HYDERABAD: Nykd by Nykaa, the much-loved lingerie, athleisure and sleepwear brand from Nykaa, has opened doors of its second, physical retail space in Hyderabad’s Sarath Capital City Mall. Focused on immersive, engaging and tech-led shopping experiences, the store features cutting-edge products spread across a 550 sq ft. area. This store is another avenue for Nykd to pursue it’s mission of supporting the highs and lows of a woman’s journey, by helping her navigate at least one area of her life with convenience, her intimate wear.
Being comfortable in your own skin and being able to choose what’s comfortable on your skin is woven into the fabric of Nykd. Offering today’s globalised, informed and evolved consumers, second skin comfort, the store provides a 360 degree intimate wear experience. CE speaks to Preeti Gupta, Business Head, Nykd by Nykaa and Gloot, about the brand’s journey in Hyderabad, demystify conversation around lingerie and more.
What inspired you to open up Nykd by Nykaa?
We spent a lot of time in customer research and identified the need to create a brand that provides products for every body and educates customers on lingerie — a category that has for so long felt neglected. Birthed by this motivation, Nykd by Nykaa delivers on functional and comfortable products steeped in the latest innovations in fabric and fit, as well as a user experience that will simplify the buying process. This deep understanding of consumer concerns and tech-led capability reflects in every garment by Nykd by Nykaa.
When you started Nykd, did you face any challenges?
With a strong purpose to weave in comfort in day-to-day life, we wanted Nykd to enable women in their journey and provide solutions to issues they face during bra purchases — ranging from wrong size, wrong style, bra hickies, and bulky bras that are visible under t-shirts. Traditionally, lingerie as a category was predominantly perceived for the male gaze or to make a bold statement, and one of our biggest challenges was to steer away from this narrative and move towards intimate wear being functional and comfortable. We wanted women to buy lingerie for themselves, their individual needs, keeping their comfort at the forefront.
In India, women are still conservative when it comes to lingerie. How are you planning to change it?
Very true, traditionally, women have never spoken about their bras and this can be attributed to under-developed retail, complicated categories, and cultural taboo on related topics that have made conversations extremely difficult. Choosing a bra that is right should not be such an intimidating or confusing journey and yet a majority of women still struggle.
We have consciously worked towards these barriers by introducing tools such as the Bra Advisor, that helps them figure out their right size and fit, derived from an AI based algorithm coupled with no questions asked return policy. Another thing we do is leverage our social handles to drive a continuous dialogue on all things lingerie, in an effort to normalise the conversation and also understand the key concerns that consumers are facing.
How important is it to wear the right bra size?
Extremely important! Wearing wrong bras does not merely compromise your comfort but can lead to neck and shoulder pain and even more health related issues. The right bra — in size, comfort and fabric, gives you coverage and lift and as a result, makes you feel good about yourself. Healthwise, it gives you a better posture, it won’t dig into your breast tissue and feels like second skin.
What is the brand USP?
Seasonless, timeless, and democratic, the Nykd by Nykaa range of bras is the everyday solution for women of all shapes and sizes. The brand celebrates second-skin feeling, empowering all women to be comfortable and embrace self-love without any inhibition. We have offerings for all shapes and sizes and cater to women across different body types.
The brand has a good online presence, then why a physical store?
Nykd by Nykaa is available across 750 touch points across brick and mortar stores. We want to be wherever our customers are. As an inclusive, body positive brand built on the pillars of convenience, comfort and tech, a physical store allows more consumers to see, touch and experience the brand. Nykd has been well received across a wide consumer spectrum and this move makes it accessible to even more people.
How has your experience been in Hyderabad?
It’s only been a few days since we opened our first store in Hyderabad, and the response has been quite positive. Consumers are appreciating the options on offer and the ease of purchase that we have ensured in our store.
What next?
More great products, more consumers, and more love for the brand. We will continue to bring the choice of comfortable and second-skin options to women and simplify lingerie conversations.