Bangalore, India August 7th, 2024: Shobitam, a global leader in D2C ethnic fashion and one of the fastest growing in the industry, proudly announces its strategic acquisition of Isadoralife, a trailblazer in the ready-to-wear saree market and the largest brand in this space – with a goal to make India’s Sarees accessible for all including Gen Z’s and everyone globally!
Shobitam and Isadora Life join hands to enhance the accessibility and appeal of the most loved traditional Indian attire worldwide – The Saree! This partnership aims to address the challenges of unfamiliarity with draping and also making inroads into a larger demographic base especially the younger consumers worldwide, showcasing sarees as a wholesome ‘must have’ attire in a wardrobe across India and globally.
This strategic acquisition brings together two women led startups, where their deep passion for ethnic fashion unites two amazing entrepreneurs — Aparna Thyagarajan (Co founder of Shobitam) with a deep IT background from Microsoft, and Neha Tandon Sharma, (Founder of IsadoraLife), a seasoned investment banker of 10 years, to revolutionise the saree industry together across India and the global markets. And it marks the beginning of significant investments aimed at further innovation in the ready-to-wear saree market for expansion and growth, backed by Shobitam’s commitment to this key product category and grow this space rapidly in the next 2-3 years.
Driven by three key value propositions that aims to further strengthen Shobitam’s position in ethnic fashion: Inroads Into Fast Moving Global Markets – with the new partnership, Shobitam will utilise its existing global presence and distribution network for a strong landing for IsadoraLife that will accelerate demand and preference for the ready to wear sarees, Customer Satisfaction by onboarding a talent pool of experts in the domain. Notably, IsadoraLife is supported by a workforce composed of 100% women with over 45 talented artisans in Raipur, India, further emphasising their commitment to diversity in the industry. Lastly, Building The Saree Potential by introducing the new category with innovative easy to drape designs for Gen Z’s to deliver the best products and customer experiences.
Aparna Thyagarajan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Shobitam said: “It’s gratifying to see Sarees pickup momentum but we often hear about the challenge of draping. And, while it may seem trivial, this simple concern was making women back out from possessing this beautiful piece of attire. Our acquisition of IsadoraLife is aimed at bridging this gap and seeing more and more women globally embrace the elegant saree, showcase our timeless culture effortlessly and take pride in being part of the Saree Revolution. Together, Shobitam and IsadoraLife are poised to further strengthen ethnic fashion globally and pave the way for an upward growth trajectory in the fashion startup ecosystem in India.”
Neha Tandon Sharma Founder & CEO of IsadoraLife: “I am excited about this new partnership with Shobitam and looking forward to seeing the growth and acceptance of Sarees like never before, both in the Indian market as well as the Global diaspora. Our partnership with Shobitam has come at the most opportune time when Indian fashion is going through an interesting transition phase with Sarees being seen as both traditional and contemporary wear. It is the epitome of clothing for Indian women and as seen at the Paris Olympics too by the Indian women contingent. Exciting times indeed!”