By Sayan ChakraBortya Brief history of Success
By selling Jockey products in india, the genomals altered
the way indians perceived innerwear and changed their
own fortunes in the processI
n the summer of 1993,
it was business as usual
for 40-year-old Sunder
Genomal in Manila—
where he ran his family
business of manufacturing
and distributing Jockey products
in the Philippines—when Rick
Hosley, then president of the US-
based innerwear brand, made him
an offer. Hosley wanted Genomal
to become the brand’s exclusive
licensee for manufacturing
and distribution in India.
Genomal had not seen this coming
despite having accompanied Hosley
to India a few months earlier to
help him scout for a partner to
operate in the country. Hosley’s
reason to fall back on Genomal
isn’t far to seek. The company was
making a second attempt at entering
India. Constrained by regulatory
requirements under the Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act (Fera),
which required multinational
companies (MNCs) to dilute their
ownership in Indian ventures to 40
percent, Jockey had to end its decade-
old manufacturing and distribution
partnership with Associated
Apparels in 1973. Now, in 1993 (post-
liberalisation, Fera rules were relaxed
to allow MNCs at least a 51 percent
stake in their Indian ventures, and
were eventually repealed in 1998),
Jockey was looking to enter themarket again, and Genomal—whose
family had a similar relationship
with the brand in the Philippines
since 1959—could be relied upon
to be the trusted lieutenant.
“Jockey was approached by some
well-known large companies for the
licence in India. They
surprised us by asking
if our family would be
interested in taking the
licence since they did not
sense the right quality
and marketing culture in
any of the companies that
showed an interest in the
brand,” recalls Genomal,
managing director of
Page Industries, the
company he founded
in 1994 to manufacture
and distribute Jockey
products in India.
Although Hosley
saw merit in entrusting
Genomal with the
task, Genomal himself
dithered. The size of
the Indian market was
daunting; it was 10 times
the area and 14 times
the population of the
Philippines in 1993, and
would be a different
demon to tame. Besides,
the Genomal family—
although originally froms u n d e r g e n o m a l
Hyderabad—had never had any
business in India. “We had neither
lived in India nor done business
there. They [Jockey] said we can live
with that, and have partners whom
we know and trust,” says Genomal,
sitting in a conference room at the
company headquarters
in Bengaluru, where
the walls are adorned
with plaques and
certificates from
business partners.
In the 23 years
since its launch, Page
Industries has dwarfed
Indian innerwear
brands. The company’s
profit last fiscal, ` 266
crore, was more
than the cumulative
profit clocked by VIP
Clothing Ltd (loss of
`5.79 crore), Rupa and
Co Ltd (`77 crore), Lux
Industries (`63 crore)
and Dollar Industries
(`43.47 crore). Its
revenue of `2,154 crore
was more than double
of what any of these
companies posted.
Among one of the most
expensive stocks to
trade on the bourses,
Page Industries has
seen its share valueSunder Genomal
managing director,
page industries
age: 64
rank in the
rich list
net Worth: $1.75 billion
Significant Business
development last Year:
page industries’ revenue
grew by 20 percent in
fy17, while net profit
surged by 33.6 percent.
the company opened
more than 100 exclusive
brand outlets for Jockey,
and increased produc-
tion capacity. it has set
up a new dyeing unit in
hassan, karnataka, for
the women’s segment
The Way Forward:
the company wants to
significantly grow the
performance and casual
outdoor wear segments,
and launch a new line for
girls. new production
units outside karnataka
are being planned to
double production
capacity to 400 million
pieces by 2020at a glanCe8756 | forbes india december 29, 2017Richest
10 0 IndIansThe[p r o f i l e s]