GOLDEN THREADS
Nalli Silks was established in 1928 as a small retail store of silk sarees in Chennai’s T. Nagar by a famous Kanchipuram saree weaver- Nalli Chinnasami Chetty. The shop used to function from a house until Chinnasami Chetty established his own showroom in 1935. It was the vision of Chetty’s grandson Ramnath Nalli to expand the business after the Indian
economy was liberalized in 1990. Nalli held an exhibition-cum-sale in New Delhi in 1991 to test the north Indian market and inspired by the outcome he went ahead to spread the brand. In a different approach from convention, Nalli Kuppuswami decided that the shop would do no discount selling. Since then it has been a pioneer in the field of textiles, leading the change for an entire industry. Today, Nalli has become synonymous to silk sarees and has 30 stores across ten cities in India, one store each in California and Singapore, and an online store. The company sells a whooping 1.5 million saris a year.
SIX- YARDS OF PERFECTION
It has been 87 years since its inception and the company has shown exceptional growth not just in the market but in its product standards too. Nalli’s business focus has widened over years and from an eminent saree-retailer, it has become one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of fabrics and apparels. Its wedding saree collection is most sought after and has a vibrancy and elegance of its own. Nalli Silks has been the choice of brides since ages because of the aestheticism its designs offer.
The outlets spread across the country see customers from four generations. The brand has maintained the customers’ confidence by upholding to the core values of trust and quality. At Nalli, everything is supervised and ensured whether it is related to weaving or designing, so that only the best reaches the customers. It has its own weaving centers across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The company is connected with a network of artisan weavers across India and it adds new stock every month to its inventories. The brand ensures that purity and quality of their products is not compromised at all. The salespersons at every outlet are educated and trained to offer personalized services to the customers. The aim is not to push sales but to make shopping with Nalli a pleasant experience. Appropriate labels are put on every saree like pure silk, polyester sari, pure zari (gold and silver) etc. making it easy even for the new buyers to understand the product they are buying.
NEXT GENERATION SAREE-DESTINATION
Now, under the leadership of Lavanya Nalli who is the fifth generation scion and the first woman executive of the company, the brand is thriving to reach new heights of popularity and scale of business. The company aims to become the number one global saree destination. It has plans to add outlets this year in cities like Cochin, Pondicherry, Jaipur and Chandigarh. Plans to start a new e-commerce platform to increase the sales are also under process. The major work is being done to incorporate products that cater the taste of this and forthcoming generation. Nalli Silks is keen to revamp the silk saree business to incorporate colors, styles and designs which suit the style and class of its future customers. The brand wants to establish it as more than just a traditional brand; something that can redefine the face of the six-yard fabric.
