SUCCESS IS THE STATE OF MIND : CEO CHENONE STORES LTD

A ROAD TO SUCCESS

SUCCESS IS THE STATE OF MIND, IF YOU WANT SUCCESS, START THINKING OF YOURSELF AS A SUCCESS: CEO CHENONE STORES LTD

Interview with Mian Muhammad Kashif Ashfaq – CEO, ChenOne Stores Ltd

May 23 - 29, 2016

By: AMANULLAH BASHAR

PAGE: The journey of success has come a long way? Please share the success story of ChenOne?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: The foundations of ChenOne Stores Limited were laid down in the year 1997. The company was incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, 1984 on July 25, 1997 as a private limited company. It was converted into a public company with effect from April 18, 2003.

In 1997, ChenOne, pioneer in retail industry, opened its first branch in Jinnah Super, Islamabad. This was the first store of its kind in Pakistan offering the complete range of fashion clothing, foot wear, bed linen, kitchen accessories and furniture.

The tremendous success and acceptance of the idea reflected the maturity of our customers on one hand, and on the other hand, prompted ChenOne to open branches nationwide.

The ChenOne brand symbolizes the fast changing face of the global clothing and textile trade with a focus on the ultimate customer – a global customer characterized by awareness and a desire to follow the latest fashion trends.

Creativity and innovation in fashion and design is seen as a major asset for the future control of markets. With in-house marketing specialists’ and designers’ team, the company customizes designs and packaging according to regional and customer specifications.

Our group Chairman’s visualization of Chenone Stores, a complete family fashion store, was to cater to such consumers in Pakistan and in international markets and to position Pakistan as a fashion producing country.

PAGE: ChenOne has an international presence. Would you like to share the number of stores in different cities abroad and your overall experience?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: I have always been interested in complex structures and a lifestyle store is one of the most expansive concepts in retail. I drew the inspiration for ChenOne from high end boutiques, festivals and malls which bring together diverse product lines to cater to the complete customer.

ChenOne has been open since 1997 and we have been going from strength to strength. It was the first store of its kind in Pakistan offering a complete range of clothing, accessories, shoes, bed and bath linen, soft furnishings, kitchen accessories and furniture.

As of December 2015, we had 45 stores across Pakistan with a wide range of cosmopolitan product lines including everything from furniture to footwear.

The truth is that I feel that the customer deserves choices that demonstrate the retailer’s commitment to his or her wellbeing.

On the international front we have stores in China, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Ajman, Makkah and Riyadh. We are looking to expand further and are targeting the US and European markets. Besides having stores in international cities we also hold and exhibitions in different countries like India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Malaysia, China etc.

Planning on international exhibitions is an ongoing process with a few in the pipeline. This experience certainly add new trends, fashion and variety to select the product from international market.

PAGE: Would you like to comment on the fast developing culture of shopping malls as growing numbers of quality shopping malls can play an effective role in the developing the brand culture in Pakistan? What makes a shopping experience at ChenOne unique?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: Certainly it does. The concept of shopping malls are growing rapidly in Pakistan as per a recent survey shopping experience at malls is so unique because its provide facilities and entertainment under one roof to its customers. At ChenOne experience the same response. There are surely couple of good malls in Pakistan as they have international standards, which will definitely encourage more international brands to explore this side of the market.

We as one of the leading brand has recognized that people approach lifestyle in a very different way now. Consumers fall in love with a brand for a number of reasons including quality and variety but it is important for a brand to develop and stretch itself to provide for the evolving needs of their consumers. At all our stores we facilitate our loyal consumers’ ability to create the lifestyle of their choice by giving them access to international quality products with unparalleled service. This I believe makes the shopping experience at ChenOne unique.

To keep up with modern times and trends we cannot only rely on walk in customers only to make a sale and have to offer our products for sale online. Hence, the online store was set up and I must say we have gotten a fantastic response from our customers.

PAGE: Besides retail stores what other services are you offering under the ChenOne umbrella?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: Besides retail we are also offering institutional level sales to customers. Our Business Development Department extends a wide range of dedicated services and products to corporate offices, prestigious clubs, restaurants and hotels, government lodges and multinational corporations.

Offering special attention to individual requirements of every client, we are geared towards offering custom designed services, making contemporary living an ideal experience for them. Some of our noteworthy work includes the President House, Prime Minister House, Islamabad Club, Governor House Lahore, Holiday Inn Islamabad, Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore, etc.

