Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 15....

Dedicated to Kalyan and Haran....

Chennai again but this time as RM South....

After convincing DR not to split South which he felt made lots of sense, I come back to Chennai as RM South. KG Santhosh was the ARM.

But after reaching Chennai I got a serious shock as I was told that I have to stay at KPT's flat in Santhome. I came to know that was the deal with KPT to make him to accept his new position which was the GM of McD Chertala distillery. For KPT it was out of blue as he has been all along in sales...shifting him to manufacturing and to McD unit-a place plagued with labor issues--somehow DR has managed to swing it....but the compromise was that I have to stay in KPTs flat...it was in good location but huge water problem---we shifted to honor DRs word but we didnt like it one bit...we were absolutely uncomfortable in that place...Deepak Desai from finance came down to Chennai for a meeting and as he is a good friend, I invited him to our place for a meal, briefed him on the issues in that place and requested him to convince DR about our unhappiness with this flat....he also felt that apartment is not that good and the message was conveyed to DR and he asked me to look for another one within the budget....a major relief for me but Tomy didnt like it one bit...he took it up on me and asked me how dare I could say his flat was not good...I have to keep my cool and bow my head as he has been my boss and well wisher always....we got a very good apartment on Haddow's Road, brand new building....2 bedroom but very spacious and great lay out....Vandana Towers...we moved in there and Babloo got admission in pre KG at a close by nursery...I got Tomy's car initially but with in few months got a brand new Maruti 800....felt really good...office was in Rosy tower, same place but the cabin was huge (Tomy's)....

The TN team had some new faces and one amongst was Aditya Gupta a Management graduate based at Coimbatore as ASM...first time in HL TN...very nice guy and well grounded too....The team was almost the same...Haran was in Chennai...Raghavan was the ASM...Dwarak was shifted to Vijayawada as ASE....KGR in Hyderabad...Kandan at Hyderabad managing AP...Narasimhan at Bangalore, PJ Thomas at Cochin as ASM for Kerala....Santosh was the ARM based at Chennai but he didnt like one bit reporting to me as he was senior in terms of his experience.

The TN business was safe but we had issues in Kerala in terms of getting our supplies....so I have to go and meet KPT to get our share of supplies but he didnt hold the 'apartment' issue and was very helpful. We also had supplies from Seven Seas, a unit in the outskirts of Trichur...under Balaji...Unni who was the GM there, a very nice professional guy but Seven Seas had its own issues...but we managed that well. EJT was the ASM and a very nice, and honest guy. A very warm person with a big smile. During this time my wife's brother Padmanabhan was with BPC and was based at Cochin. So, the stay was always with them. Very hospitable guy and his wife Chitra too...But they have to put up with my timings as it used to be always beyond 11 pm to return home after the market visits. We had a promoter for Kerala...CeeCee brothers which was owned by Wilfred but was run by his brother Stanley...a typical character. I still remember during my fist visit, KGS wanted to take me to Stanleys home for dinner and while on the way, he stopped the car and got a bottle of JW Black from some bootlegger. When I asked him why he is buying the alcohol and that too JW, he said Stanley likes only scotch and its customary that we buy the bottle. I really lost myself. I told him very clearly that we will not waste companies money on such expensive brands (UB had nothing to do with JW in 1993) and told him to give back that bottle and get the money back. He was totally perplexed and I insisted that he should do that as we are going there for business discussion and if we have to drink we would drink Indian brands only...I am quoting this incident not to lower the image of KGS but the deep rooted subservient culture of the organisation to please the promoter as he was close to the chairman. We had a good team in Kerala but they were all 'type cast'. During our sales meetings, when a question is directed at any of the sales guy, they look at KGS and answer....I had to ask these guys to look at the person in the eyes and answer instead of looking at their boss...even EJT had this problem. I had to do lots of counselling to make these guys to understand that they work for VJM and not for any other individuals and the others are just line managers and that would keep changing...in Kerala the issue was that KGS was kept as branch head for more than a decade and that became the root cause of such behaviour. There was always Bevco to put the blame on for not achieving the objectives...and more than that, CeeCee was all powerful a la Allappat and Johar....all these promoters were close to HO and hence were to be handled with caution...and the retail was under private and it was fun working the market...KSBC was only in WS....

Karnataka no one bothered, as the volumes were too small due to certain local dynamics....HL never went in to that 'dynamics' and hence remained a small player. McD was big but in the books the volumes were relatively smaller.

After taking over went to Hyderabad and nothing had changed there...same set up with MSR group in the helm as our distributors...EKS was the zonal manager. Dwarak, as mentioned earlier was based at Vijayawada...I still remember during my visit to Vijaywada when I asked Dwarak how one arrives at the MRP, he really struggled to answer that. The issue was people were just pushed in to their roles without a proper induction especially on the RTM and the cost cards...so they did what they were good at...market visits and managing the numbers and team...they were not given an opportunity to think differently.

VK Arora was the head of sales and he knew only Punjab and Delhi and his visits were more of a formality than of any substance as TN and Kerala were government controlled, KTK was insignificant and AP was MSR controlled....

Ashok Capoor was a great boss to work with...very soft, understanding and a great listener...the reporting was more to AC than to VKA...We had issues with Balaji in terms of getting our supplies and DRs visits were primarily to sort them out....

So my job was to ensure that the forecasts were delivered and the team was kept motivated to deliver....TN team was still the stalwarts followed by AP as AP was another major contributor for BPW....BPG in TN was doing very well but the issue as always was HBB....whereas in Kerala HBB was keeping the volumes ticking...

My first visit to Mahe was an eye opener...Mahe is part of the UT of Puducherry and HL was not getting that kind of volumes from there but Mahe somehow was better than Pondy and Karaikkal. We had a good distributor in Mahe in Surulivelu a Tamil from Cumbam....he had an able manager in Krishnan and they knew the pulse of the market but sadly HL never done anything to convert those opportunities. The supplies were from Seven Seas. Surulivelu, as I had mentioned, a very shrewd operator gave me a proposal to take HBB to 5000 cases in two months...he just wanted some additional amount and guaranteed supplies from Seven Seas....Seven Seas was managed by Unni, a very nice gentleman but had his own issues in terms of getting the raw material on time and also labor...but a couple of meetings with him and also with his boss in Chennai, could get the supplies as committed and Surulivelu delivered....

The exciting thing during my one year stint was our presentation in the sales conference in 93 September. VJM's was gracious enough to agree to the managements proposal to host the conference in Nairobi followed by a 3 days trip to London....As always every region was to make a presentation...and mostly its on performance and balance of the year....we decided to change the format....in 93 there was a programme in DD called Super hit Muqabla....it was a program on Bollywood chart bursters and was quite popular...So title of our presentation was Super Hit Muqabla....and the content was all about glorifying the sales guys contribution in making things happen in the very competitive environment. We sought the inputs from our agency (I think it was redifusion) and every single slide was interspersed with a Bollywood song...a la super hit muqabla....BR Haran was the presenter and he did a fabulous job...we also highlighted the meteoric rise of DR with few slides to showcase how HL rewards its people and we chose the popular number that time 'papa kehate hai bada naam karega' song. The climax was all about a day in HL sales guys life in the market....we dubbed the 'Romeo Naam Mera' song from Mr. India with our own lyrics....it went something like this....'Herbertsons Naam mera...selling hai kaam mera...mein Bagpiper Bechun, honey bee bechun'...and our versatile Kalyan played the role of the salesman....with his typical style and dance....as I mentioned it was the climax and when he finished his part, the entire auditorium was on its feet with a thunderous ovation....VK Arora came running to me, hugged me and was all praise...Gill, my counterpart from North told me that it was like watching a movie....DR was spell bound....Tomy was all smiles....my team was on Cloud 9....euphoric is the word....Haran and Kalyan were the celebrities...and VJM thoroughly enjoyed it and was seen commenting, clapping and laughing....but SSG was so upset that we portrayed DR as a hero in our presentation and overruled others and awarded the first prize to North....there was pin drop silence when the award was announced....VJM was not present when the award was announced and even PS Gill and his team could not believe....we were in tears....Haran was unconsolable....SS Gandhi, the tormentor didnt say a word...but as I realised later, after reaching London...DR called me for a walk and confided to me that he had quit and would be joining a Liquor MNC who is setting up their operations in India....he also told me to be ready to join him...Didnt tell me anything more....so SSG apart from his dislike for DR also knew his leaving HL and our portrayal of DR as an icon of HL rubbed him on the wrong side....

Nairobi, we were all taken for a safari and the conference dinner was something enshrined in our heart....VJM is a great host and the spread and booze was awesome....we thoroughly enjoyed the settings and the booze and food and completely sloshed...we boarded the flight for Heathrow with a heavy heart and fully drunk....but London made us to forget the episode in Nairobi and we thoroughly enjoyed our outing there...Kalyans brother Dorai was based at London with a bank and he invited us to his home for a meal....all bachelors outing in his place....

