Weaving a Legacy N K Chaudhary, popularly known as NKC, founded Jaipur Rugs with just two looms and nine weavers in his hometown of Churu

Starting a business from a small region of Churu in Rajasthan to expanding its presence globally, Jaipur Rugs has weaved a legacy. Its founder N K Chaudhary, popularly known as NKC, started his entrepreneurial journey with just two looms and nine weavers in his hometown of Churu.

Like most entrepreneurs, NKC faced several hurdles in his journey. In the early days, NKC faced many challenges in setting up the infrastructure for his business: from building a supply chain from scratch, including sourcing raw materials, setting up a unit and finding skilled weavers.

The carpet industry in India was already dominated by established players and breaking into the market was a significant challenge for NKC. He had to differentiate his products by focusing on quality, design, and innovation. Navigating the challenges, today, Jaipur Rugs employs over 40,000 weavers across 600 villages in India and has a presence in over 85 countries.

It has stores in Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai and franchise stores in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Gujarat. Internationally, it is present in Milan and franchise stores in Russia and china. Besides, it has a sister concern in US named Jaipur Living.

"It was my son Yogesh who decided to enter into retail and opened first store in 2016. At that point in time it was more to educate the customer about carpets more than anything else but like any other business we were constantly evaluating opportunities for growth and diversification and today retail is one of the most important aspect of showcasing our artisan's expertise to the customers," said N K Chaudhary, founder, Jaipur Rugs.

From establishing a decentralized production model, enabling artisans to work from their homes and communities to preserving traditional skills, Chaudhary stretched the limits to achieve his vision of transforming the lives of artisans and revolutionizing the hand-knotted rug industry in India.

NKC has taken proactive steps to promote sustainable practices in the rug industry. "We have introduced eco-friendly dyeing techniques, encouraged the use of natural fibers and implemented responsible waste management systems. By prioritizing environmental conservation, we have set new benchmarks for ethical and sustainable production," he said.

Jaipur Rugs has scaled and digitally transformed over the years. It has implemented ERP systems and uses computer-aided design (CAD) for designing and printing, which has reduced the load of manual work. Jaipur Rugs also launched an app in 2018 - Tana Bana, which means 'the warp and the weft'. Through his unwavering determination and commitment to social entrepreneurship, NKC weaved the success story of Jaipur Rugs.

Factssheet:

Year of inception of the company- 2004(earlier the name was different)

· Turnover for FY 2022-23- Group turnover 970 crore

· No. of employees- 950

· Head office location: Jaipur, Rajasthan