?I Have my feet firmly on the ground?

As a youngster, Nitin Kasliwal, vice-chairman and managing director, S Kumars Nationwide Limited (SKNL), watched in awe as giant spinning and weaving machines produced yarn at the family textile unit. It?s a fascination he holds to this day. At 47, Kasliwal?s eyes light up at the very thought of his textiles business?something he?s been running since 1990. He?s enjoying every bit of it and it?s evident. Says Kasliwal, ?Textiles is in my blood. I?ve been involved with the business since my young days. When I was 18-19 years, for instance, I had a small shirt unit under me. It made a turnover of about Rs 30 crore. It was a great learning experience for me to be able to handle a unit on my own.?

Lessons learnt during these early years have actually helped Kasliwal, an alumnus of Jai Hind College, Mumbai, who also holds a master?s degree in business administration from the European Business School, Switzerland, ride out the many peaks and troughs of the textile business.

Textiles is an old-economy business. It is also one that has seen many casualties over the years owing to the inability of promoters to be able to adapt themselves and their enterprises successfully to changing times. But Kasliwal, who is also chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Textile Mills Association and a member of the managing committee of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation, seems to have steered his company, which he completely took control of following a realignment of the family business in 2004-2005, successfully through all this. ?Over the last two decades,? he says, ?there have been phases when there?s been a boom in the industry, phases when there?s been a slowdown, we?ve seen it all.?

Kasliwal knows that insulating his business, which straddles the segments of fabrics, apparels and home textiles, from cyclical ups and downs, is not easy. But this has in no way prevented him from charting out a vision for his company, which has evolved into a professionally-managed enterprise from a family-run operation over the years.

He has an eye not only for the big picture, but also detail. This tendency to pay attention to every detail is something Kasliwal says he?s picked up from his father?Shambu Kasliwal, a first-generation entrepreneur and the chairman of SKNL. ?There was never anything that missed his eye. He would get into the nitty-gritty of things. At some level, I may have picked it up from him.?

Kasliwal is putting all these qualities to good use as he expands the footprint of SKNL internationally. Acquisitions are high on his agenda. ?There are certain areas for instance we?ve identified where acquisitions can be undertaken. These include high-value cotton, ready-to-wear and home textiles. The idea is to operate and manage systems abroad. For instance, a shirt manufacturer in the premium segment who supplies to leading shirt brands in the world or a mid-premium fashion house that designs and distributes ready-to-wear garments in Europe or a unit that designs and distributes home textiles would be companies we would target.?

With such a micro focus to the business, Kasliwal is hopeful of zooming in on targets soon enough through his overseas arm SKNL International. ?India is the second largest producer of apparels and textiles after China,? he says. ?But our contribution to world consumption is just about 3-3.5%. China?s contribution on the other hand is about 24-25%. With the ability that textile manufacturers here have I think we are in a position to leverage our skill sets to cater to the international market and be an lternative to China.?

Kasliwal?s inorganic gameplan should help him leverage his own manufacturing capabilities spread out in states such as Madhya Pradesh (Dewas) and Karnataka (Bangalore and Mysore). Gujarat is another state, where a manufacturing plant for high value fine cotton is coming up at Jagadia. All of this will significantly add to his manufacturing arsenal? something he?s been focussing on since taking over the reins of the company in 1990. In fact, organic growth is an area Kasliwal has always dwelt on. It is the cornerstone of his strategy?setting up SBUs, growing them and hiving them off at an opportune time.

He?s done that with Reid & Taylor, which houses the luxury textiles business of the company and Brandhouse Retails, which pushes the group?s retail initiatives. Reid & Taylor, for the record, recently received a Rs 900-crore investment from private equity player GIC, which is controlled by the Government of Singapore, for expansion of the business and discharge of existing liabilities. Kasliwal intends listing these companies in the future?something he says he could do with his other SBUs? consumer textiles, ready-to-wear, home textiles and high value fine cottons?in his drive to unlock value. That way they would be truly able to harness their potential, he says. ?We are always on the lookout for areas we can get into. It helps. Diversification of business is important. You are not dependent on one line or product segment. You have many from which you can draw your revenues.?

This focus on product categories of segments is driving Kasliwal to areas such as technical textiles, for instance, which he hopes to get into in the near future with a new SBU. Add to this his manufacturing and distribution capabilities plus his myriad brands such as Reid & Taylor, Belmonte, Carmicheal House, which is managed by his wife Jyoti, and Kasliwal is not out of place, when he says he sees SKNL becoming a world-class company in a few years time. ?We should close this fiscal with a turnover of Rs 3,300 crore?Rs 2,600 crore from SKNL and Reid & Taylor put together and Rs 700 crore from Brandhouse Retails.?

Kasliwal?s children?Anjani (22) and Kartikeya (21)?are also gearing up to take control of the business some time in the future. Kartikeya, for instance, is studying fashion management in London and Anjani is a general manager at Brandhouse Retails in charge of luxury brands Escada & Dunhill. ?They are young now so I don?t see them heading the business right away. They do demonstrate the potential though. They have their feet firmly on the ground much like I did. But they?d have to work hard to earn their position in the company .?

In his free time, Kasliwal prefers to devote his attention to his family.

?Sharing quality time with family can do a world of difference,? he says. His travels abroad mean he is able to bring home learnings that can be applied to his business. ? My travels abroad give me insights into this whether in terms of fabric, style, fashion you name it. I also get a chance to meet different people. All of this helps.