Ghari Industries to boost leather business

Kanpur-based Ghari Industries, a diversified company and well-known for its detergents, is exploring ways to boost its leather business. A way forward is in the form of a retail chain for shoes, styled "Godown", where it is selling outsourced shoes and the firm's own products as well.

However, "Red Chief" (its own brand) products are not sold at these outlets, because the firm is trying to develop it as a premium brand.

Manoj Gyanchandani, a member of the promoters' family and a director of the company, told Business Standard: "We do not want to sell Red Chief products at these stores. Instead, we will be selling popular shoes at reasonable prices. Men's shoes at these shops will range between Rs 250 and Rs 1,000. And for ladies' footwear, the price range is Rs 100-600. Our own products will contribute 30-40% of the turnover; the rest will be procured directly from factories in Agra, Delhi and Mumbai. These include shoes based on designs given by us and also manufacturers' design."

"We are targeting tier II and tier III cities and in due course we will go to tier IV cities as well. Our initial operations have been very successful. Till date we have opened 11 stores, two in Kanpur, and one each in Greater Noida, Mainpuri, Faizabad, Lucknow, Hardwar, Unnao, etc. In these stores we offer a concession of 10-15 per cent. This will be branched off into a separate retail chain. Bata is the closest model of its kind."

Meanwhile, the company is planning to start its own Red Chief chain as other leather majors have done. Red Chief is a premium product of the company, meant for the middle and upper-middle classes. These shops will also keep lifestyle products.

Gyanchandani said: "We have met success in Europe. For this we have opened a separate factory and an R&D establishment. At this point exports are 300 pairs a day and are now slated to rise to 800 pairs a day."

Red Chief products are now selling in UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and J&K. Currently its production is 3,000 pairs a day, which is set to rise to 5,000 pairs.