How A Teacher From Punjab Turned ‘Havells’ Into A Huge Success

Reading about how the leading entrepreneurs became successful gives us all some courage to pursue our dreams. Stories of their struggle and hardship can only make us understand more about their journey.

While there are many such stories to draw inspiration from, we are here to tell you about one man who made a name for himself despite that many obstacles.

Qimat Rai Gupta founded Havells in 1971. He purchased the existing company Havells brand name from Haveli Ram Gandhi for ₹700,000.

About Qimat Rai Gupta

Gupta was born in 1937 in Malerkotla, Punjab, in a middle-class Punjabi Hindu Family. He first worked as a school teacher in Punjab. He decided to move to New Delhi. He had earlier worked in his uncle’s electrical trading shop in Bhagirath Place. His uncle saw his zeal and offered him a partnership with the company.

On this day, we remember our founder Chairman Sh. Qimat Rai Gupta, with utmost gratitude. We wish to follow his footsteps with the vision of #Makingadifference pic.twitter.com/pgMGmBy15N

— Havells (@havellsindia) January 24, 2019

In 1958, he started an electrical trading shop called Guptaji & Company in Bhagirath Place, with a capital of ₹10,000

The Begining Of ‘Havells’

It was in 1971 that Gupta purchased the existing company Havells brand name from Haveli Ram Gandhi for ₹700,000. Not many know how the name Havells came to be. While something is derived from a foreign language, it comes from the company’s owner, Haveli Ram Gandhi.

Qimat Rai Gupta was able to expand the horizons of the company by widening the scope of products offered by it.

Havells earlier dealt in switchgear alone but QRG introduced other products as well like cables, lighting, appliances, fans, and geysers.

Its Road To Success

In 2007, Havells acquired German giant Sylvania which was twice its size. The acquisition did put Havells on the global map. However, they were facing some struggles of their own.

When Sylvania’s losses pushed Havells to the brink, QRG fearlessly decided to keep the company nonetheless. It was under his tutelage that Anil Rai Gupta, present chairman of Havells, turned Sylvania around.

Today, Havells owns global brands like Crabtree, Sylvania, Concord, Luminance, and Standard.

In 2014, Qimat Rai Gupta entered the Forbes billionaire club for the first time after shares of his lighting outfit Havells India got a 65% jolt on higher earnings. Today, Havells is one of the largest electronics companies in the world.

Source: India Times