A sewing machine salesman started a small shop with an investment of just 2500 Rs
And expanded it into one of the largest electronics retail chains in India with
- 5000 crores annual turnover
- 100 stores across India
A thread on Vijay Sales
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And expanded it into one of the largest electronics retail chains in India with
- 5000 crores annual turnover
- 100 stores across India
A thread on Vijay Sales
1/
1954 - Nanu Gupta, 18 year old lad from a poor family in Haryana came to Mumbai in search of work
He started working as a salesman of Usha Sewing machines and fans for a distributor in Mumbai
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He started working as a salesman of Usha Sewing machines and fans for a distributor in Mumbai
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1967 - With savings of around 2500 Rs, Nanu left his job to start his own shop retailing sewing machines, transistors and fans in Matunga
The small 50 sqft shop with 30 Rs rent/month was named Vijay Sales. With good demand in Mumbai & lesser competition, business thrived
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The small 50 sqft shop with 30 Rs rent/month was named Vijay Sales. With good demand in Mumbai & lesser competition, business thrived
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Nanu would buy products from manufacturers directly on credit and pay them after a specified cycle. He bypassed the distributors getting cheaper prices for the products
Which meant cheaper prices for customers and hence higher and faster sales
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Which meant cheaper prices for customers and hence higher and faster sales
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1972 - He added black & white TVs in his Matunga shop.
1976 - He opened another shop in Mahim and got the company registered
1983 - Colour TVs were getting introduced to India by brands like Onida, Videocon, BPL. Nanu Gupta sensed the opportunity and started to expand
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1976 - He opened another shop in Mahim and got the company registered
1983 - Colour TVs were getting introduced to India by brands like Onida, Videocon, BPL. Nanu Gupta sensed the opportunity and started to expand
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1986 - He opened a 600 sq ft store in Bandra. The store was pretty large compared to other stores selling TVs & other electronics
But he wanted to enter the newer categories like Fridge, AC as well in the future. He sensed that demand for these products would go up in future
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But he wanted to enter the newer categories like Fridge, AC as well in the future. He sensed that demand for these products would go up in future
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1994 - He opened two more stores in Sion and Shivaji Park, both bigger than the Bandra store
Around this time, newer players like Samsung, LG came to India which offered bigger TVs and refrigerators. This required bigger store space which Vijay Sales had already planned for
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Around this time, newer players like Samsung, LG came to India which offered bigger TVs and refrigerators. This required bigger store space which Vijay Sales had already planned for
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Another large store with 2500 sqft size was opened in Mahim. The company introduced the concept of keeping the TVs switched on in the displays which attracted more customers compared to rivals who kept the TVs off
By 2007, Vijay Sales had 14 stores in Mumbai
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By 2007, Vijay Sales had 14 stores in Mumbai
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2007 - Bigger players like Croma, Reliance Retail and Future group entered the electronics retail market. People suggested that it would be best to sell the company to one of these biggies as Vijay Sales would be no match for their size
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But instead of getting bogged down, they opened new stores in Pune, Surat, Delhi and Ahmedabad in the same year
They also added mobile phones and laptops to their product portfolio keeping up with the new trend
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They also added mobile phones and laptops to their product portfolio keeping up with the new trend
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The revenue went from 100 crore in 2000 to 500 crores in 2008.
After this company also tried their hands at selling gym equipment which didn't perform well and was stopped
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After this company also tried their hands at selling gym equipment which didn't perform well and was stopped
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Today the company has over 100 stores across India which are served by 9 warehouses. The company buys products in bulk from manufacturers at cheap rates which allows them to stay competitive
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Despite of their growth, profitability has taken a hit in recent times with margins reducing with time
Nevertheless, it's a great story of entrepreneurship, growth and perseverance.
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Nevertheless, it's a great story of entrepreneurship, growth and perseverance.
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