The bureaucratic hurdles small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face have come down significantly under the new government, said Sanjeev Dayal, Managing Director & CEO, Gamle Appliances, in an exclusive interview with SME Times. He added that the kitchen appliances industry in India offers great opportunities as rising incomes of Indian households are likely to lead to higher lifestyle expenses in coming years. 

Excerpts from the interview...

Sanjeev Dayal: Please tell us about GAMLE? As an SME entrepreneur, what challenges did you face in the beginning of your journey?
Sanjeev Dayal: GAMLE kitchen appliance is a flagship brand of Orange Crow International Pvt Ltd. It is a style statement and is of course setting a tradition and culture of its own in Indian kitchen space. It's the need of discerning buyers of modern home appliances. Our products are very meticulously designed and produced to suit every Indian house hold requirements.We ensure safety and also save electric consumption. The products are quite friendly and easy-to-use and easy to install. Acknowledging the fact that quality service is the other major parameter for brand acceptance in the market, GAMLE is the answer to all market dynamics in kitchen segment.

I didn't have to face many challenges in the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey what most promoters do face since I come from the same background. But still if there was any challenge noteworthy which I faced was of meeting the product and supply deadlines.

Lack of funds and high interest rates: these are two biggest challenges facing Indian MSMEs, please share your views.
Sanjeev Dayal: Coming out of service and starting a brand of your own does call for a big monetary challenge but somehow I could manage it with the help of some good industry friends. Besides I always had the full backing of my family and my mother's blessings which eventually gave me necessary support and strength to sail across.

What do you think about the bureaucratic challenges SMEs face? Do you think the situation has improved under the new government?
Sanjeev Dayal: It has immensely improved under the new govt. There wasn't one single hurdle which came in our way besides I am lucky enough to have a good team of people (from CA to employees) who actually made it possible.

Power shortage is another problem SMEs face? Please share your views.
Sanjeev Dayal: Since we are directly not involved in manufacturing hence we have so far not faced any direct problem on account of power shortage though for our kind of products power is the main source.

What are your views on the future prospects of this industry? How many SMEs are operating in this sector?
Sanjeev Dayal: Well I am very buoyant about the future growth of this kitchen appliance industry since there is a good demand for it. The products come under the Life Style category and with the growth in income the demands are set to grow. Today every household, be it of a middle class or rich all has a genuine liking for it because it enhances the grandeur of your kitchen.  

Have your company suffered major problems due to recent demonetization of high currency notes?
Sanjeev Dayal: Yes we did suffer in the beginning as all did but that was more of confusion than any major issue. Now it's more or less settled.

Exports can help a small business grow by leaps and bounds. Have you any plan to explore this area in the future?
Sanjeev Dayal: Yes we do understand the importance of exports but this can wait for some time. It is very much in our planning but certainly for now we have a major task on hand is to be able to get recognized as a brand with Pan India base in retail and projects. India being such a huge country having enormous business opportunities here and if we are able to do well in India, that itself is such a huge business that we hardly have to look for any other opportunity.

Please let our readers know about your future expansion plans, dealer distributor base, business model, etc.
Sanjeev Dayal: We are taking one step at a time and are not in any haste. Since we have recently begun hence at present we started with Delhi-NCR. In less than 4 months of operations we at present is having approx. 50 dealers and mostly being single brand dealer giving us almost 100% counter sale in our category.

We are now soon starting business in Rajasthan, UP, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, AP& Karnataka. Discussions are also going on in Mumbai. We propose to set up our network in the above mentioned states latest by June/July. As regards our different business models, we mostly operate through Distributors, Dealers, Builder's Project, Architects and Interiors etc. We also have plans to open GAMLE WORLD (Exclusive Brand Store by franchise) for Pan India.