A popular one-stop shop that offers all home and office requirements of electronic appliances and their services under one roof, Solar Enterprises recently launched its fourth showroom in Goa. Managing Director rnRohit Mehta speaks to Bharati Pawaskar of the humble beginnings the company witnessed in February 2006 and about the strengths that made this successful journey possible within rna decade
Enter the recently opened spacious showroom of Solar Enterprises in Panaji to find neatly arranged product line of air conditioners, refrigerators, television sets, washing machines, dish washers, music systems, home theatre, inverters, industrial batteries, online and offline UPS, water purifiers and other such appliances required in a home or an office. The showroom has a range of split air conditioners, tower, cassette AC, Daikin and Lloyd air conditioners and a new range of LEDs, LCDs and 3D LED. The showroom has an exclusive range of Exide industrial range of batteries and Su-Kam online, offline UPS, inverter appliances and batteries too.
This is the fourth showroom of Solar Enterprises - second in Panaji, the other two being at Margao. An established name that offers power backup, home appliances and air conditioning, Solar Enterprises is the authorised distributor of Exide industrial batteries, Daikin, Samsung, Sony, Lloyd, LG, IFB, Bosch, Denon, Bose, Philips, Whirlpool, Su-Kam appliances in Goa. An ISO 9001:2008 certified company Solar Enterprises kick started in 2006. Ten years later, today, it offers 500 units and has established itself as a trustworthy brand in the market.
What made this possible? The hard work, dedication, urge to learn, wish to offer the best and being humble all the time, is the key to success according to the young managing director of Solar Enterprises, Rohit Mehta. “For me, it is the after sales service that is more critical. We have focused our attention on it right from the start. We believe that if customers are not given good service, they do not come back to the service provider,” states Rohit who pays a lot of attention to minute details and walks the extra mile.
But learning the business from scratch was not easy for him though he hailed from a business family. “My family was in battery business in Delhi in 1964 and we used to manufacture and supply batteries. We supplied in Goa too,” shares Rohit. It was in 1966 that C M Mehta set an official shop in Goa. In 1974 the Mehtas opened their Vasco branch. But for Rohit it was a different beginning. After his graduation in commerce stream Rohit was planning to get into accounting. But life took a turn when during college placements, Rohit was selected for an HR position at Wipro in Mumbai. He worked there for about three years before he quit in 2005 to return home.
“However, instead of plunging directly into our family business of batteries, I requested my elder brother to hire me and let me learn for a year. He agreed and so I started working as an employee. I gained technical knowledge and confidence. It was only after I gained some hands-on experience that I initiated my own, independent unit, Solar Enterprises in February 2006. It was a start from scratch, with Rs 50,000 as an initial capital and one employee - myself. I did not have much money to invest but I didn’t want to get into partnership. I couldn’t hire a hand. It was a difficult period in the beginning. I had to work hard and do everything on my own. I visited homes of my customers and dealt personally with each of them. Thankfully, my family was with me, so I had the back-up and support which I feel is more important than money,” he recalls.
About a decade ago, competition was not at its peak, but was in existence nonetheless. While everybody chased quantity, Rohit stood focussed on the quality of the products that he offered. He recollects, “In those days there were about a dozen other dealers in Margao. We had to pave our own way and create our own space in the market. This we could do because we focussed on the service that we provided. My plus point was, I could install and repair the products myself. That gave me confidence and an edge over others. My customers were impressed to know that I had sound knowledge of the product which I sold.” When it comes to after sales service support, the company’s service team has won the hearts of the customers by working round-the-clock. Well trained invertor and battery engineers make sure that the customers face minimal problems during any emergency or technical snag.
Innovative expansion has been his key to success – product wise as well as business wise. The number of stores kept increasing as years passed by as Rohit is keen to add new products to the list of brands already sold at his stores. He chooses to get associated with only the best brands. Beginning with batteries, he added air conditioners. In 2008 by dealing with Lloyd products Rohit opened his first branch with a team of 11 in the air conditioning section and eventually added Daikin in 2010. The Exide power centre in Goa was opened in 2011.
“We sold car batteries from Rs 1000 to one crore. The high-end batteries are installed in power plants. There are traction batteries and VRLA 2 volt cells which we still offer. Our in-house service team at the centre has service engineers and we cater to 20,000 clients. In the first year of operations itself, Solar Enterprises gained close to 1000 clients. Today, out of our 20,000 strong client base – most are repeat customers. I feel pride in disclosing that we have prestigious clients like HDFC Asset Management who has signed us to take care of their all India requirements,” boasts Rohit.
If you own a store, you have to live up to certain standards as it takes a lot to build a brand. “I have always believed that, if you want to master what you sell, you need to know the basic technicality. I worked with Exide for six months and with Su-Kam for three months in their service departments. In 2008, when we began with the distribution of Lloyd Air Conditioning, I even learned the installation process myself,” adds Rohit. Appreciating his team, Rohit admits that he would not have been able to cater to so many customers through several showrooms without their support, especially his branch heads – Riviana D’Souza (Panaji), Priscilla D’Costa (Pajifond), and Asifa D’Souza (Aquem). His family members too extend a helping hand, with brother Siddharth and wife Tina, sharing his responsibilities. Rohit has maintained cordial relation with his staff and he even celebrates their birthdays. Rohit is a sports freak and a runner but his real stress buster is playing the guitar which he does everyday for at least an hour.
