Offline project yet to take off, Namo Store plans revamp

Even as PM Modi is set to complete 100 days in office, the online merchandise movement ‘Namo Store’ is yet to see its brick-and-mortar offline store take off.

While online sales continue to grow at a steady 10 per cent, the volunteers-run online store has not been able to garner enough traction to push for offline stores.

According to some of the volunteers which are part of the store, change in mindset of consumers and limited volunteer strength led to deferment in the brick-and-mortar offline store project.

While the pre-election phase saw the Namo brand being accepted on the basis of PM Narendra Modi as a persona, the consumer mindset is shifting towards his ideology such as development, inclusive growth, good governance, etc.

“The offline project has not picked up so far. This is because our volunteer strength was limited so far.

“We couldn’t address the huge following of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in such a short span since the project is volunteer-based.

“Moreover, consumers are demanding change in product portfolio,” said Pragnendra Rahevar, Strategy and Product Management at The Namo Store.

For instance, as against just Namo t-shirt with an image of Modi, consumers are now demanding t-shirts to be designed based on the Prime Minister’s ideology and recent actions.

As part of its efforts to revamp itself, The Namo Store has been pushing for user participation.

“So far we had roughly around 135 SKUs. But we are now pushing for user based customisation and

inviting design suggestions and participation from Modi followers.

“We hope the re-launch will crack the stagnation through new design and new portfolio and push for accelerated growth in demand and sales,” said Rahevar.

Despite a steady 10 per cent growth rate, the store has so far garnered sales worth over Rs 70 lakh (Rs 7 million).

“However, what began as an initiative by around 25-odd volunteers is set to witness participation from over 1000 volunteers.

Moreover, the volunteer-based product design and strategy team is also deliberating on adding to the current product portfolio of t-shirts, stationary, USB, silver coins, tea, balm and ceramic products, among others.

Post revamp, The Namo Store hopes to expedite the offline project, especially due to the recent success of Namo tea and Namo balm products that have seen sales of over 70,000 units each in 100 cities across 10 states.

“We are working on certain ways to go about the offline project with minimal expenses and overheads.

“This will take some time since we are heavily focused on offering quality products. “We will have to filter and identify genuine enquiries for offline stores.

“We want the Namo Store to be a catalyst in attracting the youth towards good governance and overall development of the country,” Rahevar added.

Meanwhile, as against pre-elections when sales on the online store was segmented and restricted to certain geographies, post elections it has spread out into other regions like North East and South India.

Photograph, courtesy: The NaMo Store