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Fabindia is an Indian
chain store A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
retailing garments, furnishings, fabrics and ethnic products handmade by craftspeople across rural India. Established in 1960 by John Bissell, an American working for the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
,
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, Fabindia started out exporting
home furnishings Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
, before stepping into domestic retail in 1976, when it opened its first retail store in
Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...
, New Delhi. The chairman of the company is John's son,
William Nanda Bissell William Nanda Bissell (born 10 June 1966) an Indian businessman and the chairman of Fabindia. Until 2018, Bissell served as the managing director of the company. Early life and education Bissell was born to Bimla Nanda, a Punjabi, and John Bis ...
. As of July 2020, Fabindia operated 327 stores across India and 14 international stores. In 2008, Fabindia had a revenue of $65 million, a 30% increase from the previous year. Fabindia sources its product from across India through 17 community-owned companies; a certain percentage of the shares of which are held by artisans and craftspersons. The products of Fabindia are mainly sourced from villages helping to provide and sustain rural employment in India. They are currently produced by over 40,000 artisans and craftspeople across India. The hand-crafted products also encourage good craftsmanship.


History


1960: Foundation and early decades

Fabindia was founded as an export company for home furnishings in 1960 by John Bissell in two small rooms adjoining his bedroom in
Golf Links A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. Links courses are generally built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses. The word "links" comes via the Scots langu ...
, as "Fabindia Inc.", incorporated in
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
, Connecticut, and financed by his recently deceased grandmother's $20,000 legacy. Originally from
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, where his grandfather was the president of the Hartford Fire & Life Insurance Company; Bissell left his position as a buyer for
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
, New York, and relocated to India in 1958, as a consultant for the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
, advising the government of India-run Central Cottage Industries Corporation, and was given a two-year grant for instructing Indian villagers in the making of goods for export. He believed in the emerging Indian textile industry and was determined to showcase Indian handloom textiles as a way to provide employment to traditional artisans. In 1964, Bissell met British designer
Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran " ...
, whose newly established home furnishing retail company,
Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
, soon became one of their biggest customers. Fabindia also established a distribution network in the United States, supplying products to small retailers, including mom-and-pop shops. Bissell travelled across craft-based villages and towns, meeting weavers and entrepreneurs, who would produce flat weaves, pale colors, and precise weights in handloom yardage. His main supplier became A. S. Khera, a ''
dhurrie A dhurrie (also dhurri, durrie, durry or dari) is an Indian and Pakistani term for a handwoven rug or a thin flat carpet, an item of home furnishing. The dhurries have unique designs inspired by the state of origin such as multicolor stripes, o ...
'' and home furnishing manufacturer in
Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on List of National Highways in India, NH-1. The three major battles fought in First Battle of Panipat, 1526, Second Battle of ...
. By 1965, the company had a turnover of Rs. 20 lakhs, and then moved into an office. In 1976, major equity restructuring occurred within the company, in adherence with
Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...
's rules instructing foreign companies to limit their foreign equity to 40 percent. Fabindia offered shares to close family members, associates, and suppliers, like Madhukar Khera, an early supplier to the company. This was also the height of the Indian Emergency period (1975–1976), when the rule barring commercial establishments from being operated at residential properties was implemented, forcing the company from its secondary premises, a house on the
Mathura Road Mathura Road is a road in Delhi and a part of the NH 2 (Delhi-Howrah) Highway. Some of it is part of the Grand Trunk Road passing through Faridabad, and it leads right up to the holy town of Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. In 1723 p ...
, and prompting Bissell to open the first Fabindia retail store in
Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...
, N-Block market in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, in 1976, which remains its register office. Now catering to urban India, as well, in the coming decade, Fabindia differentiated itself from other government-owned and often subsidized competitors, in handloom fabrics and the apparel sector, like KVIC and various state emporiums by adapting its fabrics and designs to urban tastes. For this, designers were enlisted to modernize its line of home linens and, most importantly, introduced a range of ready-to-wear garments, including ''
churidar Churidars, also churidar pyjamas, are tightly fitting trousers worn by both men and women in Indian Subcontinent. Churidars are a variant of the common shalwar pants. Shalwars are cut wide at the top and narrow at the ankle. Churidars narrow more ...
-
kurta A ''kurta'' is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, (subscription required) Quote: "A loose shirt or tunic worn by men and women." Quote: "Kurta: a loose shirt without a collar, worn by women and men from South ...
'' suits for women and men's shirts. Today, its team of designers continue to provide most of the designs and colors, created by village-based artisans who, in turn, learned the basics of quality, consistency and finish, such as avoiding frayed edges on handwoven shawls. The result was that traditional apparel and products became mainstream, fashionable, and were quickly adopted by a growing middle-class, becoming identified as the brand for the elite and intellectual, as well as affordable ethnic chic. Fabindia lost its biggest customer, UK-based ''
Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
'', in 1992, when the latter was bought by
Ikano Ikano Group is a privately held international group of companies with the parent company Ikano S.A. based in Luxembourg. It was originally a part of IKEA, which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad, then became independent in 1988, and has since been own ...
group, founder of
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
, which then decided to appoint its own
buying agent Buying agents or purchasing agents are people or companies that offer to buy goods or property on behalf of another party. Indent agents or indenting agents (or firms) are alternative terms for buying agents. An indent is an order for goods under ...
in India. The following year, John Bissell suffered a stroke, and his son, William, gradually took over the helm, completing the leadership transition after the death of father in 1998, at age 66. William, an undergrad from
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
, who had majored in philosophy, political science and government, had spent several years in
Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
, since completing his education in 1988. Working with rural artisans and crafts co-operatives across Rajasthan; William was instrumental in the formation of various weavers' cooperatives. One of the first tasks taken up by William was shifting Fabindia's focus to the domestic market, en route to becoming a
retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
; until then it only had two stores in Delhi. In time, Fabindia's retail business overtook its exports.


