Hola Rodinhooders,
It’s been a few weeks that we got introduced to Alok and we’ve been itching to introduce ourselves to this amazing community of like-minded people. (I’ve smiled and wow-ed after reading almost every blog/article on this website)
This is our journey at Dnuvo so far in the startup arena.
I have had big feet since college days (11.5 to be precise), and no brand has ever bothered to make half a size larger for me (And rightly so, I’m not Roger Federer). So I tried a few jugaads for a few years – hammered size 11 from the inside, kept shoe trees/wooden logs to open them up, got shoes made from cobblers – but nothing worked beyond a few months. Buying 25-30K shoes from London was never an affordable option for me.
In 2012, I discussed the problem with my sister-in-law (now co-founder), Rupam, who had good contacts in the shoe industry. We went out on a verification drive across major shopping streets in Delhi and spoke to a random sample of 500 men who were looking to buy shoes. Our findings were an eye-opener and we immediately discovered a problem which had been hidden (inside shoes) for quite some time – We have been buying what is available in terms of design and size instead of what suits us best. Further, the problem is confirmed by salesmen who start destroying the design of newly bought shoes with – “ek hafte mien thoda aur khul jayega”.
We started searching for shoe manufacturers who could do custom made shoes and in 2013, we found our partners. We went live in Feb 2014, ‘Dnuvo’ was born out of our love for ‘New Design’. Our concept of custom made shoes for men got the first few inquiries from women – rather, these were complaints about why weren’t we doing it for women. I’ve explained more about us in a video made by our friends at icustommadeit.com
Our proposition is simple – We come to you, show you our designs, understand your requirements, take your measurements and boom – you get your pair of shoes in 20-40 days and you don’t even have to leave your drawing room for all of that.
Since 2014, we have –
- Fixed the measurement process to avoid repeated trails
- Had two sets of new design launches
- Have found a shared home @ Jim Dandy (guys doing hand-basted bespoke suits for men) in Shahpur Jat
- Made shoes for some of the most amazing shoe aficionados in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
- Printed, embossed, embroidered monograms and initials on shoes
Now, we are running after our new milestones, improving the overall shoe ordering experience and staring at our Moonshot – to be a ‘Made in India’ global luxury footwear brand.
Like the concept? Go ahead, give it a spin, sign up for an outfitter appointment here.
We’d love to hear from all of you.
With love,
Pranav @ Dnuvo
Twitter: @dnuvoshoes