In this edition of the Masterstroke series, we have featured a well-known face in the jewelry industry – Chinu Kala, founder of jewelry brand Rubans and business partner, Myntra. She is a first-generation entrepreneur and a former Mrs. India pageant participant. Her story is all about the tenacity of a woman entrepreneur who has an eye for good design and a knack for cracking the code of consumer behaviour.

For Chinu, three seems like a lucky number. At the age of 15, she left her home with just 300 Rupees. Her goal was to be on her own and successful. She started with a door-to-door salesperson job, which, needless to say, paid just enough to survive. Thereafter, she dabbled in several things. Chinu also participated in Gladrags Mrs. India post her wedding during which she had her Eureka moment – she figured that it was the accessories that completed a model’s look. She realized jewelry was her calling, and in 2014, with an investment of 3 lacs Rupees, she launched Rubans from a small kiosk. In the last eight years, the brand has grown manifold and is now clocking an annual GMV of ~35 crores.

For Chinu, understanding what the consumers need, and why they need something is paramount. During one of her early jobs as a fashion showroom assistant, she learned the art of predicting consumer buying patterns. “My commission from those sales was more than my salary,” she says. The same resolve to analyse the market came in handy again in her life when she started Rubans. Before opening her mall store in Bangalore, she spent months trying to understand the kind of people that visited the mall, their pocket size, affinity towards certain stores, buying patterns, and anything else that would help in her future business. Without a fancy degree from a business school, Chinu completed her own course in Consumer Behaviour.

The Journey with Myntra

On Myntra, Rubans offers 2000+ designs across products like jhumkas, jewellery sets, bracelets, kundan sets, and necklaces. The designs are meticulously curated by women artisans from across the country. The collaboration began in 2018, and in just four years, Rubans has grown more than 10X!

“Our online journey has been phenomenal, to say the least. We now reach thousands of pin codes daily, all thanks to Myntra,” Chinu says. Sharing her most memorable experience with Myntra, Chinu recalls the operational and moral support Myntra team extended to her during a major fire incident that took place at the Rubans office during the initial period of collaboration. The brand had lost all its products, valuables, and inventory in the incident. “The Myntra team stood by me all the way, and helped Rubans in the journey to rebuild itself,” Chinu says.

Explore the Rubans jewelry collection here.

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