One Size do not fit all. Meet Sushil Modi whose venture xPlus Dernier Cri is a market place for plus size people

Fashion is passion for many people. Who in this world do not want to look good and get admired. Young Generation or so called Millennials always crave for fashion and in this industry having a good figure/physic matters a lot. We never felt that even people with plus size can also look brilliant when dressed properly but sadly in our country there are not much people who manufacture fashionable garments for plus size people.
Obesity is frowned upon in our country and many companies manufacture apparels & clothing for only people who seem to be fit and slim trim.
Meet Sushil Modi, an Entrepreneur from Pune who came up with a idea to launch an online market place exclusively for people with plus size demands. His venture today deals mainly with fashion brands and manufacturers who produce clothing and ready-made apparels exclusively for plus size people.
Lets Meet Mr. Sushil Modi and explore how this amazing and wonderful idea came to his mind.
1. What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
The name of our venture is xPlus Dernier Cri. Our venture is exclusively for plus size customers with the intent to offer them latest trending clothing apparels to suit their needs and not deprive them of dressing up well just because they are plus size.
PS: Dernier Cri is a French Name, its meaning in French is – The Very Latest Fashion Hence xPLus The Very Latest Fashion = xPlus Dernier Cri
2. Who is your target Audience/clients?
Plus size customers -Men, women, teens and children (girls &Boys)
3. Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & what are your geographical target areas?
We are based in Pune, Maharashtra, but are available online 24*7 and 365 days PAN India due to online web presence.
4. What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
Plus size fraternity always have challenge in dressing themselves to the occasion, they are deprived of fashion which creates a lacuna in their lives which they don’t deserve and get depressed about. This problem was partially solved by few brands which made extra- large sizes of apparels for this group of people who wear only casuals and never to the right fit. Our objective was to create an offering which will help plus size people to dress to occasion without any hassle as per the trend than dressing up casually.
5. Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
xPlus Dernier Cri was not by accident but its inception was triggered through painful experience of not finding right fitting clothes and favourite brands of choice, by someone close within the family just because of Plus Size.
This triggered us to think why not we come up with a solution to this known problem area of masses. The thought was to come up with a hassle free shopping experience to address the pain area. We thus built an online market place for all Plus size needs.
The objective and focus was to concentrate on Plus Size Segment and give them an exhilarating shopping experience without any compromise and enjoy every occasion that they wish to on a click of a button.
There are many online shops, Brick and Mortar stores which address this pain area partially. However the partial solution doesn’t offer variety in type of clothes, multiple sizes, brands and patterns. Mostly whatever is offered is general outfit which doesn’t mitigate the challenge, the Plus size segment face.
Our USP is, we bring latest trends, in design, color, pattern, and material of cloth which will suit various occasions and will provide the buyer an option of shopping by choice and not by force and compulsion.
6. Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
We are exclusively a one stop shop for all Plus size needs from normal dressing to occasion specific dressing with no bars defined for plus size people. There are few online e-commerce and retail providers of Plus Size ready-made apparels but we don’t find them as our competitors as we are the first online marketplace exclusively for plus size ready-made apparels.
7. How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us something about your co-founder/s
Co-founder is technical person who hails from a business background, innovative, comes with a business mind-set and is technology savvy.
8. How did you hire your first team members? What skills Do you want in your employees/team?
We partnered with a technology company for building our thought into reality, whom we had outsourced the development part of the project. Now we are in the midst of hiring Digital Marketing team to grow the venture, create awareness PAN India.
9. What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
In the next two years we want to create a name PAN India in the Plus size segment for ready-made apparels and then plan to venture abroad (.e.g.) U.S, Europe, APAC in 5 years’ time frame.
10. Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
We intend to have a global presence in 10 years’ time.
11. What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
In the coming few months we want to grow our vendor (Supplier) base and put in the best practices which we are learning day by day on the go. Improvise our system, make it a full proof project.
12. Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
Not yet but certainly have plans to raise funds.
13. What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
The biggest problem which we faced is conceptualizing our idea, bringing it to reality, getting right technology partner.
We met couple of Technology Service Providers and finally managed to finalize a deal with our current partner who understood the pain area of a start-up and came up with an excellent solution in a minimum possible budget.
14. What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
The biggest challenge was to raise funds, we managed to shell out some amount from our savings and borrowed some from relatives.
15. Are you married, single or in a relationship?
Married
16. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
My hobbies are listening Music and watching English action movies. In my spare time I normally watch a movie or listen to music.
17. What’s your favourite food & holiday destination?
Seafood prepared by my wife in Malwani (Konkan) recipe and my holiday destination is Switzerland which I plan to visit very soon.
18. Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
My biggest Idol is Elon Musk.
19. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Risk taking ability and pursuing a thought or dream into reality by getting into unchartered areas is something an entrepreneur can do but an employee may not.
20. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I am more inclined towards social cause, I believe I will try to give back to the society as much as possible or might even start an NGO, which I am not able to start in my current routine.
21. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
The impact of being an entrepreneur is so much so that my daughter has already started painting and collecting a good number of portfolios and intend to exhibit her paintings very soon.
22. Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
I would like our readers to start thinking in the direction of entrepreneurship and work towards it. And for upcoming entrepreneurs I would suggest them to stay connected to their dreams, don’t lose focus, success is just round the corner.
23. Tell us something about your education & family background.
I have done my computer Science and we are a family of four, my wife is an Doctorate in Management, daughter is studying in 11th standard and son is studying in 7th standard
24. What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains?
One stop shop for all Plus size needs which allows plus size group of people to dress for occasion
25. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
Sustainability and lack of Funds.
26. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
Not yet, the day my aims and ambitions are full-filled I will feel successful.
27. Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person.
Name : iFocal Solutions Pvt Ltd (CIN – U74999PN2016PTC164597)
Address : Mayur Trade Centre, Phase-II, P-273 / Old Mumbai – Pune Highway,
Opposite Police Station / Chinchwad – Pune 411019.
Phone Numbers : +91-9970568855
Email. ID: [email protected]
Website Address: https://www.xplusderniercri.com
Name of Contact Person: Sushil Modi