Lifestyle retailer Fabindia has a new focus in terms of its target audience. Ever since Dipali Patwa came onboard Fabindia as the group head of brand and community, there has been a strong mandate to understand the population that's 35 and under and address this consumer group. Fifteen months into her joining, the company is now set to launch two new brands -- FabNU and Fabessentials -- geared towards millennials and the GenZ.

"We have had communities and generations of people buying from us since our inception. But 65 percent of our population is 35 or younger and we have to address it. I’ve put a strong directive to understand 35 and under and there has been a strong effort in that direction through several launches and collections addressing 18-35-year-olds," Patwa told CNBC-TV18.

Set to launch at the end of July, FabNU will be a collection of western-wear clothes and home décor products focused on this age group. The pricing too will be slightly lower than what its apparels are priced at, ranging from Rs 900-1,500, Patwa said.

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Fabessentials, which will be launched in August or September this year, will be a range of natural products – 180 SKUs – ranging across skincare, haircare, among others. Patwa says that while Fabessentials is also geared towards the younger generation, the products will be for everyone and the pricing is expected to be mid-range.

However, personal care is not new to Fabindia – it has been selling personal care products for the past 4-5 years and Patwa said through the launch of Fabessentials, the company is relooking at its products in these categories and with more adoption of self-care post the pandemic, Fabindia is launching a larger range focusing a lot more on natural ingredients.

This is not all. The company, which is also reportedly eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of $1.5-2 billion and is in the process of hiring bankers for the same, has lined up several expansion plans in addition to the new brand launches. Despite COVID being a washout for Fabindia, Patwa said the company is convinced it will be able to return to its required run-rate with all the new initiatives in the works but declined to comment on the IPO.

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One such plan is expanding its home décor category on the back of people now laying a larger focus on their homes post-COVID -19. Most recently, Fabindia launched a 1,900 square feet concept store in Khan Market in Delhi that showcases only the company's home and lifestyle range. The idea behind the store is to showcase living and dining spaces, kitchens and even office set-ups for customers to draw inspiration from.

"Coming out of COVID-19, there has been an interesting shift in consumer behavior pattern when it comes to homes and home goods. People are now more focused on homes and are enjoying their time at home. We are excited about this category as consumers look to embrace and redesign their homes in this new era where homes will be both functional and productive spaces as well," Patwa said.

Patwa added that the store is a way for Fabindia to bring back focus on what the company started off as – a home décor player. Currently, home décor brings in 15-20 percent revenues to the company and Patwa said this is now a high-growth category for Fabindia and aims to increase its share to 35 percent of its revenues.

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While the Khan Market concept store is the first such store Fabindia has launched in the country, should it do well, it will look to launch more such stores going ahead. With the opening of the concept store, Fabindia currently has 308 stores across India and it plans to open 30 new stores this year.

In fact, the launch of its concept store is also part of the company’s larger strategy of being an experiential retail player rather than just an apparel and home décor retailer. This would see the company opening stores as experience centres where customers get to not only shop its range of apparel and home décor, but also get customized offerings, and also dine at its Fabcafe. "We will stay focused on an experiential retail model where the goal is there also being services beyond just the immediate need of shopping," Patwa said.

The company is also taking a similar approach for its digital platform that is currently in the works. The platform, referred to as the 'Shared Values digital platform' by Patwa, will be a commerce-driven platform for Fabindia’s products, but the goal she says is to lead it through content and community making it more of a social commerce platform. Patwa said they are looking to bring together the Fabindia community through this platform, while also bringing together brands that have a similar vision as Fabindia.

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The platform is expected to be ready within a year and the true nature of the platform, Patwa adds, will also depend on how the e-commerce rules in the country will pan out. "We are looking at e-commerce rules as well to get clarity. While they don’t affect Fabindia at this point and are directly related to marketplaces like Amazon, the situation is still dynamic," Patwa added.

Fabindia declined to comment on how the company's upcoming expansion plans will be funded but said that tech investments for the digital platform have been made and are in the process of execution. "We have already hired some key team members towards these initiatives as well as investments in tech, CRM and CX platforms towards accelerated digital growth," Patwa said.