Interview: Q&A with the founder of xoxotees.com

Chennai / 03 May, 2013

Mohamed Niyaz with Mohammed Ali's Statue at Madame Tussauds

xoxotees.com is a chennai based startup with its founder as Mohamed Niyaz. This e-commerce start-up aims to cater to the young Indian men with finest graphic tees.T-shirts sold at xoxotees.com are designed in-house and represent a hobby or an activity which one can relate to. The brand xoxotees.com currently sells 10 different designs of graphic tees and are expecting to launch more designs in the future.

Co Founders: Sabeeullah, Lordsun

Funding: Riyaz, Athaullah, Sameeruddin
Launched: 2011

Employees: 4

On FAQ with Mohamed Niyaz : Why the name xoxotees ?

Our company is small, dynamic and very young one with all staff in early 20s while me, the CEO is in mid-30s. We wanted to choose a name that reflects our youthful orientation and also, our target customers are the growing young population in India, which today is estimated to be 60% of the overall population. Moreover, the prefix “xoxo” stands for hugs and kisses in youthful chat lingo.

Why only e-commerce  and not physical store?

Since we are focusing the young population, and at the same time want to offer best quality fabric for the price, our strategy is to keep the cost low by controlling the overheads. We have very few indirect costs as we operate out of our home office. However, a physical store in future is not out of consideration.

Only T shirts? How about shoes and Caps as there is a market for the same !

Since we are small and growing, we want to remain very nimble by taking very little time to bring our new designs to market. We work with our suppliers who work with state of the art machinery to ensure quick turnaround time. We intend focusing on what we are best at for the moment and that is just t-shirts.

Who do you see as competitors?

There is room for everybody in the massive e-commerce space in India and yes, there are several  established e-commerce companies in India whom we count as competitors.

What are the challenges you face in day to day business life?

Since we are a startup, understandably our budget is very limited and the financial insecurity is definitely an ongoing concern. Due to limited rupees, we have had to workaround by coming up with innovative strategies. Every day is a different one for us at xoxotees.com

Would you recommend anyone to start a clothing line? If so what will be the tips? 

Absolutely. If you think you can stomach the risks, and you have what it takes to succeed, go for it. Keep in mind, it is well known in the community that one in 10 startups fail in the first 5 years and a further one in 10 fail after that. As with all statistics, take that statistic with a pinch of salt, but if you feel you have what it takes to be counted among the successful ones, take that leap.