ACEING THE FASHION BUSINESS WITH A PINCH OF SALT

She is charming, but what’s more intriguing is her earnestness. She knows how to keep the conversation very honest, very real and very Sandhya. She has successfully blended glamour, fashion and business, and is today noted for her success and work.

Sandhya KC started her career as an actor but her real passion has always been entrepreneurship. “I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I started my journey as a newcomer in the fashion industry, I am grateful for every opportunity that I have received. Over 10 years of my career, I have represented and worked with multiple brands across Nepal,” says Sandhya.

She started SALT, a fashion retail brand in 2021 offering curated selections of the latest global trends in fashion.

“I believe in the power of self-expression through fashion and I strive to offer pieces that empower my clientele with clothes that are stylish and reflective of their personalities,” she says. From statement jackets to timeless dresses, all the items at SALT have been hand-picked by Sandhya and her team. Within three years, the brand has already opened three stores in the city.

Inspiring, fascinating, fearless, and quite fabulous, Sandhya is truly living in her ‘Girl, you’ve got this’ moment. She models her collections and has used technology to her favour reaching out to thousands of young people interested in embracing fashion.

Changing palettes, new formats of retail, and evolving gen-z and millennial values, Sandhya explores it all.

WOW chats with the tech enabled fashion entrepreneur who is on a mission to build her business to new levels of success.

Who inspired you while growing up?

At home, I have been inspired by my mother and how she has so much empathy and how she keeps the family together; my father for his work ethics and kindness. Growing up I was intrigued and inspired by the likes of Phil Knight and Donatella Versace.

We find it interesting that even though you had already tasted success in Nepali films, you quit the industry and started afresh as a fashion entrepreneur. Why?

I think it’s important to reinvent ourselves with time. When I was a kid, I was always around my father who had a transportation business. He started from nothing and that still inspires me and drives me to do something bigger in life. Opportunities came my way and I grabbed them with utmost honesty but never settled. Acting happened just like that; it wasn’t planned. But I never settled for that career. I always dreamt of being an entrepreneur and fashion was my thing. Eventually I got into the fashion business with my friends. Later, I sold that business with many learnings, and then started SALT.

How is SALT different from the other fashion retail outlets in Kathmandu?

I partnered with my husband and we had a common vision to build a strong brand. We started small, as we both were fairly new to this business but we were clear that we wanted to build a brand and not just a clothing store.

SALT stands for ‘Shop All Latest Trends’ and that’s what we do. We bring the latest trends to the market and launch 35-50 new styles every week. We provide quality products and latest designs at reasonable prices. We try and maintain the quality consistency that people have come to expect from SALT.

Tell us about the store design and the current footfall?

Like everyone else, we have been inspired by many brands of the west and east. The store design is a minimalist so the focus is on the clothes, using very basic colour palettes. The footfall varies but our average store footfalls are around 200 per store, higher during the sales period we run each year. Online daily store visitors are close to 2200 and social media impressions daily are about 80-100K.

Curating outfits that find space on the store’s shelves must mean keeping a close eye on customer preferences. What have been your observations in the past years?

I think we need to be obsessed with our customers. This means their preferences, their experiences and their expectations. Keeping a close eye on current style trends and customer preferences means we get our buying decisions correct at a higher percentage.

How can technology help fashion be efficient?

My business and life partner, my husband, is the technologist and we have implemented strong ERP systems from the start with strong inventory controls. We do a lot of data analytics to understand what’s moving and what’s not, we monitor customer preferences which helps our buying process; it also reduces costs on many different levels.

How do you walk the line between uniqueness and commercial appeal?

I think it’s important to be yourself. We are unique in ourselves. I don’t ever try to be anyone I am not, or think too largely on commercial appeal.

Would you call yourself a model, a creative or an entrepreneur?

I have always wanted to be known as an entrepreneur. I think there is a long way to go but that’s what I would like to call myself.

What is your current state of mind?

I am in a very happy state of mind. I cannot ask for more at this point for myself. But I do wish the difficulties in the economy improves for everyone as I see a lot of people in difficulty and I wish it gets better for everyone soon.

In an industry where opinions abound, how do you stay true to your identity and own your power?

I try to mind my own business and don’t worry too much about what others think or even try to create noise;, that’s gives me peace of mind to do things that I am passionate about.

What do you think is the mantra for a healthy and long-standing relationship?

