It was in Pune in 2013 at the beginning of November. The weather department had forecast a colder winter than normal, with temperatures expected to drop to 9 degrees Celsius. For the brothers of Uttamchandani— Rajesh and Govind — but the last thing in their minds was the winter chill. SSK Appliances owners were busy breaking a sweat over a trivial thing: naming their new venture.
For the LED market, the first big diversification of SSK Appliances selling Samsung mobile devices and accessories, a few names have been mooted. Sadly, none of them had the’ right spiritual vibration.’
What made the challenge all the more taxing for the Uttamchandanis was their spiritual guru’s directive: the name must not only be associated with the Almighty but also be of greater significance than the current flagship company, Shree Sant Kripa (SSK). The duo reached their Eureka moment with Syska (Shree Yogi Sant Kripa Anant) after a couple of days and nights of intensive brainstorming.
For a business now associated with electrical fittings, you would be shocked that some 30 years ago Syska moved to a different tune. It started as Pvt appliances from Shree Sant Kripa. In 1989, Ltd (SSK Group) engaged in the sale of audio cassettes, CDs and audio-video devices from the T-Series. Started by the Rajesh and Govind Uttamchandani brothers, today the Syska Group is an Rs1200-crore group, 70 percent of which comes from Syska LED, 20 percent comes from Syska accessories and the other 10 percent from other segments.
The Company has become a domestic pioneer today and diversified into Syska LED, Syska Personal Care, Syska Phone Products, and Syska Wires. Rajesh says they’re hoping to go public in the next two to three years. Second-generation leaders Gurumukh Uttamchandani and Gitika Uttamchandani, Rajesh Uttamchandani’s daughters, have joined the family business and are dealing with a large portfolio of Syska personal care products and mobile accessories.
After its popular media campaign with celebrity endorsements for its LED series, the group captured mainstream attention. In addition to Bollywood actors Irfan Khan and Amitabh Bachchan (who was signed as Syska Wires ‘ brand ambassador), Syska has also roped in television stars making the company a household name. But that’s only part of the story. What has powered Syska’s success is its committed, growth-oriented, and highly efficient distribution network. And that’s where the party met the eye of the lion. Cracking the complex distribution channel is the most challenging task for any consumer-facing company. But for Syska, as Rajesh tells us, it was her central competence.
