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Stock of wool in weavers village

This blog is in English to enable our co-workers @jaipur rugs to read what we write about our experiences here.

Being Dutch we are said to be pretty outspoken. Some even call it blunt. This characteristic is not always highly valued abroad. Being here only for two weeks to develop a brand strategy puts us up for a challenge. How do we get all the information we need to come up with a brand strategy, without turning everybody crazy with our questions? And maybe at least as important: how do we present our ideas in such a way that the advice is embraced and executed? In our next blog we will let you know if we succeeded.

Current status branding

Jaipur Rugs (JR) has been thinking about branding its products for a while now. Several surveys have been done and options on how and where to start were discussed. The Jaipur Rugs wholesale company in the US already adds labels with the Jaipur Rugs logo on all rugs they sell. In Asia soon several stores will open that want to sell their products under the (to be defined) brand of the company. Local actions are taken but plans, ideas, and decisions are stored in the heads of the different family members. Up till now no worldwide brand strategy has been defined. Anna and I are here to contribute to this part. The decision on which brand and which strategy to follow needs to be taken in the next couple of weeks.

Starting to understand the company

We decided to approach our branding assignment in an ‘inside out manner’. Firstly we wanted to get a clear understanding what the family-run company Jaipur Rugs is about. We read the case done by Prahalad, saw the different steps in the supply chain, visited weavers in villages, and had a showing of different kind of carpets. We also got some insight in the Jaipur Rugs Foundation (JRF). A voluntary, non-profit and secular organization founded by Mr. N. K. Chaudhary, the CMD of Jaipur Rugs. His purpose is to organize carpet-weaving artisans at grass root level and build up their capacity so that they will have decent earnings and lead a dignified life. The Foundation works with more than 40,000 artisans across the carpet value chain in 10 states in India.

Our approach

Jaipur Rugs and Jaipur Foundation have shared values but their activities and goals are different. The current vision and mission of JR shows that the different positions of JR and JRF are not clearly defined. A clear position is a precondition for branding. So in our plan we started with getting a clear understanding of the position of JR and the companies’ ambitions for the coming years. After that we have a look at the end customers and their characteristics. Finally we summarize branding options suiting the JR positioning, ambition AND clients. And last but not least we define next steps after the branding decision has been made.

Yesterday we discussed our concept with one of the strategic advisors of the family and had interviews with two members of the management team in India and the US. We expect to have our advice ready by the end of day. Tomorrow we present it to the CMD and Director. We are pleased with the end result and hopefully so are they.

What makes organizations successful in what they do?  I was discussing this with Anna over dinner @Krishna Palace. Why do some people want extensive job descriptions, absolute clarity on what they may and must do? Why are there internal silos or people in some organizations that seem to work in complete isolation? Not (really) connected to the goal of the organization they are part of, and not delivering the results you expect them to. Interesting question and part of the answer presented itself in a fascinating way.

Home away from home
Krishna Palace is a beautiful heritage building in the pink city of Jaipur, India. It is run as a guesthouse and has a beautiful roof top terrace overlooking the old city. After dinner, fascinated by the impressive guesthouse, we asked the host if he could show us some of the rooms. With great pleasure and enthusiasm he showed us different rooms, pointing out their unique features. We asked the man if he was the manager or owner? He replied with a smile: “This house used to be the house of my grandfather. No, I am not the owner or the manager; I am an assistant of the guest. This is their home away from home.”

Empower people in poor rural areas
Back to work: Jaipur Rugs. This company was primarily founded to empower some of the poorest Indian people. Beginning with the purchase of two rug looms in 1978, Jaipur Rugs CEO, mister N.K. Chaudhary has built the largest hand knotted rug export company in India. The company’s business model has connected rural poor areas with the global market. A unique supply chain was built around mobilizing human capability and skills at the grassroots level. This case is described in Prahalad’s ‘ the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, 5th anniversary edition.

Challenge of brand assignment
Krishna Palace and Jaipur Rugs: both companies were founded based up on a personal mission of the founder. By pursuing their dream, two authentic and very successful organizations arose. Doing our brand assignment for Jaipur Rugs is a treat and a challenge. The corporate story is sincere and authentic but another characteristic is modesty. A helpful guide in our assignment @Jaipur Rugs is the book ‘Positioneren’ of Rik Riezebos and Jaap van der Grinten.

