Wholesale From Bali to Bengal: More Trade Secrets - Ancient Wisdom

Greetings from Serampore, India

I'm in the hometown of our man in India, Mr Chatterjee.

It's a town about an hour from Kolkata on the banks of the Ganges river. Chatterjee and his son; Drishtranta run a small factory producing cotton and jute products.

I just arrived, and the whole factory, thirty five workers, stopped work to greet my arrival, handshakes and flowers. It was a little bit embarrassing.

Last week I was in Bali, and I was telling you about Indonesian Independence day, our marketing office celebrations and letting all those cute baby turtles free to swim in the wild. If you missed it you can catch up here.

On the banks of the Ganges.

On Wednesday morning Ringo and Bondan drive me to the airport, with a heavy heart I'm leaving because so much to do is not completed. But needs-must and it's time to go to India. I hug them both goodbye.

The airport is mega busy, it's peak travel time, but surprisingly unstressed and gracefully organised despite the crowds. I caught a cheerful 2 hour Airasia flight to Kuala Lumpur, where I needed to clear immigration, collect my luggage, go upstairs and check back in for my India flight. Then clear immigration again... and I have five hours before my flight so I head to the business lounge. The best in KL is the Sama-Sama lounge, with an excellent buffet and pleasant work space - where I can catch up on office jobs. My flight is scheduled to leave at 10.35pm - it's almost on time.. The flight to Kolkata is full of Indian workers returning home, a few very tired holiday makers who have also been to Bali. It's an old plane, the seats are very tight, there are lots of crying babies and it's a fractus 4 hour flight. I think I'm the only European on the flight. I arrive at 1am India time (but actually 4.30am Bali time) quite exhausted.

Clearing immigration for the 3rd time into India is surprisingly easy and fast. The immigration officer sees I have a business visa and asks what business I'm doing, I tell him textiles and giftware for export to Europe and he smiles, shakes my hand and says "Welcome to India"..

Mr Chatterjee is waiting outside for me, it's always a pleasure to see him. We chat and catch up as he takes me to the hotel nearby. It's the early hours but Kolkata is full of people, what are they doing? The traffic is heavy and the place is just the same as before the pandemic, the last time I was here - a total mess. The culture clash from beautiful cared for Bali, to the garbage and mud and cows and zero maintained pot-holed roads is like a slap in the face. I always remember when my wife Coco (from China) first came here she said "But there are so many people here just hanging around, why can't they just tidy up?" It's such a good question.

But the hotel I always stay in is spotless, efficient, luxury like you never see in Europe. For the price of a Travelodge in Trafford, I get VIP check in (at 2am),a suite room - deep (much appreciated) fluffy bed. In the morning Chatterjee and I have a breakfast buffet including the best full english breakfast you can imagine. India is basking in the glory of the successful moon landing, and it is a massive achievement, Modi is in South Africa for the Brics summit and lapping up the full credit as usual for anything good that happens in India. Hmmm.. I think as our small car crunches over another pothole on the way to Serampore.

My initial impressions of Serampore. The three cricketers in the bank advert.. were staying in our hotel in Bangalore on the last trip to India. We were rubbing shoulders at the breakfast buffet for a week.

Then I spent the rest of the day in the factory, checking stock and meeting Mr Chatterjee revamped team. Some of the old faces are there - but since Mr Chatterjee took full control (with our help he bought out his business partners) earlier this year - the team is expanding fast and the place is buzzing with activity.

Here's a trade secret... From Spain a month ago we sent a carton full of bags purchased in and around Malaga. This is not to copy but to inspire and establish the export quality we need. In this back-water environment without European reference it is hard to understand the quality and type of finish we need. It's been the best thing ever! The team here has been studying those bags down to the last stitch and taken it as a personal challenge to make that standard to the price points we set. Yesterday they were proudly showing off their work to me.

This is a fundamental change to Indian thinking.. instead of how cheap can we make this bag and negotiating down and down.. squeezing everyone in the chain. Now the thinking should be I try and explain: This is the price we want to pay, so how good and beautiful and detailed can you make the bag upto that price. Compete with quality not price.

Mr Chatterjee and his head of security and the product manager showed me the quality they can achieve.

In the evening I'm installed in the only good hotel in town, it opened just before the pandemic. The Denmark Tavern.. it's a historic building that has been recently restored and turned back to it's original glory and function.

The website looks amazing.. but the reality is somewhat different. It's not bad, but

Mr Chatterjee, his son and the manager Mr Supenu chatted and drank whiskey and consumed a selection of snack food brought by over enthusiastic staff. It seems I am the only guest.

This morning on the way to the factory we stopped off to visit the tye-dye guys.

These enterprising guys run a small workshop with a water tank, a heater, a selection of clamps, a spin dryer mounted on a rubber tyre and a drying area. They make the designs that make our funky tye-dye bag range. (see below).

I made a video of the whole process.. You can see it here.

Meanwhile back in the UK it's getting super busy.. lots of containers arrived this week meaning lots back in stock.. so very busy.

We might be slipping behind with same day despatch but they tell me they are working hard to catch up.

New items from Indonesia arrived.. see below..

It's a Bank Holiday weekend, so I wish you a very successful and/or relaxing weekend.

More news from India next week.

Namaste

David