MARKET MIND

have been the predictable joint venture-driven valuecreation story; the management corrected me. It was a new distribution strategy that made the difference.

This is how it panned out in Somany’s case: The scion of the promoter’s family did something unusual; he began to meet the trade, listen to their issues and understand shelf-space dynamics. The result was unexpected: The trade partner sitting in a remote location now knew he enjoyed the sunvaayi that extended right to the top; he began to stock more. And, now that the evangelising had extensively kickstarted, Somany began to manufacture/outsource a wider product range, replenish with speed, encourage dealers and retailers to stock less, and commission proprietary showrooms that would stimulate consumption (and leave the existing network to address the uptick). Products moved faster, cash inflows accelerated, debt declined, interest cover increased and capexes declined — all the value drivers kickstarted by that ‘D’ word.

Then, I met HSIL. In the past couple of years, the company has

MUDAR PATHERYA

restructured its multi-decade business by creating three sales channels — building products, packaging and consumer products — through which all portfolio increments will now be addressed, enhancing organisational crosssell synergy on the one hand, while enhancing dealer revenue on the other.

Then Raymond sealed it. It was India’s first organised sector textile retail brand; the company has virtually reinvented its distribution network in the past four years starting with store refurbishment (challenging, as no franchise wants to take an enforced shutdown), stronger brand alignment and spending, increased capital efficiency per dealer and then simply telling the rest of the trade how so and so is now making more money. The result: Business growth in the past three years has outperformed the sectoral average; this is one reinvention story on which I would place a sizeable bet for graduating into a higher league.

If we stock-pickers only walked round the corner and spoke to dealers and resellers more, it might be a more effective way of picking the next multi-bagger.