Meena Bindra on Creating a Pan-India Brand Like BIBA

Meena Bindra

She started her designing business with a Rs.8000 loan from the bank and today she has grown it into a pan-India brand. In the last 30 years, Meena Bindra has created a success story called BIBA thanks to her love for what she does.

From a home-based business, Meena Bindra has created a pan-Indian brand of ethnic wear

Interview with MEENA BINDRA: Source: http://idiva.com/interviews-work-life/meena-bindra-on-creating-a-pan-india-brand-like-biba-diva-in-focus/20461 

    Q. How did you set up BIBA? 

Meena Bindra

I was a housewife who had never worked before. I had no knowledge or experience in business and I was not a qualified designer. Also, at that time (the early 1980s), there weren't any courses in fashion design. People usually bought fabric and had their garments stitched because readymade garments were rare. But when I told my husband that I wanted to start designing and making ethnic wear, he was supportive and agreed to get me a loan of Rs.8000 from the bank. I'm not sure why he got me Rs.8000 and not Rs.10000 or Rs.5000, but eight turned out to be a lucky number for me!

I had my first major break when I found a very good block printer. He was an educated young boy who understood what I wanted. Soon I began to spend hours everyday at the factory as I enjoyed my work and also the yummy Gujarati food that he would serve me there. 

I started my business with around 40 printed salwar suits that I had priced at about Rs.170. I was making them for about Rs.100, so I thought I was making pots of money (laughs).

Q. How was business in the initial years?

Meena Bindra

I received a good response from people and gradually started increasing my stock. These were fun years because I got to experiment with various fabrics, cuts, colours and more. A short while after I began, a small boutique in Mumbai began to retail some of my creations and later Benzer came on board too. I did not ever have to do any marketing. People just kept coming to me. 

The market also opened up and there were retail chains like Shopper's Stop and Pantaloons who approached me. That's when I realised the importance of professionalism. From pricing to timelines, I had to be accountable and deliver on time. What's more, they wanted to see different ranges, so I had to be aware of the fashion seasons too.

  Q. What was your vision for BIBA right from the very beginning? Did you expect it to become this big?

Meena Bindra

When I started, I had no long term vision. I simply wanted to keep myself occupied and earn a little extra money. But growth kept happening. Now our vision is to keep growing and of course, enjoy the journey. We currently have about 107 stores over 46 cities but we want to open more stores in certain cities as well as expand to cities where we have no presence. In a year's time, we want to be a 500-crore company.

We also want to launch formal wear, bridal trousseaux and the likes. My aim is to make BIBA the one stop shop for a woman's ethnic wear needs.

Who does BIBA cater to essentially?

Meena Bindra

BIBA has a range for girls from the age of 2 to 12 years and our range for adults can be worn by women right from 20 to 70 years. However, it is most suited for younger women. 

What are some of the ethnic wear trends for the season?

Meena Bindra

I think a lot of asymmetrical cuts are in vogue. They add that bit of edginess to your everyday ethnic wear.Anarkalis are also extremely popular, especially the long flared kurtas that we wore around 15 years ago.

In terms of colours, pastels and bright colours like lime green and fuchsia are the shades to sport this season.

How do you think styles are evolving over the years with the modern Indian woman looking for comfort over tradition?

Meena Bindra

When it comes to ethnic fashion, I have seen all the cycles. Trends keep coming back into fashion with a little recycling here and there. But styles really have evolved in the last 30 years. Today, cuts, prints and fashion accessories are extremely important. But because of the variety available, I think women can have both comfort and tradition!

What does it take to be a successful woman entrepreneur?

Meena Bindra

The most important key to being successful is to enjoy what you are doing. I enjoyed immensely what I did and I wasn't worried about making money. 

For about 5 or 6 years, I worked out of my house and would constantly have people come over. I made a lot of friends too and there was never any pressure on them to buy. In fact, if someone bought something and didn't like it, I'd return the money and maybe even throw in a free dupatta. I just wanted my customers to be happy.

What is your advice to stay-at-home moms who want to start their own business?

Meena Bindra

The opportunities to work from home are endless, so nothing should stop you from venturing into what you love to do. Whether you want to bake a cake or write a book, do what you are passionate about and the results will follow.

Enjoy the fact that you can work. There's always a sense of achievement when you do!

How do you balance work life and home?

Meena Bindra

I make sure that I give equal time to my work and home. Even when I was working from home years ago, I would shut shop by 5 PM. I never extended my work time.

What are some of your hobbies?

Meena Bindra

My hobbies have changed over the years. I love to read but I have got into more serious, spiritual reading these days. I also listen to western, western classical and even Indian classical music. Another thing I really enjoy is meeting up with my friends.                                                                                                                                  

Women entrepreneurs still trail their male counterparts: Report from economic times

Even as Asia, including India, has a higher proportion of entrepreneurs compared to the rest of the world, the number of women business owners is much below the global average, according to a recent report.

"The number of female business owners in Asia is still trailing levels seen amongst their male counterparts and below the global average," says a new research report from Barclays Wealth and Investment Management.

This, it says, is despite Asia having a higher proportion of entrepreneurs (47 per cent) compared to the US (29 per cent) and Europe (30 per cent).

This new report finds that 39 per cent of high net worth (HNW) women in Asia classify themselves as business owners, which is far below the 50 per cent of high net worth men in Asia.

Globally, 44 per cent of HNW women and 49 per cent of HNW men classify themselves as business owners.

It also shows that the gender pay gap is wider for non-entrepreneurs compared to entrepreneurs.

Non-entrepreneur women earn significantly more than non-entrepreneur men, while male entrepreneurs make slightly more than their female counterparts, it shows.

However, this trend is reverse globally, where among the high net worth female entrepreneurs earn 14 per cent more than their male counterparts.

In contrast, the average income of a high net worth woman who does not own her own business is 21 per cent lower than the corresponding average male income, it adds.

For the research, more than 2,000 high net worth individuals were interviewed and in Asia 500 respondents were surveyed, of which over 200 respondents were entrepreneurs.

The report further says, a higher proportion of entrepreneurs in Asia value the role of failure in contributing to future success more than their global counterparts.

Only 60 per cent of male entrepreneurs and 51 per cent of female entrepreneurs agree that past failure in entrepreneurial endeavours increases their chances of success in a new business, it points out.

However, the Barclays research shows that globally female business owners tend to value past failures less than their male counterparts.

While 70 per cent of male business owners agree that past failure in entrepreneurial endeavours increases the chances that a new business will succeed, this figure falls to 65 per cent for female business owners.

"Today women are at a threshold where they are moving from being a back door decision maker to board room decision maker. The present generation is supportive of women actively being engaged in family business, starting their own entrepreneurial ventures and acquiring professional education," Barclays, Wealth and Investment Management Chief Executive (India) Satya Bansal said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/women-entrepreneurs-still-trail-their-male-counterpartsreport/articleshow/18865585.cms