Undoubtedly, women are shattering barriers across all sectors today, and this transformative spirit extends to the Indian fashion retail industry too. India is rapidly emerging as a global fashion powerhouse, witnessing robust competition between different brands, all striving for excellence in quality and customer satisfaction.
In an industry primarily tailored to women, female business owners remain a minority. Women entrepreneurs encounter a distinct set of challenges that often differ from those faced by their male counterparts. Many women find themselves juggling multiple roles, but there are those who seamlessly balance these responsibilities, turning their entrepreneurial dreams into reality. Their remarkable achievements not only inspire but also pave the way for more women to venture into the fashion retail industry.
This week, IMAGES Business of Fashion presents the journey and growth of Ayushi Gudwani, a visionary entrepreneur and the creative force behind Fable Street – a revolutionary brand redefining women’s workwear.
About Ayushi Gudwani
Ayushi Gudwani previously worked at McKinsey for 6 years and 8 months, providing strategic and growth consulting to various Indian organizations and MNCs across various sectors. She holds an engineering degree from NSIT, Delhi and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, where she graduated with a silver medal. Presently, she is the Founder and CEO of Fable Street.
Career and Experience
- Ayushi completed her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2007
- After completing her MBA, she worked at McKinsey where she grew in her role from a Consultant to a Senior Engagement Manager
- At McKinsey, she led numerous engagements and clients across various sectors, providing strategic guidance to both McKinsey and client teams with diverse backgrounds and capabilities
- In 2015, she left her position as a Senior Engagement Manager to embark on her entrepreneurial journey
- Ayushi Gudwani founded FableStreet in September 2016
Roles and Responsibilities
About her current role and responsibilities at FS Life, Ayushi said, “I lead the entire company; overall strategy and direction. We have multiple senior people to lead individual functions. Being a fashion brand, a major part of my role is towards product development.”
Her Aspiration
As a founder and CEO of FS Life, Ayushi wants to churn out multiple-thousand-crore brands from her company
Ayushi’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths: Structural thinking, empathy, ability to balance between grand thinking and micro execution.
Weaknesses: While she’s a strong and logical thinker, she tends to act from her heart at times.
Her 3 Game-Changing Retail Technologies
- Merging of online and offline consumer data
- Smart Mirrors – Where customers can go into a store and see the look of a particular garment without actually trying it on
- Integrated Omnichannel interactions between the brand and its customers
Skills that Helped Her Succeed
Ayushi Gudwani said, “The ability to go deep into things allowed me to understand the A to Z of the fashion industry without any past experience of this space, and the ability to balance between design thinking and customer-first approach allows us to keep growing fast.”
Ayushi Gudwani’s Take on the Future of the Industry
According to her, “Retail fashion will keep growing; branded play is going to grow bigger as per capita income rises, and as the internet penetration grows and peoples’ trust in e-commerce grows, the percentage share of online retail will grow too. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are going to see a bigger wave of growth as well.”
Changes that She Inspired at FS Life
About this Ayushi said, “In our journey from 2016, we have done multiple innovations along the way. Just in time inventory model and FS algorithm, to name a few.”