Upon coming back to Chennai, I get a call from SSG one evening asking me to come down to Bangalore next day as VJM has called for a meeting....he even told me about what flight I have to take...SSG was such a micro manager...Next day I reach Blr and McD's office at Richmond road....it was a Saturday and no one in the office....After I reached, Ashok Capoor, VK Arora, PS Gill and Pradeep Arora, Sanjit Padhi from marketing....we were all there sharp 1000......Waited and waited and waited for the call....went out for lunch and came back but still no call....Ashok got bored and climbed up on the table in the conference room and slept off....around 930 in the night we got the call to come to UB office to meet up with Chairman....we rush there and the moment we reach there, were ushered in to his chamber where Rekhi, SSG and other seniors were all seated. VJM asked us to pick up our drinks and snacks and spent just few minutes telling us all not to get perturbed by MNCs and stay focussed and committed...UB would take care of us...hardly 15 minutes....I immediately rushed to the railway station with the help of Rajendra and somehow got in to the mail for Chennai. 

It was work as usual and one day when in Cochin on my trade visit, I got a call from Rekhi's office and his secretary wanted my address...and she whispered in my ears that I got promoted as Controller-South....in terms of job content, no difference but got in to the next level....

UB organised a big meeting of all the exec and the distributors of the entire country in Blr and in the evening VJM addressed us all....his speech was electrifying and everyone was motivated....this was organised to keep his flock together and send a message that UB is very proactive.

In the month of January 94, DR called me and offered a job as Controller-Sales South based at Blr with IDV, the company he set up in India....IDV, International Distillers and Vintners, known for Smirnoff, Bailey's, J&B, Malibu, Archers et al....the first liquor MNC to set up their operations in India...I didnt negotiate and took the offer.

I called Ashok Capoor and told him and he came down to Chennai next day...we sat in his room in Park Sheraton and he did his best to convince me to stay back. He told me that I am one of the blue eyed boys and has a great future with UB...over a few drinks....he finally said, it was left to me but he would expect me to stay back....he left for Bombay next day...It was a tough call for me but decided to go with DR and called AC next day and told him that I cant go back from my commitment and hence requested him to relieve me asap. The moment it became official I was asked not to come to the office...KGS was all smiles as he was made the RM for TN and Kerala and EKS for AP and KTK....I was persona non grata at HL office....

And UB decided that anyone leaving UB would never be taken back....

Finally my HL days came to an end....1979 to 1993.......14 years...what a journey....and what an experience....learning and wisdom....the number of friends I had gained and also the progress in my professional and personal life....and moving to an unknown, supposedly green pastures.....

I cant thank enough all my HL colleagues, trade partners and my family for all the support I got during this stint of mine....and the almighty for such a wonderful 14 years.....

Its bye bye HL and Chennai....hallo Bangalore....and IDV.......

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 14....

Bombay-the city of dreams....

Second time, outside the comfort zone....the first being Hyderabad and now the biggest of all...Bombay-people come here with huge dreams and many realise theirs too....

When I left Chennai, there were few things I was happy about. Obviously Rithvic was born during this stint and professionally few of my guys got promoted....KGR got promoted in 90 and moved to Vijaywada, KSR got promoted as ASM and Dwarak got promoted as ASE, and Narasimhan....for a manager, what gives immense happiness is his people's contribution getting recognised...Also BP Gold was a hit and started picking up....And Tomy was quite happy on my elevation....what else one could ask for?

We reach Mumbai city, a completely alien place (I visited Mumbai earlier too but as a tourist), with 2 YO Rithvic. After marriage, Chennai to Hyd to Chennai and to Bombay.....all in just 4 years of time. 

HL's union leader owned 2BHK, on the first floor of an independent house (Simplex coop housing society) on the 11th Road of JVPD Scheme-one of the posh areas in Bombay. On the top floor the simplex owner was the resident-an old man. The one opposite to our portion on the first floor was always locked...we were told that UL would visit once a while but never ever met him in our two years stint in that place. We moved in the month of April 91...It was a simple two bedroom, hall, kitchen place with a nice balcony-facing our neighbor's bungalow-hold your breath-the neighbour was Amrish Puri!!!). We were probably the first occupant of the house and hence a lot of cleaning had to be done. The location was one of the best in suburban Bombay-Juhu scheme as known. 10th Road was Amitabh's residence, 11th road slightly ahead was Danny Denzongpa, Manoj Kumar was two roads ahead, ISKON temple just 10 minutes walk and the Juhu club was also close by. But the drive to my office, which was in Parel was around an hour and sometimes more also...HL had their HO at Ewart House, Flora Fountain, and my office, the regional one, was in Parel. My predecessor, PK Chatterji was moved back to HO. Parel office was big as it also had the bonded warehouse. EC Bala, Sebastian, Ramu and Chandu to manage the office. Nagappa, ZM for Maharashtra based at Pune. Deepak Katty-ASM at Bhopal with Rajinder Kalra as the ASE for MP. Two TSEs at Gujarat to manage our Finit business and some liquor stores. Goa was directly under me as Ravi Nambiar who was managing Goa earlier as ASE got transferred to Bombay. It was Ravi and Chavan as ASEs for Greater Bombay. Around 6 TSEs to manage the Bombay local market with 2 ASEs, 10 TSEs with 2 RSEs in Pune and just one TSE at Goa. A big team. Naaz was heading the Liquor division 2 and Deepak Roy was the CEO of HL.  Deepak Desai, finance head, Rodney in accounts Cyrus Madan and Mohan Madera in supply chain/logistics, Sanjit Padhi-Marketing Manager,  Sandhya Nikam, Shekar Mulatti, Anil Sawant, Amar Sinha, Pradeep Gidwani all under Sanjit in marketing, Gerry D'souza head of HR and later Indru Balchandani, Mrs. George-secretary to DR (she was the secretary to SSG too), and the beautiful Vidya Nadkarni at the reception desk and with an admin department ably assisted by Amita Arora. That was HO.

But HL was a very small player in Bombay and in Maharashtra Nagpur was the only region where HL had a good market share and rest were pressure selling. MP was decent and Goa was small but Honey Bee was a big brand there....

I take charge without any proper brief as always...Deepak had portrayed me in the HO and to his circle as a super hero who would make West to deliver big numbers....did it happen? 

We had two distributors in Bombay in H Parson, and Candy wines...HP was, run by Nitin Pitale as their CEO (remember Nitin? He was my predecessor in Hyd!). We were also told VJM had a stake in HP. Deepak Avathramani with his brothers Kishore and Suraj was running Candy Wines, our second distributor based at Mahim. 

HP was like a government run organisation..but Candy was totally professional and very well run. They also had their own wine shops and the three brothers were wonderful to deal with. Deepak used to commute by train to his office and very focussed. They were also the distributors for Officers choice those days it was No1 seller in Bombay. HL was nothing great. Very small player in Bombay with around 3 to 4k cases of average sale of all our brands p.m. 

I was told BP was doing well in Bombay and when they changed the source from Udaipur to another unit, consumers rejected it citing change in taste/quality. Whatever HL did to reverse the trend and consumers perception, didnt work out...the sale went southwards....The lead sellers like DSP, OC and Aristocrat were all from Aurangabad and god knows how and why, Aurangabad had a great name with consumers....Those who haven't visited Aurangabad, its just an industrial hub and a very dry place. SW had an unit there and also some other companies. SW supplied RCW from their Aurangabad unit and thus Aurangabad became prominent..consumers started perceiving Aurangabad as the Scotland of India...all perceptions only... So anything from Aurangabad, the consumers thought would be good...you got it? So DSP, OC everything from Aurangabad....But Aurangabad do not have any semblance to Scotland either in terms of weather, land, river, water resources et al....In Maharashtra Konkan, Nasik, Kholapur, Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar areas are great water resources....but hardly any distilleries there. Seagrams and McD has units in Nasik and McD has one more in Baramati....Yes, Baramati is another fertile area...

So a struggling west for HL with very low volumes in Bombay, Maharashtra barring Thane and Vidarbha was also struggling. As mentioned Goa was for HBB and RTWhite rum and MP was delivering decent volumes with BP but MP receivables were always a nightmare..with the WS dictating terms...

HL tied up for bottling with a unit in Aurangabad...this made life easier for us as we could turn around permits faster. 

Bombay region...I was used to the HL TN way of working. The HL culture in TN-never used to look at the clock or calendar and it was always work n work n work for most of us....guys were business hungry...When I went to Bombay I was in that mode but the reality there struck me hard....people in Bombay undergo lots of struggle in their life. Everything is machine like precision for them. If some one is coming from Goregaon to Parel office-an example-they have to first travel to the local railway station-if they are close by, they walk up or take a bus or go by their two wheeler, park it at the station and catch the local train...and their local trains are fixed...if it is a 8.23 it is a 8.23 local....so they have to reach the platform by 8.20. There are fasts and normal trains. And if someone has to come from Goregaon to Parel, they have to get down at Dadar and change, as Goregaon is on WR and Parel is on CR...there is also a harbour line which connects CST and New Bombay....head is spinning, right? So when they reach the office they are irritated and tired. They need some time to refresh, unwind and probably have their BF and start the work....initially I used to get maha angry but when I understood their plight, started empathising with them. The TSE's are different. They dont have to come to the office everyday and hit the trade straight. Most of them commute by bus and train only except a few who had two wheelers. And Saturday was an off day for the FF, office and HO. This also irritated me so much as the market was open on Saturdays and also my distributors. I once told my TSEs that they should work on Saturdays and JV Gandhi a very senior TSE (around 58 YO-a bachelor) advised me not to push this. When I told him what his colleagues do outside Bombay, he told me Bombay is different....as they get only Saturday to attend to their personal work including banking and et al and Sunday is the only day with family. Most cases its double income group....So I have to let go....but I used to work on Saturdays visiting my distributors as the traffic on Saturdays used to be lighter especially in South Bombay. The moment you cross Thane, its different. Most of the distributors for Thane and Kalyan had their offices in Ulhasnagar....almost the entire trade was in the hands of Sindhi community that includes retail. And these guys were hungry for business. I had a great guy in Ghanshyam Bhatia who was new to the trade and was fresh....First time I drove down to U Nagar but it took more than two hours...I changed to local train to visit these markets. Reach U Nagar by train and market visits with the distributors in his vehicle....the market visits were always wonderful as the dealers were very nice and hospitable. I remember even today, one of the biggies in U Nagar, Pradeep Kalani-distributor for SW and as he had retail also we used to visit him regularly. Most of the guys related to each other as they are from the same community. And when you go to their office, there is always some dry fruits and nuts for you to munch on..Pradeep started cracking the shell of pistachios and I thought it was for him...but to my surprise after he cracked a handful, he offered the entire thing to me....what a hospitality...this is continued even today. Lunch/dinner is always with either the distributor or customer....

