How to Build Saree Brand: Strategy, Systems, AI & Profit Prasad Chalavadi FO498 Raj Shamani

To know more, check out: Guest Suggestion Form: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Disclaimer: This video is intended solely for educational purposes and opinions shared by the guest are his personal views. We do not intent to defame or harm any person/ brand/ product/ country/ profession mentioned in the video. Our goal is to provide information to help audience make informed choices. The media used in this video are solely for informational purposes and belongs to their respective owners. (00:00) - Intro (02:46) - How can one build a saree business in India? (17:19) - What would 30 people in the backend do in a saree business? (21:14) - Was there a strategy behind targeting the middle class and upper middle class? (32:08) - Introducing international shopping experience to Indians (43:16) - How does he keep track of things happening in his store? (45:00) - One or two AI patterns that surprised him (50:51) - What's the biggest mistake he made and regrets? (58:08) - How does he beat giants like Tata & Reliance? (1:00:00) - Top 3 data points which are very important for him (1:02:52) - India's wedding economy (1:06:40) - Gen Zs are going to keep our culture alive (1:10:20) - Have sarees moved from daily wear to occasion wear? (1:15:44) - Are ready draped sarees becoming a trend? (1:17:20) - How he manages inventory (1:18:28) - Is he facing competition online? (1:23:03) - One opportunity in his industry in which people can build a business (1:26:26) - What's one problem in his life he would pay someone to solve? (1:27:41) - BTS (1:28:22) - Outro In today’s episode, we sit down with Nagakanaka Durga Prasad Chalavadi, Founder and Managing Director of SSKL. We talk about how he started by selling just 300 sarees from a basement, why the saree market is still highly unorganized, and how he identified a large opportunity in it. The conversation also covers how he scaled using cluster-based expansion, why controlling the supply chain improved both cost and quality, and how trust and pricing play an important role in emotional categories like sarees. He also explains how systems like data, MIS, and the smart use of AI in retail can improve sales, forecasting, and customer understanding. This episode breaks down practical lessons on building and scaling a business in India.

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How to Build Saree Brand: Strategy, Systems, AI & Profit Prasad Chalavadi FO498 Raj Shamani is an episode from Figuring Out with Raj Shamani by Raj Shamani.

This episode is 01:29:21 long.

This episode was published on Apr 18, 2026.

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