Director
Study By Janak
Ayush Mehra, Director, Study By Janak is a second-generation fashion entrepreneur. Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Aston University, Birmingham, UK, and a strong lineage in design, Mehra joined his family enterprise at the young age of 22 in the year 2009 with a vision to make Study By Janak not only an occasional wear brand, but a wardrobe partner for all aspiring Indians.
Upon his entry, Mehra discovered that the biggest challenge to overcome in the business was non-accountability. It was something that he was unable to adjust to, thus he decided to change it by virtue of systemising the organisation, converting it from a family run enterprise to a corporate power house.
In line with his vision, in a span of five years, the brand took a giant leap from a humble 12,000 sq. ft retail space to a staggering 40,000 sq.ft of retail space in Delhi NCR and Punjab, making it one of the biggest retail brands in North India in formal wear. In tandem, the business’s top line has risen from Rs 35 crore to Rs 70 crore.
Going forward, Mehra’s plans comprise expanding the retail space by adding 60,000 sq.ft more to the current portfolio by opening five outlets each year for the next three years. He is also working on smaller retail formats — 2500 to 5000 sq.ft carpet area.”Scientific analysis of the space vis-a-vis merchandise and rack capacity is the only way to generate revenue and profitability, ‘ he points out. “I enjoy being in retail because it’s a very challenging vertical. It gives me the space to experiment and get quick feedbacks,” Mehra shares, referring to his experience in retail.
To Mehra, as a retailer, his biggest stumbling block is human resource. “Getting the right kind of human resource and then training and subsequently retaining them has become a challenge,” he says.
“Another challenge is technology; next-gen technology is very expensive. But not implementing these solutions slows down the speed of driving innovation in the organisation as a whole,” he adds.
“To achieve full potential, Indian retailers must strike a balance between their roles at macro and micro levels. I know people who are too involved in details, thus overall the brand growth gets truncated or is slow. On the other side are people who are expanding fast, but the bottom line suffers because of lack of knowledge. One has to be realistic in terms of their roles in each spheres,” Mehra notes.
