In May, a Plymouth entrepreneur will be one of 47 women honored by the Minneapolis\/St. Paul Business Journal for their contributions. Nila Chakraborty saw a need in the marketplace, so she created ShopBollyWear.com for online Indian fashions.
\nFrom her Plymouth home, Chakraborty sells thousands of Bollywood-inspired fashions for women, men, and children.
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t go back to India all the time, so we try to bring Bollywear to you,\u201d says Chakraborty.
\nChakraborty launched her business two years ago, after seeing others struggle to find Indian fashions in her previous work as a wedding planner.
\n\u201cDuring big festivals like Diwali, holy Navratri, Eid is coming up, this is where you would wear these products,\u201d says Chakraborty of the clothing she sells.
\nFrom hand-stitched sarees that can sell for up to $200 to Kahmiri jackets and kurtas, Chakraborty sells garments and jewelry that are delivered to doorsteps around the country.
\n\u201cI pick out the clothes. I make sure that what my customers are getting are the real products they see online,\u201d says Chakraborty.
\nEmploying between 5-10 others, Chakraborty also works with curators in India that go directly to the weavers and manufacturers to specify the designs and colors. That assures a level of quality that has earned Chakraborty and ShopBollyWear.com many customers.
\nA New Business Venture in the Works
\nSince the Indian fashions Chakraborty sells are for special occasion events, a saree may be worn just once before it ends up in the closet. It\u2019s that thought that has led Chakraborty to her next business idea: TradeBollyWear.com.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not like you can go and take these products to Goodwill, and they will be bought or donated by Goodwill, so we thought of TradeBollyWear.com, where you can go and sell and buy your own products there,\u201d says Chakraborty.
\nThink of it like an eBay or craigslist for Indian fashions. TradeBollyWear.com is Chakraborty\u2019s next business venture coming this fall.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a two-way street for the consumer and the seller to buy and sell the product, so it\u2019s a win, win for everyone,\u201d says Chakraborty.
\nAlexandra Renslo, reporting<\/p>\n
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