The base of any great relationship is trust and understanding. Aabhushan and I have a very strong understanding of each other’s values and we trust each other which makes the rest of the issues, if and when we have them, very small and trivial.

How important is it to have the right partner for a woman to have it all?

The right partner is very important for everyone, be it woman or man. The right partner is supportive and will help you improve and grow, and is a constant source of motivation and inspiration. Without a person like that or worse, in a more negative environment, we are fighting battles inside and outside our homes. We only have so many fights in us no matter how strong we are.

Qualities in men you admire the most…

Ambition, discipline and intelligence.

What are you most excited about in 2024?

There are so many things happening for us in 2024. We are expanding SALT while we have launched Aadhya. We are looking to start two other brands catering to two different customer segments.

Who inspired you while growing up?

At home, I have been inspired by my mother and how she has so much empathy and how she keeps the family together; my father for his work ethics and kindness. Growing up I was intrigued and inspired by the likes of Phil Knight and Donatella Versace.

We find it interesting that even though you had already tasted success in Nepali films, you quit the industry and started afresh as a fashion entrepreneur. Why?

I think it’s important to reinvent ourselves with time. When I was a kid, I was always around my father who had a transportation business. He started from nothing and that still inspires me and drives me to do something bigger in life. Opportunities came my way and I grabbed them with utmost honesty but never settled. Acting happened just like that; it wasn’t planned. But I never settled for that career. I always dreamt of being an entrepreneur and fashion was my thing. Eventually I got into the fashion business with my friends. Later, I sold that business with many learnings, and then started SALT.

How is SALT different from the other fashion retail outlets in Kathmandu?

I partnered with my husband and we had a common vision to build a strong brand. We started small, as we both were fairly new to this business but we were clear that we wanted to build a brand and not just a clothing store.

SALT stands for ‘Shop All Latest Trends’ and that’s what we do. We bring the latest trends to the market and launch 35-50 new styles every week. We provide quality products and latest designs at reasonable prices. We try and maintain the quality consistency that people have come to expect from SALT.

Tell us about the store design and the current footfall?

Like everyone else, we have been inspired by many brands of the west and east. The store design is a minimalist so the focus is on the clothes, using very basic colour palettes.

The footfall varies but our average store footfalls are around 200 per store, higher during the sales period we run each year.

Online daily store visitors are close to 2200 and social media impressions daily are about 80-100K.

Curating outfits that find space on the store’s shelves must mean keeping a close eye on customer preferences. What have been your observations in the past years?

I think we need to be obsessed with our customers. This means their preferences, their experiences and their expectations. Keeping a close eye on current style trends and customer preferences means we get our buying decisions correct at a higher percentage.

How can technology help fashion be efficient?

My business and life partner, my husband, is the technologist and we have implemented strong ERP systems from the start with strong inventory controls. We do a lot of data analytics to understand what’s moving and what’s not, we monitor customer preferences which helps our buying process; it also reduces costs on many different levels.

How do you walk the line between uniqueness and commercial appeal?

I think it’s important to be yourself. We are unique in ourselves. I don’t ever try to be anyone I am not, or think too largely on commercial appeal.

Would you call yourself a model, a creative or an entrepreneur?

I have always wanted to be known as an entrepreneur. I think there is a long way to go but that’s what I would like to call myself.

What is your current state of mind?

I am in a very happy state of mind. I cannot ask for more at this point for myself. But I do wish the difficulties in the economy improves for everyone as I see a lot of people in difficulty and I wish it gets better for everyone soon.

In an industry where opinions abound, how do you stay true to your identity and own your power?

I try to mind my own business and don’t worry too much about what others think or even try to create noise;, that’s gives me peace of mind to do things that I am passionate about.

What do you think is the mantra for a healthy and long-standing relationship?

The base of any great relationship is trust and understanding. Aabhushan and I have a very strong understanding of each other’s values and we trust each other which makes the rest of the issues, if and when we have them, very small and trivial.

How important is it to have the right partner for a woman to have it all?

The right partner is very important for everyone, be it woman or man. The right partner is supportive and will help you improve and grow, and is a constant source of motivation and inspiration. Without a person like that or worse, in a more negative environment, we are fighting battles inside and outside our homes. We only have so many fights in us no matter how strong we are.

Qualities in men you admire the most…

Ambition, discipline and intelligence.

What are you most excited about in 2024?

There are so many things happening for us in 2024. We are expanding SALT while we have launched Aadhya. We are looking to start two other brands catering to two different customer segments.

 

 

 

 

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