Nobody can stop you! The duo of these sisters have shown this to the world
Business is not as easy and smooth as it often looks from the outside. As per a survey, 95% of businesses fail in the first few years. Entrepreneurship is a tough, harsh road full of failures, rejections, frustration, and anxiety. And being in an industry that is often perceived as negative makes it even worse.
One such industry is Hair extensions. In India, people have a pretty negative perception of it, and to establish it as a business requires you to change this perception. Today we will talk about a brand that has done this and is leading the market now with almost 30+ crore of revenue per year and around 30-35% of profit margin.
This is the story of two sisters, Richa and Raina, who showed the world that nothing is impossible if you are committed to going for it. Let’s get inspired by the journey of the sister duo and how they created a big human hair extension brand called “1 Hair Stop” which is revolutionizing the industry and had a turnover of around 30 crores in a short span of time.
The Past of the Founders of 1 Hair Stop.
The story starts with the two sisters, Richa and Raina, during their school years in Hyderabad. Both of them go to the same school. Even though they were different in their personalities, they shared many things. One of them has the same friends and a love for tennis. They both played tennis at the national level, too.
After the 10th class, both sisters chose different schools. Richa moved to Little Flower Junior College till her class 12th and she completed her graduation from St. Francis College. She did her bachelor’s in Management Studies and completed her degree in 2013.
Meanwhile, Raina completed her education at 12th standard from CHIREC International School and then later completed her higher education at St. Francis College, Raina also opted for a Bachelor’s in Management Studies and completed her degree in 2015.
Different roads, but the same destination: 1 Hair Stop.
As the sister duo completed their education, both embarked on different journeys in their careers. While Richa fully committed herself to her father’s business, Raina, on the other hand, started to do something else. She moved into digital marketing and started to make a career on her own.
But the entrepreneurial dream was still alive in Raina. Even though she was doing great in the digital marketing job, when her sister called, she quit and joined her in their dad’s business and started managing the sales. And further started 1 Hair Stop.
Expanding the heritage of their father: From Supplier to manufacturer
Their father was already in the hair supply business, and he was exporting raw hair and doing well, but the business was not wide and big. It was these duo sisters who changed the landscape of this business completely.
They saw a big opportunity in terms of increasing demand for hair extensions. And thus they decided to transform from suppliers into manufacturers. They started it in Hyderabad in the year 2019. And the foreign market welcomed them, but the biggest challenge came when they started focusing on India.
The Biggest Challenge: Creating demand for the product
This is where they faced a major challenge to Indian society. A hair extension was seen as a product and just as a “wig” that some people use. Overall, the Indian people have a very negative image of human hair extensions.
So, the sister decided to change the image of the society that hair extensions can be used for many purposes. This was hard at first, but over the years, the results are showing up, and women’s perceptions are changing about the different hair extensions and how they can be used for covering up for different medical reasons to hairstyle as well.
The Branding Process: From Idea to Customer Relationship
The products at 1 Hair Stop are fully manufactured at their father’s manufacturing unit. At first, when they ventured into the hair extension business, they saw many glaring issues and some wrong practices in that industry. They know they have to remove the negative connotations related to hair extensions and hair toppers.
Both the sisters were very clear from the start that they needed to build a strong brand image. It was an essential aspect of their business success. They carefully crafted a strong and authentic brand image, especially for Indian Women.
The Power of Social Media
The knowledge of Raina about digital marketing helped her a lot, and she started her own Instagram channel as their target audience spent most of their time on Instagram.
In the first 6 months, only 1 Hair Stop had gained 10,000 followers, and within the next 6 months, due to their smart strategy and the lockdown, they gathered a following of 100k.
They ran great marketing campaigns to promote positivity towards hair extensions. And with their smart strategy and persistence, they convinced everyone to see the wonderful side of Hair extensions.
Quality Matters: Sourcing and Product Development
In the whole hair industry, finding high-quality human hair is one of the primary challenges. But fortunately, their father already had access to high-quality human hair from the Tirupati Balaji temples in Andhra Pradesh. He used to sell raw hair from here to overseas.
When the duo sisters came together, they realised that their father had gold that could solve the problems of millions. Thus, they started a hair extension brand giving the finest quality in the market that can last upto 10 years with proper care. And this brand was 1 Hair Stop.
Their 60,000 to 30+ Crore Odyssey: Small Investment, Massive Returns
Started with a small investment of just 60,000 out of which 50,000 went for inventory, and since Raina had been into digital marketing, she knew the importance of a good website. Thus, their remaining 10,000 was invested on their website.
In the initial tough times, they used to receive 50-100 orders a month, but today, 1 hair stop receives around or more than 3,500 orders of hair extensions and hair toppers every month.
Their revenue for the last fiscal year(2022-2023) was 27 crore, and the revenue for even the previous fiscal year(2021-2022) was 20 crore, and for the fiscal year (2020-2021) was 11 crore.
The two sisters ran the business from their house at first, but now they have a team of 15 people. The majority of the clientele comes from metro cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.
The Next Chapter: What Awaits the Sisters in Hair Extensions Business
The duo sisters, Raina and Richa, have not stopped at this achievement. They are planning to make it even bigger in the market.
One of their plans is to make an investment of 60 lakh rupees to launch their first experiential center in Hyderabad. Currently, they are focusing on this. And their revenue goal for the fiscal year 2023-2024 is 34-35 crore, and their current stats show that they would be able to achieve it as well.
Conclusion
The story of 1 Hair Stop is filled with courage and a true inspiration for entrepreneurs everywhere. There is nothing impossible if you have the heart to go for it. Just keep dreaming big and start the journey of achieving it.
The Story of Richa and Raina and their business of human hair extension is the true source of inspiration for women everywhere. With this, this success story comes to an end and we wish 1 Hair Stop the very best of luck for their future.
