Taking Khadi to every corner
Khadi would no longer be a proverbial item of outdated Khadi Bhandars. Taking serious notes of ensuring availability of this signature fabric at every doorstep, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has introduced a new initiative of opening exclusive ‘Khadi Korners’ in major malls and supermarkets in the country. On January 12 this year, an MOU between KVIC and Globus chains of stores for setting up of exclusive Khadi stores named ‘Khadi Korner’ was signed at Mumbai. The first shop-in-shop ‘Khadi Korner’, however, was opened at GIP Mall in Noida on January 10.
KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, who was also present on this occasion, said that it is a good platform where customers would get a wide range of Khadi products, without travelling much of a distance. “Even the initial performance is beyond the common expectation. We have got nearly 1000 square feet area in the Globus stores. As per the market parameters, Rs 1,000 per square feet is believed to be fantastic. But, we recorded a sale
of Rs 1,862 per sq feet in the first ‘Khadi Korner’ in Noida. It will certainly be a major marketing game-plan for Khadi in retail and expected to give a major push to Khadi sales,” he said.
“Such tie-ups can ensure the growth of Khadi and village industries on three fronts, i.e. increase in sales, growth in employment generation and enhancement in wages of our valuable artisans,” he further added.
Announcing that another innovation in form of ‘Khadi Mitra’ is on cards, where the housewives could sell Khadi with a very nominal initial capital investment, Saxena said that Khadi, from time immemorial, had been associated with women empowerment.
It may be noted that on November 16, 2017, KVIC had organised an interaction with CEOS of retail chains and designers at WTC Mumbai, which was addressed by V K Saxena and Secretary MSME, AK Panda. The objective was to give retail presence to Khadi in major malls and retail stores. Subsequently, convergence has been established with Globus Stores, a unit of Raheja Group and ‘Khadi Korners’ have been planned for opening in Ahmedabad (on January 22), Chennai and Varanasi in the first phase. Tie-up has also been made with Cotton Bazaar at Mumbai and ‘Khadi Korner’ is planned for launch in February 2018 through their stores. Besides, discussions are on with Pantaloon, Apna Bazaar, Shoppers Stop, Big Bazaar etc for ‘Khadi Korner’ tie-up.
The KVIC Chairman further informed that the Khadi Korner would operate on three distinct models, i.e. exclusively run by the retails, run by the Khadi Bhavan and a tripartite retail by Khadi Institutions/pmegp/regp Units. “We will leave no stone unturned in extending best of marketing support and export opportunities to Khadi institutions, PMEGP/REGP units to help market their products and services, besides making convergence with the trusted Corporate giants to market Khadi,” he said.
“Designer intervention is also planned by KVIC to introduce market trendy designs in Khadi. Reputed designers like Ritu Beri, Nachiket and institutes like NIFT, SNDT and Pearl Academy are also being involved in this initiative,” stated Saxena.