The Souled Store Revolutionizes Youth Fashion with Official Pop Culture Merchandise
For a long time, Indian fans of global franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, or Marvel had a binary choice: pay a small fortune for imported official merchandise or settle for low-quality fakes from street markets. The gap between "fandom" and "affordable fashion" was a chasm waiting to be bridged.
Enter Rohin Samtaney and his co-founders at The Souled Store. Starting in 2013 from a shared apartment, they've turned a personal struggle into a ₹200 crore GMV powerhouse. By securing official licenses from global giants like Disney and Warner Bros. and adapting them for the Indian market, they've built more than just an e-commerce site—they've built a destination for the youth.
From chemical engineering to dominating pop-culture apparel, Rohin Samtaney’s journey is a blueprint for scaling a niche passion into a mainstream lifestyle brand.
The Problem: The Accessibility Gap in Fandom
In 2013, if you were a fan in India, your options were bleak. "If i wanted a t-shirt or like a poster... it wasn't available in india," Samtaney recalls. "Either it was a 2000 rupee t-shirt from the us or like a cheap fake of the street which was maybe 200 bucks but bad quality."
The problem wasn't just logistics; it was a lack of curation. The founders, being fans themselves, knew that the youth wanted authentic, high-quality designs that felt personal, not just generic logos slapped on a shirt. They identified three key pain points:
⚠️ The Fan Merchandise Crisis
- High Cost: Official imports were prohibitively expensive for the average student.
- Low Quality: Local fakes were "one-wash" wonders that didn't last.
- Boring Designs: Even official style guides were often used without creativity.
The Solution: Licensed Merchandise Meets Local Creativity
The Souled Store solved the accessibility problem by becoming the middle ground. They didn't just buy licenses; they became a design house. By taking international style guides and adapting them with a local lens, they created unique apparel that stood out even on massive marketplaces like Myntra and Jabong.
"We were taking those [licenses] and kind of adapting them and making them unique to ourselves," says Samtaney. This differentiation—owning the IP rights while adding a creative layer—became their competitive moat.
Consolidating Casual Wear
As the brand grew, the vision expanded. The Souled Store is no longer "just the Harry Potter t-shirt guys." They are consolidating the fragmented casual wear market in India, offering everything from solids and joggers to dresses and shirts.
📊 The Souled Store at Scale
- Team: 500+ members (including contract workers).
- Revenue: On track for ₹200 crore GMV this year.
- Presence: 5 offline stores (Mumbai, Pune) with more coming in Bangalore and Delhi.
- Funding: Successfully raised two rounds of institutional capital.
Implementation: The Leap at 24
The founders took the plunge when they were 24, driven by the philosophy that if they were to fail, they should do it while they were young. "If you want to try something and even fail at it, now is the time," they reasoned.
Their first big break came just months after launch: the NH7 Weekender merchandise contract. Because the founders came from a finance background, they didn't just pitch "cool designs"—they pitched a financial model.
"We made a great pitch... with financial models so we could actually project... how much it's going to make profitable for you," Samtaney explains. This professionalism gave organizers the confidence to back a brand-new startup, providing the visibility needed to scale rapidly.
— The Souled Store Motto
The Human Side: Motivation and "Small Wins"
Entrepreneurship is a marathon of consistency. Samtaney admits that motivation isn't a constant state. To keep the momentum going for nine years, he relies on the concept of "small wins."
"Small wins each day kind of gives you that motivation," he says. Whether it's finishing a short-term project at work or mastering a new recipe or instrument at home, these daily accomplishments prevent burnout and keep the focus sharp.
Execution is Everything
Samtaney is quick to dispel the myth that a startup is just about a "genius idea." For The Souled Store, success came through the "unsexy" work: talking to manufacturers, understanding fabric quality, and managing a growing warehouse team.
"I can sit here and come up with loads of ideas, but if i don't execute it well enough, it's just going to remain [an idea]," he reflects. "It's not like what we do... is rocket science... but it's in the execution and daily consistency."
Future Vision: Beyond Apparel to Lifestyle
The Souled Store is currently in the middle of a massive pivot—from a merchandise niche to a full-fledged lifestyle brand. This involves physical stores where fans can experience the brand atmosphere and an expansion into formal-but-casual categories (like the "white shirt" debate).
"You need to be able to detach yourself from ideas," Samtaney advises. "Are you an official merch brand, or do you want to be casual? We've had so many debates... but the larger vision is casual wear."
Key Lessons for D2C Founders
- Adopt a Generalist Mindset: The founder's role is to direct the ship and manage professionals, not to be the best technical person in the room.
- Hire for Cohesion: A team that works together moves the trajectory faster. Friction within the team is a hidden tax on growth.
- Small Wins Lead to Big Goals: Stay motivated by checking things off every day. Consistency is the only way to see the journey unfold.
- Don't Be Stuck to Your Idea: Be willing to let go of your attachment to a specific product or category if the market is leading you elsewhere.
As The Souled Store moves from being a fan favorite to a household name, Rohin Samtaney remains grounded in the impact they make. From providing employment to 500 people to seeing their designs on the street, the "butterfly effects" of entrepreneurship are what keep him going.