what does a disgruntled student do when his customized t-shirt is nowhere near the quality product that was promised to him? When there isn’t a credible customizable apparel manufacturer at hand? I don’t know about you, but I know what certain engineering students did―they decided to take the matter into their own hands. Fueled by a shared contempt for inferior quality garments and the determination to improve the customized clothing market, Bandhul Bansal and LiteshGumber, two engineers in-the-making, set off to realize this dream of theirs. Founded in 2014, QuadB has since become synonymous with success, evolving from a mere idea to the first completely Custom Apparel Market in India.
Since its inception, it has catered to the needs of varying clients, from reputed institutions like IITs and IIMs to giant establishments like Google and JP Morgan.
The inception
An industrial engineer from PEC, Bandhul Bansal got the idea to start his own brand of customized clothing after he noticed the poor quality t-shirts that were made available to the college students. He recognized the entrepreneurial opportunity in front of him and took it. He decided to manufacture, from scratch, customized apparel for students not unlike himself.
In the first few months itself, Bandhul, along with Litesh, another industrial engineer, was able to fulfill a lot of orders. Since their enterprise was completely bootstrapped, they decided to employ JIT (Just In Time) and VAL (Virtual Assembly Line), two foreign production techniques, to save cost. They would also rent out machinery from various manufacturers, which helped them create good quality products and generate revenue which was pumped back into their startup. Even though it was a small initiative, started by college students for college students, its success made the two recognize the true worth of this enterprise.
With more clients, the need to expand QuadB had become crucial. A seed fund of Rs 20 lakh helped its team to scale up the business. Instead of buying expensive machinery, which would have been capital-intensive, Litesh says that the engineers decided to design their own, labor-intensive machinery which would better comply with the Indian market. This way, not only did they cut back on unnecessary expenses, but they were also able to provide employment to hundreds of people. Soon, they had paid off their debt and set up a factory in Ludhiana.
Presently, the startup has expanded its franchise to Delhi, Chandigarh and Kochi.
The journey
QuadB is India’s first completely customizable apparel brand and rightfully so. Its team has always been obsessed with providing its clients with the quality, quantity and customizations that they desired, without compromising on any one of them.
With more than fifteen different varieties of cloth material at their disposal, its customers are really spoilt for choices. You can have your order customized as per your wish, including its design, print or even the stitch of its fabric. From summers to winters, from t-shirts to hoodies, QuadB has a product range inclusive of any and every need of yours, starting from Rs. 80, for budget t-shirts to Rs 1500, for premium clothing.
So far, QuadB has catered to the needs of a mixed bag of clients like IITs, IIMs, JP Morgan and Amazon to name a few. It also has its offices set up in Delhi, Chandigarh, Mohali, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
The future
QuadB has come a long way from being a bootstrapped startup of two engineers―it is now a fully-functioning, customizable apparel brand, has increased its revenue by 400% since its inception in 2014 and with operations in, not only India but also fourteen different countries including UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. When asked about the future of the company, Litesh says,
“Our goal right now is to expand our business all over India. This is in progress as we’re already catering to every state. Only now, we’re also focused on setting up our franchises in India, starting with Chandigarh, Delhi and Hyderabad. Our long-term plan, however, is to have our IPO in the next three to four years.”
Apart from an IPO, QuadB also has plans to enter the international market in the next few years.
