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| RAM CHANDER AGGARWAL, 42 Education : St Xavier’s College, Kolkata Worked with : Rani Sati Metal Industries Last salaried job : Rs 300 a month Age at starting business : 21 years No. of years as entrepreneur : 21 years Initial investment : Rs 5,000 Sources of fund : Loan from friends and relatives Company : Vishal Retail Turnover : Rs 625 crore (expected in 2006-7) No. of employees : 5,500 |
But things weren’t always as smooth. Aggarwal has had his shae of misfortune, both in private and business: his father passed away when he was only 19, his first entrepreneurial foray bombed and when his second venture took off he had to wrap it up and relocate to Delhi.
“There are ups and downs in all businesses. And you have to be ready to accept failure,” he says.
Even though his father ran a fabric shop in Kolkata’s Burrabazaar area, Aggarwal wasn’t keen on joining it and always wanted to do something on his own. “And anyway it wasn’t doing too well,” he says. Moreover, his two older brothers were already part of the business.
In 1984, while in college, Aggarwal started working as a manager in a rolling shutter manufacturing unit. “After classes I used to go to this factory and work as a manager. The pay was just Rs 300 a month,” he says. Meagre as it may have been, the money was put in the family kitty and came in useful.
The obsession to be his own master was what pushed him to take his first step in the world of entrepreneurs. After working for 15 months, he left his job and with a loan of Rs 5,000 taken from friends and family, Aggarwal opened a store in Kolkata’s Lal Bazaar Street where he operated a photocopier and sold soft drinks. He paid Rs 800 as rent for the 50 sq ft space. After struggling for a year or so, he decided to move into the readymade garments business.
"The times were changing. More and more people were opting for off-the-shelf clothing rather than getting it stitched. My hunch was that the future lay here,” he reminisces. Aggarwal’s hunch was not wrong. Though his dream to become a successful businessman was still a decade away.
| "Competition is good for business. It keeps you on your toes and makes you think of innovations and better services" |
He confesses: “After my first business collapsed, I was demoralised, there was capital crunch and I had nobody except my mother to support me”
Slowly he found his calling in this trade. He was involved in all the aspects of his business: right from sourcing the garments to interacting with customers. And this led him to his second finding: the preference for branded garments. Taking his cue from this discovery Aggarwal started stocking foreign brands. “At the end of the day you have to know the pulse of your consumers. Cater to their tastes and preferences,” he says.
| TIPS FOR ASPIRING START-UPS |
| BE COURAGEOUS Do not sh y aw ay from c hallenges; an entrepreneur thrives on risks |
| BE FOCUSED Have a c lear vision: keep your eyes on the goal |
| BE READY TO WORK HARD Sheer hard work is the root of all success; there are no shor t cuts |
| DELEGATE AUTHORITY Empower colleagues to think like entrepreneur s; only then will the business prosper |
| BE HONEST Honesty—to your customer s,v endor s, emplo yees—is the only polic y |
To grow big and fast he needed bigger retail space. But with capital in short supply there was no question of either buying or renting a store on a permanent basis. He did the next best thing: rented defunct theatres or conference halls and organised “sales”—selling export surpluses and branded garments at discounted rates.
“I used to source these garments from manufacturers at low rates. For me to profit I had to push for quantities and ‘sale’ was the only format.” The concept caught on and Aggarwal was busy organising “sales” regularly across various points in the city.
He opened his second showroom in 1996 and by 2000 he had five. “You have to look for opportunities and grab them when they come,” he says.
On a visit to Mumbai, he went to an amusement park and realised that people in Kolkata did not have enough entertainment opportunities. For him that was a business opportunity—he set up Aquatica, a water park in the year 2000.
But when things seemed settled and business was growing, Aggarwal faced his second big hurdle. A string of labour disputes blunted growth. He decided to move base to Delhi.
“It was a tough decision. Kolkata was where I was born and grew up. My business was taking off. And then these labour problems cropped up,” he says. He decided to wrap up his business, except for his first store and the water park.
In 2001, he opened his first store in Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. “Delhi was a difficult market with cut-throat competition. For me to be successful I had to innovate,” he recalls.
On his visits to Europe, Aggarwal noticed the mushrooming of huge retail space in the form of supermarkets and hypermarkets and knew the future of retail lay there. In 2003, he opened his first mart in Gurgaon. “I realised that if I had to grow I had to cater to a wide spectrum of the population and have an array of brands across product categories under one roof.”
The going has been good—so far. Being big also means having bigger competition. Aggarwal is now head to head with the Ambanis, the Goenkas and may soon be with even Wal-Mart and Metro Cash & Carry. Is he intimidated by the formidable line-up of competitors, domestic and international?
His answer: “Competition is good for business. It keeps you on your toes and makes you think of innovations. What we need to do is to broaden the consumer base with better products and services.”
Though cagey about his plans, Aggarwal admits to having filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India—the first step in tapping the public for money.
