Remaining Competitive in a Saturated Industry – An Interview with Remy & Virgin’s Sheela Krishnan

We sat down with Sheela Krishnan, president of Remy & Virgin Hair Extensions. Remy & Virgin aims to be a game-changer in an oversaturated industry by focusing on top quality, ethically sourced, raw hair extensions. With its family presence in India, the company can seamlessly vertically integrate the sourcing and manufacturing processes, ensuring a consistent and reliable product for its customers.

Sheela, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us the mission behind Remy & Virgin?

Thanks for having me! Our mission is to provide hair as pure and divine as it gets! Our bundles are of high quality, long-lasting, and worth every penny. Remy & Virgin has a unique selling proposition to provide only the finest selected, top-notch quality RAW INDIAN HAIR EXTENSIONS as pure and divine as possible to those who enjoy and appreciate the luxury experience and high quality, as it gets to all our customers. We never use chemicals to alter the texture of the hair. We take special care to ensure that the customers get the best hair extensions. We procure, wash, & manufacture the hair ourselves, which helps us provide top-quality hair consistently. India is the only country where women tonsure their hair for spiritual enlightenment.

It sounds like sourcing is very important to you guys. What inspired you to start this company?

The current hair industry is very unregulated and is shady. Most of the hair extensions sold in the market are cheap quality non-Remy hair. These cheap hairs are processed and coated with silicon or mixed with synthetics and fibers and sold with confusing names to disguise the real quality to scam people. These hairs will not last even a few months. I have a strong bond with hair as my immediate family members have been in this business back in India for many years. That helps us secure the premium quality Raw & Virgin Indian hair ethically sourced from South Indian temples before it gets sold to the rest of the world. We as a company would like to provide value to our customers by providing the best hair for the best price. While many brands are selling their products in a price range starting from $149 up to $300 a bundle. Our prices start from $69 and go up only up to $140 for a 30-inch hair for the same Top Quality. We also do wholesale for our wholesale clients at the very best price.

Wow, I was unaware the supply issues were so rampant; given all that, what were the most significant challenges you’ve faced when starting out?

Covid was one of the biggest challenges we faced in our business. After Covid, the temples were closed often due to lockdowns, and the no of people who went to the temple for tonsure also came down, and there has been a severe shortage in supply of hair. We also had a significant increase in production cost due to the measures we had to follow for social distancing & the operational impact of using fewer factory workers. We still held off increasing the price for all our existing customers and had to absorb all the costs while providing the same hair quality and customer service.

I can imagine that would put a severe strain on operations. Do you feel there are fundamental differences between different generations when using your product?

Hair extensions have nowadays become a fashion statement. People use hair extensions to enhance their look by adding hair to have more volume and length. Young girls are so fond of Different Styles that they install their hair and get colored to get unique Desired Styles.

Interesting, as I’ve always felt they had utility as both a fashion accessory and a necessary tool for certain people. How do you guys differentiate yourself from competitors, especially since that market seems saturated?

There are only a few brands in this industry selling quality hair. We are one of the very few brands that are exclusively selling only Top Quality Raw Indian hair as pure and natural as it is taken off the scalp from the donor. We are Selling Top Quality South Indian RAW Hair which is only in Natural Texture, Untouched by Chemicals or silicones, Unprocessed, and 100 % Cuticle Intact. In contrast, the majority of brands in the hair industry sell low-quality processed hair.

In that case, given the nature of the product, do you have any plans to extend to other countries or markets?

We are already shipping to many international countries like Canada, London, and some European countries like France, Italy, Chile, Sweden, etc. As our international client base grows, I plan to open warehouses in a Few Countries.

That’s great to know! What would you say was the most memorable experience in the entire process?

Every day is memorable as we interact with new clients almost every day, everyone is different, and every day is learning.

I can definitely see that! What strategies do you use to overcome stress and the inevitable roadblocks for moving forward?

We sit, relax and analyze the cause for the stress, and we will take that as a learning and find a solution that will never put us in the same situation again.

I might need to try some of those myself! Which target market would be ideal for your product?

Our Audience is those who enjoy and appreciate the luxury experience of high-quality Premium Indian Hair.

So in terms of feedback, then, what are customers saying?

Since we provide the best quality hair and best customer service, we have an excellent client base, and everyone loves our hair and service, so most of them become repeat clients.

That’s always reassuring! Who has been your greatest source of inspiration?

All successful entrepreneurs are my inspiration. Everyone comes from a different background, different mindset, and different talents. So everyone’s success story is different, and it motivates me.

And that’s what we love to highlight here at Tech Culture! What were your greatest fears when starting up?

I had no fear because hair is not something new to me as it is our family business. I know I will succeed because we had complete control over the quality. Our family back in India was already in the business providing all the necessary support in manufacturing and procuring the hair ourselves.

So it seems like you have a long history in this business. How have the recent economic events affected this? What have you done to adapt?

The availability of hair has come down since covid, and the price of hair is rising every month and every quarter as the demand increases every day. Therefore, procuring hair has become our most significant challenge to meet the demand from our customers.

I can only imagine, but it seems you all are resilient as both a company and a brand! Sheela, thank you so much for your time. Where can readers learn more about Remy & Virgin?

My pleasure. Readers can learn more by checking out our website and products or by following us on Instagram. I’ll also share a video with your team so readers can view it below!