Pune was also H Parson but we were too small.  Kholapur was decent. Aurangabad we had Deepu (he lost his life in the plane crash) but again small business..strangely Aurangabad was controlled by on trade than off. Ahmed Nagar was also small for us. Sholapur-Uday Bakshi was our distributor...wonderful person but small business for HL. Vidarbha we had Sonu Traders-run by Poornayya-was the ZM of HL AP under SSG but was axed by SSG for some improvised receivables management , but the trade was owned by Harminder Singh-a WS and distillery owner from Hyd. Wondered what made HL to give the agency to an outsider instead of giving it to a local...This market BP was a decent seller competing with Diplomat (only market in Maharashtra where this brand had some consumer demand) and OC....Vidarbha a big area geographically consisting of around 4 districts with one of them 'dry'.

As mentioned, Nagappa was the ZM and he did a decent job in Maharashtra considering our products local standing. We had some stalwarts in KB Thole, Patil, CR Shetty and Dhiria.  The problem used to be managing the credit...also the local tactical AMPs. Lucky draws were quite popular and hence 3 to 4 times in a year, we need to work out some exciting lucky draws for our brands....and the lucky draw events have to be also big...In U Nagar the event cant start before 1030 and by the time it gets over, it would be early hours....The events were more of a dealers get-together and absolutely no untoward were ever happened....but the cost of running it was always on companies head...

Once there was some heated exchanges between me and Nagappa on some issues and as usual I let the steam and forgot about it. Didnt know Nagappa was harbouring it...one day I was in my Parel office and Nagappa walks in quietly....he says hallo with a sheepish smile and when I showed my surprise on his un announced visit, he reveals  he came to meet Deepak Roy to complain about me....Whats the complaint, my friend...you took my trip on that day and I didnt like it so went to complain...so what did he say? He asked me to sort it out with you....hahaha....that was Deepak Roy for you....he had so much of confidence in my abilities and my style of functioning and he never bothered to broker any truce or call me and ask....we buried the baggages and Nagappa and self are still good friends. Those who have worked with me knows my style. It sometime can be tough but I never took it to personal level....

My visits to MP used to be once in two months....another tough market due to its complexities...The trade was on auction every year....there was always anxious moments in the months of February and March every year...so the targets of 12 months have to be achieved in 10 months flat and the credit has to be controlled from December itself....Indore was the biggest followed by Raipur, Bhopal and Jabalpur. Mahesh Mehta was our distributor for Indore region and our best.  Raipur distributor was a great guy but tough to get the money from him. Deepak joined us after his PG in marketing and was very structured in his approach..very soft spoken and was just married. Rajender was our ASE based at Indore. There was only one hopping flight from Bombay to Indore-Bhopal-Gwarlior-Delhi...Return direction also the same route. The morning flight used to leave at around 550 and one has to be at the check in counter and 450 and to catch this flight I have to raise very early hours...it was tough initially but as there was no alternatives, I have to, once in two months, undergo this ordeal. The return flight from Indore was around 830 in the night reaching Bombay at around 1000pm. Once on my return boarded the Indore Bombay flight and just before take off, we were told that some rat was spotted in the cockpit and the captain has to check whether all the wires are intact and the flight would only take off after a thorough inspection....2 hours of wait inside the aircraft...finally the captured the rat alive and no damages and flight took off....there are plenty of such stories for the regular traveller.....

Goa....We had a company conference in Goa just before I got transferred where I met Ravi Nambiar. That time I didnt know about my elevation...within a couple of months I get elevated and shifted to Bombay. My first visit to Goa after taking over. Rainy day and at the airport my distributor Agencia Commercials owner Kerker fondly called Baauji, was there to welcome me along with Ravi....Such a simple soul and soft spoken. His children, Praveen, Vivek and Pradeep are the most respected distributors of IMFL even today....they have followed the tradition left behind by his father. That first visit of mine was still enshrined. In 91 there was only one flight from Bombay to Goa...an IA Airbus 300, always full....from airport we have to go to Mapusa....to Panjim and from there by a ferry as the bridge on river Mandvi collapsed...to his office at Mapusa for a brief on our business and then to his lovely home for dinner...The problem with Goa, even today, is the credit control..the money is safe but the customers, barring a few, would take their own sweet time to pay back...but would never hesitate to order quantities. Also any product launched would do very well first 3 months and would stop after that as the consumers in Goa always try new brands-especially the floating population-and either go back to their own brands or try the next one when it is launched.  Also the universe is huge with a portion of residences serving as bar in remote areas. Distributors do not service these small vendors due to accessibility and very low volumes and hence in every town there is one big retailer who specialises in servicing these outlets...and they play a huge role in terms of RTM as they are the ones who has the pulse of these vendors and also extend credit to them...for example in Margao Vaz Enterprises, Panjim-Bosotto brothers et al. The problem is managing the credit...Goa was one state where you would huge bill boards advertising alcohol brands...lively market to work...friendly trade and distributors and beautiful hotels to stay too. I used to stay only at Hotel Mandovi as the rooms were quite spacious and with in budget...and Prabhu, the GM a great guy....we also had couple of dealers meet there...Goanchin-very good chinese joint in Panjim...now Goa is infested with many more restaurants....but in 91st Goa used to be quiet and very few restaurants only. Kamat was the only veg rest to the best of my knowledge.   

Next day morning we start our market visit and in the very first outlet Bosotto Brothers, he asked me for a nice scheme on RT white rum (this was just launched). We worked out an on the spot lucky draw scheme, taking some inputs from Maharashtra, and it was an instant hit....Even today, I love working the retail trade in Goa....Many outlets are small in nature but very friendly and ready to help but collections, a big ?....barring a few...

My distributors were complaining about the low margins of theirs and that was their only complaint....I took some tough call against my boss's displeasure and increased their margins....Honey bee was a major seller and not BP....little bit of other brands....I believe HBB currently sells over 50k per month in Goa!!!! The seeds were sown in 91....

So first few months, understanding of the market, restructuring the team, building confidence with the distributors n trade and also making the team to be passionate about our brands and company....I think I did a fair job on that. Business was tough and we could not crack Bombay still but managed some extra business with other portfolio brands. Maharashtra we did well and so as MP. Goa we delivered the numbers but less profitable.

Few things...when I took charge, out of the 3 very important and powerful retailers in city, 2 turned a blind eye to our brands....PK wines, Shah & Co, India International-all in Crawford market, the trading hub of Mumbai city-PK was okay and as in my earlier post, Shah & Co barrier was broken. India International, Hoshi was a tough nut....he had a big attitude and was very difficult to handle...but I managed him really well. I took him once with me to Goa as HL's guest for two days. After this he became a great supporter. His family also became close to us. He had a very beautiful daughter Piroja just a couple of years elder to my son....wonderful hosts....

Zorast of PK, another Parsi dealer, was tough too but much easier to handle. These three were cutting each other in terms of RSPs and the consumers were really enjoying the benefits but the retailers in the vicinity always complained as they could not compete with these big 3...In the suburbs also there were biggies - Bhatia at Kurla, Deepak at Ghatkopar, Raj at Sion Koliwada, Bebu and Sunil at Bandra and others....That was the time the retail association of Bombay was getting stronger but only in Suburbs...the city guys never wanted to be part as they were not willing to give in on their cutting edge on retail prices but enjoyed all the benefits the association brought. The retailers association introduced the new rule of 4 bottles free for every single case as a mandatory launch offer... Thats quite a lot but they stuck to their grounds...and we had to give in...So launching a product became quite easy due to this but without any guarantee of success and also quite expensive. During the launching phase, one has to also provide shelf space which came in with a cost...

