Today there are many “Market Gurus” saying that, technology has captured almost every industry and that all the markets are saturating; but fact remains that, there still are quite a few genres that remain untapped!
One of such is the Muslim Fashion Market!
As self-explanatory that is; this market holds a lot of potential. Believe it or not; this genre is estimated to be worth more than a whooping $200 Billion globally, yet a fraction of those funds come via online medium.
Hence, capitalizing on this hidden portfolio; we have – Modanisa.com!
Modanisa.com; as it is…!
Turkey-based Modanisa is evidently, an online fashion and beauty E-tailer that offers a wide range of branded products which includes modern Muslim-women’s wear, accessories, jewellery and many other beauty products. These products are not limited to one particular age group or style of women but are more of generalized, wherein women of all ages can find hundreds of fashion items and styles.
The website has a range of varieties to shop from and the highlight of this website is that, they deliver all their products globally via their delivery partner DHL with Express Shipping that happens within 2 to 7 days depending on the country and other variables.
Basically, Modanisa serves all the Muslim women, who follow Islamic dressing codes but also want to be in touch with the changing fashion.
It was launched in the May 2011 by Kerim Türe with just two full-time employees and an outsourced E-commerce platform in a 150sqft office space. Today, the company has grown on to become 4 times larger. The site receives more than 4.5 million Modanisa.com visitors each month and 35% sales of which come from international customers, has 1.8 Million followers on Facebook, has 300 brands and more than 22 designers selling through the platform, 109 full-time employees, and they now have a lavish 7500sq ft warehouse.
Competitors
Obviously, Modanisa is not the only one, or the pioneer of this sector! Some of its direct or major competitors remain: – AkerOnline.com, Armine.com, ShukrOnline, Hijup.com and CitraStyle (Islamic fashion ecommerce site based in Dubai).
But out-beating all of its competitors with large numbers, as per the 2015 Reuters and Dinar Standard’s Global Islamic Economy Report, modanisa.com remains the “World’s Most Popular Conservative Fashion Site”.
Beyond that, what makes them better than the most is that; the biggest Islamic fashion consumer markets like Egypt, Iran, France, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are at a distance of 2-3 hours by flight.
Plus, Modanisa also claims to have a better production quality and speed than others, primarily because — there are more than 400 small & medium-size textile manufacturers within a 25-mile radius from Modanisa’s Istanbul headquarters.
Challenges Faced
Apart from the petty day-to-day’s; the most challenging phase in their four-year stint, has been the first few months after their launch. Being new and unconventional, it was more than just difficult for the new-born to convince brands to sell online at modanisa.com and at the same time convincing manufacturers to transform some of their styles into hijab-friendly style was another headache altogether.
But with a dedication to overcome any and every problem that came their way; they at first paid cash to convince them and took all of the inventory risks. Later, all these producers and brands saw the increasingly growing potential of the site and since then they have been loyal exhibitors on the site!
Latest Updates
Recently or February 2015 to be precise; Modanisa.com received $5 Million investment from STC Ventures (Saudi Telecom’s corporate ventures fund) and Aslanoba Capital (leading Turkish venture capital investor), collectively!
Including this latest round; Modanisa has received a total sum of $8.5 Million in 3 Rounds from 3 Investors which also includes Hasan Aslanoba apart from the preceding two.
This fundraiser is also the first investment deal to be inked since the formal launch of the new Borsa Istanbul Private Market program, better known as BIST program, initiated last November. This program is a joint initiative by the Istanbul stock exchange and Endeavor Turkey with a primary aim of bringing together entrepreneurs and investors, and as it happens, Modanisa is a participant of the same.
This move of the BIST program is the first step towards widely entering into the Turkish Market, which has close to $39.3 billion Islamic clothing consumption volume, making it the leader. And with a spending potential is around $474 Million, its E-commerce sector has also seen to be drastically progressing.
What makes this round even more interesting is that; Modanisa – which currently holds 35% of the market share in online conservative clothing and is the market leader be it in terms of product range, daily visitors, or product selling capacity; was STC Venture’s first investment in Turkey.
Future Aims
The management clearly realizes that, with their fast-paced growth they are bound to receive cut-throat competition, sooner or later; and to be able to counter that, they would desperately require huge amounts of surplus funds.
Hence, having said that; Modanisa plans to raise something close to $20 Million funding in the near future – to sustain the present growth, to use the one-of-the-first doers advantage to be the first global Muslim fashion brand of the world and to attract more talent in Human Resources with worldwide experience.
