Dileep trading corporation
Economic Times, India
NEW DELHI: Dileep Trading Corporation was set up by Dileep Baid in 1989. At present, with six companies under its umbrella, it is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of handicraft items.
As Mr Baid recalls, the company’s humble beginnings, it is clear that the organisation was based on the foundation of creative ideas and hard work. For the first two years, the company was a vendor to the Coast Guard in the Indian Navy.
On one of his trips to Germany as a vendor, Mr Baid realised that the market for handicrafts was huge.
In 1991, he decided to manufacture handicraft items for the international market. Like many other entrepreneurs, getting finance was the first major hurdle facing the company. However, Mr Baid’s ideas managed to convince some bankers to finance the exports.
Right from the start, the company chose a different path from the rest of the industry. “Then, mostly decorative handicraft items were being exported from India. I chose to produce goods that were not only decorative but were also of utility value,†says Mr Baid. Not surprisingly, the next big challenge was to train artisans to produce such goods.
“It was a learning process for me as well as the workers, and we even had to hire professional designers from abroad. It was all worth it as we finally managed to develop our niche in the market,†he recalls.
The big break came in 1993 when the company got a million dollar order from Pier 1, which is one of the largest home furnishing stores in the US. It was a challenge in the beginning since the company did not have enough manpower. However, the company managed to execute the order and soon featured on the radar of other international concerns.
The company is currently working with around 30 international chain stores. While it is an export-based organisation, it is planning to look towards the Indian market also. In December ‘05, the company opened its first store in Mumbai. The company is now planning to come up with a chain of stores in India.
The current turnover of Dileep Trading Corporation is around Rs 60 crore. The company has major plans for expansion and has invested heavily in equipment.
The biggest problem in the industry, according to Mr Baid, is the archaic labour laws. “The working hours here are only 8 hours, with a break in between. In comparison, in China, the working hours are around 12 hours.
Moreover, there is a lot of record keeping that consumes qualitative time,†says Mr Baid. If the industry has to be competitive globally, flexibility in labour laws and increased productivity is very important, he thinks.