Custodians of tradition

[1]

While fashion runs in this family, the members still stick to the ground principles of Indian couture and take it forward in the modern format. Meet the entrepreneurial and enterprising couple from the capital — Manoj and Vandy Mehra, the pioneers of Study By Janak fashion stores.

After a humble start almost two decades ago, the fashion label now has six stores in various cities and plans to expand in coming years. Vandy, says, “My husband started the first SBJ store in 1986, and it’s been over two decades now that we are in the business of fashion. My son Ayush, 25, who finished his studies from England, has also joined the family business and branched out with a luxury line for men. Whereas, my daughter Angel has just completed her education from Pearl Academy, and joined the group. She is learning the tricks of the trade.”

BUSINESS WISE
While the husband takes care of the money matters, the couple head the creative team together. Vandy adds, “As a brand we are known for the stylised occasion wear. The bouquet of products offered under its aegis are couture collection for men and women; largest collection of designer as well as corporate suits and pret collection of trousers, shirts, jackets that are in line with the international trends with our local twist.”

FAMILY MATTERS
The Mehra’s live in Arjun Marg, DLF-1, Gurgaon and keep travelling for work depending on their schedule. Speaking about the times spent together by them, Vandy says, “Earlier we lived in New Delhi and moved to Gurgaon eight years back. One family tradition, which we never miss on, is all of us having dinner together. During the day it’s too hectic to be together since all of us have our own profiles and departments to handle. At night it’s imperative for all of us to be together since mom-in-law is home and that’s the time where we all exchange our views, have family discussions, etc. The tradition has always been there but I ensure it stays like that even if at times my husband and son get lazy and want to eat in their rooms-as I feel it’s important to bond as a family and we owe it to our mom-in-law.”
Vandy, who juggles both the professional and personal front, mentions, “We all work seven days a week and all of us are workaholics. However, we spend at least spent atleast one day together, especially with mother. On Monday’s we usually wrap up our work early and go out together for a movie or dinner. It is our family time and we make sure no body misses out on this particular time. And, a couple of holidays are a must too. Even during summer, we take one break with friends and the other one with our family.”

FUTURE PLANS
Speaking about the business plans, Vandy informs, “We want to target the Northern region of Indian Subcontinent first, more so for the reason that seasonal cycle pattern remains the same and this makes our merchandising and production planning easy. We want to be very cautious with our expansion, we would rather take time and think through every sq.ft we add to our folio than rush into expansion spree.”
She adds, “We have grown organically through these two decades and are proud promoters of a brand that has carved a niche for itself with over 40,000 sq. ft of retail space. There is expansion plan of next years for the brand wherein we plan to add 10,000 sq.ft of retail space to our folio for next three years.”