Royal Challenge was the best seller in premium segment. McD's vintage n Mcd premium were nowhere in the horizon...none of the on trade could run their business without RC. It was 91 and there was no Seagram or IDV...keep this in mind. The problem with HL was no clear strategy in terms of either portfolio or brands. HL, in their illustrious history, kept launching brands after brands. RT rum, HS Gin, Romanov Vodka, entire Herberts series of brands and many more...except BP nothing actually worked well for HL... We launched Dynasty followed by BP Gold but both bombed big time barring TN....So the HO came out with another brand in Royal Velvet-head on with Royal Challenge...whats the strategy? Nothing..we dont have a filler in this space....we were told its a better blend and better presentation. Yes the presentation was good but content? Who has to decide on the content...finally the consumer...whats the compelling story for them to shift? Another whiskey in the same price bracket and will the consumers grab it because it looks good? Thats what the company thought....as SW was not in to push games and their trade schemes were never high and since RC was numero uno they were very tight fisted on spends....so the strategy for Royal Velvet was to spend more and get the trade on our side...yes, the trade with the launch offer and our personal rapport supported us...Hoshy of India International bought in one go, 101 cases....everyone was shocked as he would never invest in a new brand so much...its because of the personal relationship....but sadly, there was no clear strategy from HL to 'pull' the consumers from their favourite RC... all we did was bar promotions with 2+1 or some gifts with every peg...the standard stuff....consumers didnt find the content great....so added pressure on the sales team....when you keep launching in different markets the volume in the first year would certainly happen but the repeats were elusive....Goa did well first three months as usual and later it dissipated....there is a huge learning here.....

Another joke was Regal Crest....SW's Haywards was a huge brand in Maharashtra....and HL wanted to tap this segment...lesser margins and HL felt we should pitch in that space and get some volumes....no market/blend/consumer research was done. One afternoon Pradeep Gidwani undertook a market visit with me, met some 3 to 4 vendors in Juhu and four bungalows and came out with a strategy...Pradeep is a well known name in the beer industry now...but his stint in HL and the hurried launch of Regal Crest, something he would be really regretting even today....

So two flops in my tenure....fortunately it was not sales doing....both these brands bombed across the country....it was a black mark on HL....even today, USL has not figured out this segment...Signature initially did well but nowhere closer to the brand leader....and we all know what happened to RC after it went to USL...today RC, in most markets, on par with Royal Stag....this is what USL has done to a premium brand....

Guys, one has to have a very clear strategy especially when you enter the space of premium as to take on an established brand, you need to construct a very compelling story....we will discuss this later with live examples...half baked, launch for the sake of launching, not much of differentiation and without a clear investment plan, brands would certainly go down in the drain as fast as it appeared.....

It was just BP which kept the cash box ticking but with lots of pressure. We have to change the distributors in some markets which included HP in Bombay and Pune....it was a very tough call but had to be done to get some distribution traction. I appointed Prakash of Pancharatna as a 3rd distributor and he did a decent job too. 

HL, in the booze industry, started the concept of hosting overseas conferences and it used to be the entire sales n marketing plus department heads from HO. The conferences were something we used to look forward to as it gave us an opportunity to be together, shop and have a great time despite the one or two days pressure on presentations....but we mastered the art of presentations....will give you more meat on this later. In 92 the conference was in Manila and we were told VJM would attend the event. As HL was struggling in Bombay and Maharashtra with very few markets contributing for BP, I thought that we should suggest launch of a new brand with very attractive name encashing on the UB umbrella....and in the same price bracket of DSP and OC...Brain stormed with my team ie Deepak Katty, my Bombay ASM (sorry name forgotten...a Sardar) and Nagappa. The team liked the idea. We got cracking and got a local agencies help to design the pack....name....hold your breath....UB Special Rare premium whiskey with the UB insignia, Pegasus, promptly displayed on the label. The pack came out very well and the pricing too. We prepared the cost card, marketing plan and also a 3 year projection market wise with net contribution and a comparative analysis with BP. (the MBAs do a great job on this). We also wanted to completely dramatise the presentation...my Bombay ASM was made to anchor. The presentation was very hard hitting with the market realities and the difficulties in establishing BP and also the failed attempts with other brands and the reasons. After dwelling in with the market dynamics and issues faced, the proposal would be unleashed. So what we did was, created a big wooden box with a machine fitted inside (fantastic job by Kiran Talcherkar) and at the press of the button the lever inside would start pushing up, the box opens on top and the pack of UB Special would come fully placed on the pedestal inside...as it pops up, some light and sound effect too...we also dressed our Gujarat TSE mimicking Zorro...his job is to come when the slide on our proposal starts, stand in front of the box and do a mime act....the attire was exactly like Zorro with hoods and eye shades...we trained very hard in Bombay and when DR asked me about what we would be presenting on, I told him that its a secret and cant be shared. He told me 'dont you do anything which would cost my job' with a hearty laugh....All set and we reached Manila, and the previous night of the conference, we started rehearsing and as luck would have it, the mechanisation inside the box, crumbled....We were devastated for a while...phoned Kiran but he could do nothing. The hotel guys also tried their best but could not crack...for an hour or so and after breaking our head and a few drinks down, we realised nothing could be done with the machine and hence did some improvisation with the available materials. We increased the height of the pedestal by a couple of feet and kept the 'pack' plastered on the pedestal, covered the entire box with a beautiful black satin cloth (courtesy hotel). The Zorro character has to act like a magician with a wand on hand, and when the BGM touches the crescendo, he would give a look at VJM, nod his head and with a big laughter and in a flash remove the black satin, take the pack, walk up to VJM, hand it over and knight the 'new baby' with his knife....wah.....rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed...all my commands were in English only and some one has to translate the same to our TSE....the team wanted to get it absolutely right....there were curious on lookers trying to get hold of what we were upto and we sealed the entrance with two of our ASEs guarding ii😇...we came back to the room at 6, showered, assembled at the BF table around 8 and at the conference hall at 9. I requested our presentation to be the last as we wanted full attention from VJM n the leadership team and also we wanted time to keep mentally rehearsing our stuff and take a note of what the other regions were doing...We even skipped our lunch and just got some snacks to the conference room...mind it guys, in 91 the technology was limited...it was all PP with slides...South did a good job and it was just before ours. When ours came up, we were all completely drained but we did some pranayama, got the energy and unleashed😅.... I did the intro and Sardar took over. He did a great job and when Zorro appeared, everyones mouth opened up in complete awe....they just could not believe what they were seeing. VJM's eyes lit up....I saw him leaning over to Naaz and asking about the team...our Zorro did a fantastic job and the BGM was just awesome with stereo blast...we switched off the lights completely and when the satin got removed, the 'pack-the baby' was taken on hand by Zorro and with the special effects of lights and sound, he majestically walked up to VJM, presented the bottle and knighted it...perfect as rehearsed....everyone in the hall spontaneously stood up and started applauding👏....standing ovation....we all had goose bumps and tears started rolling out....we had really put in lots of efforts. After a while for things to settle down, VJM called me, put his hands around me and told the entire gathering that he had never ever seen a presentation like this in his career and with so much of passion and content....what else you could ask for? He also said he likes the idea but UB Special was a question mark as it requires lots of discussions at the corporate level. For those of you who do not know the history- it was 92 and under the UB Group umbrella, there was beer division, Liquor division 1 and 2, Mangalore Chemicals, UB air et al.....DR and Naaz were so happy with our presentation and they personally congratulated every member of my team and we were on cloud 9...drank to glory that night...anyway to cut the long story short, the UB special didnt materialise as VJM was not comfortable lending the name for a regular segment whiskey (there was a UB Export lager Beer though, quite popular then in KTK and TN). I also got transferred after the conference....and the efforts of the team went down in the drain....probably the HO thought it was not worth putting in money on another brand at that time....BP continued to struggle in West but it got a shot in the arm around 2000...that story at a later date...thats a crazy story though... 

I had mentioned that we were staying on 11th Road of JVPD. Our son was put in to a play school just across our home. Thats where we met one of my best friends till date, Sujata and Deepak with their lovely kids Akshay and Shweta. They were and are still on the 8th road...next year we went for an admission interview in Jamnabhai and met Sujata and Deepak there too...they were there for Shweta's admission. Shweta and Babloo got admission in Jamnabhai. 

When I came to Bombay and before settling down in our JVPD home, I stayed for a few days with my dear friend MSA Kumar in his Worli apartment. It was on top of Bombay Brasserie, one of the very popular restaurants in Bombay. He used to laugh at my broken Hindi and on Sundays I used to manage some cooking too...his wife Mini Chechi was in Calicut that time...I had mentioned about Kumar in my earlier post...my Madurai days....We had a new year party at our home in Juhu, with Kumar and Mini Chechi and also invited Sabarish who used to work in HL but as Trade Marketing in HO...after a few drinks there was big argument on MBAs and Non MBAs and that led to myself and Kumar cutting off from each other for almost an year...but Jeyanthi and Mini Chechi kept in touch and thanks to them we buried our baggages and still maintaining our friendship. Kumar is IIM A and now settled well in Kochi and does coaching for family run business...and quite successful too. 

Deepak Desai family, Amar and family, Sanjit and Mitha we all bonded very well. 

The Babri masjid demolition impact was huge in Bombay. Everyone knows what happened there and so not getting in to the nuances. But this story is different. Deepak Desai called for a get together at his place in Bombay central. It was around 9th or 10th of December. We debated a lot whether to go ahead with the party or cancel it. Deepak Desai called us individually and told us that things are okay in Bombay central and city but we all need to leave together and come in a convoy...and hence decided to go ahead. From Juhu we all left in a convoy. Sanjit, self and Pradeep in two cars with the respective spouses and children. Till Bandra everything was normal but the moment we entered Mahim it was chaos....I still remember. We stopped at the Mahim Naveena Church and asked a patrolling policeman whether to go ahead was safe....he told us to be careful but gave us the green signal. There was absolutely no traffic and we reached central in no time. Those who know the route from Mahim to Central...you drive straight from Naveena church and go via Shivaji park and straight to Prabhadevi, Worli and take a left at Tardeo. Everyone was there...DR, Naaz, Jerry, Jasmine et al....We all enjoyed discussing the impact of and the fall out of the demolition...there was some fear too as what we heard from people around was quite horrific. Despite pressure from the Desais to stay back, we decided to leave around midnight. It was horrific on the road. While coming back we had to take the other road and not the same Shivaji park road....There was eerie silence and both sides of the road were burning and we could see smoke and fire... we told the women n children in the car to keep their eyes shut and drove madly. The moment we entered Bandra it was different....life was normal and in Juhu absolutely business as usual....in hindsight, we were stupid enough to take that trip...anything could have happened but god saved us that night....

