TEXTILE VALUE CHAIN has been fortunate to interact with Young Entrepreneur Mr. Nikunj Bagadia, MD of Ken Enterprises Pvt.Ltd. based at Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra, India. Being Young, motivated, dynamic and passionate about his business made him industry leader in a segment. Recently awarded by TEXPROCIL. Let’s hear what he wants to say about his success.
TVC: What Is the Vision & Objective of the KEN ENTERPRISE?
NB: Our immediate Vision at Ken is to become an integrated fabric producer catering to the top brands of the world. To build an organization & infrastructure capable of adapting to the fast changing consumer demands. Our aim is to be ‘first in mind’ of the customer whenever he think of fabrics.
Our Objective is to create an enterprise based on values of integrity, responsibility towards all stakeholders, society & environment and be the leading player in our field.
TVC : What is your company USP ?
NB : At Ken we are working at becoming an indispensable part of the customer’s supply chain by offering them expertise in product development & innovation, product & cost rationalization along with offering a very wide range of fabrics from a single window. Our USP is our ability to understand the customer needs and offer them complete solution from design to delivery.
TVC : What motivated you to running fabric mill, as today so decentralised Power loom sector / cluster dominate the industry ?
NB: In fact it is the other way round. We have only the weaving division in-house while the yarn is outsourced and we offer grey fabrics to our customers. Having said that, we can vouch for the fact that our weaving facility is amongst the best with the latest state-of-the-art European Airjet machines. In spite of being part of the decentralized weaving industry we have done well for ourselves in terms of building a culture of excellence and ‘can do’ attitude within the very young organization. This has helped us grow exponentially in a very short span of 2-3 years into a leading exporter of fabrics to over 12 countries.
TVC: You cater to both Domestic / International Market? if yes, what is the marketing strategy for both the market.
NB: Yes, we cater to both Domestic & International markets and exports constitute almost 65% of our sales. We are very bullish on the international market for Indian fabrics and see our export growth at 30-40% CAGR for at least the next 3-4 years. In the domestic market we are dealing with the top Mills & RMG Exporters like Birla Century, Arvind Mills, Raymond, Shahi Exports & others. All our Domestic as well as International customers are repeat customers whereby once the relationship has been established; we look for continuously increasing volumes with them. Our marketing strategy is to first evaluate the customer needs in detail and juxtapose our strengths against the same. Further we only work with customers with whom we share common values & ethics. Though we have a very wide product portfolio, we are still into very few segments where we feel we have a competitive manufacturing strength based out of India.
TVC: Winning reputed & respective TEXPROCIL award for Highest Exports for “Grey Fabrics” Grade 1 is a great honour. Share your Strategies & Vision.
NB: We feel very proud that within a very short span of 2 years of starting exports we have been able to bag this Prestigious Award. The entire credit is due to our young and inexperienced team at Ken. More so because we are the first company from Ichalkaranji to do so. Ichalkaranji has a very rich and historical textile manufacturing tradition dating back to 1904. However, with the modernisation of the industry and the installation of state-of-the-art technology we have become capable of competing with the rest of the world. Our major concern is the lack of scale. We are still installing very small capacities considering the global potential. Having said that, we are still looking forward to a period of sustained growth. Our future strategy is to create efficient manufacturing facilities using the best in class technologies and go global in sales and accordingly create an organization and team that is geared towards international business.
TVC : What is the Next Opportunity & Challenge for Ken Enterprises ?
NB: The opportunities are endless. The immediate opportunity is to scale up the manufacturing facilities in line with the market potential and add new product segments. Tying up with an existing European company for sharing of technology and marketing would be on the cards. The challenges are typically the ones faced by the industry as a whole and decentralized sector in particular – that of cheaper credit & almost non-existence of equity markets & growth capital for the textile sector.
TVC: Share your Success / Winning Formula.
NB: Our company name KEN means Knowledge and the 3 alphabets stand for Knowledge, Excellence & Network. We apply these 3 simple attributes to our daily business practises. First is to apply Knowledge to every task, deal or transaction that is carried out. Second create, build Excellence in everything you do. Finally spread your Network – of relationships. This is our simple business formula and I believe this is what is leading us to success.
We ourselves have been motivated by the leading lights of the industry like Welspun, Indocount, Loyal & others. They have set the stage for Indian textiles to go Global and it is for us to draw inspiration and learning from them and follow their path. Most important is to be committed to the goal and not get disappointed by short term failures.
