A late entrant funding heavy display discounting just to stay visible in stores, while the marketplaces it relied on for reach were only interested in selling whatever was cheapest.
The business problem
Fighting for shelf space or marketplace visibility both meant more discounting in spite of best in class products
The situation
The brand entered India with genuine global scale, advanced technology and products capable of competing with the strongest names in the market. However, it arrived after established domestic players had already secured the two things that heavily influence appliance purchases: prominent shelf space at important retail counters and strong customer mindshare. The brand struggled to display its complete portfolio in stores. At many retail counters, it received limited space and was rarely able to showcase the flagship products that best represented its technology, design and global reputation. To gain initial traction, the brand was gradually pushed towards the entry-level segment. This created a perception that did not reflect either the quality of its products or its intended market position. Marketplaces presented a similar challenge. Although they provided reach, they preferred to position the brand as a more affordable alternative to established competitors. This reinforced the value positioning that the brand was trying to move beyond. The brand needed a channel where it could present its products on their merits, control the customer experience and build a premium position without depending on retail shelf allocation or marketplace priorities.
The approach
The leadership team decided to stop competing only for physical shelf space and marketplace rankings. Instead, it would use a direct channel to present its complete portfolio and lead with premium products. Brandbuddiez was brought in to build and manage this D2C business end to end. The strategy made a deliberate choice: the direct storefront would focus on high-end products rather than repeat the entry-level assortment already available through conventional channels. This allowed the brand to demonstrate its technology and design strengths while building a more premium customer perception. Instead of creating a new fulfilment infrastructure, Brandbuddiez integrated the channel partners that had supported the company during its early years in India. Orders generated through the D2C storefront were routed to these partners for fulfilment, allowing them to participate in the brand’s digital growth. This approach gave the brand greater control of its positioning without creating conflict with the partners who had helped establish its presence in the country.
What we built
A Brandbuddiez proprietary-powered D2C storefront designed with unique features to serve as the brand’s complete digital showcase, with a particular focus on promoting premium products that retail counters were unwilling or unable to display. Brandbuddiez integrated the storefront with the brand’s existing partner network, enabling online orders to be routed and fulfilled without replacing the established distribution infrastructure. The model combined technology, digital merchandising, order management, partner-led fulfilment and ongoing commerce operations into one managed D2C channel. After proving the model, Brandbuddiez also helped the company launch a second brand as a D2C-first business—building and managing the new brand’s direct commerce operations from the ground up.
The results
The premium range that had struggled for visibility at retail found strong acceptance when presented directly to customers. Premium products grew to 80% of the D2C sales mix, compared with approximately 40% through the conventional trade. This demonstrated that the constraint on premium sales was not a lack of customer demand, but limited shelf visibility and channel incentives. Products that channel partners had previously declined to stock achieved close to 100% sell-through on the brand’s own website. Once this direct demand was demonstrated, the same products began attracting renewed interest from the trade. The D2C channel expanded the brand’s reach to 150 cities and more than 12,700 pincodes, compared with meaningful marketplace coverage in approximately eight cities. Average delivery time improved to 4.5 days, compared with approximately 11 days through conventional channels. Direct sales also delivered margins approximately 10% better than standard trade margins because the business was less dependent on retail discounting and marketplace-led price competition. Categories that had previously received limited shelf space began gaining traction through the direct channel. This encouraged the brand to introduce additional categories from its global portfolio in India. The success of the model also led the company to launch a second, D2C-first sister brand, built and managed by Brandbuddiez.