Rensil D'Silva: How to Make it in Bollywood Education in the Gulf ...

COVER STORY
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ANNI V ERSARY
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what we have
accomplished,
but Liali is still
among the top ten jewelers
in Dubai, so there is a lot more
to achieve,” is his realistic
assessment. “Including retail,
office and skilled craftsmen we
have about 150 personnel now
and we have been opening about
2-3 stores a year in viable
locations. We could have
grown much faster but we
deliberately curtailed our
expansion preferring to
move ahead with restraint.”
Despite his cautious
approach to the business
there is an adventurous
streak in Anuraag’s
strategic planning. It is
evident in the company
venturing outside Dubai
and opening two stores in
Spain and one in Bahrain
with another in the nearby
emirate of Al Ain. But why Spain?
Anuraag says, “Everybody asks
me why Spain? It was just an
adventure, actually on one of our
trips to London, Raed and I found
a great store location just opposite
Harrods. We sat in a coffee shop
nearby for one whole day just to
observe what the traffic was like.
The location was fabulous, but
the cost was enormous and as
we studied the people coming in
and out of Harrods we realized
they would not walk across to our
store, so we dropped the idea.”
Then they thought why not try
a small experiment in Europe?
Looking at various options they
decided that Spain, which has
a population of 30 million and
attracts another 52 million tourists
The International Indian
every year was the ideal choice. The weather is also moderate there and
people dress in clothes that allow them to wear jewellery compared
to other parts of Europe that require warm clothing, which hides
jewellery. They found a mall store in Barcelona with sensible
economics and decided to go for it, opening a second high street
store and gallery soon after in the same city.
“We do a lot of innovating with our product line,” says Anuraag,
revealing it is one area where he constantly likes to experiment. “You have
to explore all possibilities when you are dealing with a multi-cultural,
diversified customer base, especially in a place like Dubai, which is a
melting pot of nationalities,”
he notes. Compared to any
other mega city in the world
the diversity of Dubai is quite
shocking – in a population
of less than two million
the income groups range
from ordinary people to
dollar millionaires. Liali’s
products are designed to
reach the widest, most
appropriate audience
possible keeping in mind
their various store locations
in the city that are designed
to attract different segments.
In Dubai there is the high end tourist segment, the affluent Arab and
Asian cluster, the western expat grouping and so on, all requiring a range
of products that will particularly satisfy their tastes. “To serve all these
segments,” says Anuraag, “a range of jewellery is required that cannot
be bought from people who do not understand such diverse customer
tastes. I am doomed if I only try to sell mass manufactured products
from a factory in Spain or Italy, Hong Kong or Thailand to my customers
in Dubai. So we experiment with small customized manufacturers in
various ways to offer a unique product range that is always new and
fresh. My team is very product-centric , I am also a product person,
it is one of our big strengths,” insists Anuraag. “That’s what keeps our
inventory lean and ensures that customers keep coming back.”
Anuraag ascribes much of their success to his personal involvement
in every aspect of the business, “I’m a very hands-on person and I
work with all my teams – marketing, finance, production, customer
service etc. I am in my stores quite regularly, I just love my business!”
He has enhanced his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics
with a Diamond Grading course through the International Gemological
Institute (IGI), but with 20 years in the jewellery field most of his
learning has been hands-on. Anuraag’s favorite charity on a personal
level is CRY in India, but Liali supports the Al Noor Training Centre
Anuraag Sinha and Oofrish Contractor, Marketing Manager
of Liali presenting a cheque to the Al Noor Training
Centre for Children with Special Needs in Dubai
for Children with Special Needs in Dubai and has helped various
charity organizations raise funds through auctions of their jewellery.
As someone who has succeeded in doing what so many NRIs would
like to do, how does Anuraag work together with his Arab partner?
After a decade in business they have a very clear understanding of
each other’s role says
Anuraag. “First of all
let me tell you that Mr
Raed Ahmad Baker
comes from a very, very
affluent UAE national
family and his social and
economic conditions
are very different from
mine. I was raised in
Mumbai and he grew
up in Dubai and the
West, which is like
north and south. He is
also 15 years younger
than I am, yet despite
Raed Ahmad Baker beat many seasoned drivers and claimed six
category wins in the Dunes championships since his participation
in 1996. Raed represented the UAE at the Race of Champions
held in Jeddah in 2001 and 2002. He won the most valuable team
award in 1997, 1998 and 2004 and received the Sheikh Saeed
Golden Sword award in 2003 for winning the 1000 Dunes race.
the generational
differences, we
complement
each other
in our strengths, which is ideal for the business.” Raed and
Anuraag decided it was important to capitalize on each
other’s unique understanding of the jewellery business.
“There are certain products I might not even look at to
buy for the store. But Raed knows what will attract high net
worth customers and what we must include in our product range,
which is suitable to a particular store. Liali doesn’t participate in many
trade fairs but we do go to all of them and Raed comes to almost all the
shows we attend in various countries. Between him and me we know
how to cover the market bandwith and reach the target audiences we
want to reach, that’s how we span our socio-economic and generational
differences - by putting them into product!”
But what is the reason for such a successful relationship between two
very diverse individuals? “We have a very transparent relationship with a
clear focus on what we should do to make the business successful –it’s not
about us, it’s about Liali - we look at Liali as an entity that needs to move
ahead, it’s an idea we have also instilled into our team,” says Anuraag,
explaining that his goal is to create and build Liali as a professional,
cohesive business without fragmented individual thinking. “We focus on
our strengths not on the weaknesses that we all have,” he says. “But the most
important thing in a partnership I have realized is that one must be ready
to give more rather than expect more, and as a partner one should not be
overly concerned about the slice of
the pie. That’s how our relationship
has worked in the last ten years.”
Budding entrepreneurs can no
doubt glean valuable insights from
such a transnational
partnership if they want
to do business in the
Middle East. Anuraag’s
theory is that if you have
a good business plan it
will automatically attract
investors.
What seems to set
apart people like Anuraag
is an ability to look beyond
obstacles common to all
but overcome only by a
few, and the willingness
to forego immediate
gratification. Does
Anuraag function purely as
an instinctive entrepreneur
or is there a process to
his thinking? Going by
the insights he has gleaned, he is
quite decisive after everything is
considered and planned.
There is an old adage, which
says success is about doing only
one thing – Anuraag Sinha is
one person who cannot be easily
distracted from his business
because he has judiciously tapped
the power of that concept and its
upshot. In doing
so Anuraag has
found his labor
of love and it
has brought
him a long
way from
his fortune
hunting days in Mumbai.
Frank Raj is the founder editor
of The International Indian
The International Indian 43