A couple of malaria attacks during the second year in Bombay. I took Babloo and Jeyanthi to Goa with me once and the moment we checked in I fell sick and it was malaria...Babloo also got it....so trip went for a toss. On return to Bombay another attack....but one great Dr treated me well and got out of this issue.

Also the first experience of Bombay monsoon. Our Juhu simplex building water logged till the first level of stair case....fortunately while entering our road I realised it and parked the car on the road and my car got saved. We had to go with out power for a day....

Bombay teaches you a lot....there is no rich or poor...everyone has to go thru the same ordeal  and they are treated the same way...you can be very poor and still survive....the poor dont envy the rich and thats the reason Bombay always move forward. People just live on Vada Pav but you would not find anyone complaining even during very heavy downpour....or trains stopping midway...pot holes and water logging...its tough life but people take it with just a pinch of salt....and live their life well...

My HO visits used to be always exciting either in terms of getting rogered by DR or going out for a meal with the HO team....Fountain cafe was walking distance from Ewart house and most of the times, we visit this place for lunch. Mostly it would be on DR or we would dutch it. But that place was affordable. 

Amar Sinha used to live on SV road, Bandra. One night I get a call from him around 11 telling me he is driving down to our house with his daughter Nikhita who was around 5 yo. She was running high temperature and was crying non stop and wanted to see Rajah uncle.....I didnt know this and was very tensed on what happened to Nikhita, so went down and waited at the gate for Amar to come...the moment she saw me she jumped in to my hands from Amar and with a big smile on her face....fever disappeared...I could feel God that night in her....such lovely memories of Bombay.

Throwing parties are quite common and once we invited our HO team including Naaz and DR to our home but we were never used to such parties and really struggled. We had no assistance from anyone and I tried my hands on cooking taking instructions from Mini Chechi and made fried rice. Finally we got some food from a close by restaurant and managed it...there was no Swiggy or Zomatto those days..

Diwali is big time in Bombay. I learnt Banko, a cards game, which can make you a pauper in no time. It used to be card sessions during Diwali and from around 10 in the night to early hours....with drinks and dinner....exciting times.

I recruited an ASM to manage Bombay with an agency background...that didnt work out...he was good but somehow didnt understand the industry....

We got a GM sales....Bharath Malhotra joined us from ABD, makers of OC...with lots of expectations..he even gave a commitment that he would make Ulhas Nagar to deliver 10000 cases per month....but all air bubbles.....he didnt last long....Vijay Arora who was the RM North got promoted as GM sales....his trade mark statement used to be 'BP is the clear leader in Punjab but how come it is not selling in West?' But nice guy.

Around March 93 VKA came home and told me whether I would be okay to move to Chennai as Regional Manager South but only to look after TN and Kerala...They wanted to split South in to two due to its huge volumes...but I flatly refused....Somehow DR also got convinced with my logic, and he vetoed that move and made me RM-South....2 years was short but I created some very good positive vibes in the market and the trade started supporting us...what I did was to instil confidence in the team by working with them regularly and addressing their issues with solutions....made them to honor their commitments to the trade with in the time frame. We also identified key outlets who are friendly and trustworthy and developed a volume plan for them. This helped and after a long time the sales team of Bombay started putting in hard work and even started visiting bars late hours...Babloo was just settling down in Bombay and we had to shift again....but the beauty was that the family always moved with me....

So bye bye Bombay.....and hallo Chennai....

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 13

ZM...TN...Chennai days again....and what a roller coaster it was....

Two years of great learning and life in AP and everlasting memories. Lived in the same house and same car....didnt change. Jeyanthi left for Trichur in the month of April for her delivery and I left mid of April for Chennai. The Hyderabad office was renovated and the team was well trained. Our office owner Pankaj was a happy man. And more over no Dipy's on our shoulders. HL became a liquor company...

KPT was the RM for South. I come back to Chennai and report to him. Was given the cabin adjacent to him in Rosy Tower. We also acquired the massage parlour area and annexed it thus creating more space. That area became our ASEs space. 

1989 DMK came back to power and alcohol industry was put on some kind of pressure by cutting down the basic prices and the government setting up a spirit corporation apart from TASMAC. I straight away landed in some kind of confusion and chaos. I was told that the margins have thinned but we still have to sell and go after numbers but there will be very less tactical support. 

But I had a great team. Raghavan, Dwarak and Ravi were still there. Purushotham from Karnataka...Kalyan at Madurai and Noor at Coimbatore. Haran at Chennai. I recruited Krishnakumar and Vivek in to the team. Real stalwarts...The task was to manage TASMAC well and also manage Balaji as their margins also dwindled. Navratan Dugar was heading Balaji and it was a big task to manage him as Balaji's loyalty was with McD. HL and Carew Phipsons were given the proverbial 'step motherly' treatment....this is not a complaint but fact. CDL another arm of UB group with CG brandy also to be supplied by Balaji...

The retail trade was still with private and mostly the same players. And some of them were stalwarts too. Real biggies. 

We had a great guy as MD of Tasmac. Mrityunjay Sarangi IAS. Native of Odisha, TN Cadre, an officer and a gentleman. Rare species.  U remember my earlier post where our Raghavan met him accidentally in the train to represent our case!!! Same person. We used to take our fights, the never ending ones between McD and HL, to him. Once he quipped "you guys are like Pandav and Kauravas and you want me to do the role of Krishna? You guys sort it out between yourselves and dont bring it to me". He said it with a smile but that was true. In HL we were made to fight for our rights always as we never had our own unit and were mostly dependent on McD units to source our requirements. HL had one in Rajasthan but with limited capacity. Phipsons had Kalyan Ganguly as their RM and they managed well as VJM had a soft corner for Phipsons too. Jayaram was the ASM for TN- another great character. 

So what was the task? Deliver the numbers...do not ask for schemes...manage with whatever you were given...but top-line delivery is a must. I was once told by KPT we just get Rs5 as royalty from Balaji (dont know how true it was!)..but HO wanted the numbers as TN had the potential. There was no concept of bottom line....just the top line deliverance....

And we delivered. I was the incharge of the entire state. As soon as I moved in, I took a house on rental at Alwarpet-it was the first floor of an independent house but Chennai was suffering from acute water shortage and this house was no exemption...the day I moved in to the house, I got the happiest news of my life-Jeyanthi delivered our dear Rithvic on the 10th of June 89....my brother got the call from Trichur  and he came with a pack of sweets to my place. Took the train that night to Trichur to see the baby....it was always the Cochin express(now Alleppey exp) -the most convenient train to Trichur those days....how many trips! My friends niece Aarthy is the one who suggested the name for my son and since it sounded different and good, I gleefully grabbed it.

Some stories worth sharing...one of them is how we used to recruit sales guys...once we interviewed Basha, a muslim and I found him ideal fit. But KPT insisted that I meet up with his parents and take their consent too as traditional muslims look at it as haram. I followed his instructions and recruited Basha. Tomy always insisted that we should know the family of the guys whom we recruit, which I second. Being in liquor industry you have so much of attractions/distractions...the booze is always at your hands reach...during the trade visits most of the dealers would insist to give them company for a drink and it is never ending. I mentioned in my earlier post that we work late evenings visiting outlets and invariably food is always with some retailers/colleagues. If you are an FMCG guy, market visits get over by maximum 5pm and after that you are on your own. Medical reps sometime work in the evening as per Drs availability. But for alcohol industry evening and night trade visits are mandatory to understand consumer behaviour and also to strike a chord with the trade. And when you work upcountry markets sometimes it goes even beyond midnight as despite mandatory closure times, retailers keep their shops open beyond that...Madurai used to be one such place where some shops were 24x7....and didnt I enjoy my trade visits!!!

In my earlier stint as FSO, Coimbatore was not part of me. But as ZM-TN I visited CBE officially first time. Noor and Vivek were our guys there. And these guys had such a great hold in the market. My mode of travel was mostly by train and reach early morning except when I travel to Tirunelveli. Check in, shower and guys would be there for breakfast...review of numbers and trade visits. In the evening after the trade visits drinks and dinner. In Coimbatore it was always Annapoorna Hotel...what a place...receptionist Kalai was such a gem. Mostly drinks and dinner in the room only. I could not claim alcohol on company account so it was always out of pocket. But my guys were smart and they would get it with some great discounts. Snacks from Annapurna-the best in CBE-were always free for us.

Madurai it was Aarthi hotel. Trichy Rajali...

And as ZM I was allowed to travel by Taxis. AC ambassador cars...thankfully, and AC 1st class in train.

