Opportunity in Adversity: Bella Casa on an expansion roll amidst COVID-19 as production catapults to 12 Mn units p.a.
Jaipur- based leading player in the fashion & retail industry, Bella Casa, has announced the commencement of a series of business expansion plans for 2021 with a total investment of INR 65 crores. The entire investment plan will be funded by the company through its internal accruals only. With a 550,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Jaipur, the company production has grown from 6 Mn units to 12 Mn units per annum as the company establishes its third plant, also creating employment opportunities for additional 1000 people. Today the company holds a robust Rs 500 crore capacity for producing both apparels and home furnishings.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the company quickly began to revamp its operations in order to sustain itself through tough times. As a campus thriving with 2500 people churning out 20,000 units a day and a major expansion program in progress came to a screeching halt, the company pivoted strategies, gauging the market need. With the urge to help the community as well as keep up the business continuum, Bella Casa reached out to state hospitals and state health departments offering support through production of essentials.
By April 2020, a part of the factory was reopened and Bella Casa produced bedsheets, pillow covers, PPE Kits & Face Masks for supply in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Expressing gratitude for an unhindered growth at a time when most businesses were struggling to survive, Saurav Gupta, CEO, Bella Casa says, “We have been consistent with our CAPEX for the last 10 years. Even this year when COVID struck, we are grateful to be expanding the capacity and taking the total capacity to 1 Mn Units/Month (from 5,00,000 Units/Month in FY20). While adding the production capacity, we are equally optimistic with our distribution and are now taking our brand to 400+districts from 300+districts at present.”
“We have also devoted great efforts in innovative marketing along with offering top quality products to our customers. We recently onboarded Shraddha Kapoor as our brand ambassador and are in process of executing many innovative plans for the growth of the brand.” he added. The company announced its quarterly results in January 2021 stating it to be the best third quarter for the company since its inception. 3QFY21 consolidated constant currency sales increased by 39% YOY to Rs 53.68 Cr and consolidated net profit and EPS increased by 69% YOY to Rs 4.01 cr and Rs 3.5 per share, respectively.
The journey to success
Bella Casa Fashion & Retail Ltd (BCFRL) is one of India’s largest manufacturers and distributors of chic home textile products and designer ethnic wear. The Jaipur based company has been in the business since the ‘90s and with consistent effort, has now become a household name with its superior quality products. Bella Casa has a varied product line, including bed sheets, quilts, and dohars in the bed linen category under ‘Bella Casa – Home Furnishings; and trendy Indian Wear for men under the brand ‘Nayak’ and women under the brand ‘Indigo’ – in its apparel category.
One of the most important milestones in the growth process of Durak Tekstil is the POY (filament) facility established in the 90’s. Saying that they got rid of dependency on raw material suppliers with the POY investment, Yiğit Durak continued his words as follows; “At that time, supply networks were not that advanced and there was a serious dependence on suppliers in terms of production.”
The company has a massive annual production capacity of 12 million pieces. “Bella Casa” has a network of 80 authorised dealers/wholesalers and reaches out to around 3000 retailers across the country. The company also has a robust online presence through its platform (www.bellacasa.in) & associations with e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon, & Ajio.
listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company has an annual turnover of Rs165 Cr (2019-20) and a strong workforce of 2500 employees across its plants and offices. Bella Casa envisions becoming one of the most admired and successful fashion companies in India. With a strong focus on building innovative designs, following best manufacturing practices, and enhancing distribution to every nook and corner of the country, its goal is to become a market leader in India.
As part of its innovation first approach, Bella Casa had also licensed international brands such as Disney, Marvel, and Hallmark Design Collection in India for their superior range of bed linen in the recent past.
The brains behind the operation
Saurav Gupta has been an integral part of Bella Casa – a leading home furnishings and fashion retail company with a pan-India presence – for the last 16 years. His expertise and extensive understanding of consumer demand, along with varied allied business practices, has helped in creating the strong brand identity that many associate with Bella Casa today.
A gold medalist in Master of Fashion Management from NIFT, New Delhi (2004), Saurav is well versed with all functions of the fashion business and brand building. To ensure his efforts enable the company to respond to opportunities of our new connected age, Saurav continues to upskill himself by pursuing his Master in Management Studies from IIM-A while continuing to manage the business, so as to align his company’s vision with a fast-changing world and build a large and well-respected organization from within India’s shores.
Putting his experience and industry knowledge to use, Saurav has backed the expansion of Bella Casa into the fashion segment as he identified the need for upgradation and remodeling of the Indian ethnic wardrobe. This gave rise to its well known brands in fashion such as Indigo and Nayak – popular across India and global shores.
Saurav Gupta strongly believes that the secret to Bella Casa’s growth has been the perfect blend of art and science that they implement in the creation of their products. He endorses the fact that when you combine upstanding creativity with scientific logic, the result is phenomenal.