PAGE: ChenOne caters to a specific socio-economic segment. What have you done to cater to the price sensitive consumers or the middle income group?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: We see a lot of brands coming up with a lot of buying options and variety which caters middle income group. We are proud to be catering to that segment of society with our House of Chenab concept that was initiated three years ago and by the grace of God we are running more then 13 stores all over Pakistan. House of Chenab is a subsidiary of the Chenab Group. It offers smart, affordable luxury, bringing newness’ and rendering a stylish lifestyle. The brand offers a wide range of products ranging from men’s wear, women’s wear, kids wear, home products for the price sensitive customer.

I think it is important for us and all the other brands to remain in touch with the colors, cuts, designs and preferences of the season but at the same time we should have a commitment to providing good quality that survives the rigors of daily life – particularly in linens, furnishings and furniture.

The ChenOne customer is aware of trends and not afraid to express their individuality but the quality of the products means that they last. The ChenOne appeal is for the successful, intelligent consumer who wants to show their character through their clothes and their home.

PAGE: What brands do you carry and do you have strategic alliances with any international brands? What is your vision of what ChenOne’s should look like in the future and how do you plan to get there?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: For men we carry ChenOne Man, Damask, Canclini and Pre-end –covering eastern and western wear. For women, we carry ChenOne Woman, Pareesa, Bonita and PrettyFit. We also have children’s clothing and footwear under the labels of ChenOne Kids, Pareesa Girl and Beppi. Our ChenOne Home brand contains bed linen, furniture, fillings, home, kitchen and bath accessories, and decorative lamps.

We also carry Premier Houseware, a brand from UK and F. lli Garziano, a bed linen brand from Italy. We regularly add to the product lines we carry to ensure that a ChenOne store had the best available of style and versatility.

When I started ChenOne in the 1990s I had a clear vision of creating a unique lifestyle store in Pakistan which we started with a single store in Islamabad. Today, ChenOne is a recognized lifestyle store across the country but others have of course entered the market. As the premier store, however, we intend to carry on being visionaries in the Pakistan market and to spread our brand to other international markets.

Our model is simple to provide a relevant, meaningful and distinctive shopping experience to an aware consumer.

The vision is to not only be the premier lifestyle store in Pakistan but to be the premier lifestyle store of choice for those customers who are used to accessing the best and latest. This means ensuring that we are constantly innovating and expanding to make every visit to a ChenOne store an experience.

With the expanding online purchasing domain, the role of the store has to evolve. You can purchase anything, sitting anywhere online but a visit to a store to browse, search, look and try before purchasing is now an experience that we are committed to making as pleasurable and rewarding as possible.

PAGE: At the end of the day, what thoughts would you wish to come to consumers’ minds at the mention of the name ChenOne?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: The dream is that they should think of it at par with any lifestyle store, anywhere in the world.

The customer should look forward to a trip to ChenOne despite having a thousand other time consuming commitments. They should think of it as value for time and value for money so the experience should be enjoyable enough to justify having spent their time and the products should be contemporary, stylish and qualitatively so that they provide value for money.

PAGE: Knowing your strength and commitment what measures are you taking for business diversification?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: I believe that for any business model to successful constant innovation and diversification is extremely important. We have done the same with diversification in to the restaurant sector with the launching of our two restaurants La Atrium and Lebanese Lounge and Luna Café. The restaurant industry is an ever-thriving industry in Pakistan and we had to be a part of it.

The group has also diversified in to real estate with the construction of the ChenOne Tower in Multan. Planning is well underway for future residential projects as well. At larger we are continuously looking and analyzing different areas where the business can be diversified.

PAGE: You are also the CEO of the Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC), is the furniture industry a significant one in Pakistan?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: Historically, manufacturing furniture for export had remained firmly in the hands of the industrialized nations.

Furniture-making by nature is one of the very basic and labor-intensive manufacturing segments that have existed in all cultures as a domestic and household craft. Consequently, the entry barrier to start this industry is fairly low.

More recently, many developing economies have followed the previous paths and phases of the more developed economies in developing their furniture for exports.

Countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and Brazil have gradually industrialized and expanded their furniture industry’s operational scales better suited for the main markets, i.e. the United States and the European Union.

The purpose of the PFC is to establish the Pakistan furniture industry as a significant player in the global furniture trade.

We use the opportunity to raise awareness of the Pakistani expertise in furniture making, create linkages, and to promote what we all know to be true that Pakistan craftsmen are exemplary.

The fact remains that the furniture industry in Pakistan is still in its nascence in terms of scale in the international markets. Exports exist but are comparatively very small given the capacity and skill of producers – from the handmade, bespoke products made by the cottage industry and the high end luxury designers to the large scale players providing structure to the industry.

PAGE: What are some of the advantages that you see in and for the existing furniture industry?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: Pakistan’s wood industry is well developed and captures 95% of the country’s total market for furniture. The country has more than 700 units of wooden furniture with Chiniot, Gujrat, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi being important centres.

