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Diligent Relationship Builder

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DQC News Bureau
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PROFILE

Company: Modcare Enterprises



Address: 106, Red Rose Building, 49-50, Nehru Place, New Delhi 110019.


Tel: 011-647 8431, 647 8432, 641 6344


E-mail: modcare@vsnl.com  


Start-up year: 1987


Products and services: Consumable supplies



Nehru Place is a very unlikely

place for some one who wanted to enter armed forces to land up in, but fate

works in mysterious ways. Anoop Kumar always nurtured the desire to be a part of

the Indian Armed Forces and even cleared the CDS, only to be rejected for

knock-knees. But the rejection dealt no blow on his psyche -- rather Anoop came

out a confident man, confident that he had the ability to excel in other fields.

Humble beginnings

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Back in Delhi, Anoop joined

his brother in the family stationery trade. He decided to go solo in 1987 with

Modcare. Operating from home, for lack of commercial space, Anoop entered

business on a rather slow note, selling just a box of floppies on the first day,

making five rupees in the process. But this did not get his indefatigable spirit

down.

The very next year he moved

out into a shop based at Yusuf Sarai in Delhi. Around the same time, Nehru Place

was emerging as the convergence point for computer traders. Sensing an

opportunity, Anoop moved Modcare to Nehru Place in 1992, lock, stock and barrel.

Besides being the hub of IT activity, real estate prices in the area was a

consideration. “Nehru Place offered the cheapest commercial property then

unlike today,” he says.

The physical shift from Yusuf

Sarai to Nehru Place resulted in a shift in the business model for Modcare. From

a retailer of consumables, the company metamorphosed into wholesale trading.

"Wholesale trade rests on competitive pricing, while retail trade is

largely influenced by service," says Anoop. He also knew that a

differential pricing for the two segments could not be possible from a single

trading location.

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But the shift in strategy did

not dilute Anoop’s focus on customer relations. In fact he has harbored and

built relationships diligently over the years. “The relationships have evolved

into friendships”, says Anoop.

A rolling stone

Anoop is grateful that he has

been spared major setbacks and rough weather that plague this trade. The going

has been smooth right from the beginning, but the big jump came after Anoop

added the HP range of consumables to his portfolio in 2000. His sales figures

tell this very story clearly. Modcare closed its books at Rs 5 crore in 1999.

The figure jumped to Rs 9 crore the next year. In 2001 Modcare turnover has

touched Rs 12.5 crore.

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Anoop maintains that this

growth has come partially because he steered clear of the spurious products

market. “Sell genuine, sell consistently” is his mantra for success. He

ensures that his purchases are from sources that are not ad hoc. He says, “The

rewards of having stuck to these principles are coming in now”.

Expansion of products range

Anoop has a clear picture in

mind on the activities he has to concentrate on this fiscal. First is to add

floor space within Nehru Place to serve customers better and more efficiently.

He is also planning to add consumables of Canon, Epson and Lexmark to his

portfolio. Expansion of product lines is critical, he feels, as the margins

today are the lowest in the trade. Large volumes can offset this, which is where

the new product lines come in.

Anoop is also creating an new

organizational culture at Modcare. “Every time we exceed our best monthly sale

by ten percent or more, we have a party,” he states. And he not only awards

his employees with cash and gifts, but the entire team dines out together. He

says with a twinkle in his eye, "A team that dines together, stays

together."

Mohit Chabbra in New Delhi

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