Relations, Retail and Resilience: The Reigning R's

If you go through the profiles of the most powerful people in the cover story
of this issue, there are two things that will stand out.

The first is that at least half the people we spoke to said that they have
become powerful not because they had any crystal gazing skills known only to
them. Nor was it because they were merely at the helm of a big organization.

Instead, it was because they had invested in one R-relationships. A good
example is Champakraj Gurjar who leveraged on his relationship with his

600-odd dealer network and vendors allies to organize the Com-IT. Vinay Dugar
waves his relationship wand in-house and rather than taking the credit for
managing a successful company, he passes it on to his team. Needless to say,
employee motivation is high and his attrition rate is very low. Pawan Agarwal
too built on his relationships with customers, vendors or distributors, and
believes this is the sole factor that has seen him to the top.

The next common thread you will find amongst some of these powerful people is
their sheer resilience. Take the case of Saurin Shah. His business was in the
doldrums when he took the dramatic decision to stop working with clients who
were not good paymasters and focused on solution providing. He knew such a
decision could very well wipe off his company, but he strove at it and today his
company, Ashtech Infotech's name is taken in high regard.

Vinita Bhatia

Another example is Bharat Bhushan who left a well-established business in
textiles to import IT products. His first two shipments ended up in losses,
which for a fresher in this industry could spell doom and dismay. But he too
endured and managed to recoup his business in his third shipment.

The last commonality, especially amongst the upcountry partners, is the way
they are banking on retail.

There is Kishore Makhija who wants to focus more on retail because he
believes this is a more stable market vis-a-vis channel trading and therefore he
will see better returns here.

Rakesh Agarwal decided to beat the problem of thinning margins and managing
inventory by starting his own 1,600 sq ft retail outlet in Nagpur.

Ajay Grover too plans to open five to six retail stores in UP as it would
enhance his market penetration, without encroaching on the marketshare of his
own dealers.

These three Rs are coming from people whom the vendors have voted as being
the most powerful partners in the country. So aren't their business practices
worth mulling over? Or better still, worth emulating?

Think about it.

vinita bhatia

vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in