In the thriving world of fashion, kidswear often gets overlooked, despite being a multi-billion dollar market in India alone. One of the largest retail segments in the world, kidswear and kids’ fashion has started gaining attention as new-age parents become more discerning of what children wear. Today, people are not just looking for something affordable, they pay close attention to style, quality, and sustainability too.
However, one thing that ties them into a group is the rather extravagant price tags for the same kind of clothes they come with. The 2017 founded Crazy Penguin Elite, based in Kolkata, is dedicated to breaking the myth that ‘quality comes at a price’ by manufacturing a high-quality, durable, and stylish clothing line for kids at affordable and reasonable prices. Bringing unique and underexplored fabrics into the mainstream market, the brand is creating a unique place for itself in this overcrowded market.
Founding Crazy Penguin
The origin story of this brand is as interesting as the work it does. Founded by Abhishek Singh, an engineer who found a calling in the apparel segment, Crazy Penguin came into being out of the realization that although the market was huge, there was no dedicated kidswear brand like there existed for adults. Finding a scope for introducing a large-scale brand that caters only to kids, Abhishek Singh, inspired by his father, who had over 40 years of experience in the textile industry, went on to establish this company. And, although it took some time to learn the ropes of the market, he, along with a team built gradually, never looked back and continued to grow from one milestone to another.
Over the years, the firm continued to grow and thrive for two core reasons, the first of which was its introduction of unique fabrics into the kidswear section which had only been utilized for womenswear clothing and menswear to some extent. Experimenting with cotton modal, the firm found an amazing and untapped resource, ideal for kidswear products since its softness ensures that kids would be comfortable wearing it. The company also focused on providing yarn dyed polo stripes t-shirt which is provided by a few players in the market. Over time, the firm also ventured into the production of mercerized clothing for kids, which, despite being available to some extent, came with a hefty price tag, leading to the firm’s second distinct feature, the affordability of products.
Committed to bring quality to all people, Crazy Penguin prides itself on manufacturing kidswear that is pocket-friendly for parents. To achieve this goal, the company developed in-house mercerization capabilities, ensuring that its raw material is affordably produced, thereby bringing the cost of end-products lower.
Keeping Style In Mind
In an industry where style is everything, Crazy Penguin adopts a multi-pronged approach to stay abreast of latest and emerging styles and fashion
trends to ensure its products align with exactly what the market wants. The first prong is the in-house analytics team that utilizes specific research procedures to explore what is currently hot and trending, and what is expected to trend in the next 6 months to one year. This team dives deep to research the kinds of prints, patterns, cuts, styles, colors and other fashion and design aspects that can define the success of a clothing line.
An in-house e-commerce and social media team further expands its search radius to explore what leading global brands are doing and drawing inspiration to craft its own designs that will hold mass appeal for kids and parents alike. Lastly, a dedicated field team collects feedback from retailers and distributors that sell Crazy Penguin clothing to identify what the end consumers want, allowing the firm to modify its products to suit the market needs. This ground work gives the team an insight into the actual consumers’ demands, providing an edge over competitors.
“We have a dedicated ecosystem established to ensure that our designs and products are manufactured to align with what the customers are looking for. Fashion and style are a very important aspect of what we dive into. But we are equally concerned about quality aspects, which is the insight we typically gain from our distributors and retailers”, shares Abhishek Singh, Founder.
In manufacturing its wide range of kidswear, Crazy Penguin considers quality & being children friendly as a key point of focus
Child-friendly Clothing
In manufacturing its wide range of kidswear, Crazy Penguin considers quality (which is often considered a cliche) as a key point of focus. The firm undertakes a comprehensive approach which starts with choosing the right kind of yarn and ends only with a final check of the produced garment.
“Our products stand out from the rest thanks to our cutting-edge high IQ dyeing process, which is applied to the finest cotton modal and mercerized fabrics. The dyeing part of the manufacturing process helps in balancing the softness, rigidity, and elasticity of the fabrics. It can define the breathability, moisture retention, and durability aspects of the fabric, and in turn the garment”, shares Abhishek.
This comprehensive manufacturing procedure starts with procuring red label yarn, the finest quality in the market. This raw material is then sent for knitting, 80 percent of which is done in-house, and the rest by knitting vendors who are periodically inspected and supervised by a firm-appointed quality manager. This process is critical to ascertain the quality of the products and defining the GSM strength of the fabric. During this process, the team assesses if there are any defects such as holes in the fabric. Every fabric roll is checked for needle drops and spandex drops to ensure that the fabric is as per requirement and is defect free.
After passing the checks, a sample fabric roll is sent for dyeing, however, first, a dyeing procedure is conducted in three categories for light colors, medium colors, and dark colors. In this process, the firm uses the best quality dyes to ensure the clothes retain their sheen and hue even after repeated washing. During this procedure, the firm includes a biowash and anti microbial process before moving on to printing, ensuring that the prints do not start chipping after a few wears. Finally, the stitching process follows using top-of-the-line sewing machines, to ensure the final products perfectly match the sample.
Future Journey
“At the start of our journey, we spent a lot of time and resources establishing our manufacturing setup by finding a permanent place, buying expensive machines, and finding labor. A lot of investment and time was spent on this process to ensure that everything was up to our requirements. Even though it took us time to establish all this, it gave us a stage where we became more stable in the following years and could focus on expanding our business completely”, lastly adds Abhishek.
Overcoming a myriad of challenges Crazy Penguin experienced a significant growth in business over the years. Today, the firm has grown its offline presence across multiple states and has built a robust presence across prominent e-commerce platforms along with its own website that users can buy products from. Taking this further, the brand is currently gearing up to launch itself on leading platforms like Myntra, Ajio, and FIRSTCRY in the coming months. Additionally, it is looking into penetrating tier 2 and tier 3 markets to expand its visibility and attract more business. Taking a systemic approach, Crazy Penguin is poised to become the leading kidswear brand across the country.
.jpg "Overcoming the Hurdles of Scaling a Startup")
