The man behind the makeover

But bringing about this harmony was not something that could be effected over night. In order to woo the desi customer, Vishal realised that renovation would only be a cosmetic change. Instead, a facelift was called for but gradually. Regulars were consulted on their preferences, even as Vishal and his team acquainted themselves with changing tastes. This involved a lot of research, which they conducted on an informal basis, instead of going for a market survey. They checked out Cottage Industries and Khadi Bhandar, and also looked for ideas from stores in South India, and foreign countries as well. quot;Bombay Stores was the amalgamation and fine blend of all this. I tried to incorporate the best of both worlds,quot; says Vishal.

So, he rolled up his sleeves and got down to designing the store himself. quot;We had an in-house team, this helped keep the budget down,quot; he says. Integral to the design was the right display of products. Most up-market stores end up glitzy and impersonal, he feels. Vishal wanted a comfortable store that stocked everything from linen to lamps. Tired of visiting a dozen stores while he was setting up home, he decided that the city was in crying need for a one-stop shop. quot;We still don8217;t call it a department store. It8217;s a lifestyle store,quot; he says.

But, translating his vision into reality was the easy bit. Soon, Vishal found that the toughest part of his job was still to come. Selling the idea of retailing as a profession came as the biggest stumbling block. quot;Out here, people take to retailing as a last resort. And it is generally looked down up on,quot; says Vishal. So, he balanced retaining the old staff with hiring a new team 8212; and gave them carte blanche to implement their own ideas.

Part of the selling exercise included a change in name. quot;The original name gave the impression that the store was a government organisation. While the name of the company is still Bombay Swadeshi Stores, the change to Bombay Stores was just a part of the branding exercise,quot; he says.

Educated in Mumbai, Vishal has done everything from selling cookies to teaching computers. And he came to design also in a roundabout manner. Initially, he wanted to follow in his father8217;s footsteps and become a pilot. But, after he started helping his mother, Kavita Kapoor run The Design Centre he knew there was no way out. quot;I had a bad attendance record and found work more interesting then books,quot; he says.

He later joined an interior designing course in the Academy of Architecture. And by this time he was already designing furniture for a chain of stores in Paris. Bookish learning was abandoned mid-way when Vishal decided to attend an interiors exhibition in Paris, where he found that all the major stores in Paris were already using his designs.

Emboldened by his success, he moved to Canada to set up his own business. But because of recession in the economy, he couldn8217;t even find a job. A course run by the Canadian government How to get through without money helped Vishal make it through the cold winter months in Canada and he took whatever job came his way.

Whether it was waking up at four in the morning to bake frozen cookies, or a stint with visual merchandising, he was not willing to call it quits. He even worked as a management trainee at Seyers, where he had to teach computers to old-timers who were faced with the choice of pick up or pack up8217;. Failure never frightened Vishal who believes that his years in Canada taught him how to cope. quot;I built up a lot of resilience and patience.

Finally, when it came to handling Bombay Stores, I knew I could do it,quot; he says. And he has. Today, the number of people visiting Bombay Stores has increased from about 80 to nearly 600 customers, per day.