From trading of commodities in the 90s to building a sizeable contract manufacturing business over the next two decades, the entrepreneur from Vadodara expanded his global footprint in toys, craft and stationery business across Hong Kong, China and the US. Now he is aggressively scaling his own brand. Can Skoodle make a mark in India?
Vick Rana, chairman and CEO, Red Ridge Group / Stone Sapphire Limited. Image: Mayur D Bhat for Forbes India
1997, Vadodara, Gujarat
Vick Rana ignored the fine print. One, though, can’t blame the second-generation founder for overlooking the footnote in a story which was scripted by his father. After having spent a meaty stint with the armed forces, Rana’s father relocated from Mumbai to Vadodara in the 1980s, and started his entrepreneurial innings by getting into the business of manufacturing air coolers and electric motors. The son, meanwhile, went to Miami, US, to study electrical engineering, and as it happens in almost all business families, Rana was expected to join Bosh India—the brand of coolers and motors started by senior Rana—when he returned in 1993. The perks of behaving like an obedient son were many. Rana got a car, an expansive office, cushy lifestyle and an infatuated sense of entitlement.
The young man, though, was in a hurry to leave an imprint. After spending a few months, Rana quickly realised that the venture has been languishing in the revenue zone of a ‘few lakhs’ for over a couple of years. In his eagerness to prove his mettle, he swiftly devised a disruptive plan. The first area to get drastically overhauled was outdoor branding and advertising. He printed loads of ‘Bosh’ stickers and started sticking them on cars, scooters and all kinds of vehicles to uplift the visibility of the brand across the city.
The ploy was interesting. Apart from the name of the brand, nothing else was mentioned on those stickers. It piqued curiosity among people who wanted to find more about the brand. Enhanced visibility, coupled with an aggressive marketing push across the state, led to a brisk uptick in sales. The operations—especially the factory—were also revamped to improve efficiency. New machines were installed, the production area was optimised and the productivity level of employees went up by a few notches. The result was for all to see. Over the next two years, the revenue graph entered into the crore tangent, and Rana expanded the footprint of the brand beyond the state.