SRINAGAR: In a first, a woman entrepreneur in Srinagar has introduced a novel concept of selling cloth fabric in kilograms in Kashmir. Her experiment has turned out to be a successful and instant hit and from one showroom in 2012, her business has grown and now she has five showrooms in downtown Srinagar and is planning more expansion.
Anjum Jan, a woman from the Illahibagh area of downtown Srinagar, ventured into business in 2012. She has done a Master’s in Commerce and before starting her own business venture, she worked in different fields in the private sector for over a decade. “After gaining enough expertise in the private sector, I started my own business venture in 2012. I set up a showroom of curtains,” Anjum told this newspaper.
“I first started from retail and then switched over to wholesale. I got a good response from the customers, especially from the females,” she said. As her business grew, she ventured into the fabric business and opened a fabric showroom selling different styles of fabrics for females.
“Being a woman, I felt that women would feel comfortable purchasing cloth fabrics from a showroom run by women. I was proved right and women from different parts of the Valley began visiting my showrooms to purchase fabric of their choice,” Anjum said.
Inspired by the concept of selling cloth fabrics in kilograms in Mumbai, Anjuman adopted the same model in Kashmir and is now selling the fabric in kgs. She has got a weight balance machine in the showrooms for weighing the clothes.
“After seeing the sale of cloth fabric in kgs in Mumbai, I instantly decided to introduce it in Kashmir and see how people take it. It became a hit among the people and people from even far-off places like Uri, and Kupwara visit my showrooms to purchase fabric in kgs. People from Jammu also visit our showroom to purchase the fabric,” Anjum said.
She is now selling cloth fabric for both men and women. “We are selling all kinds of fabrics including bridal and party wear, shirwani, etc in kgs,” Anjum said. She said she is not only selling fabric in kgs but selling it at a much cheaper rate.
“I directly import different styles and varieties of fabric from abroad, especially Singapore. With no broker or middle-man involved in the purchase of fabric, I get the fabric at a lower rate than available in the market and I pass the benefit to the customers,” Anjum said.
She said the items available at her showrooms are at least 40-50 per cent cheaper than the market rate. According to Anjum, she is also supplying the fabric to a dealer in UP. “The dealer has been regularly purchasing the fabric from me for the last few years”.
Perhaps it would be the first case when a cloth dealer from within the country is purchasing the fabric from a Valley-based business person. With the growth of her business, her showrooms have increased to five in a decade. “My emphasis remains on the quality of the fabric. We check the quality of the fabric before putting it for sale in the showrooms. If there is a slightest complaint, I instantly act and check and if proved right, give a replacement”.
“But there have been only a few complaints in my decade-long business.”