2000 onwards

Over the next two decades, Fabindia emerged as a successful retail business in India, with 111 retail outlets within the country and 6 abroad. Fabindia added its non-textile range in 2000, organic foods in 2004, followed by personal care products in 2006, finally it launched its range of Handcrafted jewellery in 2008. Fabindia sells a variety of products ranging from textiles, garments, stationery, furniture, home accessories, ceramics, organic foods, and bodycare products, besides exporting home furnishings. Fabindia's retail expansion plans started taking shape 2004 onwards, it opened multiple and larger stores in metros like Mumbai,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and Delhi, while at the same time spreading out beyond metros. It opened stores in cities like
Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
,
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
,
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
and
Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
,
Durgapur Durgapur () is a planned tier-II urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration after Kolkata, Asansol and Siliguri in West Bengal ...
soon as revenues also grew from Rs 89 crore in 2004–05 to Rs 129 crore in 2005–06, reaching Rs 200 crore in 2007, in the year when it sourced its products from 22,000 artisans in 21 states. Usually, the village-based artisan gets barely 5% of the tag price of their products as the rest is taken away by the middlemen. To counter this, Fabindia introduced an artisan-shareholder system through "supply-region companies" incorporated as subsidiaries. Here the craftspeople collectively own 26% of the equity in each company, based in nationwide centres, with Artisans Micro Finance, a Fabindia arm holding 49%, and employees and other private investors holding the balance. Also as part its expansion plans, 6% in Fabindia was sold in 2007, at an estimated $11 million, to Wolfensohn Capital Partners, a
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
firm founded by former
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
president
James Wolfensohn Sir James David Wolfensohn (1 December 193325 November 2020) was an Australian-American lawyer, investment banker, and economist who served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group (1995–2005). During his tenure at the World Bank, he is ...
. In 2009, it acquired a 25% stake in UK based £30 million ethnic womenswear retailer, EAST. Today the company has retail outlets in all major cities of India—137 at last count—in addition to international stores in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
; 3 stores in
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
;
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
, State of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
;
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and one in
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China. In 2005, Fabindia became a founder-member of All India Artisans and Craft Workers Welfare Association (AIACA), along with Pritam Singh (Anokhi),
Ritu Kumar Ritu Kumar is an Indian fashion designer. Early life and education The lack of educational opportunities in Amritsar led her to move to Simla for her schooling, where she attended Loreto Convent. She later studied at Lady Irwin College, where ...
, Madhukar Khera and
Laila Tyabji Laila Tyabji (born 2 May 1947) is an Indian social worker, designer, writer, and craft activist. She is one of the founders of Dastkar, a Delhi-based non governmental organization, working for the revival of traditional crafts in India. She was h ...
(
Dastkar Dastkar is an Indian non-government organisation working with craftspeople across India, for promotion and revival of traditional crafts of India. It was founded in 1981 in Delhi, by a group of six women, including Laila Tyabji, its current chai ...
). On the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2010, the company made all its 842 employees shareholders. By 2012, the company had around 1,000 employees and 16 community-owned companies, or supplier region companies (SRCs), which were formed in 2007, and employ 86,000 artisans. In 2013, Fabindia purchased a 40% stake in the
Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
-based
organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...
and supplements company, India Organic, co-founded by Hindu convert and daughter of billionaire
Edgar Bronfman, Sr. Edgar Miles Bronfman (born June 20, 1929 – December 21, 2013) was a Canadian-American businessman. He worked for his family's distilled beverage firm, Seagram, eventually becoming president, treasurer and CEO. As president of the World Jewish ...
, Holly Bronfman Lev in 1997.