With the limited resources available the need of the hour was improvisation as to push numbers one has to have some kind of bait for the trade...McD managed well as, probably, they had more money. We used to manage with our give aways-which we were using it so generously earlier-and once in 6 months some decent schemes. But we were very creative with our schemes. Our lucky draws were always looked upon by the trade. We also specialised in display contests. One such contest in Madurai region is still enshrined in my heart. Contest boiled down to 5 guys finally. The winner would be decided on certain scores and one of them was their off-take of our brands. Dealers used to keep their spies at Tasmac depots to track the off-take of the contestants to score over them. Tomy came to Madurai to judge the display contest and when he visited Meenakshi Wines of KP Kandasami (one of our staunch supporters), a beautiful board was kept outside his shop with the following inscriptions...'Welcome To My shop Tomy!" (got it?)....and few steps away Aruna Wines(Arunachalam)...another contender for the fist prize- and Jaya wines(Swamy Ayya)....finally we have to give two first prizes and one special prize but we got the market in our control. Our dear Kalyan played a big part in making this a huge success.

My team members were known for their 'I am achiever' club. Stalwarts!! ALP, Manohar, Vivek, Noor, Thulsi and Mohandas. Apart from Narasimhan, KSR, KGR, Raghavan and Haran. 

After I moved in KSR got promoted as ASM.

Bala was at Tirunelveli for sometime and he was another character. Some times our parties have turned so nasty and one such was, when Tomy invited all of us, after our review meeting, to his home for a drink. Our guys always indulge. After few drinks we were to dine at Amaravati on TTK Road and they all left either by their two wheelers or by Auto...self and Tomy went in his car and as we approached Amaravathi, there was a huge crowd outside. I requested Tomy to go in and got down to figure out what was happening outside. ooops...it was our Bala on the road completely zoned out....I pulled couple of our guys and lifted Bala and pushed him in my car and straight drove up to our office in Rosy tower. We opened our office, carried him inside and he was stinking with vomit all over, stripped him completely and covered him with all the news paper around and left him there to cool off, went back to Amaravathi and joined the gang as if nothing happened. Tomy gave me a wink and I realised that someone had already informed him. That night LT Murthy of our office picked up a quarrel with another colleague....and our dear Narasimhan broke the bathroom sync....what a party finally it turned out to be. Fortunately Kalyan was not drunk.... Next day morning Bala got a mouthful from all of us and he had to be shown the door. This episode brought lot more discipline with the team as I enforced lots of restrictions on the team in public drinking.

Our monthly reviews were fun to be....lots of screaming and shouting but in the evening over a drink we laugh it off but sometimes it goes out of hands too....as happened at Amaravati.

I moved to a better flat on RA Puram and celebrated my sons first birthday there...It was a great get-together with colleagues, family members and friends...my nephew Vinu did a solo dance that evening...he danced for 'Annatha adurar' song and he stole the show. 

Haaa....one more thing I need to share here....I mentioned about our monthly review meetings. One such meeting we decided to do something different. Datta had a great contact with G Venkateswaran, producer and brother of director Maniratnam. He had a farm house in Mahabalipuram- 'the coconut grove'. It was right on the beach. Datta managed to get the place for us for a night and we travelled to the beach resort with a single objective of having a great time. It was full moon and the setting was awesome. The farm house had so many casuarina, palm and coconut trees. The care taker of the place cooked food for all of us. We were around 15. Suddenly out of nowhere I got a crazy idea and called all my guys and told them that we will all completely strip off and go and reamin naked through out the night. Believe me guys, I seriously suggested it...and every single member of the team agreed....Dwarak was a bit hesitant but he had to give in....so 15 of us walking, running, screaming, singing and drinking on the beach, under the moonlight fully naked. Thats the kind of team we were...the team I had in TN that time, was one of the best...the achievers club.....as am travelling down the line, I realise how fortunate I was to have such great guys as team mates....the beauty is that we are still in touch with each other barring a couple. And we lost our dearest Kalyan and Haran a couple of years ago.

In one of the review meetings with HO, when it boiled down to profitability, I suggested to them to develop a brand at the same price point of McD No 1 Whiskey. They agreed and started developing but took lots of convincing of VJM as he didnt want any trouble for McD No 1....We launched Bagpiper Gold in TN...and we put in our best efforts and made it a leading brand in TN in a very short time. The team did a fabulous job....initially we got the stocks from, Rajasthan and later shifted to Balaji...we didnt want to shift to Balaji due to very poor realisation but were forced to. Evan as ZM I was not shared the cost cards and hence always wondered how one could get more margins importing from other states than supplying from local...but once shifted to Balaji, the volumes started coming in....the game was always volumes, right?

2 years stint as ZM has made me stronger in terms of team and supply management. Also strengthened my working relationship with MSR group in Chennai HO. Dugar was tough but still managed him well. Lots to learn from him too. He always kept a piece of paper in his pocket and in a jiffy he would tell you MTD production and dispatches brand wise. Mind it, there was no cell phone those days....

Most of the days, after our office hours, self along with Raghavan, Haran, Ravi and Datta used to spend some time at the parking area of Rosy tower and chat a lot. My friend Raman and Manohar of Blue Star used to also join us. We would never return home before 8. 

Also some times we used to go to the Blue Diamond theater which used to run continuous shows....with a ready mix!!!

As I mentioned it was managing the logistics and redistribution....my office staff were of great support especially Datta as he handled the excise all by himself. During this stint, Dwarak and KGR got promoted as ASEs....

Naaz  Rovshen was the boss of HL and he was such a sweet guy...left it to Deepak Roy to manage. SSG fell off with VJM and left the group but came back as head of McD later. HL was growing in stature within the group, thanks to the combo of Naaz and Deepak. They changed the people and brought in fresh blood and started focusing on consumers more.  

But TN was becoming very mundane....DR during a review asked me whether am mobile...without realising what it was, I said immediately YES....and within a month he called me and told me that he is promoting me and transferring me to Bombay as RM West. Deepak Roy is the one who is responsible for whatever I am today. He noticed the spark in me and despite my short comings on Hindi, he somehow felt I had the potential and should be nurtured. So after spending two wonderful years in TN and with 2 yo Babloo, we decided to take the offer and move to Bombay....an alien territory....Guys, never ever hesitate when the opportunity comes knocking.... 

Bye bye Chennai and hallo Bombay......

 Memoirs.....Musings of a sales guy at heart.....

Episode 12

Hyderabad days...

As mentioned in my earlier post, got promoted and transferred to Hyderabad as Area Sales Manager-Andhra Pradesh(the unified one) with Hyderabad as my HQ.

This was immediately after my wedding. We got married on 7th September 86 and around 20th September, Tomy called me and announced my promotion and also told me that I have to shift to Kerala. But I was not keen to go to Kerala as that market was also something similar to TN with government managing the WS and retail with private that time. He was so nice and managed to get me Hyderabad, instead. AP was in fact, more potential and highly profitable for HL and hence I felt very honored. And the added advantage was the fiat car I would get as an ASM...that made me to get very excited. Anyway my wife was not comfortable riding as pavilion with me on my Yezdi and more than her, my inlaws...so with a heavy heart I sold off my Yezdi for 9500 and gave that money back to my Father-in-law as the repayment of the loan I took from him to settle the loan i had taken from HL for the wedding....so the wedding expenses from my side, got squared with the Yezdi sale...this I had mentioned here just to share with you guys, that it was hand to mouth during my bachelor times and got married with nothing but guts!!!!

So, alien territory with no basic knowledge of the topography and languages...Hyderabad-one could manage with Hindi as most of the Hyderabad and surroundings spoke decent Hindi laced with some Urdu-(Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts)....but in TN we got completely jacked by the political agenda and were deprived of Hindi in our school days and somehow managed with some English thanks to the newspapers those days and some Hollywood movies. So I land there with absolutely zero of the local languages and manageable English...but the silver lining was Jeyanthi's spoken and written Hindi as in Kerala Hindi was their 3rd language....thats one of the reason Malayalis are comfy whereever they go...The day the Tamils learn the importance of the 3rd language especially Hindi it would make world of difference for them as the moment you step out of TN borders, thats the only knowledge would come handy for us...not English....am saying this with my experience and it is not a political statement...

My predecisor was Nitin Pitale, young, handsome and from one of the business school. He joined HL as MT and within 6 months he was sent to AP to head as ASM....I think within a year, he was asked to move back...but he was the dawling of the distributors there as he was non controversial and non interfering. Our office was at the heart of Secunderabad and we had our own warehouse too. But we had some kind of legal issues going with the building ownder and that had to be managed too...didnt understand why HL was not in to settlements with the owner...the owners were very nice Gujarathi guys and I sturck a good chord with them and even managed to do renovation of our office by giving them some increase. I think Manu Hira of HR helped me to get this done. AP, geographically a very big market. From Sirpur Kagaznagar bordering Maharashtra to Srikakulam bordering Odisha and the otherside Royalaseema....huge market with complexities based on language and caste....The biggies in WS in Twin Cities were in the hands of Sindhis and Sardars.....and I was a novice....MSR group was our distributor and had 3 distribution points in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Nellore each managed by their close family relatives. And they had a head in Madhusudhan Reddy who was based at Guntur...all these guys were very nice personally but they had their own way when it came to business and also some internal ego issues but managing them was my task which initially I didnt have a clue....But MSR had a great connect with the trade and commanded their respect especially in the Coastal and Royalaseema regions. But there was an undercurrent in Telangana as Shaw Wallace supplied directly to most of the WS which made them their favourites....and there was no hand holding for me as my induction was very short and was pushed in to business straight....Apart from liquor and Dipys added pain in AP was Finit....HL was the distributor for Finit in Telengana....another tough product to sell...Finit was an insecticide spray used for killing the insecticides like cockroaches...way back then we didnt have such easy to use to obliviate the insects....this was manufactured by Hindustan Petrolium and HL had the distribution in parts of the country....HL somehow didnt have their strategy right those days with their fingers in everything (remember silent movie!)...and we had Mehta as our distributor in Hyderabad...great guy but the product had issues in terms of consistent leaks...and smeely too....Bayer launched Baygon spray with a far better product with Zero leakage....

