BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

Last fortnight when the German Ambassador to India , Thomas Matussek, handed over the Deed of Conferment and the insignia of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Mr. Yusuf Noorani, it only recognized the longstanding partnership in business with India's most known garment manufacturing house, the Zodiac Clothing Company.

Noorani's achievements are manifold. As the President of the Clothing Manufacturers' Association, Yusuf Noorani initiated the participation of a number of Indian companies in the German textile trade fairs. These companies then went on to become important customers of German textile machinery suppliers.

As member of the committee of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce from 1992-2000 he played a significant role in promoting Indo-German trade and investment relations. In the Indo-German Chamber's Committee he was succeeded by his son Anees who also became President of the Chamber for the period 2004/05.

His leisure activity of gardening has led to his being involved in the beautification of Mumbai, having served on the Managing Committee of “Bombay First”, an initiative of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry, for the development of Mumbai.

For the past 50 years Zodiac has been an established name in providing quality men's wear shirts. With its presence in India, Germany, the UAE , the USA and UK , Zodiac, the brand, is aggressively making a mark on the global map.

Zodiac Clothing Company Ltd (ZCCL), has been in the business of providing quality products ranging from shirts to fashion accessories for over four decades. The company's branded business comprising leading brands 'Zodiac' and 'ZOD!', continues to benefit from its design strength and product quality. Zodiac is unique amongst Indian garment exporters for being the only Indian company to export shirts under its own label.

The Zodiac brand, which is synonymous with the finest quality men's clothing, is also the men's wear brand of longest standing in India. Mr. Yusuf Noorani, selected the brand name over a cup of coffee from a computer-generated list because of the multiple linkages that it was possible to capture. “I found myself plunged into the necktie business when a customer who imported necktie fabric through me defaulted on his commitment and keeping with our high standards of integrity I did not want to renege on commitment to our suppliers in France and had no choice but to manufacture neck ties our self” he said.

“This evolved into a successful necktie business, and in the early 60s, we branded our neckties 'Zodiac'. This was backed by an aggressive and unusual campaign centered on the “Zodiac Man” – a bearded model who went on to become, to quote Khushwant Singh, “the most recognizable male model in India after the Air India Maharaja.” Adds Mr. Noorani, “We export our production to the European Union, the US , the UK , the Middle East, and in a small way to Latin America”.

Noorani says, the obsession with quality, design capabilities, and large investment made consistently in sharpening competitiveness were the company's strength.

While Zod will take time to establish itself, Zodiac continues to depend on its export turnover (almost 90 per cent of its volumes are meant for the export market) and even exports its own label to certain chains abroad, even though it continues to face intense competition in these markets from countries such as China and Indonesia.

An exclusive agreement exists between Zodiac and certain retail chains such as Ciro Citerrio in the UK and De Bijenkorf in Holland, which could, to a certain extent, cushion it from competitive pressure from other brands in the Indian market which want to stock their brands at these stores abroad.

As Noorani says, "We are only Indian brand at these stores abroad since the agreement takes care of this exclusivity clause." While Zodiac ensures it gets the high margins supplying to these stores owing to its cheap labour costs from India easily, it also ensures permanent shelf space at these stores courtesy the agreement it has signed with them.

“We have also acquired a suits and trouser wear plant that consolidated our position in the Zodiac Classic wear segment. Simultaneously, we are also looking at launching more products under our brand, ZOD,” said Noorani.

In a bid to be able to react to market trends and churn out new designs quickly, Zodiac Clothing has also invested in a new software - a special integrated logistics system - that had linked the Zodiac HQ with its factories and clothing outlets.

On the retail end, the company, which has been selling its brand via multi-brand outlets (Hi-style etc) and large format stores (Globus, Lifestyle, etc.), is all set for a large-scale expansion of its company outlets.

Yusuf Noorani has also established 'Noorani Fundation' to take care of the community welfare activities. He himself scrutinizes every submission for financial aid for education or health and sanctions it after getting approval from his team of professionals. "We insist on having a say in the management of the welfare project funded by our company and keeps a close tab whether the activities comply with objectives", he said. Yusuf Noorani taking personal interest in the welfare projects is appreciable. It is always easy to donate money. But really difficult for the entrepreneurs to take time from their busy schedule to take active interest in the welfare projects.