

Sai Silks (Kalamandir) Private Limited (SSKL) is one of South India’s top retailers of ethnic clothing. The group began its journey in 2005 and now has a network of more than 68 retail locations. Its brands “Kalamandir,” “Mandir,” “Kancheepuram Varamahalakshmi Silks,” and “KLM Fashion Mall”, offer premium and mid-priced ethnic fashion and value fashion for men, women and children.
Need for a modern CRM solution for data-driven personalisation
SSKL has won its leadership position through a strong focus on customer-centricity.
As part of this focus, the brand wanted real-time visibility into customers’ behaviour to elevate their experience. SSKL’s homegrown CRM was limited in its ability to consolidate the data needed for this. So, they chose Salesforce to efficiently unify customer data from multiple channels and deliver insights-driven segmentation for highly personalised experiences.
Customer experience is our top priority, and Salesforce is helping us create the desired impact.
Nagakanaka Durga Prasad ChalavadiManaging Director, Sai Silks Kalamandir
Data Cloud connects all data sources, unifying customer profiles for better customer profiling
SSKL uses Salesforce Data Cloud to consolidate scattered customer data into a single source of truth. Data from the PoS, website, ERP, and third-party systems has been integrated into a comprehensive customer 360 view for a rich data foundation. This includes four years of sales transactions, payments, vouchers, loyalty metrics, and customer preferences and feedback.
The consolidation of all this data has enabled SSKL to eliminate duplication of customer records. Nearly six million records were consolidated into five million unified customer profiles, which powers granular segmentation, critical in a fast-changing category like fashion. With 27 targeted RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value of customer interaction) segments, based on spending behaviour and loyalty, SSKL is able to craft tailored strategies that boost engagement and conversions.
“With Salesforce, we can consolidate data to capture all aspects of customer behaviour in a single place to reach out in a laser-focussed manner,” explains Mohan Durgarao Chalavadi, Senior Vice President & CISO, Sai Silks Kalamandir Limited.
The team also leverages AI-powered insights to create new customer segments on the fly for improved, daily engagement. For example, it identifies patterns like popular product combinations (such as denim shirts and denim pants). Then, they quickly create segments of customers who haven't bought this combination, so they can send out targeted promotions.
This kind of segmentation, which previously took five to six days, is now completed in two hours, enabling the team to create up to 240 segments in one go compared to the earlier 30 or 40. The team has already set up 1350 highly granular segments which are activated based on key factors such as seasonal trends and product mix.
Personalised marketing based on granular segmentation boosts marketing efficiency by 3X
SSKL uses Salesforce Marketing Cloud to swiftly design and deliver personalised campaigns, targeted to these diverse segments.
Individualised loyalty reminders, segment activations, birthday messages, and cross-sell/upsell promotions are sent out seamlessly across email, SMS, WhatsApp, in-app push notifications, social media and digital advertising - a big jump from the previously limited use of WhatsApp and social media channels. There are now 150 richly tailored templates readily available on WhatsApp alone, compared to 38 earlier.
The vastly improved targeting has helped SSKL optimise resources, and minimise missed sales opportunities. Where earlier, three lakh messages were sent for a particular campaign, now just a lakh achieve the same results, resulting in an efficiency boost of 3X.
A/B testing helps to gauge the effectiveness of the communication while geo-fencing on Meta supports location-based targeting, both measures boosting RoI.
“Earlier, we were shooting in the dark,” says Mohan Durgarao Chalavadi,. “With Salesforce, customer data is now a competitive asset that helps us engage and sell with precision based on customer interests throughout the lifecycle.”
SSKL is also building tailored cross-channel journeys from awareness to post-purchase. Currently, five journeys, including cross-selling, upselling, and abandoned cart, are live. Enhanced by rich insights and targeted campaigns, the journeys are helping SSKL optimise channel usage and significantly enhance personalisation.
Rich, comprehensive reporting on Tableau improves business agility, saving 2000 person-hours
Around 200 dynamic dashboards built on Tableau serve the daily reporting needs of store managers, senior leadership, marketing, and procurement teams. These dashboards offer a complete, daily view of the business across product categories, showroom performance, stock levels, and customer feedback.
Every day, thousands of customer feedback submissions are analysed to identify satisfaction levels and areas for improvement. Store managers monitor this feedback and reach out personally to customers who have expressed dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, the marketing team is more productive. Previously, it took up to four hours to generate reports to track the performance of multichannel campaigns. This is now instantly available via custom dashboards that reflect total spends, conversions, and ROI. This automation has already saved 2000 person-hours of effort.
Also, the data-driven approach enables a quick, accurate attribution of sales to specific marketing investments, helps optimise channel selection, and pinpoint new, improved segmentation criteria on the fly.
“With a single platform for reporting and analysis, we can identify areas for improvement, attribute ROI with precision, and optimise our activities on the go,” says Kalyan Srinivas Annam, Whole Time Director, Sai Silks Kalamandir Limited .
Next: Scaling to serve more customers with deeper insights
SSKL is on track to reach its 100-store milestone nationwide within three years. And it has ensured its Salesforce implementation is designed to support this rapid scaling.
By fully leveraging Salesforce’s capabilities, the group will continue to deepen customer understanding and deliver an exceptional experience as it expands.
SSKL uses Salesforce to consolidate and meaningfully analyse customer data for highly personalised experiences. Equipped with deep, data-driven insights, employees now improve every interaction, helping the brand maintain its customer-centricity as it expands nationally.