--By Gaurav Aryal

 

Vishal Group’s seeds were sown in Dharan. The first generation entrepreneurs from the Agrawal family had a textile shop there. When the family-owned textile business was passed onto the next generation, it took a shape of a manufacturing industrial house following their entry into steel manufacturing. The group has two steel factories in Biratnagar. 

 

Then the group moved into the financial service which was further diversified into imports and distribution. United Distributors Nepal Pvt Ltd, one of the flagship companies of the group has around 50 top brands of the world in its portfolio that it distributes across Nepal. Similarly, the group has involvement in the automobiles, financial services, real estate, education and manufacturing among other sectors.

 

Diversification

Arpit Agrawal, Director of Vishal Group says that it was the efforts of his grandfathers, uncles and his father who took the group to the next level. He says that their exposure to the international business practices and the ideas they brought into the company worked well for the success of their family owned business. Though the group started diversification with the manufacturing of steel, the business that is as strong as the steel now comprises of 40 per cent of the distribution business.

 

The Agrawal family has divided the business among themselves on sector basis.  Agrawal feels that it is the expertise of the entrepreneurs in the family that helped in the diversification decisions. Agrawal, one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the family adds, “If I am given with a choice between manufacturing and distribution business, I would go for the distribution. Manufacturing sector has small and clustered market. The latter offers me scope for my personal as well as professional development. And, more importantly, I enjoy this particular sector.”

 

In the distribution sector, Vishal Group and its subsidiaries are authorised distributors for 50 different FMCG brands in personal care, food and beverages, electronics, liquor and medicines. When asked about the future concentration of the group, Agrawal says that Vishal Group wishes to be the number one FMCG powerhouse of the country. However, he hinted that the group will not completely abandon its manufacturing base.

 

Days Ahead

Agrawal says that the future of the group looks promising in his vision. “Trading sector is the future for Vishal Group. And, we are certain that we will be the number one FMCG powerhouse of Nepal,” he envisions. He is also hopeful that this target may be achieved sooner than three years. Agrawal says that the group has a wide range of products including small products like a mouth freshener to a luxury car. He adds that the group wants to be one stop solution to all the consumer goods and he says there is a possibility of establishing a department store selling only products that range from potato chips to luxury cars, distributed by the Vishal Group.

 

Beating the Competition

Vishal Group hardly feels the presence of its competitors. Though the group sells anything ranging from potato chips to cars, Agrawal says that the group hardly feels any competition. “We are so much busy working that we don’t get time to think a lot about competition. It is always nice to know what our competitors are doing but we don’t really get affected by what they do. We just want to grow as a brand rather than getting involved in beating our competitors,” he explains. Agrawal further says that arrogance affects the brand image and the group is not arrogant at all.

 

To have a significant market share, the group has covered 35 cities and towns across the country. And, it has 60 distributors in those cities and towns. These distributors distribute the goods imported by the group and ensure that they reach the target customers at ease. Agrawal says that products dealt by the group are available in the smallest of the shops of smallest of the towns. He informed that there are more than 100 people working in the sales team of the group. 

 

Various products offered by the group have their own distinct target markets from general public to premium niche clients. According to Agrawal, products of Procter & Gamble on personal care segment has 35 per cent market share while chocolate brands like Mars and Snickers control about 40 per cent market. Similarly, Volkswagen targeted at premium customers has around 10 to 15 per cent market share in its class. Likewise, he adds that the recently introduced Royce energy drink aims to acquire the number two position, after Red Bull within a year.

 

 

Unique Management Practices

Vishal Group is designing one of its own kinds of offices in Nepal, says Agrawal. He adds that the working space is being modernised replicating the style of leading MNCs of the world. Agrawal says that in MNCs everyone sits in the same table, be it the highest ranking official or a junior employee, and this pattern is being incorporated at the Vishal Group’s corporate office.

 

Similarly, he says that directors of the group prefer working in the workstation rather than at their private cabins so that employees could have easy access to them. “We don’t want our employees whom we call our associates feel that we are superior to them. We want to be very accessible. And, when I am working at the workstation, anyone can easily meet me anytime,” explains Agrawal.

 

“When we grow as a brand and a group, we call our employees our associates. We want them to grow not only financially but also professionally and personally along with the group,” Agrawal shares. To ensure the employees develop a sense of belonging towards the company, the group has introduced various motivational packages. One of them is that the employees are allowed to take a half day leave to go to the movies every two months. Likewise, weekly off-work programmes are conducted at the office. The group has 2000 happy employees in all of its companies.