Starting a Clothing Brand: The Old Town Story

About this episode

School friends Afeef Khan, Basim Basheer, and Anzil Rahman share the story of building Old Town, a vintage thrift and surplus apparel brand based in Kerala. Inspired by finding winter garments on a trip to Kashmir, the founders initially sourced clothes from markets in Delhi and sold them via a WhatsApp group. After pooling funds to lease a rustic space near the airport, they faced severe initial struggles, including months of zero sales and losses from unseen, damaged wholesale bales. Their fortunes shifted when their minimalist, dialogue-free aesthetic video content went viral on Instagram, gaining millions of views and expanding their follower base rapidly. Customers across India began placing orders via direct messages and travelling long distances to visit the shop. The founders explain the distinction between surplus and thrift clothing, the difficulty of syncing single-item inventories across offline and online channels, and their upcoming transition to a structured website utilising a timed product drop model.

Key takeaways

1. 1Purchasing sealed thrift bales without inspection carries high risk due to unpredictable product sizing, fabric damage, and defective inventory.
2. 2Aesthetic visual storytelling without dialogue can overcome regional language barriers and build a nationwide audience on social media.
3. 3Selling one-of-a-kind vintage apparel requires separating offline retail stock from online inventory to avoid selling the same item twice.
4. 4Validating customer demand through WhatsApp communities and direct messages reduces initial software expenses for early-stage fashion brands.
5. 5Transitioning to a timed drop model creates purchase urgency and helps manage single-piece garment releases effectively.
6. 6Investing extra effort to hand-pick garments directly from wholesale suppliers substantially improves inventory quality and protects profit margins.

Chapters

1. 00:00Highlights
2. 01:33Introduction
3. 02:49How it's started
4. 04:59What is Surplus / Thrift?
5. 08:01First Failed Purchase
6. 11:03Started a Shop
7. 14:33Entry of Ansil & Operations
8. 21:20Business Down, Bad Time
9. 22:49Content Went Viral & Getting Sales
10. 30:38Website & Thrift is Risky - This is the Reason
11. 34:14Technical Blocks and Challenges
12. 38:51Steps of Online Business
13. 41:15AI and Conclusion