Everyone has a reason to pray
What a beautiful tagline "Everyone has a reason to pray". Spirituality and business so beautifully aligned.
This is a story of one of India’s most successful family business which is currently managed by the 3rd generation. They are also the WORLD leaders in this segment. A company incorporated in serene and royal city of Mysore down south 140 kilometers from Bangalore. This family has created a special place in most of the Indian household. Every household and every spiritual place has used their incense sticks at least once in their lifetime. That is their deep connect with their customers. With an estimated turnover of INR 1,500 crores and supplying their products to more than 65 countries itself is an incredible story.
Hailing from a middle class family the founder Mr. N Ranga Rao started his venture in 1948 under the name of Mysore Products and General Trading Company. He started selling materials from Coorg in Mysore and Products from Mysore in Coorg. He simultaneously set up the incense sticks manufacturing. He named the brand to keep it simple CYCLE as it is pronounced same everywhere in the world and easy to recollect.
Out of the 7 sons of N Ranga Rao 4 of them were actively involved in the business and the other three had their own ambitions to explore. His Son’s Guru, Murthy, Vasu and Sridhar continued as the second generation entrepreneurs. There was no force for the children that they had to join the family business. They could independently pursue their aspirations. They all come together and celebrate the family day on the 19th October every year.
Internationalization:
Their first exports were to Sri Lanka. With the spirituality moving cross borders and with the Hare Krishna movement getting popular the group started to export their products to other countries. Today they sell their products in more than 65 countries which is a commendable achievement.
Third Generation entrepreneurs and transition:
With the third generation all of them having studied abroad. The choice to comeback and manage family business was on their own. They could have taken up jobs in the US or UK and settled down. Since they have seen their ancestors and parents working hard to build this brand and entity, it was their time to contribute and take it further.
Arjun Ranga is the first of the third generation entrepreneurs who joined the family business and he is currently the managing director of NR Group. He credits his grandfather, father and his uncles who laid the foundation. He has successfully managed to scale the group to greater levels and has diversified in multiple sectors. This is a very smart move whilst the traditional business is doing well, it is important to also diversify into other areas and ensure stability and long term growth. Today, N R Group has 12 companies operating under its umbrella.
Arjun Ranga was handed over the position just because he was from the family. The family ensured that they are trained well and prepared to take the responsibility at the right time. Arjun had to manage Maharashtra and North east. He first got into sales, then operations, and finance. This grooming helped him to take the responsibility and ensured the growth of the group. Transition management with right grooming, timing, and experience is the key to success for any family owned enterprise.
Specialized Knowledge:
Mr. N Ranga Rao did not initially know about the incense manufacturing process. He used to buy from others and branded and sell them. In this process he learnt the art of making incense sticks. He invested a lot of time in learning to make the perfume on his own and kept this as a secret ingredient. The family today has more than 500 perfumery formulas which is within the family members.
Diversification:
Business environment is dynamic. You need to move with the time. Else great companies like Kodak, Nokia etc., will collapse if you do not diversify or innovate for future existence. N R Group is a mature family business and has smart thinkers with a long term vision. They have diversified into Divine experience store, Aerospace, Agro, Defense, Electronics, Essential oils, IOT. This shows the strategic thinking of the promoters and have invested in the right segments which have high potential of growth.
Cricket
Those who follow cricket you would have observed the advertorial of CYCLE Agarbathies. Whenever Indian team plays cricket CYCLE Brand is sponsoring the advertising. This is another great move from the third generation entrepreneurs. CRICKET is a passion and religion in India. Whenever India plays cricket CYCLE brand is going to advertise their brand.
Family and Business Values
· Integrity
· Focus
· Discipline
· Manage Time
· Relationship
· Negotiate carefully
Lessons from NR Group to other family business who want to scale and be world leaders in their segment. Leadership, Transition, Flexibility, Financial Discipline, Strategic thinking, Retain Family and Business values, looking for right opportunities and being prepared for change.
The biggest challenge in family business is the transition, interest, and continue to hold the same values and being innovative. Most of the family business collapse with the second generation because of lack of difference of opinion, rift within the family, outsider entry, lack of focus, poor transition, lack of innovation and diversification. Here is a family which is showing the path for all the family businesses who would like to expand, grow and sustain their business.
Read our book Dhool Dhoop Dhakka Entrepreneurship by Design which covers more details about this companies journey available on Amazon.
Watch the video interview of Arjun Ranga where he shares valuable inputs for entrepreneurs from his 2 decades of rich experience
Nimish Soni Arjun Ranga Dr Shalini Nalwad Dr Rahul Singh Sardar Anu Meena Mayur Bhuva C K Kumaravel Veena Kumaravel Vikash Mittersain (Business Guru) Rohan Moktali Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai Sidharth Shah Jayant Hudar Smita Purushottam Teja Gudluru Shriram Singh Prafull Billore Ashutosh G. Dr. D. K. Mishra Arun Lal Viiveck Verma Sanjay Belawal Rishi Raj Shroff Shamshad M Khan SUGUMAR Nagarajan