The market is divided into home use and contract markets, constituting supplies to hotels, restaurants, offices and public facilities.

The potential, however, is largely untapped. There is room for diversification and the market beyond Pakistani borders is substantially larger than the local market.

The Pakistan Furniture Council is a stepping stone to achieving this potential. We are focusing on capacity building, skill development and human resource management, which are important issues for most industries in Pakistan.

The end goal is to improve the quality of the products so that are consistent and standardized while retaining the ability to produce exquisite bespoke pieces.

PAGE: Since ChenOne has craved a respectable place in the domestic and international market would you like to share future outlook of ChenOne along with any future alliances? What do you foresee in the economic future for Pakistan?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: I think the most obviously positive aspect of international relations and economy for Pakistan is the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the fifty plus memoranda of understanding that were signed between China and Pakistan during visit of Chinese president to Pakistan on April 20, 2015. These agreements herald closer ties and a brighter future for the cooperation between both countries.

As China takes a leading role in a range of sectors and visions on the world stage, Pakistan is poised to benefit from both the longstanding friendship between our countries and from the geographical proximity.

I would certainly like to expand in USA and Europe. We don’t want to have exclusive standalone stores we would rather have store in store and later we will have our own stores.

PAGE: As you know Pakistan and China sign numerous agreements worth $46 billion in 2015 when the Chinese President visited Pakistan. In your opinion, which of these agreements are most crucial?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: China is investing $46 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and this corridor will serve as a model to all the corridors.

The CPEC project will include building new roads, a 1,800-kilometre railway line and a network of oil pipelines to connect Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to the port of Gwadar. The project also includes an airport at the port and a string of energy projects, special economic zones, dry ports and other infrastructure.

Pakistan is in a state of energy crisis and the projects conceived under CPEC will ease Pakistan’s energy shortages and address the problems of both power generation and transmission, which I believe will be an invaluable benefit to Pakistan.

PAGE: How beneficial can the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor be to the textile and retail industry?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: The CPEC promises to breathe new life into the whole region by laying the foundations of access to markets and creating the infrastructure linkages to connect suppliers with consumers and producers with other parts of the value chain.

This benefit will translate into the textile and retail industry as much as it will affect all sectors. When development takes place across the country, all people will benefit. We should see increased demand because of increased prosperity!

PAGE: Under your dynamic supervision the group has successfully been participating in many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities? Would you like to brief us on that?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: To begin with our ChenOne foundation is a non-profit welfare organization, registered under Societies Registration Act 1860, in November, 2010, but is pragmatically in operations since last many years, working for the neglected niche of the society. With the backdrop of immense deprivation of health care facilities in Pakistan and perceiving it as the most primary aspect of life, the foundation has been fundamentally involved in various pursuits of health care facilitation for the community.

Besides, ChenOne Foundation has been attached and involved in many tasks of social and cultural enlightenment.

The core thrusts of the foundation are education, health care and community building, which entails activities for women empowerment, children welfare and relief efforts during and after natural calamities have emerged.

Having a significant rear of a preferential brand, ChenOne foundation has been tremendously vigorous and dynamic in its evolution with its resolute and wide-ranging directive of social progress and development.

The foundation has successfully been involved Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Clinical Lab, Liver Clinic & General Hospital, Guncha-e-Noor Trust Hospital.

We also contribute in Shaukat Khanum Hospital Pink Ribbon campaign subsequently. Recently we organized a charity event for Cancer Care Hospital in Lahore.

ChenOne has materialized the very notion of Corporate Social Responsibility by establishing a separate strand, ChenOne Foundation, so that the vitality of this corporate altruism would never be hindered but buffered along by all means of the acquisitive business continuance.

This well fare entity of ChenOne has been legally registered as a foundation to certify the crystal clear flow and utilization of donations with a hard held management and BOD surveillance.

The selection of the BOD has been made considering the straightforward and vividly clear record and reputation of few able and fairly competent capacities. To surely permeate down the level, both internal and external audit committee has been formulated to ensure the just and effective deployment of charity and donations.

PAGE: To patronize the sports culture in Pakistan, what is your initiatives and contribution?

KASHIF ASHFAQ: It is a philanthropic business approach. In the view of its role as a pragmatic and socially responsible organization, ChenOne has always gone all-out to enlighten the standards of the society. With the good faith of promoting healthy sports culture in Pakistan.

ChenOne has patronized Pakistan Tennis Federation by arranging a copious musical night at Faisalabad Serena on May 1, 2011. The entire fund raised at the event was lucidly handed over to the concerned parties of Pakistan Tennis Federation.

Afterwards ChenOne made a profound donation towards Pakistan Football Federation in the same spirit of contributing to create a sports edifying social environment.