Sanatkada: Giving Wings to Dreams

Description

Sanatkada is a retail outlet for traditional handicraft items, hand-woven garments and fabrics. In 2006, Sanatkada was established to bring to the people of Lucknow a wide choice of arts and crafts from all over India. The outlet has been appreciated for its exhibitions, social efforts and unique methods of conducting business. However, this has not all translated into revenue. While commercial activity is one goal of Sanatkada, its founder feels very strongly about issues related to women's empowerment and has also brought a not-for-profit component to the business. This hybrid model of doing business is difficult to balance. The goal of the case is to work out the possible alternatives that would enable Sanatkada's founder to retain the spirit of Sanatkada, while simultaneously empowering her staff and making the social initiatives self-sustainable.

Learning Objective

·Understand the challenges faced in the Indian handicrafts sector. ·Appreciate the innovative approaches taken up by a small outlet for attracting and retaining its customer base. ·Gain an insight into the issues of a hybrid model having both for-profit and not-for-profit components. ·Understand strategic concerns facing a small retail outlet and appreciate the innovations in marketing and presentation that often sustain such businesses.

Keywords

Handicrafts India Marketing not-for-profit