On Friday, Dec 16, we had an interesting conversation with Mr Taran Chhabra, cofounder of Neeman’s Shoes. Mr Chhabra explained how Neeman’s has redefined the market, embraced sustainability and designed customer friendly shoes that are in great demand today.
About Mr Taran Chhabra
Mr Taran Chhabra, Founder and CEO of Neeman’s, leads R&D and overall product and market strategy at his company. He is the brain behind the launch of some unique fibres in the Indian footwear industry that were earlier unheard of and unexplored. Mr Chhabra is committed to creating a strong brand that is synonymous with comfortable and sustainable shoes for all-day wear.
Prior to his entrepreneurial venture, Mr Chhabra was a Business Analytics Leader based in New Jersey, USA. He helped several pharma and life sciences giants in America pivot and move towards the path of growth. His zeal to question why comfort was undervalued and why natural materials were not being chosen in the footwear industry prompted him to create Neeman’s.
Mr Chhabra holds a B Tech degree from JNTU and MS Computer Science from North Illinois University. The accolades he has received include Business World - BW 40Under40 and Fortune 40 Under 40.
About Neeman’s
Neeman's was created out of Mr Chhabra’s desire to persuade customers to say goodbye to average, uncomfortable shoes and opt for high quality footwear made out of environment friendly materials.
Neeman’s passion for reducing the carbon footprint prompted the company to find natural and organic yarns while at the same time crafting footwear that made customers feel good and look good. The company wanted to design comfortable and eco-friendly footwear that could be worn by customers anytime, anywhere.
How the journey began
In 2016, Mr Chhabra, while living in NJ, USA had 220 pairs of shoes. He was frustrated with the way the shoe industry was launching a wide range of shoes. No shoes could be used throughout the day. The shoes were uncomfortable, not very environmentally friendly and not friendly on the pocket. Once while travelling in 2016, Mr Chhabra carried with him 5 pairs of shoes for running, walking, office etc. His luggage was misplaced in Spain. This prompted him to think seriously about whether instead of just grumbling about the situation, he could do something in this space.
Understanding the market
Mr Chhabra decided to talk to customers to understand the industry better. He realized that the problem he faced was also faced by others. Most customers did not find wearing shoes a pleasant experience. They hated traditional leather footwear.
Our feet are designed in a particular way. But shoes, if wrongly designed, tend to crush our feet. No wonder, customers felt a lot of discomfort. Mr Chhabra sensed a big opportunity with many customers looking for the right product.
Mr Chhabra pitched the idea to his elder brother, Amarpreet. They decided to take the idea forward. Neither had any experience in designing or making shoes. But both were customers and knew the problems they faced as customers. (Most of the 150 employees of the company do not have footwear industry experience. But they can all relate to customer problems.) They decided to travel to different shoe manufacturing hubs across the world and spent four months learning about the design and manufacturing of shoes. They realized that a lot of chemicals and synthetic materials, which were bad for the environment, were being used. In fact, the footwear industry accounted for 10% of the total carbon dioxide emission.
The brothers realized that the industry had been operating in certain set ways and needed to change. They came up with the idea of making comfortable shoes made of new, naturally available, environment friendly materials. They also decided that they would manufacture shoes in India but sell it to the world.
Not many Indian footwear brands sell all over the world. When the Chhabra brothers asked customers which Indian footwear brand they aspired to buy, they were greeted with silence. Most customers did not understand the brand ethos of Indian footwear manufacturers. So the brothers saw a big opportunity to build a new brand.
Getting started
Neeman’s began its operations in 2018. The company used natural, renewable merino wool from Australia, recycled PET bottles, organic cotton, recycled fabrics, plant based castor bean oil, recycled rubber, waste paper, etc. Most people dismissed Neeman’s as a niche player. But the company has proved them wrong and already sold 10 lakh pairs of shoes.
Neeman’s could have been launched anywhere. But Mr Chhabra wanted to be the first disruptor in India. He wanted to be the change maker by building a unique brand with unique product features in a very difficult but large market estimated to be Rs 90,000 crores. With no major innovation for decades, the brothers felt they could sell and market their product differently using different channels. Those days, no one was talking about sustainability.
Plastics were a very large problem to go after. Plastic bottles were being dumped all over the place in oceans and landfills and they were not biodegradable. Why not put them to reuse? The Relive sneaker began to use these plastic bottles as shoe uppers. (“Relive’ signalled that something was being brought back to life.) It became the best recycled product and the second-best marketing campaign of the year. Some 10 million plastic bottles have been recycled so far. These shoes are available in attractive colours, are very trendy and can be worn by people of different age groups.
To begin with, Neeman’s decided to offer a narrow range of only 10 products. (Most rival stores offer a much wider choice, which tends to confuse customers.) These shoes could be worn for 12-14 hours a day. They were flexible, washable, made of unique materials, lightweight and could be worn on multiple occasions.
Building the brand
Neeman’s was not very sure whether the traditional channels (wholesalers and distributors) could build the brand effectively. They decided to take the digital route. In 2017, Jio revolutionised internet access in India. The Chhabra brothers sensed the opportunity to leverage the internet, social media, create content at scale and tell people what the brand stood for.
The company’s products are available on Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra. More recently, the company has been rolling out exclusive stores.
For Neeman’s the brand is bigger than the product. It has focused on brand marketing. There is a strong storytelling team focused on content creation: best practices, global standards, unique materials, product design, thought process.
