Changing and evolving with the dynamic market demands is both a challenge and a winning strategy. One company that has almost completely changed its business model over the last two years is Kolkata-headquartered Sunny Sales, which was previously concentrating on selling spares and with 95 percent of its sales coming from it. Today the focus has shifted to industrial sewing machines, with spares only a back-up support for customers. Working exclusively with Asian, predominantly Chinese brands, Sunny Sales has developed a business model that has not only increased its sales, but also widened its reach from eastern India to almost the entire country with Tirupur the next destination. Very upbeat of a vibrant market in 2013, Sanjay Mehta, MD, Sunny Sales discusses his growth strategy with Team Apparel Online.
Believing in exclusivity, Sunny Sales is working mostly with brands for which they have all-India marketing rights. “90 percent of the brands we represent are exclusive to us and that is where the edge comes from,” says Sanjay. Offering products from brand names like Baihui,
Sendo, Maqi, Messer and Kaisiman amongst others, the company believes in providing the latest developments in technology and solutions at affordable prices. “Our endeavour is to make technology affordable so even small players and manufacturing hubs can upgrade to new machines. That is one of the biggest reasons to work with Chinese brands,” avers Sanjay.
Sanjay believes that Chinese machines are true value for money and the real challenge is selecting the right technology partner to ensure quality. “We get our products from reliable sources and established brands, backing it up with excellent services, so our customers are satisfied. Today, Chinese manufacturers have really improved the quality of their products and in many areas are comparable to western standards of technology,” says Sanjay. It can also not be ignored that the prices of Chinese machines are almost 50 percent to 80 percent cheaper in comparison to Japan, Taiwan and German products. “This is the biggest advantage to domestic garment manufacturers and exporters trying to achieve better results at lower costs,” adds Sanjay. He also points out that most enquiries are for mechanical machines as the level of skilled manpower required to operated such machines is lower and maintenance is also easier.
In fact, Sanjay feels that more than market conditions it is the difficulty in finding skilled labour which has slowed down expansion in the industry. “Smaller centres where labour is easily available are growing faster and we are now participating in fairs all over the country to see what is happening in emerging hubs and to develop dealer networks. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Siliguri and Guwahati are coming up fast,” says Sanjay. The hot markets today for industrial sewing machines and from where growth is coming are Surat and Bellari, he points out. Giving complete solutions from cutting to stitching, Sunny Sales has competent teams to back the machines.
Understanding that service and quick response is the key to hold customers, the company has invested in trained team of technicians who are well equipped to handle any problems that may arise. “We have a sound technical team and since one type of product can be available in many brands, we have experts looking after specific product needs and services not for different brands.” This works well for the company as each technician is well trained for any maintenance or application-related problems for specific operations and is not dependent on a team from brands for support. No wonder the company has a loyal customer base of around 500 customers with 20 percent increase year-on-year in the portfolio.
Though the company has been operating in the industry since 1945, the real growth of the company has come under the strategic leadership of Sanjay. Today, Sanjay is working with a dealer network that is very wide. “We have developed a business model where are collaborating with local dealers to sell our machines, while the dealer gets 90 percent of the profit we get 10 percent for which we provide all the back-up required to ensure complete satisfaction to the customers,” says Sanjay. The partnership route has really seen the company grow, and while each dealer or sub-dealer handles his own region, the Kolkata head-office moves in whenever there is a problem, whether it is in getting the machine or addressing a technical issue. The company has 350 different models to offer from various brands with 3-4 new models added on every year.
