The largest online lingerie brand, Zivame needs no introduction. The customers of the famous brand even call it by the name ‘Desi Victoria’s Secret’. Such is the kind of impact it has created in such a short span of time. While the lingerie brand offers so many options to women across India, not everyone knows who is the person behind such a successful brand.
Well, it is Richa Kar, who founded Zivame back in 2011. As of now she is currently serving as one of the company’s board of directors. However, her journey to build a lingerie brand from scratch wasn’t a cakewalk as expected. So without further ado, let’s get inside the story of Zivame’s birth.
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The famous businesswoman, Richa Kar was born in a middle-class family on July 17, 1980, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. According to multiple reports, Richa’s father used to work at Tata Steel while her mother was a homemaker.
Talking about Richa Kar’s educational qualifications, she completed her schooling in Jharkhand. After completing her schooling, she took admission to BITS Pilani and became an engineering graduate.
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Soon after her graduation, she joined a company in Bangalore and worked there for some time. However, she went to NMIMS and got an MBA degree in 2007, taking a break from her corporate job. Once her Master's was completed, Richa worked with companies like Spencers and SAP retail consultancy.
When Richa Kar was working with SAP retail consultancy, something happened that encouraged her to open a lingerie brand. Well, Richa was working on a project in which she was tracking down the online sales of Victoria’s Secret, one of the biggest lingerie, beauty and clothing companies in the world. During the monitoring process, she understood the problems customers were facing.
Richa Kar also deeply understood how tough it is for women to buy lingerie at physical stores in India. Thus, with all 8 years of experience in the retail sector and all the insights she got while working at Victoria’s Secret, Richa was pumped up to start her own lingerie brand. Well, it is exactly where the big twist enters into this story.
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When Richa Kar decided to launch her own lingerie brand, she shared the idea with her parents. While her father was quite hesitant about her startup plan, it was her mother, who clearly disapproved of her business idea. Despite multiple attempts, Richa was unable to convince her mother, who was embarrassed knowing that her daughter wanted to sell lingerie.
Despite her multiple failed attempts to convince her parents, Richa Kar started taking charge of things as she was all set to launch her company. However, that’s when the magic happened. When Richa was arranging funds from her friends, it was her mother, who stepped in and told her that she finally believed in her idea.
Not only this, but Richa Kar’s mother also gave some of her savings to her and even convinced other family relatives to do the same. Thus with the help of her parents, relatives and friends, Richa managed to borrow a sum of Rs. 35 lakhs and launched her lingerie brand, Zivame, in 2011. Well, talking about the meaning of the name, Zivame, it means ‘radiant me’.
After launching her lingerie brand, Zivame, Richa Kar was finding some space or a room on rent to set up her office. But whenever she used to reveal that she has an online lingerie company, every landlord used to end the conversation. The topic of lingerie has always been a big taboo in India, and it was exactly because of this no one was ready to rent a room to Richa.
It was a tough situation as people started making fun of her. However, she finally found a place after so many tries and started her company. Well, the entire incident boosted Richa’s confidence in her decision to build an online lingerie brand even more, as she once again faced all the problems that an Indian woman faces whenever she goes out to buy lingerie.
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In Richa Kar’s startup journey, the first major breakthrough came when a customer from Indore purchased items worth Rs. 7000 from Zivame’s official website. It was a huge boost for the then-newbie entrepreneur, and since then, she has never looked back.
It was in May 2012 when she received her first major funding of Rs. 3 million USD. After which, in 2015, Richa received funding of Rs. 40 million USD, and it had changed everything for the lingerie brand.
As of now, Richa Kar’s Zivame is India’s largest online lingerie brand. However, it was in 2016 when the businesswoman decided to open some physical stores in different parts of the country. It was an impressive move, as it enabled Zivame to attract customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India.
The famous entrepreneur, Richa Kar is happily married to Kedar Gavane, who is the Vice President of comScore. The couple believes in leading a life away from the flashes and buzz. Talking about their kids, there’s no information about the same on the internet as of now.
According to multiple reports, Richa Kar has an estimated net worth of Rs. 749 crores. The entrepreneur stepped down as the CEO of Zivame after the lingerie brand was acquired by Reliance Retail back in 2020. However, Richa has neither sold nor diluted her equity, which is why she is still one of the company’s board of directors.
Richa Kar’s journey from borrowing money from her mother, her first major sale of Rs. 7000, to creating a net worth of Rs. 749 crores is nothing less than an inspirational movie. What do you think? Let us know.
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