3. William Bissell
The Managing Director of FabIndia
a second generation entrepreneur, who has a degree
in philosophy, political science and governance from
Wesleyan University in the U.S.
In 1993, while holidaying in Australia, William Bissell
once ran into an experienced surfer who shared an
invaluable lesson with the 27-year-old.
Today, Fabindia is considered one of the most
profitable retailers in the country. It earns a net margin
of 8%, nearly three times more than the industry
average, evoking the envy of every rival.
4. Leadership
Fabindia has almost singlehandedly built a network of
a rapidly vanishing breed of handloom weavers and
artisans.
India's 35 top towns through its network of 144 stores.
Fabindia's elaborate--and almost dedicated--supply
chain organization is now in place.
5. Cont.
He co-opted 22,000 artisans made them into shareholders
that became the subject of a Harvard Business School
case study in 2007 and made Bissell a poster boy of
inclusive capitalism.
"It seems contradictory that we pursue both a social goal
and a profit, but I believe that is the only way to do it," says
Bissell in that case study.
"He sat with the artisans and explained how inherently
valuable their craft was and how it could be capitalized. He
convinced them that they should also have a share in this
value by investing in it. - Sumita Ghosh (Rangsutra)
6. Criticisms
World Bank president James Wolfensohn's private
investment fund picked up a 8% stake in the company for
Rs. 50 crore.
William has often been criticized about opening Fabindia
stores in malls, as opposed to stand-alone heritage
properties which lent a unique character to the brand. He's
also criticized for bringing in powerloom fabrics, where
John was fanatical about handlooms, of replacing cotton
thread for stitching with polyester thread, of combining
plastic shower curtains with ethnic home furnishings, but
most of all for growing Fabindia too fast.
William's mantra seems to be „giving the customer what
they want„ in the most efficient, accessible and eco-friendly
way
7. Future
Which is why he is working on a new vision plan, one
that will grow the company's outlets to three times the
number it currently has over the next four years. After
saturating much of the demand in the bigger cities
(Fabindia has 13 stores in Bangalore and 22 in NCR)
he now wants to unlock demand in smaller towns like
Vellore, Karnal and Rishikesh. By 2015, he wants to
put 300 stores in these tier two towns. There are also
plans to open 10-12 large format stores to showcase
Fabindia's home furniture range.
8. Cont.
To fund this growth, Bissell needs capital. In the
last few weeks, he has been holding daily
meetings with venture capital and private equity
firms to dilute about 25% of its equity and at least
a dozen firms--from Carlyle, Sequoia, Everstone
to PremjiInvest--are said to be queuing up at his
door. The valuations are said to be steep.
Sources say Bissell expects to dilute at about six
times current revenue. Part of the money will go
towards buying out Wolfensohn's share, some of
it will go for ESOPs (employee stock ownership
plan) and the rest will be for growing the
business.
9. Awards and recognition
Fabindia was awarded “Best Retail Brand” in 2004 by
The Economic Times.
In 2004, Fabindia was featured as part of a CNBC
special TV report on India.
Fabindia brand does not advertise, and largely works
through word of mouth publicity.
In 2007 the craft-conscious enterprise concept of
Fabindia became a Harvard Business School (HBS)
case study.
2010 marked 50 years of the foundation of Fabindia,
and release of the book, The Fabric of Our Lives: The
Story of Fabindia, by Radhika Singh
10. Philanthropy
William and John Bissell established "The Fabindia
School" in 1992 in Bali, in Pali district of Rajasthan.
"The John Bissell Scholars Fund", established in 2000
11. Fabindia Products
The textile-based product range
The Home Products
Fabindia Organic
Fabindia's range of authentic Personal care products
12. William Bissell‟ book
In this book, the Author takes on
all the problems that plague India,
and describes solutions that are
Mathematically Sound,
Scientifically Possible, and
Ideologically Inspired.
The ideas offered in Making India
Work are new, different and
refreshing, and are a must-read
for individuals interested in
alternate governance, or anyone
who yearns to see a beautiful,
competitive and just India
13. William Bissell
The Man: The MD of Fabindia transformed the export-
focussed textile company that his expat father founded
into a big domestic brand, and changed the way the
upwardly mobile Indian male dressed during functions
and festivals. Fabindia has now hit the accelerator with
private equity funding. He says we need to examine our
assumptions of how narrowly we want to define
performance.
The Oeuvre: Started artisans co-operative in Rajasthan in
1988. His book, Making India Work, is a collection of his
ideas that can solve some of India‟s pressing problems.
