Starting an e-commerce business in India can begin on a small scale and gradually grow into a large online business. The journey of Lakshya Batra, founder of GM Looks, shows how practical experience, product sourcing, customer feedback, quality control and proper business systems can play an important role in scaling an online business.
From Class 12 to Starting an Online Business
Lakshya Batra started his business journey after completing Class 12. In 2015, at the age of 17, he moved from Khurja, Uttar Pradesh, to Delhi.
He learned about the footwear business in Karol Bagh and travelled across India to understand the market, sell products, show samples to retailers and collect payments.
In 2018, he started his wholesale B2B business.
Later, he moved towards the B2C and D2C business model. GM Looks was launched around the end of 2022, mainly focusing on women’s footwear.
What Products Does GM Looks Sell?
GM Looks mainly sells footwear, including:
- Women’s heels
- Women’s shoes
- Long shoes
- Sneakers
- Crocs
The brand later added clothing and handbags to its own website.
The products are available through multiple marketplaces, including Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Ajio, Meesho and Snapdeal. The brand also has its own website and launched an app.
How Much Does an E-commerce Business Sell?
According to the discussion, the business has grown significantly from its early stage.
From September 2022 to March 31, 2023, total sales were around ₹400. Today, monthly sales are above ₹1.40 crore according to the discussion.
The business processes around 2,500 to 3,000 orders per day.
Its warehouse covers approximately 22,000 square feet, with around 60 to 70 people handling different operations.
How to Manage an E-commerce Warehouse
The warehouse handles order processing, inventory, quality checking, packaging and returns.
When an order arrives, the order slip is generated first. The product is then picked from the warehouse and brought to the packing station.
The product is checked again before packaging.
Packing videos are also recorded for every package. These videos can be used when there is a dispute regarding an order or a customer claim.
The inventory is organised using software, with addresses assigned to products so that the required items can be located.
How to Handle E-commerce Returns
Returns are one of the major challenges in online business, especially in the footwear industry.
According to the discussion, GM Looks experiences customer returns of around 18% to 20%.
Common reasons include incorrect sizing, fitting issues and customers not liking the product after receiving it.
The business focuses on quality control so that customers receive good-quality products.
Returned products are checked and finished again when possible. New labels and packaging can be added so that products can return to inventory in good condition.
Products that can be cleaned or repaired are fixed, while products that cannot be properly restored may be disposed of.
Why Quality Control Is Important in Online Business
The discussion highlights the importance of proper QC before products reach customers.
GM Looks has a QC process for incoming products. Products are checked before being placed into inventory.
The business also records packaging videos. If a customer makes a claim about receiving an incorrect product, the packaging video can be provided to the platform.
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How to Find a Winning Product for E-commerce
According to Lakshya Batra, there is no fixed winning product.
Instead, sellers should take products in small quantities and keep testing them.
Customer feedback is important during this process.
Products that sell well become hero products, while products that do not perform can be removed or sold at discounts.
How Many Products Should a New E-commerce Seller Start With?
For a new seller, the recommendation in the discussion is to start with one product.
The seller should conduct proper R&D on that product and launch it with good quality and suitable pricing.
After understanding the product and market, the seller can gradually increase the product range.
Marketplace or Own Website?
According to the discussion, beginners can start with marketplaces because marketplaces already have customers.
A seller with limited capital can begin by selling through marketplaces, understand how e-commerce works and gradually build the business.
An own website requires more investment in marketing and customer acquisition.
GM Looks receives around 25% to 30% of its sales from its own website and is working to promote its own website to reduce dependence on marketplaces.
Why Build Your Own E-commerce Website?
Depending entirely on one marketplace can create problems if the marketplace changes its terms or commission structure.
The discussion also mentions an earlier experience where B2B platforms shut down and inventory became stuck.
Because of this experience, the business decided to diversify its sales channels instead of depending on a single platform. In our Blogging category you can learn more things.
How to Get Orders from Your Own Website
The website uses several marketing methods:
- Organic marketing
- Content marketing
- Meta Ads
- UGC videos
- Influencer collaborations
- Customer offers
The business also uses prepaid-order offers to encourage customers to pay in advance and reduce COD-related issues.
For influencer marketing, the business mainly uses barter collaborations with micro and nano influencers, where products are provided in exchange for content.
How to Source Products for an E-commerce Business
Product sourcing and designing are handled directly by the founder.
The business works with more than 100 vendors/factories that manufacture products for the brand.
Raw materials are also supplied in many cases, while manufacturing is handled by the associated factories.
The discussion emphasises that strong sourcing is important because selling becomes easier when the sourcing system is strong.
How to Manage Inventory in E-commerce
Inventory management is another important part of an online business.
The business has around 900 different styles or style IDs and is approaching 1,000 designs.
Products that do not sell are given higher discounts and cleared through the website and marketplaces.
The goal is to keep refreshing the catalogue instead of keeping only the same products.
At the same time, products that sell quickly are maintained as hero products.
Why You Should Not Keep Too Much Inventory
The discussion warns against buying excessive inventory simply because a product is selling well.
A product that is performing strongly today can stop selling later and become dead stock.
Therefore, sellers should scale according to actual sales data instead of assumptions.
The approach is to increase inventory gradually as sales increase.
Also Read: How Nitesh Built a ₹3 Crore Digital Product Business From a Laptop
How to Scale an E-commerce Business from Lakhs to Crores
A business that is already generating sales needs proper systems and a team to scale further.
According to the discussion, selling at the lakh level can be handled with limited systems, but reaching crore-level sales requires:
- Building a team
- Training employees
- Creating systems
- Reducing dependence on the founder
- Organising business operations
The founder needs to gradually remove himself from every daily task so the business can operate through the team and systems.
E-commerce Advertising and Marketing
The business spends around 2% to 3% of total sales on marketplace advertising, according to the discussion.
Ads are used on platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra and Ajio.
For its own website, Meta Ads are also used.
The discussion states that current Meta Ads spending is approximately ₹70,000 to ₹1 lakh per month.
Website Sales Report
The website sales report shown during the discussion showed approximately ₹1.58 crore in sales for the previous month, with around 12,000 orders from the website.
The website was built using Shopify.
The discussion also showed live website visitors, with around 102 visitors at that time and higher numbers during the evening.
How to Start an E-commerce Business in India
For someone who wants to start an e-commerce business in India, the discussion gives a simple approach:
- Start instead of overthinking.
- Begin on a small scale.
- Test the market.
- Take customer feedback.
- Start with one product.
- Focus on quality.
- Build a hero product.
- Scale products that perform well.
- Stop products that do not sell.
- Build systems and a team as the business grows.
Important E-commerce Lessons
The discussion highlights several practical lessons:
| Area | Key Lesson |
|---|---|
| Product | Start with one product and test it |
| Quality | Maintain proper QC |
| Inventory | Do not overstock |
| Returns | Learn to manage returns properly |
| Sourcing | Build strong sourcing |
| Marketing | Use organic and paid marketing |
| Marketplace | Start small and test the market |
| Website | Build your own channel gradually |
| Scaling | Create systems and a team |
| Data | Make decisions based on sales data |
Final Thoughts
The journey discussed in the podcast shows that an online business also requires hard work. Starting small and gradually increasing operations can help a seller understand the market.
The main message is to start the work, stay consistent and focus on the work being done. Whether it is business or a job, doing the work with dedication is important.
For a new seller, the focus should be on small-scale testing, customer feedback, product quality, strong sourcing, inventory management and gradually building systems.
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