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BollyWoo to make a foray into movie tourism

BollyWoo, a recently established e-commerce start-up that sells wardrobe replicas of what actors and actresses wear in Bollywood films, is foraying into tourism of a new kind.

It says it plans to offer tours to the destinations featured in movies.

Launched this April, it has already tied up with some film production houses for sourcing rights to outfits worn by actors. It sells 25 to 30 pieces a day. The portal has a range of outfits worn by actors in popular new-age films such as Tamasha, Cocktail, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and Roy, among others, catering to all sizes.

“Bollywood has always been a magical destination for many Indians, who are passionate about movies and their stars. The myriad elements of movies have inspired many, and fashion remains one of the most sought elements. We at BollyWoo are bridging these two worlds by bringing the latest Bollywood fashion to our consumers through our tie-ups with various production houses,” said Vinayak Kalani, Managing Director.

On the new step, adds Aayush Zanzari, Finance and Project Head: “Instead of just seeing the movie, we want them to experience it. One way is to dress like the character. The other way is to go to the locations where the movie had been shot. For instance, suddenly after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Spain became one of the top tourist destinations for Indians. We are working on getting bookings for such locations.

 “Through this initiative, we can plan for our consumers to wear the same outfit and visit the same location, for which we will do the bookings. Locations and apparel accessories are the two ways we want the audience to experience the movie.”

The company is also expanding in the apparel segment. Having launched at selling two-three outfits a day and now at 25-30 a day, it says it expects to go up to 200 apiece a day in six months. At an average price of Rs 1,500 per piece, that would mean daily sales of Rs 3 lakh, up from Rs 30,000-35,000 now.

Says Zanzari: “We are increasingly taking up new movies. Over a period of time, we will be having different collections. We are also trying to ensure the day a movie is released, the stocks would be available online. Till now, we were getting it manufactured only from Maharashtra. We are now in talks with a few manufacturers in Gujarat for outsourcing traditional outfits.”

BollyWoo, he says, is also tying up with Carnival Cinemas for advertising and gifting of the former’s vouchers with movie tickets.

The start-up has a team of fashion designers who watch movies to gauge which outfits will see greater traction among the audience, and then plan the design and manufacturing.

Boasting a less than five per cent returns rate, it has contracted with courier agencies, claiming to deliver within three days.

Source: Business Standard