First time out of TN and the moment we reached Hyderabad, the search for house started and luckily we got one in a lovely location-Ameerpet-in Nabard society with great neighbors..ground floor two bedroom apartment. My uncle-Nagu- came down to help us to settle down and Jeyanthi also got her transfer to the Secunderabad branch....my driving was pathetic to start with....but picked up over time and my office assistant Shanthi Kumar was my man to go to...he was always there to help me. Jeyanthis bank was very close to HL office. Life in Hyderabad started well....And Hyderabad sizzles during summer. With no AC at home (air coolers) and non ac fiat....it was tough. We used to put some kind of sheet made of roots which had some cooling effect on top of the car during summer....can you believe it?

The first movie experience in Hyd-this place had some lovely theateres....one evening we decided to go for a movie and landed in a theater in Abids, without any reservations...some Hindi movie (Namm, if my memory serves right) but the theater was full...didnt want to upset J and hence straight went to the manager and requested him saying that we have just moved in to Hyderabad and my first outing with my wife...he obliged immediately and gave us the box to watch the movie....free.....That was Hyderabad's hospitality for you...

Personally had the fortune of Kumar, Kutty's brother also in Hyderabad with Sandoz....it was a great blessing and we jelled really well as a family. Kumar's wife Mini, became Mini Chechi to all of us....Kumar's house owner Suryaprakash was an artist and their home was a great place. Kumar was a teetotaller to start with but his brother in law, Captain Kumar, came down to Hyderabad on a holiday and I think he introduced Kumar to alcohol....Kumar now is a connossiur and can talk for hours on malts.....

Managing my distributors was the top priority and also managing supplies. McD had a distillery in Nacharam, Hyderabad. Krishna was the Big Boss there and one visit a month, was a must to build and sustain relationship. The officers mess there was a great place for food and I never missed eating out there. Krishna was a very fine gentleman and always supported and very hospitable too...thats where I learnt a lot on blending time, bottling lines and also the logistics. We also used to get some stocks from outside AP as Nacharam was not able to meet the demands. So as ASM it is not just sales but also to manage the entire operations. 

I had around 4 guys based at Hyderabad 1 at Warangal and 4 at Coastal and 1 at Nellore. 2 RSEs one at Hyderabad and one at Vijayawada. Also in the office around 6 people including the office boys....a big team indeed.

I have to manage the office, supplies and logistics and also deliver numbers. Used to travel 10 to 15 days a month....mostly by train. Also used my fiat to move around the neighbouring districts.

Three Depot incharges-they were not called managers-dont know why...BSN Reddy at Hyderabad, B Sundarrama Reddy (BSR) at Vijaywada and Suresh Reddy at Nellore....each were kings in their own right. BSN also had a very able deputy with him in Sudhakar Reddy....BSR was the sweetest of all...very market oriented and accompanied me in most of my trips in Coastal. Suresh also used to accompany me but to a lesser extent. I had some stalwarts in Rajaram Reddy, Gurumurthy, E Janardan Rao, Prasanna and Hari....Also in the office Raju, Murthy and Jacob....Shanthi Kumar, as I said earlier, the guy I run to incase of any kind of help locally, is now a politician....

Once I took Shanthi with me to Karimnagar on market visit along with Hari....We visited Mancherial from Karimnagar in our car and from there we wanted to go to Ramaguntam to meet some biggies in liquor and also crack a deal with NTPC canteen for Dipy's. Ramaguntam is the hottest place in AP. The distance from there to Ramaguntam by road would take a few hours those days but by train just a bridge on the river, one station and Ramaguntam We asked Hari to visit rest of the outlets in Mancherial and I took Shanthi to the railway station to catch a passnger train...but to our luck the train was running very late but suddenly we found one goods train halting at Mancherial towards our destination. I rushed to the engine and requested the driver to take us to Ramaguntam and guys, he obliged instantaneously....but he asked us to get down before the station at the signal. That trip was hardly some 15 minutes....that was one journey inside a diesel engine....we went to Ramaguntam and while coming back took the train....these are real experiences....we wanted to visit the market and we did in a very unthinkable way.....pat on the back.

My guys had regular market visits but they lacked that proverbial killer instinct as they were all scared of putting forth their points to the management and also to the distributors. While MSR group is the most dependable and loyal to UB group, their focus was on McD and not on HL. Also Mastan Reddy managed the entire operations for them. He was a super hero....very nice and market savvy. Somehow Phipsons managed to stay out of MSR group and hence they had a better RTM. The positive side of MSR group for HL was that money was safe, no hanky panky and good people to work with but the other side was they were not flexible in certain aspect of business. Ideally in the Telengana area, we could have got lot more business had we gone direct with the WS keeping the MSR group as super distributors. In Coastal barring Vijaywada they were good in other areas due to their own people managing the show especially in Vizag. In Royalaseema too they were okay but not very effective. In Telengana region SW was doing better than us due to their RTM. And my dear friend Rajashekar was their ASM.

MSR group has been complaining to me, from day one, on their thin margins but neither TOMY nor KCK were of any help. There were no cost cards which was available to me to understand where the money was and how much was left in the kitty. The HO team including Mario Miranda, head of marketing and Nitin Ghadiyar his deputy along with KCK visited Hyderabad for a review. I set up a meeting with the MSR group for an interaction and I told Madusudan Reddy to put forward his issue to them. Tomy was also there. When this was taken up, initially the HO refused to even listen and I was a silent spectator as I didnt know how to handle this and who would decide on the margin issues. The pitch for higher margins was not heading anywhere and I was forced to butt in and I sided with the distributors. This has created tension and Tomy during lunch, called me aside and gave a dressing down...but I told him that the distributors issue was genuine and we need to listen and give them a hike....After lunch I took charge and managed to convince KCK for a higher margin. MSR and Co felt immensely happy and this incident has really strengthened my relationship with them especially with MSR 1, MSR 2 and Madusudan. 

I need to also mention here about MSR 1. During my time MSR used to stay at Sarovar during his visits to Hyderabad and he would call me over a meal to discuss business. He was a lover of good food and a great host and a very humble person. Very easy going and never seen him getting irritated or angry....even in tough situations. Large hearted. He would always come down to see me off which was not required at all as he was the big boss and close to the chairman but he never threw his weight around.(literally and figuratively too!!) I also used to visit their office in Nellore during my visits there and interacted a lot with MSR 2 there. Another great guy...My interactions with MSR 3 during my Hyderabad days were not so much. In short, MSR 1 was running the show and he was always there to lend his ears and also solve issues instantaneously. 

It took few months for me to understand the market complexities. Dipys was okay and as tough as it used to be. Freedom and Viva tooth brushes were taken off and in its place Finit the tougher one....but managed to deliver the volumes by managing the key accounts well and ofcourse using our liquor clout. We had signed off deals with major hostels and institutions for Dipys bulk pack jams and ketchups....

Built some fabulous rapport with Sona wines, Secuderabad, Manjit Singh, Guptas, Madras Wines, Sagar Rao of Karim Nagar and Venkateswar Rao of Warangal. And Key retailers. But as mentioned earlier, the loyalties of these WS were with their direct suppliers and not with HL and McD as they were to buy from our distributor and not from us directly. The local didnt patronitse them much but had to take stocks because of the consumer demand but did lots of push of their own brands. But Coastal was different. MSR group had some great hold in some areas especially the Vizag region. Vivek Reddy of Pushkara was a key WS for us in Vizag. I had travelled with him extenseively in the Vizag, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam belt....Young and very supportive. Struck a wonderful chord with him. Those market visits were very enjoyable too....eating at the highways dhaba and with a beer and discussing business. Vivek was also the preferred WS for McD and he really balance both McD and HL well. 

This episode is worth going thru. Once during my market visit in Vizag came to know from my inside sources that McD was planning a display contest. The moment i got a whiff of it, designed a display contest for the entire region and announced a day before I left Vizag.  Discussed it with Vivek and got his consent too. I briefed my team and they went on a war footing announcing the display contest.

I land in Hyderabad in the evening and on reaching home got a call from Vivek Reddy and he was desperate to reach me (no mobiles those days...only land line). He was at his charming best msking me to withdraw the display contest as McD's display contest have to be accomodated. Mind it, Vivek's source of bread is from McD and we were just jam and cheese. He was desperate as McD had exerted lots of pressure on him. He told me Krishnamurthy of McD would call me to discuss the same. Krishnamurthy the BM of McD-a very nice character-non controvercial- called me the moment Vivek put his phone down and the same story....he went one step ahead and told me that bosses were promised and we have to honor. My argument that HL and McD were different and always competing with each other very fierecely but somehow he was stuck to his point. Big Brother.... He put forward his points and left it there...Vivek called up again and same story...I realised that I cant fight a losing battle, so I have to gain something by surrendering, right? So struck a deal with Vivek with a volume commitment during the display period and also visibility of our brands as his team had to carry out the display contest. He was relieved and I called up Krishnamurthy and gracefully accepted his request to do away with our display contest. What HL gained? At no extra cost additional volumes and a major brownie point with my No 1 WS.....The key learning here-its okay to loose some battles to win the war....keep this in mind.

