Ram Chandra Agarwal

Ram Chandra Agarwal, CMD, Vishal Retail

Age: 42
1985: Joins a rolling shutter company at Rs 300 a month
1986: Opens his garment shop, all 50 sq ft of it, rented at Rs 1,200 a month, in Lal Bazar Street, Kolkata
1989-90: Organises discount sales of MNC clothing brands
Now: Vishal Retail, of which he owns 65 per cent, occupies 1.35 million sq ft and is increasing it to 8-10 million sq ft "in a short period"
"Extraordinary work can be done by ordinary people if they have the passion and a good leader"

Ram Chandra Agarwal, CMD of Vishal Retail, cannot recall the name of the company he joined for his first job. He only remembers that it was into rolling shutters and paid him Rs 300 a month. In a year, he was fed up. His father's small business of "suiting and shirting" beckoned - his two elder brothers had already joined it - but it was not big enough to accommodate the youngest sons dreams.

He opened his own shop of readymade clothes, Vishal Garments, in Kolkatas Lal Bazar Street, occupying 50 sq ft rented at Rs 1,200 a month. The big jump came in 1989-90, with the frenzied response to his discount sale of MNC brands like Pepe. With this came the enlightenment that salvation lay in discount retail.

The first showroom came up in 1995-96 in Tiger Cinema, Dharamtalla, over 5,000 sq ft. Following the principle of competitive pricing, it had up to 300 people queuing up to get in at the time of Durga Puja. Soon, Kolkata was not big enough.

Agarwal moved to Delhi in 2001 and opened a showroom in Rajouri, charging 15-20 per cent less than the competition. By this time he had travelled across Europe and became convinced of the efficacy of the hypermarket system. His first came up four years ago on the outskirts of Delhi. "Garments alone were not enough. I wanted a big role in retail."

Agarwal, who enrolled for a five-year law course at Surendranath College, only to drop out after three, reels off the numbers with panache. In the four years to 2007, Vishal has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 86 per cent while the profit after tax has grown at a CAGR of 166 per cent. "Education helps, but you cannot teach hard work, leadership or quick decision-making."

Vishal Retails initial public offer, in June this year, was subscribed 70 times, and ended at Rs 750 a share on its stock market debut in July, against the issue price of Rs 270. Agarwals target is to be among the top three retailers in the country. For now, his Ford Endeavor, which he uses for the 10-minute drive from home to office, has nearly as much space as Vishal Garment, 9, Lal Bazar Street, Kolkata.