Lalani Infotech: Hard Work Paves The Path To Success

The man behind the success of Lalani Infotech - Kanhaiya Lal Lalani, is a
veteran in the IT business in Kolkata. It is often said that luck changes a man's
life. In Lalani's case an exhibition changed his life. It was from a fair that
he took inspiration and the required information to form his own company that
has today grown to become a well-known brand.

From a small shop in GC Avenue, the company has grown leaps and bounds. “When
I came to GC Avenue, it was an open place. Slowly other people came up and
opened their shops too and the area became more crowded and it is now the IT hub
of the city,” recalled Lalani.

Kanhaiya Lal Lalani: Now I have plans to become a nationally recognized business house

The early days

After graduating from Rajasthan University (then Ajmer University) in commerce,
Lalani came to Mumbai in 1974. He joined his elder brother who had his own
distribution business dealing in Kores India products like printer inks, carbon
paper, etc. Three years down the line the five brothers met and decided that all
of them should be involved in their own business except one who should be
employed in order to contribute a fixed income to the family to run a steady
household. “I was the one chosen for that purpose,” grinned Lalani.

With a truckload of responsibilities, Lalani came to Kolkata in early 1977 to
find a suitable job and joined an export firm. After two years of service he
realized that the job was not his cup of tea and he had to start his own
business. “I was destined to become a businessman,” he said.

This realization once again brought him to Mumbai to have a discussion with
his brother. Inspired from him Lalani came back to Kolkata in 1978 and started
his own business of selling copier consumables with only Rs 2,000 in his
pockets, in the name of JK International.

Gradually he became a leading supplier of copier consumables and machines in
the city. “There are only three things that helped me achieve this feat —
honesty, fair dealing with both the OEMs and customers and finally, issuing
payments on time,” said Lalani. “I don't remember a single instance when
my cheques bounced or any creditor came to me for a delayed payment,” he
informed. This gave him the required reputation in the market that automatically
generated trust and respect from people.

A star is born

Being a go-getter, Lalani could sense that the copier industry was slowly
getting saturated and there was not much scope to grow. Therefore, he felt a
need to diversify. “It was 1983 and by that time I made sufficient money to
invest into a new business. It was then that I entered the IT industry as I
could foresee tremendous growth possibilities there,” said Lalani.

“During the end of 1978 a computer exhibition was being held at the Oberoi
Grand in Kolkata,” informed Lalani. 'Computer' was a new word then and not
many people had even heard of it. Being in the copier business Lalani was aware
of the word 'computer'. Out of sheer curiosity Lalani visited the
exhibition. “That time IT was a new buzzword. Everyone could make out its
future potential. I was no different,” he revealed. Among a huge display of
computers and related products one stall that attracted him was of consumables.
“The stall displayed floppies of sizes 8.5”x8.5” and printer ribbons.
Immediately it struck me that this is a field in which I can diversify,” he
said. This one idea took him to Mumbai once again and encouraged by his brother
and friends Lalani entered the field of IT with the dealership of Kores India
printer ribbons.

Thus a new star was born in the name of Lalani International in 1983, which
kicked off the second phase of his career.

Getting into IT

Since then it has been a long way for Lalani. “For the first two consecutive
years when I started my own business there was no holiday for me. From Monday to
Saturday I used to look after the office in Kolkata. On Sunday I would go to
nearby areas like Durgapur, Dhanbad, Tata Nagar, Rourkella to spend the day
doing business,” he said. This hard work helped him to grow and become a
leading man in the copier business in the city by 1980. “I was very focused,
my aim was to establish myself and have a proper office of my own and a house of
my own. It took me two years to achieve this aim,” grinned Lalani.

From printer ribbons Lalani International made multiple diversifications to
include an entire range of IT hardware products and also started an IT training
division. “The credit for this division also goes to an exhibition,” said
Lalani. “In 1983 when the concept of IT consumables was almost absent, an
exhibition on office automation products was being held at the ice skating rink
in Kolkata. I participated there with all my products. During those times there
were hardly any suppliers of these products, maybe one or two, and I received
lots of enquires from people during the four day fair,” remembered Lalani. By
the time the fair winded up Lalani had about 150 new clients.

In 1990 Lalani opened his shop for the first time in GC Avenue when there
were hardly any other IT related outlets. “Companies like HP, IBM, etc started
coming up and there were different types and ranges of products. The market also
had grown further. Slowly I also expanded and categorized my business activities
and my business was divided between retail, distribution, sub-distribution and
training,” he said further.

The Compass story

As others followed in the footsteps of Lalani, GC Avenue slowly became the
computer hub of Kolkata. “In 1994 we realized that an association was
required. At that time there were about 25 dealers in the city,” said Lalani.
“I called a meeting where everyone gave their suggestions and opinions and it
was decided that an association for computer dealers should be formed,” he
added. Thus after a couple of meetings Compass

was formed and Lalani became the founder president of the association.

Few years down the line...

After achieving his initial target of establishing himself firmly in business,
Lalani hopes to rule not only Kolkata but also the entire eastern India. “Now
I have plans to become a nationally recognized business house. From here I wish
to take my company in other parts of the country. And after that, to the Middle
East and SAARC countries like, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Africa. This is
my next five year plan, cover the entire country, Middle-East and Africa,
especially my training segment,” he informed.

Words of wisdom

“I believe that to be successful the first thing required is good planning
followed by step by step execution. Throughout my life I have followed this
rule, in return it has yielded results. Another advice is that one should give
at least 1,000 days to any business venture regardless of the ups or downs.
Before that stipulated time don't shift focus as every new venture needs time
to mature. This is the advice my elders gave me when I entered my own business.
And this rule has lead to my success,” concluded the veteran.

Piyali Guha