bangalore, and their guides help men find their correct size, perfect style and help work their wardrobe. They also sell online through their site. For every part of the shirt, they have experts. So there are different set of teams for collars, sleeves and other parts, which according to Deepak is the USP of his firm.
Based in Bangalore, the company started in August 2011. While Deepak is involved with the designing the garments and other creative aspects of the firm, Sonam is involved in brand’s key operations and growth initiatives. Their website receives around 2,000 hits per day with a conversion rate of 1.5%. Mr. Button is looking to expand with the help of right kind of angel funding from investors. The firm markets itself to young men through social media, online and offline ads and through word of mouth. Mr. Button has also partnered with elite lifestyle and other online apparel portals to increase their reach.
They are a team of 20 people and already breaking even. Next stop for the company is the opening of their 1000 square feet flagship store at Jaipur, which will launch in first week of April. “I want us to have our own brand with stores present in all the major cities of India,” says Sonam on her vision for Mr. Button. As part of the plan, they are also in talks for strategic partnerships in Pune and Guwahati. They are also looking to expand their distribution channel which will help them put their brands in mall and mega stores.
