One could never guess that it has been only seven months in office for Shweta Tarun Gupta, the daughter of late Swaran Kumar Chaudhary, the Founder and Chairman of Kailash Group. The confidence and positive energy around her is infectious. She has not only ‘technically’ taken control of KRF Ltd., but has put to rest the anxiety of its 300-odd staff, who were unsure after the sudden demise of her father, and above all put a scare in the competition with fresh aggressive positioning. In conversation with Apparel Online, Shweta, an MBA in Marketing opens up about the challenges she faced and resolved how she is striving to live up to the expectations of the name of her father, popularly known in the industry as the ‘Label King’.
Though Shweta worked for KRF earlier before her marriage, coming back after nearly 8 years and taking the reins of leadership post her father’s sudden passing away, was one big challenge. “The major challenge is living up to the high standards that my father had set. One day I hope to live up to the expectations of all who are associated with KRF, as the market, technology and people’s expectations are continuously changing,” asserts Shweta. At present, she is looking at reallocating capital and people towards growth opportunities; adapting to new technology; building agility and resilience in the organization; revamping leadership development to focus more on ‘who the leaders are’ rather than ‘what they do’ and building a strong international presence.
Shweta has the technical knowledge to lead the company in the current scenario, having been associated with the company since 2002 as Director. She has complete knowledge of the product and product line – its marketing, export and new business development plans. “I have also been a part of various exhibitions, both domestic as well as international, and carry the experience which adds to my knowledge and work. Yet fitting into the prevalent organizational setup and winning the confidence of people was difficult, but I successfully achieved it today. “I may have a different approach for achieving the same objective as my father, but the goals are the same and in the process, it is important to take people along with me. So, right now my core focus is definitely towards my people, to care for their welfare and instill confidence in them,” shares Shweta.
She is slowly and steadily bringing a transformation in the organization by changing the marketing structure through identifying marketing leaders from the present workforce. “It’s about balancing the way my father handled his business and at the same time introducing one idea at a time for change. I cannot act like their leader right now; I have to be a team member; I have to convince them to try my ideology,” reasons Shweta.
Each individual unit of the company is being treated as an independent profit making centre, and policies that have been laid down are reviewed continuously in order to check potentials for growth and improvements of the company. In addition, these changes have resulted in success of the organization “At the end of October, our existing marketing team has achieved within a period of 7 months a comparative 10 per cent rise in sales from the previous year,” claims Shweta.
Not to be put down, Shweta has continued with expansion activities, sending positive signs to the market and to her internal detractors that she means business. “Initially the market was in a predicament due to the transition, but addition of infrastructure is creating positivity within the organization and outside as well,” says Shweta. Not only has the infrastructure been strengthened, but the focus continues to be on quality and timely delivery, which have been at the centre of success for KRF. “My Dad started as a small label manufacturer and with time he was able to capture the ‘lion’s share’ of the market. I have to maintain the position of being the market leader and if I don’t add up to the existing structure, then how can I go ahead?” reasons Shweta.
As of today, the company is maintaining a 60:40 ratio in its marketing efforts, with international market, mostly through exporters being the majority share of business. Going forward, the company is looking to strengthen its international presence while also making efforts to expand its share in the domestic market. The way things are playing out, Shweta is now working towards attaining the target of achieving double the turnover within the next two-three years by adding value to every aspect of their product categories.
Besides building the blocks on the existing business, Shweta is also keen to create new horizons. “I am fascinated with art and culture of past decades. Rather than simply re-appropriating past aesthetics, I am interested in honouring authenticity while figuring out how to achieve the same truth within a contemporary context. My vision is to lead a team and be a part of one to transcend beyond roles into relationships. Also to build a culture where people will be led through a purpose and value-driven organization,” she shares.
Filling her father’s giant size shoes is not an easy task, but the lessons learnt from him are still guiding her. “My dad was definitely the inspiration for me when taking charge of his established business. He taught me at a very young age that anything is possible, you just need to work hard and believe in yourself. When things go wrong he taught me to break the problem down into ‘bite size pieces’ and push ahead, taking on each piece one at a time until the issue was resolved. As a result, no problem was insurmountable and no goal out of reach. I have been empowered by this belief throughout my entire life, something that fuels me now more than ever as an entrepreneur,” recalls Shweta emotionally.
Shweta along with Prateek Chaudhary, Kavita Vohra and Suruchi Tondon are taking care of production to ensure smooth operations to meet industry expectations. The way Shweta is taking the organization forward, one does believe that the era of the ‘Label King’ isn’t over as his daughter is sure to take the business ahead. “My father was a ‘risk taker’, he never used to have a stagnant approach and I cannot have the same. All I can tell people is to have greater faith and probably a young fresh mind that will carry forward the legacy with the same passion,” concludes Shweta.