As mentioned earlier, the market was very competitive...every single case has to be earned...every single WS ego has to be satisfied. Wholesaler & Retailer management by the FF is primary. Also across the state the on trade played a major role....Eagle bar and Restaurent in Vijayawada was the most popular joint in that region (Sarathy the biggest WS in Vijayawada and distributor of Tilak Nagar and a sworn rival to MSR)...the food and the ambience there was just awesome...one has to ensure that the brands are pushed in such kind of outlets too....And manage the equations and egos....not easy in liquor trade especially in place like AP. Am talking about AP and not other markets as that time I was only managing AP and understanding the complexities was major. The TSE of HL have to manage the Depot managers and their staff very well and also manage the off and on trade. Tough task. With Governement take over of many markets, managing has become much easier now. 

So market visits means call on wholesalers, spending time with them and also visit key retailers and review business with the team. Start around 0930 and would go up to 2300hrs after visiting some key on trade and dinner....but quite enjoyable.

Vijayawada was different as it was fragmented unlike Vizag. Same in Kakinada. We had Madusudan Reddy's WS in Guntur ( Sri Kanaka Durga wines) as he was part of MSR and hence other WS didnt support our brands that much. You need to note here that every WS had their own RTM and ideally you need every single WS on your side for reaching out to all the outlets. But thats asking for too much. Ideally if the company is running its own WS its possible. The moment you have exclusivity with just one WS, you loose out on some part of the universe. But if your exclusive WS has fire in his belly, he would go all out and get the business....Nellore was again fragmented so as the rest of Royalaseema. In Thirupathy  Krishna Reddy was was very supportive and Mita....Mita used to run a bar which always had 100% occupancy. A very nice and shrewd businessman. His bar was very close to the railway station....floating population and hence easy to push brands. We literally owned the place. This episode with Mita....during my visit, he asked me whats my plan that day, for which I told him that my intended visit to Thirumala in the evening, finish the darshan, drive down and catch the late evening train to Hyderabad. His immediate response was " you can plan but seeing HIM is based on his times and not as you plan-so keep this in mind". And its very true. Many a times I felt it. There are time my darshan had taken just few minutes of waiting and at times hours.....even with previous bookings....This is one temple where how much ever planning you do, unless HE calls you, things wont materialise....

Once I visited Cuddappah in the month of May and it turned out to be unforgettable. The hotel I stayed, despite the AC, the room was just sizzling in the night. I have to splash water on the walls to bmake it slighly manageable. Next day I must have consumed few gallons of water and fresh lime sode....never ever experienced such kind of heat wave....But again we all enjoyed working the market and building relationships. My Telugu was very basic but could still strike a rapport with the trade.

During my tenure of 2 years, there is not a single market in AP, I gave a miss....Total control and I ensured our dear Sundarrama Reddy and Suresh Reddy mostly accompanied me to the market which helped us to resolve matters on the spot with the WS. In Telangana BSN Reddy would never step out of the office and hence managing the WS was our team responsibility. 

When we travel with BSR, it used to be fun with rummy session and a couple of drinks. Even at Vizag with Vivek Reddy a card session is a must whenever I visited with BSR...Another great thing about AP was the food...across coastal the food was never a problem. Dasapella in Vizag and  Eskimo restaurant in Vijayawada were superlative for Veg foods. Also wherever you go, the curd they serve is AP special. Well set and thick...awesome. During summer time in coastal Rasalu mangoes with rice-another local delicacy...Hyderabad had some fabulous restarurents in Palace Heights, blue fox, Minvera (veg) Taj (veg) and many local joints. Also during the train journey in every junction, you get hot bread omlette. Very yummy and filling...thats dinner most of the times after a couple of drinks. Godavari express from Hyderabad to Vizag and it used to reach Vizag a bit late in the morning but at Tuli staion you get some breakfast and coffee....Vijayawada and Vizag are well connected with trains. The problem was in Royalaseema...mostly by road only and in tough terrain...

Two important things happened during my tenure in AP.

1) HL sales guys were part of Mehtas union in Bombay. And they wanted to enroll entire staff including the sales guys in to the union and they started working surreptiously on that. Raju, our staff in Hyderabad was the coordinator for AP. We came to know about this and Mannu Hira the HR head called us for a meeting. I was asked my opinion and I thought, that time, unions would hamper the progression of the organisation ( my view on this has not changed). So without a second thought, I told Hira what I did to thwart their attempts....Hira was a great HR guy and he counselled all of us not to bother and if anyone wants to be part of the union let them be. Coming from a HR guy that time, was a surprise to all of us. And with in a couple of months, the efforts of the Bombay guys fizzled out....(I will touch upon this when I write about my Bomay days). So the learning is a) Unions and associations are no good for our country as it also spoils the otherwise smart and hard working guys b) if its part and parcel of the organisation, learn to live with it by being nice to all the employees and before the union takes it up, address their issues, proactively and c) never talk bad about their leaders.

The second episode was the best thing to happen to HL. Kissan and Dipys got merged and Kissan took over the manufactuing and distribution of Dipys....this has cleared the way for HL to become 100% liquor company paving way for the growth of all HL brands...and no distribution brands too except Finit in some markets due to contractual obligations. That was a great relief personally for me as I was the one who was always advocating to my bosses to exit Dipys business as it was taking lots of our time with meagre returns. 

Another incident where I got involved with my car in an accident on tank bund road. I was driving on the right side and suddenly someone on a scooter overtook the bus coming opposite side and banged on my car. Fortunately I applied the break on time and the pillion rider got a bit injured on his leg. I didnt know what to do but one of the passerby gave a clean chit for me to the traffic police. Without realising that I should not take the car from the accident spot, I parked the car on the sides and rushed to meet Madusudan Reddy, who was waiting for me at the nearby Sarover hotel. He sent a message to the police. But i was asked to come to the police station and by the time everything got over and i returned home it was around 9pm and Jeyanthi was at her panicky best along with her brother and sister in law who had come to spend some time with us. I should have contacted them from some phone booth but I was very stressed out and also did not anticipate it would take so much of time. i went and saw the guy who got affected, in the hospital and told him that I would take care of his expenses but he was a smart guy and told me that I should not get stressed out as they would get whateve amount they have to, from the insurance. And my driving license was compounded...What an exprience.....Guys if you ever face such situation, do not give your license and always coopeatate with the local policel

Around 89 April DR was inducted in to HL from McD...he came down to Hyderabad on a market visit and we bonded instantaneously. I still remember bringing him to my home for a coffee straight from the shop we visited as part of his induction, which was opposite our building.  

In May 1989 I was called to Chennai and was adviced to pack my bags and come to Chennai as Zonal Manager TN. (I liked the title but in terms of job content it was nothing but ASM for entire state) In AP I was the boss where in Chennai its regional office and the RM was the boss....but TN was growing and probably my boss thought I would do much better in TN with my learnings from AP. So it was a promotion. Kandan was shifted to AP in my place.

During our Hyderabad stint, our first baby didnt survive and within an year my wife got conveived again. She was also enjoying her bank job and the place we were staying, we quite like it too. One of our neighbors Ramgopal Rao, a NABARD employee, was our close friend along with Natarajan another Nabard employee. My dad and my uncle used to frequent us. Movies were our favorite pass time. The communications were through BSNL only and once got a call from my friend Senguttuvan of Godrej that he was in Hyderabad and asked him to come down to my place as Jeyanthi was away in Kerala and i was with my uncle Nagu. Senguttuvan came around 6 pm and it was an unforgettable time. He came with his colleagues and it was party time....drinks and cards with dinner prepared by my uncle Nagu. Both Nagu and my dad were great cooks. Senguttuvan always remember the great food he had in our place cooked by Nagu. Dwarak and Jaisree visited us once in Hyderabad. Raghavan and KGR, Raman my friend once.... But I was very busy with my travel and local work. There was no Saturday off....just Sunday only and Sunday morning was always a visit to the secunderabad veg market with Ramgopal Rao....

Reddys were very good with me and they didnt want me to leave Hyderabad. Infact Madhusudan told me he would pull strings in HO and stop the transfer. But I decided that it would be good for me to head TN operations and decided to take the transfer. Ideally the first year in any job, goes in to understanding, second year consolidation and third year growth trajectories and break throughs....one should not spend more than 3 years in any market as head of the branch.

AP experience has given me a great foundation. Dealing with so much of complexities and coming out successfully!!

My advice to those who are going to newer horizones.....first and formost, learn the dynamics of the market in terms of sects...once you know, understand their way of doing business....it would help you to prepare your approach and also build your relationships. Especially in a place like undiveded AP....If you speak the local language, it would be an added advantage. But the message you have to give them is that you are reliable, dependable and trust worthy, as a manager. Also you have to keep a tight leash on your team and you should be the first one to know before the competition and you have to hear it from the team, which means your team has an ear to the ground. Also make it a point to know their family and organise team get togethrs....when the family bonds well the team gets stronger. 

So its bye bye Hyderabad and back to Chennai as ZM....1989 May.....will talk about this in the next blog...till then stay safe and enjoy life....thanks for going thru this blog....