While some of the organizations in our industry have grown and flourished on their marketing skills and expansion strategies, there are others who have grown working with international brand names on the basis of their goodwill and products, Bathija Zip House, Mumbai is one such company.
Started modestly from a small 300 sq. feet office in Mumbai by Anil Bathija 30 years ago after his graduation and with just three people, and a turnover of Rs. 12 lakh per annum, Bathija Zip House today has worked its way up. He has never looked back and presently has about 15,000 sq. feet in warehouses and offices with staff of 20 people.
Standing at a turnover of Rs. 50 crore today, the company is still predominantly trading YKK zippers to the Western regions. “Every year has turned out to be a growth year for us. Though I do not believe in looking back, I certainly like to carry forward my relationships with my clients; after all it’s because of this goodwill and mouth to mouth marketing only that we’ve been able to grow this much without any marketing efforts from our side,” says Anil.
Claiming to be the largest dealer working in the Western region of India for YKK zippers, Bathija Zip House has maintained a year-on-year growth of about 10% for the past 30 years, and plans on increasing this percentage to 20% in the coming five years. A strong believer of goodwill for success, Anil has created a loyal family of customers. Being one of the first dealers to YKK zippers has also helped the company create a good niche in the market. He also stressed on the marketing of the company products in the Western region, making it a popular brand there. Catering to both the export and domestic market, Anil believes that they have been doing well and maintaining good business in spite of the international markets not doing so well. “About 25-30% of my business is with the exporters and the rest 70% is with the domestic market. Since, the local market is still growing, we have good business,” argues Anil.
Working with good quality standardized products; the company also imports fashion accessories from China including linings and interlinings. The delivery period of the stocked goods is about two to three days and the customized products as per customers request are delivered within 15 days. “We are very positive of good business in the year ahead and want to continue with the personalized way of doing business which has given us so much credibility in the market,” concludes Anil.
