Success By Any Other Name

Macys and Shyam Ahuja may be impeccable credentials for anyone starting out in the furnishing business. But Sarita Handa, who worked with both, has taken the art of the name a step further. Today, her products retail at the luxury department store Bloomingdales under the Sarita Handa brandname. Her Rs 12-crore company supplies products to specialty stores and is seen in catalogues such as Ralph Lauren, Harrods, Eddie Bauer, ABC Carpet, Heine, Spiegel.

I am a product of the home furnishing industry I had been in the business for over 15 years before I launched my own company. My training was at Macys. I worked as a product development manager at the US chains New Delhi office between 1985 and 1988. This is where I built contacts and got to know the market. From there, I moved on to work for Shyam Ahuja, who is my mentor. It was a very rewarding experience, as I was able to put my creativity in to practice. After a four-year stint, I returned to Macys; but only for a short while as I had a strong urge to strike out on my own.

 

Finally, Sarita Handa, a private company, was born on February 18, 1992. By then, I knew quite a few buyers around the world, which helped me secure my first order from ABC Carpet & Home. With savings of Rs 5 lakh, I hired a 6,000 sq ft factory in Tughlakabad village, New Delhi for two years. My first product line was patchwork quilted bedspreads I began with about 35 quilt-makers from the village. But as competition from China in patchwork quilts grew, we decided to diversify into duvet covers, chair covers and other decorative accessories. The solution was to find bigger space. And also a loan.

Initially, I did not borrow any money and injected all profits back into the business. The biggest hassle was finding the right bank. For six months I did the rounds but the attitude of banks that they are doing you a favour by giving you money was appalling. Finally, Canara Bank whom we now bank with understood my urgency and gave me Rs 22 lakh, with which I bought a 30,000 sq ft area in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon in 1994.

My exposure, until I started out on my own, was in designing. I had no professional training in business, let alone setting up a factory. I had no vision of a good functional factory. But I learnt as I went along, the hit-and-miss way. There were also other problems frequent power breakdowns, for one. As we were working under tremendous deadline pressure, it posed problems in the first few months. But now we have our own generators. Also, it was tough to explain the concept of deadline to your suppliers. Because of the unreliable delivery, our company had to shell out a lot from the profits initially.

As the volume of orders spiralled, we hired more quilt-makers and embroiderers around Delhi. About 200 of them are on our rolls at present, and another 1,000 work indirectly. Quality is not inbuilt, so you have to drill this into workers heads at every stage of production. When our business was small, it was easier to keep a check on fabric quality. But now that we get a thousand different kinds of fabric, its not that easy. My six-member designer team helps bring out two exclusive collections a year and also keeps track of fabric quality.

My first year in business was a mixed bag. We started out with a small customer base in February 1992. And since the volume of work was small, I was able to meet the sales target. But it was financially frustrating, in the sense, all my savings were blocked in the project. I had to cut corners and compromise on my lifestyle after the cushy spell at Macys.

The companys turning point came when we secured a huge order from Spiegel in 1993. This year, we saw a turnover of Rs 2.8 crore. Seven years down the line, about 70 per cent of our products are exported to the US and the rest to Europe.

So far, my work has been fulfilling. But I believe there are some rules to success. Being straightforward in your dealings pays and it doesnt pay to play games with your customers. You cant promise them when you cant deliver. You have to be credible and prove you are reliable. Mutual respect between yourself and buyers is important. There is no short cut to success. Hard work makes all the difference.

I dont mind churning out my designs under somebody elses label. After all, you have to test your name first and thats what I am doing. But I plan to launch in India in a big way and under my own name.

As told to Maitreyee Handique