14. Cont.
X-Factor: Imaginative, idealism combined with business
acumen and tough negotiating skills.
The Message: We need to examine more closely the
environment that encourages widespread corporate fraud,
and look at more encompassing ways of assessing the worth
of a company and its leadership.
"In popular myth, John Bissell was an idealistic visionary and
his son William his antithesis: Discarding Fabindia's core
principles en route to exponential growth. The truth is (as his
book Making India Work makes abundantly clear) William,
though differently, is as much a visionary as his father; while
idealist John was also an intensely practical business man."
Notas do Editor
whose father Mr. John Bissell founded the company FabIndia, in 1960. FabIndia is symbolic of Indian craftsmanship and is committed to build the Indian Fabric storyDon't just surf the course, but keep a constant watch on where the next wave is coming from, he advised him.
leadership, Fabindia has almost singlehandedly built a network of a rapidly vanishing breed of handloom weavers and artisans, which in turn supply handicrafts to a loyal set of city folk across India's 35 top towns through its network of 144 stores. Fabindia's elaborate--and almost dedicated--supply chain organization is now in place, thanks to Bissell, who co-opted 22,000 artisans and made them into shareholders through an elaborate community-owned model that became the subject of a Harvard Business School case study in 2007 and made Bissell a poster boy of inclusive capitalism.Fabindia can easily add about 30 stores a year without batting an eyelid. Except that even the die-hard Fabindia customer now has a lot more to choose from. In New Delhi's Greater Kailash N Block market, where the Fabindia story began, there are multiple stores--Kilol, Anokhi, Cottons, all selling ethnic Indian wear--surrounding the flagship Fabindia store. Retail chains like Lifestyle and Shopper's Stop too have expanded their ethnic wear sections. And the disquieting truth.Ghose had founded a producer company, Rangasutra, which sold crafts of Rajasthani artisans in bigger cities like Delhi. But scaling up was a challenge because Rangasutra was not able to raise funds from the banks or private investors. When she heard Bissell was setting up AMFPL, she went to meet him. Around the same time she had also been talking to VineetRai of Aavishkaar. Bissell, Rai and Ghose decided to come together to register Rangasutra as Fabindia's first community-owned company. Through AMFPL, Fabindia invested 30%, the artisans contributed 27%, Aavishkaar put in 23% and Ghose and the other employees of Rangasutra contributed the remaining. Fabindia also secured working capital loans for Rangasutra by standing as a guarantor."It seems contradictory that we pursue both a social goal and a profit, but I believe that is the only way to do it," says Bissell in that case study. He realized very early that only market-based mechanisms can lift the poor out of poverty. He wanted the artisans to start thinking like him, invest in warehouses, and become aware of what designs sold better, plan for seasons and work ahead of schedules. He decided to create a fund, Artisans Micro Finance Private Limited (AMFPL), a fully owned subsidiary of Fabindia that would bring these artisans into regional supplying companies spread across the country. By creating private limited companies he also made it easier for these companies to borrow money from banks against orders from Fabindia.
But now, he realizes that Fabindia has hit a glass ceiling. ., William has often been criticized about opening Fabindia stores in malls, as opposed to stand-alone heritage properties which lent a unique character to the brand. He's also criticized for bringing in powerloom fabrics, where John was fanatical about handlooms, of replacing cotton thread for stitching with polyester thread, of combining plastic shower curtains with ethnic home furnishings, but most of all for growing Fabindia too fast.And the disquieting truth: Even though Fabindia has a huge share of mind, at Rs. 404 crore, its turnover is smaller than some of the kids brands like Gini and Jony or Lilliput.
Which is why he is working on a new vision plan, one that will grow the company's outlets to three times the number it currently has over the next four years. After saturating much of the demand in the bigger cities (Fabindia has 13 stores in Bangalore and 22 in NCR) he now wants to unlock demand in smaller towns like Vellore, Karnal and Rishikesh. By 2015, he wants to put 300 stores in these tier two towns. There are also plans to open 10-12 large format stores to showcase Fabindia's home furniture range. To fund this growth, Bissell needs capital. In the last few weeks, he has been holding daily meetings with venture capital and private equity firms to dilute about 25% of its equity and at least a dozen firms--from Carlyle, Sequoia, Everstone to PremjiInvest--are said to be queuing up at his door. The valuations are said to be steep. Sources say Bissell expects to dilute at about six times current revenue. Part of the money will go towards buying out Wolfensohn's share, some of it will go for ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) and the rest will be for growing the business.