Tex Savvy in Karur

By Meenakshi Kumar

The next time you stop by a posh home furnishing shop on your trip abroad, take a closer look. Chances are that the beautiful rug you are eyeing was woven at a textile mill in the small south Indian town of Karur. What's more, it's likely that it has been spun at the looms of Sabare International, a leading home textiles export unit that has emerged from this quiet town in Tamil Nadu.

Karur houses a multi-billion dollar textile industry. Here, the clacking noise of looms almost serves as a background score. So far just another export unit, it's easy for Sabare to get lost in the crowd. But S. Susindran, the man behind this 200-crore company, has woven a beautiful fabric of success, patterned richly with technology, quality and smart thinking. Sabare counts international retail biggies like Walmart, JC Penney and Target, among its clients today.

Susindran says thinking out-of-the-box wasn't a luxury. It was the only way to succeed. So, after quitting his job as a chartered accountant in the early 1990s, the young man set out to do things differently. Growing up in Karur, he knew nothing hummed better than a textile mill. He got to work and set up the basics of a working mill in 1994. Once that was done, he began tweaking his business proposition. Susindran didn't want to be just another supplier; he wanted to stand out. "I didn't want to just export. I wanted to be a small multinational company even then," recalls the 45-yearold. Plus, there was no better way to catch the attention of the international brands than by being close to them. "I started by setting up a small office in the US. It was a big risk but I knew I had to do it". The gamble paid off. Susindran managed to convince Walmart to give him a small order to start with.

Usually manufacturers limit themselves to simply taking orders from retailers and supplying the goods. Susindran proved to Walmart that he could increase their margins by his total retail solution. In this model, Sabare would take orders from retailers but instead of just delivering stock, he would help them out with management of inventory and supply directly to individual outlets. Walmart was impressed with his confidence and his ability to deliver what he promised. He soon landed bigger orders from the global giant.

This value-add he gave his clients continuously helped him pull away from the competition. In the past few years, Sabare has expanded its international presence with sales offices in Arkansas, Minnesota and Arizona in the US, and Shanghai in China. It also does considerable business with retailers in Canada, Germany, Italy, France and Mexico. To cope with rising demand, operations have spread to Panipat, Noida and Alleppey. His initial dream of running a multinational clearly isn't wishful thinking anymore. But there's no time for celebration till he reaches the 1,000 crore milestone, Susindran says confidently.

He might have started out at home but this ambitious entrepreneur knows that to be in the big league, he needs to have a toe in the mega cities. "I've always looked out. The biggest hurdle in a small town is lack of talent. To be successful in business, you need great people. That's more easily available in the cities." You have to think globally and think big if you want to offer good products, he adds.

Of course, like any entrepreneurial journey, his had several scary days too. Soon after he started out, Susindran faced his biggest setback when a US client went bankrupt. In the red, he knew he had to borrow to keep his business afloat. Also, he had to quickly shift focus to other clients. Did he ever think of giving up? "It was a terrible phase but fortunately I never got to the point when I thought of going back to a job," he laughs.

More recently, the recession tested him again. Sabare's revenues tumbled from 378 to 250 crore within months, but Susindran hunkered down through the worst times. Today, that storm has passed and his ship is at full sail again. "My passion has kept me going. I don't believe in giving up."

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