Apoorva Mehta
Mr. Harshit Kumar’s passion and love for fashion drove him to NIFT Delhi where he did his Bachelors in Fashion Technology. Post working in the fashion & retail segment of Aditya Birla Group, he moved on to pursue MBA from ISB Hyderabad. With a vast experience with ABG along with an MBA, Harshit decided to join Nykaa in the category vertical. He spoke with Apoorva Mehta, Executive Manager, Fashion Law Journal, about his journey as a fashion graduate to working with category team at Nykaa.
1) Can you tell a little bit about yourself
I have done my undergrad from NIFT, Delhi and MBA from ISB Hyderabad. I started my career with the fashion and retail segment of Aditya Birla Group where I worked across 3 very diverse roles – product management, key account management, and brand management. In my second professional stint, I joined the fast-paced e-commerce industry with Nykaa where I worked in the category function of the fashion vertical.
2) How was your experience at Aditya Birla Group?
Aditya Birla Group is known for building leaders; it is a pioneer when it comes to the fashion industry. I couldn’t have asked for a better and more process-driven company to start my professional journey. Further, it has some of the most amazing minds in the industry and I was fortunate to work closely with some of the leaders in the early stages of my career.
The systems and practices followed at ABFRL are an industry benchmark and it was great learning to experience it first-hand across different roles. The foundation laid at ABG really helped me grow in my career subsequently.
3) Tell us a little about how this works, product management and brand management.
You are basically the custodian of the brand and responsible for the assortment and merchandise build-up. Constantly innovating and making products to cater to varied needs of the customers is the most critical deliverable. Further, the interesting part about the role is involvement across the whole lifecycle of the product from concept to consumer.
4) How did you decide to do an MBA?
While I was enjoying and getting good progress in my work at ABG, I felt to reach my long-term goals, I had to build a strong repertoire of skill-set. That’s when I decided to enrol for a professional course. Further, NIFT helped build my creativity. I wanted to develop the analytical and management traits through a dedicated program.
5) You were a part of the fashion vertical at Nykaa; tell us about that time in your life?
When I joined Nykaa, the fashion business was still at a nascent stage. I was part of the team that strategized and launched the men’s business. For a platform primarily known for women, building men’s business was one-of-its-kind challenge. With the team’s dedication and right inputs from the leadership, we were able to carve an interesting proposition in Nykaa’s portfolio.
6) What are the key responsibilities for category team in Nykaa?
Category team has a direct responsibility of delivering the budgeted target sales numbers. Onboarding relevant and exciting brands, ensuring right depth and breadth of assortment across categories, drive marketing campaigns across platforms, ensure timely and proper delivery of products, etc are some of the levers used by category team
7) How does law play a role in all these things?
Before a brand becomes live on the platform, it is essential to close the agreement. Legal agreement is the cornerstone for any kind of partnership with external brands. It is a detailed document with all the clauses and terms-of-trade mentioned clearly. The width and depth of points mentioned in the agreement is astounding.
As part of the business team, we had to close the agreements with the legal team. It was a great learning as the intricacies really helped in building a rounded perspective
8) Did you have a similar experience with law in ABFRL?
While Nykaa was still at a nascent stage when I joined, ABFRL was at a very mature stage. Agreements with legal clauses were already in place when I joined the firm. Handling and managing these things first hand in Nykaa proved a great learning.
9) What is the process of listing new brands at Nykaa?
Either the brands can approach the portal or the category team scouts for relevant brands to offer the right variety to the customers. Nykaa is particular about the assortment on the website so the category team is judicious while shortlisting brands.
10) How have shopping trends changed after COVID?
Right after COVID, we had noticed the share of the comfort wear remained on a higher side across genders and categories. Now the pre-covid levels are back. Offline business got impacted during different waves; but now with normalcy prevailing, the offline channel is showing extremely positive trend.
11) What tips would you give to someone launching the brand on e-commerce website
With so many brands being available online, it is very critical to have a strong talking point for customers to connect with a brand. This could be aesthetics, fabric, finish, etc. Also, it is very important to have a strong control on the supply chain and the P&L to ensure long-term sustainable growth.
