Bringing India to you
ROOPANANDS, whose tagline is “We bring India to you”, began operating in August 1932. And now, 91 years later, Arvind Roopanand, the current owner, said they had managed to survive in business because they provided quality merchandise at reasonable prices.
Roopanand, 80, said the business was founded by his father, Sewbarun Roopanand, and uncle, Dhonday Roopanand.
“My uncle died in the early 1950s due to heart problems, and my dad was left to run the business.”
Roopanand said the core mandate was to sell Indian music as well as religious and vernacular books from India.
He joined the family business in 1966, which he said paved the way for many shifts.
“This was after completing my Bachelor of Science degree at age 23 at what used to be known as the University College for Indians. Naturally, as a young man with fresh ideas, I made changes in the business.
"Between 1932 and the 1950s, music was played through what was known as 78 RPM Shellac Records. You would wind these on a gramophone with needles and play music on both sides. My dad and uncle imported these from
India every month. With advancing technology, this was replaced with LPs, and later by cassettes and, finally, by compact discs (CD).”
Roopanand said modern technology had resulted in the end of CD sales.
“Now, after 90 years in the business, we are seriously thinking of closing the Indian music division because of the lack of demand. The sale of Indian vernacular books has also come to an end, because less people are learning languages from India.
“Younger generations are more Westernised, so we now have a more viable market for Indian cultural and religious books in English. Stock comes in regularly because of the demand.”
He said Roopanands had a wide range of goods to cater to individual customers or wholesalers.
“We stock Indian clothing, Indian musical instruments, religious and cultural brassware, kitchenware, wedding cards, wedding items, gift boxes and fireworks – anything and everything from India.”
Roopanand said he registered the slogan “We bring India to you” 15 years ago, which was closely associated with their brand name.
He said from 1967, they began expanding their business and had opened 21 branches. But they had closed because of a number of challenges.
“The music business was going down due to the massive pirating of Indian music and DVDs. After South Africa became a democracy in 1994, Indians from India, Pakistan and other parts of the world flocked here, and the country was flooded with pirated music and films.
“They were sold at low prices. All the pirates had to do was buy blank CDs and copy the songs and films. There was no way we could compete with them. Both the police and the copyright holders in India were not interested in controlling this market. Eventually, we closed these branches.
“Our flagship store, which is 4 000m², is now in Springfield Park.”
He attributed his longevity in business success to sourcing goods from overseas. “By doing this, I got goods much cheaper than buying from the local agents and passed the savings to my customers. This, of course, led to many problems and many court cases, which I won, as my dealings were completely legal.”
He said new technologies helped him in the business.
“For starters, we installed cameras in the shop.
“Using a computer, whether in the office or at home, I am able to access detailed reports of daily sales. We regularly change our systems and programming to be able to take proper stock control as well.”
He said the business would continue to thrive once it had been taken over by the next generation.
“Five years from now, the business will be taken over by my son, Rahul. He joined the business full time and, as
I did when I started out full time, he has been making changes and modernising the business.”
He said he was proud Roopanands had become a household name in the Indian community. “I think I have done my share of work.”
Roopanand said after the advent of democracy the world had opened up to working with the new government, and a good future had beckoned.
“However, the government should make things easier for business by providing capital where necessary, reducing duties on essential items, and working more with business leaders.”