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Aavaran: creating niche through contemporary traditional textiles

Jagriti Mishra (Department of Fashion Management Studies, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar, India)

Publication date: 24 May 2013

Abstract

Subject area

Marketing.

Study level/applicability

The case is aimed at Business Administration students.

Case overview

Udaipur based Aavaran – the echos of rural India – is a concept by COS-V, a leading non-governmental organization (NGO), which aims at connecting the tribal women of rural India with the mainstream. The NGO, set up in 1988 by Smt. Girija Vyas, was initially involved in imparting vocational training to the rural poor. Later, COS-V was taken up by Alka Sharma, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur, who completely changed the direction of the NGO. Her interest in textiles and crafts led to the genesis of the concept “Aavaran”. Aavaran is a retail outlet which was opened with a vision to provide the Indian market with traditional yet contemporary textiles and clothing. It offers a collection of women's and children's clothing and home textiles using a variety of traditional textiles and crafts. It is an artisan driven concept where the supply chain incorporates the essence of Indian textiles and crafts at every level. From the dyeing, printing, sampling and assembly of garments everything is done by the local women trained by COS-V with the support of DC-Handicrafts. The raw materials – the textiles, grey fabrics, etc. – are sourced directly from the rural weavers and artisans across India. The case study discusses how Aavaran developed the unique positioning of a retail platform for contemporary products made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes; how it could revive the diminishing arts of Dabu and Phetia and how it carved a niche through its channelized marketing efforts.

Expected learning outcomes

The case will familiarize management students with the concept of niche marketing with Udaipur based firm Aavaran as an example which developed a unique positioning through its traditionally developed products. It will also acquaint students with a basic understanding of a supply chain with a cooperative firm in focus.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The study is an outcome of research conducted at Aavaran, Udaipur. The author is grateful to Ms Alka Sharma, Chairperson, COS-V for providing the opportunity to carry out this research. She is also thankful to Ms Kriti Jalan, Marketing Executive, Aavaran for her valuable inputs. Acknowledgements are due to the duo of Systems Engineers from Infosys Technologies Limited – Mr Abhinav Mishra and Mr Vipin Upadhyay for their support in the case analysis.

Citation

Mishra, J. (2013), "Aavaran: creating niche through contemporary traditional textiles", , Vol. 3 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-Aug-2012-0143

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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