These experiences prove us once more, that doing things you are passionate about and really believe in works! Anna Wamsteeker and Chantal Verhoeven work at Primum Mobilé.

Amsterdam-Delhi
It’s amazing how much can change after a flight of less than 7 hours. The temperature is up 20 degrees; the air is filled with herbal scents and the sun is fighting to penetrate the smog that blocks our view. The friendly taxi driver smokes a weird smelling cigarette, is chatting on his mobile while competing with numerous other vehicles to reach destination asap. We wanted to submit ourselves to change as we do our clients. The first impression is promising: welcome to India.

Introduction @Jaipur rugs
Today we had our first introduction at the Jaipur rugs company. The manager HR showed us around and we learned about the production processes. Impressive was the visit to the rug design department. Only three years ago all pattern designs were done and colored in by hand. Then computers were introduced and all designers were trained to use them. Amongst them even people with no or hardly any literate skills. Talking about change management. “We feared that they would all run away.” After the initial resistance, the computers now are well embraced.

Meeting the founder over lunch
Lunch in India: no sandwich with cheese and a bowl of milk as the Dutch do. Instead of that an excellent cooked vegetarian meal is served. The inspiring founder of the company, Mister Chaudhary, joined for lunch. He is a spiritual and charismatic man. His personal website is really worth a visit. There you can read about the companies’ history, the founders’ background and family. The quotes on the website are inspiring: “Find yourself through loosing yourself”.

Business wisdom
As Dutch consultants we are used to use whiteboards, flipcharts and other means to see and show progress and planning. This is probably a cultural thing because we could not find any of these things in this well equipped office. We are covered in research, struggling to understand current status and ambitions. We promised the CEO to come up with a plan of approach next Friday. Send us some inspiration and we will let you know our progress the day after tomorrow.

Namaste

Anna Wamsteeker and Chantal Verhoeven work at Primum Mobilé.

What happened before…?
We were warned:
Recently the Indian embassy changed its visa procedure. It is very strict now. It is possible that the Indian embassy invites you for an interview in what some would call an intimidating setting. Make sure you have all the necessary documents and apply for your business visas asap!

We took this warning seriously.

Monday morning, 10 o’clock, with a bag full of recommendations, invitations and photocopies of all sorts of documents, I went to the Indian embassy. And I was not the only one. There were more than a hundred people at the embassy. Why? Was it a special day? Did something happen in India?

No. It was just busy at the embassy. Very busy. Everyone wanted to get a visum on Monday. I drew a number. No. 586. It was so crowded; I could not see the number on the screen. “Can you tell me what it number is “, I asked the guy next to me. “444″, the guy said.

It became busier and busier at the embassy. “From now on, women with children go first”, I heard someone scream. After one hour the numerator was on 447. The girl behind me had number 620. “Can you pay by card?” a woman next to me asked. “Off course”, I said. “No, you cannot”, another lady said. Based on three numbers per hour I could easily make the stroll to the nearest ATM.

Back at the embassy, the numerator was still on 447. “You all work against us,” someone shouted. “Go stand in a line”. A queue arose. While waiting people joked and told stories. We kept smiling and laughing. Even when the embassy staff went of for lunch. When it was three o’clock, it was my turn to hand in my papers. Luckily, my papers were all correct. “Please come back at 4,” the woman behind the counter said.

When I came back at the embassy, there were dozens of people. They were all around a table. A man was sitting behind the table. He was handing out passports. One and a half hour later he called my name. I could not believe it. We received our visas. Our papers were not rejected. We were not called for an interview. India here we come!

Anna Wamsteeker and Chantal Verhoeven work at Primum Mobilé.

This beautiful story and the unique organisational model was described by C.K. Prahahlad in the Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (5th anniversary edition). Primum Mobilé is proud to join efforts with this company that we feel deep sympathy for. From November 27 till December 13 we will go to Jaipur to help develop a new brand strategy.

On a regular base we describe our preps. During our stay in India every other day an update is made.

You are more than welcome to share your feedback on this blog.

Anna Wamsteeker and Chantal Verhoeven work at Primum Mobilé.