Q&A
On how he acquired the skills needed for the business
Mr Chhabra has learnt everything on the fly. He neither had any experience in the shoe industry nor finished an MBA. What has enabled him to learn about marketing and business is his deep sense of belief that he could build a unique product with a different approach to brand building and selling. Since he had understood the consumer’s problems carefully, the learning came to him naturally. Mr Chhabra’s learning mindset and ability to pick up new skills have been shaped by reading books, listening to customers, looking at the problem at scale and the vision to be a large player in the years to come. His hands-on approach has also enabled him to understand the business better. He himself was the model in ad campaigns and wrote the entire content on the website.
On the challenges he has faced
In 2017, when he approached large factories, they were not interested as they were focused on export consignments. Many manufacturers were sceptical about whether shoes could be made from these new materials. After the product launch, the challenge was to grow the business. He had to mobilize funds. As the business has grown, product expansion, team expansion and unit economics have been some of the challenges Mr Chhabra has faced. His philosophy is to learn, improve, aspire and keep building.
On how he gets his inspiration and energy
Mr Chhabra gets most of his inspiration from customers. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing customers wearing Neeman’s shoes. In fact, the entire leadership team, while out in the field, likes to spot people wearing Neeman’s. They talk to the customers and take feedback. When customers say they love the product, it gives Mr Chhabra a sense of pride. The thought that he is building a large brand and solving a big problem is also energising. Earlier, it was common to see used shoes being passed on from one member of the family to another. But for today’s generation, shoes have become more aspirational and they are also looking for comfortable shoes to be more efficient and productive in the workplace. The company’s leaders are charged with the opportunity to build a big brand.
On starting a venture
There has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. There are large problems to go after, capital is available and there is a strong belief in India. To succeed, we should pick the right problem, show that it is large enough to do a business, do research, conceptualize the right product market fit and build a good management team. Scaling up requires different approaches at different stages of growth. Thus, going from 0 to 10 stores, from 10 to 100 stores and from 100 to 500 stores demand different thought processes. Currently, the focus is narrow. As it has grown, Neeman’s has mobilized more capital and built a strong team.
On competition
There are many champion brands in the market like Nike, Adidas, Skechers. They have been around for decades and have a large customer following. Neeman’s is not trying to take them head on. The company has taken a focused approach with an emphasis on quality, sustainability, customer expectations, right pricing, etc. The whole strategy of Neeman’s is to be relevant to the customer who should think about Neeman’s while searching for good shoes.
Some of these formidable competitors have tried to imitate Neeman’s when it comes to novel, sustainable materials. But Mr Chhabra feels that the more the number of players who enter the market, the more the awareness. While such environmentally friendly products are only a part of the portfolio for competitors, Neeman’s complete product line and indeed the brand is built around sustainability. Mr Chhabra believes there is space for many players and the winner takes it all syndrome does not apply. It is important to keep learning from competitors.
On making shoes a lifestyle product
Mr Chhabra has picked up key elements of his marketing philosophy from electronic products. Consider television sets. The customer first selects the brand, then only the specific product followed by the features. Similarly, Neeman’s endeavour is to position itself as an appealing brand, followed by the product and the features. The company tries to understand how shoes fit into the lives of customers (jogs, office, parties). The utility then becomes a critical part of the lifestyle.
Brands like Liberty have appointed many brand ambassadors and started setting up 100+ stores across the country. But Neeman’s is proceeding more slowly. It is first focused on rolling out the first 10 stores. While it helps to have channels and brand ambassadors, the priority is to gain customer acceptance. Mr Chhabra feels that very aggressive expansion is not feasible right now.
On developing shoes for specific conditions
While Neeman’s is focused on designing comfortable shoes, it is not looking at specific conditions such as semi flat feet. The aim is to design shoes that can appeal to a variety of users and suit a range of conditions. But soon, Neeman’s will also look at specific conditions for offering customized shoes.
On the use of rubber
While Neeman’s uses various novel materials, it has not eliminated rubber completely. Rubber is a useful material with valuable properties such as durability, shock absorption and grip. It is used in soles. Neeman’s uses both recycled rubber from tyres and natural rubber.
On alternatives to leather shoes
Neeman’s is developing alternatives to leather shoes. A series of materials have been identified. Detailed research is being done and steps taken to ensure that the shoes do not look too casual. These shoes will be launched next year.
On leveraging customer feedback
Neeman’s believes in using customer feedback to improve the products. Customer inputs are collected before launch, during test marketing and after the actual launch of the product. Customer feedback comes at scale and is used to improve the product. Mr Chhabra believes that developing a great product is an ongoing journey. In the case of merino wool, the first few versions were soft and some customers felt that it might not be stable and lose shape quickly. Neeman’s went back to the drawing board, examined the weight and strength of the material and worked on various fabric parameters to ensure that the shoes would be able to preserve the shape.
On the use of technology
Mr Chhabra has a background in technology and business analytics. So he attaches great importance to collecting and analysing data to keep improving the performance be it the materials, channels, marketing or the customer journey. He realizes that it is not easy to develop the perfect product in the first iteration.
On the unorganized sector
In India, the unorganized sector accounts for 70% of the market. But Mr Chhabra is not worried about competition from the unorganized sector. He believes that the two sectors are different and involve different thought processes for building the businesses be it manufacturing or brand building. With the rising aspirations of customers, Mr Chhabra expects them to move from the unorganized to the organized sector with better brand and higher quality.
On the Neeman’s website
Neeman’s has a customer friendly website which people can visit to try out shoes and order them. Shoes are delivered in a couple of days. If customers are not satisfied, they can return the shoes.
On management education
There are many online MBA providers in the country all claiming to be offering quality education. But as Prasad pointed out, ICFAI Online has been trying to solve a different problem. In general, learning leads to suboptimal outcomes in India because our education is not learner centric. It is institution centric. So courses need to be reorganized. ICFAI Online under Prasad, has internalized this philosophy and made the program learner centric.
