Nina Lekhi, on pushing boundaries with Baggit

Nina Lekhi founder and owner BaggitShe guffaws frequently flips her hair back occasionally and at one point loudly imitates her schoolteacher reprimanding her Nina Lekhi is far from what wersquod imagined her to be The founder and owner of Baggit one of the leading bag brands in India is clearly unaffected by her success Wearing a pair of distressed jeans and a blue shirt Lekhi is a picture of casual cool on the day we meet her at her store at Phoenix Marketcity Kurla one of the 28 stores she owns across the countryNina Lekhi at her store in Phoenix Marketcity Kurla PicSayyed Sameer AbediFall and riseSpeaking to Lekhi wersquore reminded of an anonymous quote we read a couple of days ago Failing is not always failure By her own admission Lekhi had ldquothe smoothest childhood possiblerdquo ldquoI was very good at studies at least till Class 6 My teachers loved me I came from a small family comprising my parents and an elder brother In fact I used to pray to God to give me some problemrdquo she laughs But when things did go awry they turned her world topsy turvy ldquoI flunked my first year exams in the art course at Sophia Polytechnic I couldnrsquot believe it I asked for trouble and God said here take it all I remember walking and crying all the way from my college to my home at Worli Seafacerdquo she recallsLekhi was 17 then ldquoThankfully my parents were very supportive and didnrsquot reprimand me even oncerdquo she says The collegersquos policy prevented her from attending classes for a year and appear for the exams the following year ldquoI started attending part time classes for screen printing and interior decoration at the college itself That left me with a lot of time in between classes and I started working as a salesgirl first at Shyam Ahuja selling carpets and later at Mike Kriplani selling salwar kameezes I was working more than any girl at that agerdquo she saysLekhi feels she really matured over that one year ldquoI was working and studying There was no technology like phones or the Internet to distract me In our screen printing classes we would often get Tshirts with graphics and I thought to myself why donrsquot we get bags with graphics So I would sit around and design bags I think subconsciously I wanted to prove that just because I had failed my exams I wasnrsquot stupidrdquo she adds One thing led to another and she found herself working from home seeking the help of her mother buildingrsquos security man and the liftman in making the bags who would cut the material and help her stick the buttons and other embellishments on the bagsldquoIt was like a minifactory at my house No woman in our family had ever worked but my mother was extremely encouraging I would go to the markets with her and buy all the material for the bags I was inspired by crazy stuff so I would put military badges on denim bags shred aluminium foil colour them and stick them on bags and other similar thingsrdquo she recalls There were times she would end up sleeping at 2 am but Lekhi was motivated and she slogged to make things work in her favour Yet even then it was just something to do while she studied The entrepreneur never dreamt that one day she would find every second woman in the city flaunting her bagsThe journey aheadLekhirsquos wouldbe husband Manoj introduced to her by her best friend and Manojrsquos sister had an apparel brand which held exhibitions at Cymroza Art Gallery and she started exhibiting her bags along with their apparel ldquoBut I got no discount he took his 30 per cent commissionrdquo she laughs Later Amarsons approached her and her bags found themselves jostling for space inside the multibrand store ldquoThe bags were priced between R75 to R110 And even today our mentality is to give the best price to the customerrdquo she says In 1986 she received an offer from the old Oberoi Hotel where she started retailing ldquoI hired my first salesgirl She still remains a good friendrdquo smiles the 48yearoldAfter retailing from Oberoi Hotel for three years Lekhi and her brother rented a shop in Kemprsquos Corner which they bought over after five years ldquoI painted the shop on my own I remember I had to get my dress fittings done for my wedding and I went with paint smeared all over merdquo she smiles at the memory And while wersquore at this we ask her where did the brand get its name from ldquoOh the name came right at the beginning My friend and I were in the swimming pool discussing what we should name the brand while singing Michael Jacksonrsquos Beat It And there it was Baggitrdquo she laughs Even she couldnrsquot have predicted how far her casuallynamed brand would go Today Lekhi has spread Baggitrsquos presence in 61 cities across India with 28 exclusive outlets and 300 multibrand storesAt a time when most women own a bag for every social occasion Lekhi says they need to keep an eye on the pulse of the consumer ldquoAs a brand we are very strong on functionality and durability We donrsquot use leather as we believe in Fashion without cruelty We use faux leather and ensure that at least 85 per cent of our materials are recyclablerdquo says Lekhi The businesswoman now hopes to take her brand beyondIndian borders ldquoI want to open retail stores abroad and be acknowledged across the world But before we do that we have to learn how to market ourselves betterrdquo she addsFinding inner peaceA few months after her wedding Lekhirsquos mother advised the couple to join the Siddha Samadhi Yoga SSY ldquoThose days Manoj and I would return from pubs at 3 or 4 am after partying all night So my mother forced us to attend the SSY a meditation course which would begin at 6 am There were instances when I fell asleep doing the meditationrdquo she grins But slowly the teachings and learnings of the yoga that strives for inner peace and tranquility found its way to her heart So much so that she has instilled these practices in her organisation as well ldquoEvery three months all of us attend silence camps Itrsquos an exercise which strengthens interpersonal bondsrdquo she elaboratesAttending the SSY also opened up Lekhirsquos mind and rid her of irrational fears and phobias ldquoI have a terrace flat and if I forget the keys I can even jump into it My mother fears for my safety but Irsquove grown out of trivial anxietiesrdquo she says simply Lekhi believes she is more mindful and connects more deeply with people now Even the overnight trips she takes with her colleagues she says helps her bond with them ldquoI trust them and thatrsquos the reason they have the freedom to take decisions when Irsquom away somewhererdquo she says Lekhi also chants the four mantras of the ancient Hawaiin practice of Horsquooponopono lsquothank yoursquo lsquosorryrsquo lsquoI love yoursquo and lsquoplease forgive mersquo ldquoIt cleanses you from inside and when yoursquore cleansed you get a clear picture of the outside world Then you donrsquot have to sit like a watchdog in your factory to run it Here at Baggit we donrsquot know the meaning of attrition Whenever employees leave us they have left with a lot of love We follow a different work culture hererdquo she saysThe crazy sideMother to a 14yearold daughter Lekhi also runs a school along with her husband known as Rishi Gurukulam at Katarkhdak Hills on the outskirts of Pune ldquoMy daughter also lives and studies there Every week I head to the mountains and divide my days equally between Mumbai and the school at Katarkhdak I take the company reports there and go through them in peace We go cycling in the mountains and at the end of every school session I take the kids on trekking trips This year I plan to take them trekking from Gangotri to Gaumukhrdquo she addsItrsquos easy to see how Lekhi unwinds by submitting herself to the mountains every week Cycling in the mountains and going for crazy adventure trips is part of her life now ldquoI love surfing Last year I went to Orissa and learnt how to surf I love meeting new people and travelling to off beat places Often I cycle all the way to Katarkhdak Irsquom predictably unpredictable ask my colleaguesrdquo smiles Lekhi flipping her hair to the other side