DIGITAL MANAGEMENT-2

MANAGING FAMILY BUSINESS

Submitted to, Submitted by,

Prabu Christopher. B Reg no: 19BBA0089

Professor VITBS Name: J.S.Supreetha

Vellore Institute of Technology Slot: B1

INTRODUCTION:

The family business which I decided to work on is NALLI SILKS. Nalli is an Indian
wardrobe store and silk saree emporium which is based in Chennai. It is one of the oldest
saree shops in the Chennai's commercial neighbourhood of T. Nagar. Nalli was established in
T. Nagar in 1928 by Nalli Chinnasamy Chetti, by a weaver who belonged to the
Padmasaliyar community. Chinnasamy Chetti was a famous weaver of Kanchipuram sarees
who had been weaving silk sarees since 1900 and gifted a Kanchipuram saree, as a
remembrance to George V during his visit to India in 1911. In 1928, he moved to the then
Madras city and became one of the first to open a shop in the neighbourhood of T. Nagar
which was founded in the early 1920s. Nalli Chinnasamy Chetti died in 1958 and was
succeeded by his grandson Nalli Kuppusamy Chetti.

Under the visionary Nalli Chinnasamy Chetti, the family- run brand earned the
customers trust and became a household name for pure silks and traditional sarees. Over the
years, Nalli has opened multiple stores in major cities; including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Kochi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and many more and have presence across US,
Singapore and Canada too. They are 90 years of grace and legacy, an iconic heritage brand
steeped in tradition. They are the first and the finest, and have earned the patronage of
customers across generations, by virtue of staying true to its core values of truth and quality.
OBSERVATIONS:

My father is doing a silk saree business, so with his contact I spoke with the manager in
the Nalli silks, kanchipuram branch and also searched online about Nalli silks. The following
are the observations I made:

 KEY ATTRIBUTES: Chettiar attributes Nalli’s early success to three things—timely

delivery, good quality and additional yardage.
 DIVERSIFICATION PLAN: Back then Nalli was only doing silk sarees, but now
Nalli operates in three formats. First is Nalli, which stocks silk sarees, dress materials
and ready-stitched garments for women, men and kids. Second is Nalli Next, which
has slightly higher-end furnishings, apparel & accessories for women. And the last
format is Lavanya Nalli run by Lavanya Nalli who has hand-crafted, high-end sarees,
and has two stores in Bangalore and Chennai.
 NO OFFER AND DISCOUNT POLICY: Decades ago, in 1940’s, Nalli Chinnasamy
Chetti decided not to follow the model of offering discounts on their products. This
will give advantage for their competitors and they can offer silk sarees at discounts
and gain market share.
 SUCCESSION PLAN: The Third generation entrepreneur Nalli Kuppuswami
Chettiar, famously known as Chettiar, succeeded the business from his grandfather.
Chinnasami excelled in the trade and Nalli witnessed major growth under the
leadership of third-generation Kuppuswami Chetti. Later, Ramanathan Nalli, joined
him and took Nalli Silks beyond Chennai by opening different outlets in Delhi and
Mumbai. Currently, Lavanya takes care of the e-commerce and private label, her
father Ramanathan Nalli oversees operations, exports and off-line stores, and younger
brother Niranth Nalli is in charge of the jewellery arm of Nalli.
 COMPLEXITY: Chinnasami was one of the first ones to set up a silk shop in
Chennai’s T Nagar, which was then a sparsely populated residential area. It was a
difficult time in the Chettiar household, with a portion of the house being shared with
other families. Even after facing so much difficulties, Chinnasami excelled in the
trade and took merchandising activity to another location in T Nagar, near the
landmark Panagal Park.
  LACK OF PROMOTION: The fifth generation of the promoter family continues to
remain low key. Neither are they going into mass production, nor are they going
heavy on promotions which can have an effect on their customer base.
 LOSING OPPORTUNITIES: For instance, Nalli refused offers from top fashion
designers to work with it, as a private line would take the product prices higher and
beyond the affordable limit.
 THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE: They know what they are good at. For them and
their 1,200 employees, this is their livelihood so the target is always to make the
brand grow to whatever height it can and pass it on to the next generation to take it
ahead.”
 COHESION AND INTERACTION: All five generations of the family have
dedicated themselves to the brand. And they recognise each other’s importance and
their contribution and are united with one another.
 FAMILY GOVERNANCE: They ensure that decisions are made and authority
exercised in accordance with established and accepted best practices so as to avoid
conflict.

SOLUTIONS:

 The company should change its “No offer and discount” policy so that it can compete
in the market with its rivals and keep their customers loyal to them and gain new
customers.
 They should not lose any opportunities that they get from top foreign designers and
adapt to new trends and fashion and collaborate accordingly.
 The new generations of family continues to remain low key, they should start making
aggressive promotions and follow advertising strategy to create brand awareness and
mark their presence in the market.
 It can be difficult to resist the pressure that comes along with requests from family
members who want to join the business, but they should also seek advice from outside
in matters pertaining to areas in which they lack experience.
 Owners of family businesses may have different opinions on the value of their
business, or they may have no knowledge about the value of the business and what
 things contribute to that value. Before succeeding the business to family members
they should evaluate the potential of the family member and their knowledge about
the value of the business.
 Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined and they should not let emotions
affect the business. The family members must not allow their personal reasons to have
an effect on the business operations.

REFERNCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalli_(wardrobe_store)

https://www.nalli.com/about-us