CHAIRMAN & MD
NEERU’S GROUP
Member:
Privilege Clubs(India Retail Forum)
Harish Kumar began his journey at an early age joining his mother in her business and marked the beginning of Neeru’s, that came into its own in the year 1971, offering tailoring and embroidery services in Hyderabad. As chairman, Kumar has taken Neeru’s to an altogether higher growth trajectory. In the years that he has been at the helm of the company, he has accelerated growth, built a meritocracy and enhanced brand value, while making Neeru’s a Rs 200-crore-plus ethnicwear brand.
It was in 1979, that he established one of India’s first retail outlets exclusively devoted to one of the most popular Indian women’s ensembles, the Salwar Kameez. In 1983, Neeru’s started a manufacturing and wholesale business, supplying quality fabrics to over 1,000 retailers pan-India. Kumar recognised and revolutionised fashion in Hyderabad by introducing handloom and natural fabrics into the market. He worked directly with weavers in South India and through his efforts, scores of villages generated employment for handloom work.
In the late 1990s, Neeru’s made waves in the industry as it expanded across India, and became one of the very first Indian ethnicwear brands. Growing from a small shop to a chain of fashion stores, Neeru’s stores today offer a huge range of sarees, lehangas, ghagras, suits, textiles, kidswear and fashion accessories.
Kumar has used his knowledge of textiles and intuitive understanding of fashion to create Neeru’s as a brand in itself with all the ingredients that make it irresistible for customers from all over India as well as to NRIs from UK, USA, Canada, the Middle East and other countries.
Neeru’s currently has presence in over six Indian cities through 28 MBOs and EBOs. It has 15 major retail outlets in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vijayawada and Vizag, along with one in Dubai. The brand is also present in Central and Lifestyle pan-India.
Kumar launched his dream retail concept — Neeru’s Emporio — in December 2012. A palatial 30,000 sqft store located in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, its plush interiors feature technologically advanced tools such as “Ipads” as catalogues, video walls and LED screens for a modern day customer. Kumar’s future plan is to expand the brand presence in fashion hubs of South India and later cover other Indian markets at a gradual pace. He recently launched several sub-brands: “Neeru’s Menz” (ethnic menswear), “Little Neeru’s” (kids ethnicwear), and “Yuva by Neeru’s” (fashion jewellery and accessories).
Also in the pipeline are two formats: Impulse/Express stores offering tunics, suits, sarees, etc at affordable MRPs, and Neeru’s Elite, a premium retail concept.
