As the Pedestrian Plaza in Pondy Bazaar wears a twilight glow, young shoppers shuffle towards a modest clothing store near ‘Crocs’ store opposite Geetha Cafe. One shopper browses the displays, eyes peeled for that perfect dress, and comes upon it, unfortunately, seconds too late. She eats her heart out watching it disappear into someone else’s ravenous shopping bag. Friends hold up outfits for each other, debate colours and designs, and leave with a heavier bag, a lighter purse and a sprightlier step. Qualms written all over her face, another shopper admits: “Here to keep a friend company while she shopped, I ended up with a shopping bag of my own. The seller’s warmth won me over.” On-the-spot reviews of this timbre do not dissipate but solidify into eWOM (electronic word of mouth), gaining permanence as reels and stories on buyers’ Instagram accounts.
Rani Collection run by Sikkander Sultan is nourished by healthy organic social media content, posted by customers on their Instagram pages impressed with its range of trendy tops for women and girls. Rani Collection operates from a small space within another store and for the convenience of its customers, a small part of it often spills on to a space under a tree without being underfoot. The sanctity of the pedestrian space is maintained. “Nearly 85 percent of our customers come through reels. Influencers visit us regularly, and that is how most of the people get to know about our shop,” he says.
Gen Zers largely home in on this shop, and Sikkander is no spring chicken, being at least one generation removed. His family soaked in the garment business, Sikkander slid into the trade as effortlessly as one would through an open door, without any existential cogitations about purpose and calling. He established the shop at Pondy Bazaar in 2013, a good six years before pedestrianisation transformed the street into a congregating point, particularly for Gen Z. Sneakers-wearing Gen Zers now flitting in, in good numbers, Rani Collection could not have kept Insta visibility off its racks even if it tried to. It draws shoppers from far beyond Chennai, much of that, says Sikkander, is thanks to Instagram. The reach however is not confined to the state. After spotting the store on Instagram, a customer travelling from Kolkata stopped by during their visit to Chennai. Others have walked in from Malaysia and Sri Lanka after watching viral reels, while some families in the United Kingdom and the United States often shop through relatives visiting Chennai. Depending on the size of the order, the store also ships internationally.
Rani Collection offers trendy tops starting at ₹300, while complete sets are priced between ₹500 and ₹3000. Even a purchase as small as ₹300 can be exchanged, and the customer can be certain he would not be met with an irritated frown. As Sikkander puts it, “We want our customers to confidently wear what they buy. If a garment is pushed to the back of a closet, it does injustice to the tailor who carefully stitched it. Every single thread reflects their hard work. I have seen their daily struggles, and I want their work to be valued.” Beyond the bustling shop floor is a business man whose outlook is as contemporary as the collection he curates. He believes businesses must evolve with changing times, embracing new ideas and remaining relevant to a young demographic. Sikkander notes honesty and hard work are non-negotiables: open from 10:30 a.m to 10:30 p.m, seven days a week, “break” and “rest” sound like gibberish in Sikkander’s ears. Without normalising workaholism, one has to acknowledge this commitment just as one would this pavement store’s rack strength and its owner’s affability. And Gen Zers are doing that with likes, reposts and reels on Instagram.
(Street Feed is a column about the quotidian on the streets of Chennai that finds itself in the spotlight on social media because residents took to it, and in cases involving a modest enterprise, customers were so impressed with its products that they drummed up a buzz around it through reels and posts)
Published – August 02, 2026 06:59 am IST
