“Lingerie is the most personal and intimate piece of clothing a woman can wear.

What is expected is nothing less than perfection be the size, colour or the fit and if it’s not on point then women usually seek options elsewhere.” – Radhika Goenka.

Heiress to a billion dollar textile empire, Radhika Goenka makes a departure from towels and bed linen to lingerie. The heiress to the Welspun Group has started her own line of women’s innerwear.

LingerieShop, is a one-stop shop, covering A range of all categories, be it sexy lingerie, shapewear,  bras, panties, and sleepwear.

The LingerieShop has you covered with their in-house brands, where you can find from office wear to boudoir! Sleepwear to resort wear, they insist on quality, and have a minimum AQL of 4.0! Only premium-bespoke products and the best quality at the best prices. Her lingerie is created and conceptualised to be fun, comfortable and well-fitted.

The young lady, who recently turned entrepreneur with her own venture says,

“Lingerie is a KEY product and something which is very close to my heart. After studying fashion and specialising in Lingerie for 1 year The LingerieShop was destined to be my next move.”

In a conversation with Radhika Goenka about her latest venture, The LingerieShop.

Tell us about yourself and your family background.

Radhika Goenka: “After completing my bachelor’s in Fashion Business from London College of Fashion, with a specialisation in Lingerie I began my career working with one of my family owned world brands, CHRISTY U.K, the supplier of Wimbledon towels.  After doing that for a while I moved back to India to start my own venture.  Since Lingerie was something that I was inclined towards I decided to make that my career option. I started this venture 5 years ago and am determined to provide a convenient high-quality product to my customer through TLS. My vision for the company is to break the stereotype in intimate wear by offering bespoke products with a serious mix of fun, sexy, fit and comfort. My father has always been an inspiration to me and I would like to follow in his footsteps and instil his business acumen in everything I do and from my mother I get her amicability & due diligence, I guess that’s where it all comes from.”

 What was it like working in the family business?  Or any other previous work prior to The LingerieShop.

R.G: “It’s been a great source of learning and has helped me understand the finer nuances when it comes to building a business. Whether it is Christy, UK or at SPACES in INDIA, I have worked in both companies and understood the market nationally and globally. With that being said, there are something’s you can only learn when you start your own venture and through The LingerieShop I am doing that every single day.”

What spurred the approach towards lingerie segment and why now?

R.G: “My aim is to make it the SECOND SKIN ™ with every sub – brand by TLS. Starting from our first collection Be Mine to the next upcoming 6 brands, It’s an amalgamation of innovation and finesse, where we are breaking stereotypes on a day to day basis.  The idea is to create a house of star brands, ranging from bras – shapewear to swimwear and sportswear. This idea was always there, it got nurtured over the years! It has been a journey from Wellesley to Harvard to Spaces to Christy, And I look forward to nurturing it and growing it further.”

 Why a lingerie vending machine?

R.G: We aspire to give only innovative products to our customer and the vending machine is the by product of just that!  the vending machine is our innovation, by which we aim at making the brand and our products more accessible and consumer friendly to our customer, I wanted to create a fun exciting aspect around lingerie which is consumer friendly of course like our core product and at the same time convenient for our customer. through the vending machine, we aim at providing all lingerie solutions with the machine. The machine is user-friendly, with a screen where you can see the products, closely, examine the details. We plan on having one salesperson on each machine, to guide our customers, We plan on installing them at major touch points in the country.

How hands-on were you during the development stage?

R.G: “Very hands on- from the inception of the idea to launching the final product I have been a part of every day of the product’s growth. However, I feel our journey has just begun and we have miles to go before we reach the stage we are determined to be on.”

 Do you think Indians mindset is open to buying lingerie in public?

R.G: “That’s the mould I want to break. We won’t know until we try, will we? Also, the products in the vending machine are fully packaged — it’s not like you’ll be pulling out a bra or panty in public. What’s inside the box is known only to you.”

 How can the vending machine tackle the issue of size, and cater to a customer base that is largely used to lingerie trials?

R.G:  “The machine can tackle all the basic issues. The sizes are mentioned on each tray where the products will be kept. The customer can punch in the product code and tap in the sizes they are looking for, post choosing their desired product the machine will vend out the bra/panty.  The customer can swipe their credit cards or use notes to make the purchase. However, if the product does not fit them well, there is always an option of a 48-hour return policy.”

How Do You Plan to Market Lingerie?  What Would Be The Product and Price Range?

R.G: ” We are looking at marketing across all channels, a 360-degree approach if I may say so.  Our products range form 499 – 4999. All the manufacturing is currently done from China.”

How Big Are Your Collections At The Moment?

R.G:  “Our BE MINE by the TLS collection has around 59 styles at the moment and we are looking at adding another 60 styles by this year end. Simultaneously have our next sub-brand Hello Sugar launching in August! Which is another 20-40 styles! From baby dolls and teddies to the staples, bra and panty.”

Could you tell us about your first collection ‘be mine’…

R.G: “Be Mine is our first all-black line! This collection mainly focusses on shapewear!.”

Which lingerie brands (Internationally and Nationally) are your personal favourites?

R.G: “Mimi holiday and ERES are my personal favourites.”

 What are your thoughts on the competition that’s there in the market.

R.G: “It’s growing and there are few interesting players out there in the market.”

“My family and friends have been very supportive through my entire journey and are as optimistic and excited about this venture.”- Radhika Goenka.