This Entrepreneur Has the Likes of Yuvraj and Anushka as His JV Partners Entrepreneurs need to first define their brand in order to build it asserts this entrepreneur
By Baishali Mukherjee •
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Pawan Agarwal, Executive Director of Suditi Industries comes from a business family which has been in textiles for the past 40 years. Agarwal was introduced to textiles by his elder brother and eventually, he embraced the inherent entrepreneurial zeal to start Suditi as a form of backward integration and to cater to the domestic market. Over the years, it has grown into a firm with strong domestic roots in the textile and retail segment.
The apparel industry has undergone a paradigm shift in the last two decades with the retail industry going through immense changes after malls sprang up in huge numbers. Agarwal started when retail was going through a rough patch. "We started when the going was already tough. This helped us as the retail scenario improved and we were able to adapt accordingly. E-commerce has also become a prominent channel of sales in the retail industry and might cause disruption among malls, the way malls caused among standalone stores. Therefore, we are dividing our focus between brick and mortar stores as well as online e-commerce," he enunciated.
The company is today a textile and apparel manufacturing house with processes like knitting, dyeing, printing, finishing, garmenting and also retailing their own branded apparels and reputed licensed wear. SIL ventured into licensing by acquiring manufacturing rights for 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil) and entered into licensing agreement with reputed international clubs like FC Barcelona and Manchester City FC and also ventured licensing agreements with YouWeCan.
Joint Venture with Anushka Sharma
In 2015, Suditi Industries (BSE listing) announced the acquisition of licensing rights for FC Barcelona and ManCity. SIL joined hands with famed cricketer Yuvraj Singh in May 2016 to launch a clothing line under YouWeCan.
The company recently announced a joint venture with renowned film personality Anushka Sharma to launch Nush - a western fashion wear brand for women. After their success with Yuvraj Singh, the Company was approached by YRF to explore opportunities with Bollywood stars.
"It took over a year of discussion to seal the deal. We wanted to venture into the women's Western wear space since this was not in our current portfolio. With a strong brand name like Anushka Sharma, the marketing thrust was already in place. The brand has already been accepted extremely well across all channels," explained Agarwal.
Entrepreneurs Need to First Define their Brand in Order to Build it
Agarwal has more than two decades of experience in finance, marketing, manufacturing and export of garments. Under his leadership, the company has established a strong retail presence through two of its key brands: Riot and Indianink. The company's Net Profit has grown from INR 8 Mn in FY14 to INR 22 Mn in FY17 at a 3-year CAGR of 40%. SIL has also well-established Pan India distribution channels.