Launch of Fabels

In 2014, Fabindia launched a western wear brand "Fabels". The brand was first launched at Fabindia's Connaught Place store in Delhi, and later made available across India. Currently, Fabindia sells through its own retail outlets, multi-brand stores, and also through its own online store.


Controversy

On 3 April 2015, Union
Minister of Human Resource Development The Minister of Education, formerly the Minister of Human Resources Development (1985-2020), is the head of the Ministry of Education and one of the cabinet ministers of the Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often ab ...
,
Smriti Irani Smriti Zubin Irani (''née'' Malhotra; born 23 March 1976) is an Indian politician and a former television actress and producer. She is a Minister in Union Cabinet of India since May 2019 currently administrating the Ministries of Women and C ...
allegedly spotted a camera positioned to record near a changing room, at an outlet of Fabindia in
Candolim Candolim is a census town in North Goa and is located in the Bardez taluka in the state of Goa, India. It is situated just south of Calangute Beach and North of Sinquerim. History During the late 16th century, Candolim became the first villa ...
,
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. She immediately raised an alarm, alerting her husband and then called a local legislator, Micheal Lobo
who lodged an FIR or First Information Report
A local court later came down heavily on the Calangute police saying that they exercised their power of arrest arbitrarily against four staff members of Fabindia's Candolim outlet who were held late on 3 April. Judge Dvijple Patkar observed, "It appears that the police have lightly interfered/tampered with the personal liberty of the applicants for reasons best known to them. It appears that the applicants were automatically and unnecessarily arrested by the police. In my opinion, the circumstances of the case do not warrant any arrest. The police officer exercising the power of arrest as well as the investigating officer has not stated any valid justification for the arrest." On 8 April 2015 company's Managing Director William Bissel, its former chief executive officer Subrata Dutta, regional manager Ruchira Puri, marketing chief Ramu Chandra, stores in-charge Kundan Gupta, E-commerce head Arun Naikar and category head Ashima Agarwal have sought anticipatory bail to avoid arrest in district court in Mapusa town. In October 2021, Fabindia received backlash after they named their Diwali collection as 'Jashn-e-Riwaaz'.


Philanthropy

William and John Bissell established "The Fabindia School" in 1992 in
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
, in
Pali district Pali district is a district in Rajasthan, India. The city of Pali is its administrative headquarters. History In 120 AD, during the Kushana Age, King Kanishka conquered the Rohat and Jaitaran areas, parts of today's Pali district. Until the ...
of Rajasthan, today it is co-educational, senior secondary school with 600 students including 40% girls. The school subsidized tuition fees of the girl students and offers them scholarships, in partnership with "The John Bissell Scholars Fund", established in 2000.


Acknowledgments

Fabindia was awarded "Best Retail Brand" in 2004 by ''
The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...
''. In 2004, Fabindia was featured as part of a
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
special TV report on India. Fabindia brand does not advertise, and largely works through
word-of-mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...
publicity, then in 2007 the craft-conscious enterprise concept of Fabindia became a
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
case study A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...
. 2010 marked 50 years of the foundation of Fabindia, and release of the book, ''The Fabric of Our Lives: The Story of Fabindia'', by Radhika Singh.


Notes

*


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

*{{Official website, https://www.fabindia.com/ Clothing retailers of India Clothing brands of India Home decor retailers Textile companies of India Companies based in New Delhi Clothing companies established in 1960 Retail companies established in 1960 Indian companies established in 1960