It all started with my ancestor Jamnalaldas Ji in 1881, who used to import textile and cater it to Nizams during that era. Back then, sourcing textile was a very luxurious affair, and Nizams used to control the entire supply in the region. They have awarded Jamnalaldas for his indigenous service and quality offered during his time. Later, my great-great grandfather Nandlaldas, who was in textile distribution under the Nizams back then, has continued the legacy of Jamnalaldas.
I belong to the sixth generation, and it's incredible to think that my ancestors embarked on a week-long camel journey to Hyderabad, facing the challenges of an arduous expedition. Once they set foot in Hyderabad, the first business my family started was headed by Jamalnalaldas and his sons Nandlaldas and Rameswardas - laid their hands on jewellery, especially pearls. Jamnalaldas used to go by ship to Basra (in Iraq) to get exquisite pearls. Initially, Business was good but later on the Nizam was very keen that someone must oversee the textile sector in the state as it was lagging behind. Jamnalaldas 's grandson and Nandlal's son, JaiKirandas became the sole authorised distributor of textiles for the Nizam state.
In the late 1920s, my family set up a store on Madina Main Road, Hyderabad and named "Nandlal Rameshwardas'', but after India attained Independence and the Jagir Abolition act- 1953 came into force, there was widespread loot and arson in which well-off families were targeted. Our family fled Hyderabad and took shelter at Hinganghat near Nagpur. It was only after five years that our family felt confident enough to head back to the city. However, the hiccup was we had to start from scratch. In the late 1950s- early 60s, the textile sector too was undergoing sea change as textile mills were coming up in India, while during the Nizams days, material was imported from countries like Japan. We started procuring fabric from Ahmedabad and Bombay to sell it at our Madina Road store.
Slowly and steadily over the years, our family earned a formidable reputation in the textile industry not just locally but also across the country. And towards the turn of the century (around 2002-04), our family started weaving plans of making a big splash into the retail textile business as traditionally we were manufacturers and wholesalers. It was also during 1999 that our family moved out from our Madina Road store to Banjara Hills area to focus on the retail segment.
In 2002, I started "Singhania's" into the retail segment and opened our first store near Old City, Hyderabad. Upon the massive response and love from our customers, I have decided to make my offerings more accessible to the masses and moved my business to Banjara Hills in 2005.
Years passed on and I felt overwhelmed seeing the happy responses from the clients from different places. People started loving the quality of our products and the demand increased from overseas. Considering the technological advancements, I started the E-commerce website (www.singhanias.in) in 2008, which made many of our clients accessible from different parts of the world. Realising the heavy demand for the quality fabrics, I have further expanded my business verticals into Fabrics, Wardrobes, etc to cater the growing demands of our customers.
Being a designer and businessman, I seek creating something which never existed before. My heart encouraged me to create premium designer outfits and start my own Label- "Sailesh Singhania" which provides high-end apparel, which has featured in the Lakme Fashion Week thrice in the consecutive years. It feels wonderful providing costumes to many renowned actresses like Madhuri Dixit, Aditi Rao, Regina Cassandra, Trisha Kannan, Rani Mukherjee, Sruthi Hassan, Tapsee Pannu, Deepika Padukone, and the list goes on.
I feel privileged to have my brother-Shree, as a pillar of support who is taking care of the wholesale business globally and is managing most of the company's finances. His suggestions, ideas and calm attitude inspires me that there's a lot to be done when it comes to growing business. Most of the time, our discussions will be on making this society better by providing more employment opportunities. This thought enabled us to start expanding our retail store network worldwide and we are currently working on it. I am very confident our brotherly hood enables us to work together in sync.
Mentioning about my childhood which was very much typical, when I was in 2nd standard, I used to enjoy sitting at our textile factory and observing the designs, weaves and production. I barely spent time with my friends and instead started chasing my dream of becoming a designer. Years passed, and my love for the textile folded multiple times. My father Yogender Ji played a major role in shaping my dreams and I graduated from Osmania University. However, after spending a few months in post graduation, I realised there's nothing much I can learn from the college, as they sounded very basic to me and so I dropped out of my post graduation degree.
I get inspired by Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Narayan Murthy for their philosophy and vision. I have adopted around 900+ weavers across India and my inspirations for designs are drawn from the weavers that I have closely worked with. Their simplicity, peaceful attitude and above all, serenity in lifestyle moved me very much to lead a positive life
For those who don't know, Our brand "Singhania's" is coined from the place named "Singhana" in Rajasthan from where we come from. I feel very much connected to the legacy of our family and wanted my children to have this included Singhania's as their surnames. They feel very much connected and proud of what we are today with generations of hard work and dedication.
-Sailesh Agarwal (Managing Director)