UK's first online ethnic marketplace ‘Desi High Street’ launches Friday 4th December 2015
UK's first online ethnic marketplace ‘Desi High Street’ launches Friday 4th December 2015
UK – December 1st, 2015 – New online marketplace Desi High Street is the ultimate shopping destination for #AllThingsEthnic. Founded by entrepreneur and mum Kuljit Thiaray, Desi High Street (http://desihighstreet.com/) is an online platform for independent retailers who sell ethnic, ‘Desi’ and South Asian goods.
Having left a successful career in higher education and healthcare to pursue her business, Kuljit is dedicated to digitalising a key UK market:
“Our vision is to bring the UK's ethnic market online, on to one website. We have set out to digitalise a mainly non-digital industry in the UK, and to support small businesses in the process. This market has been successful in India, but in the UK retailers have not fully embraced e-commerce. Desi High Street is responding to the changing needs of customers and the fact that the UK’s ethnic market has not kept up with them.”
Her business innovation has already been recognised, as a finalist in The Times Ready Business Mentor Programme and by gaining a place on the Entrepreneurial Spark business accelerator programme in Leeds.
“As an initiative, Desi High Street offers home based, online and community based businesses an additional channel to sell their ethnic merchandise on a marketplace that is specifically for all things ethnic. We provide support and guidance for independent retailers of ethnic goods,” continues Kuljit, “who may be new to ecommerce. As our selling partners, these businesses will also benefit from our national marketing strategy and they will be visible to a wider customer group. As a start-up, we will start small and allow feedback from our selling partners and customers to shape our offering.”
Desi is slang for South Asian but it also means ‘originating from elsewhere’. Therefore, a Desi High Street is a street with shops selling items that have their roots and origins in another part of the world. Kuljit aims to bring a hand-picked selection of UK retailers together to create an online marketplace on a virtual Desi High Street:
“We have huge ambitions and would like to support the UK’s ethnic market in a similar way to how ASOS marketplace supports new fashion brands and vintage boutiques, and Not on the High Street supports creative small businesses.”
Desi High Street will provide customers with choice, convenience and confidence when shopping online. From saris to masalas, Desi High Street provides day to day items and great gift ideas, whilst creating a platform to support and encourage a community of retailers of ethnic merchandise to sell successfully online.