‘Don’t diversify, don’t spread yourself thin…’: Vijay Sales' Nilesh Gupta on the fundamentals for a successful business

There are four fundamental tenets that have helped retail chain of consumer electronics, Vijay Sales, not only flourish in its business but also ably take on the competition from online platforms. The foremost? Don’t spread the business thin. 

Speaking to Business Today TV as part of the EY | BT Hidden GEMs series, Nilesh Gupta, director of Vijay Sales, said that they stuck to the core principle of sticking to the fundamentals.  

Gupta said his father, Nanu Gupta, who founded the business in 1967, would never move away from the fundamentals. “So, one small example I'll give you of the fundamentals. He always said, ‘Do not diversify. Do not spread yourself thin. Do everything you want to do only in one business.’ And I think, looking back, this was one of the best fundamental advice he had given, as well as followed,” said Gupta. 

Nilesh Gupta said another fundamental that Vijay Sales has followed for years is their service to the customer. Talking about his father, Gupta said, “In those days, after closing the shop, he used to go to the customer's house to give a demo of the product which he had sold – which nobody used to do in those days. So, I think it's fundamental.”

The third fundamental, Gupta recounted, was taking care of the team. “If you take care of your team, your team will automatically take care of your customers,” he said.  

The fourth fundamental, he said, was ensuring a win-win situation with the brands on offer. “Even if you are in a position where you can corner any brand, do not do that. All your transactions, all your dealings, all your relationships have to be in a win-win position. I think these have been the four major core strengths of Vijay Sales,” he added.

Gupta said certain brands they had dealt with had written down their obituary. They believed that Vijay Sales would disappear because they would not be able to match the might, strength and foresight of the big players. He said it could have been true too to some extent but they decided to stick to the fundamentals in life as well as in business. The only constant is change, he said. “And I think we change with the time. And I think that has helped in our state,” he added.

Watch the full conversation here: