Ashok Rajpal, who built Rs 115 cr Ambrane power banks business from Rs 10 lacs

Ashok Rajpal started a power banks business with a Rs 10 lakh investment. Ambrane now clocks a Rs 115 crore turnover.

Ashok Rajpal, who grew up in a family that operated a textile company and worked in it since he was 17, went on to start Ambrane, a power bank brand, with just Rs 10 lakh, buying the pieces in China and selling them in India under their own brand name.

 Ambrane is now a Rs 115 crore revenue firm with its own production facilities, supplying a variety of electronic devices such as power banks, headphones, speakers, USBs, chargers, and even personal care products such as trimmers and hair dryers.

 Ashok, 41, comes from Gohana in Haryana's Sonipat area, around 70 kilometres from Delhi, where his father had a small fabric retail shop.

 Ashok dropped out of school after graduating from Haryana Senior Secondary School with a 59.9 percent grade point average and joined his father's business.

 The family spent Rs 14 lakh to purchase a store in the city. The family relocated to Delhi in 1999 in search of better possibilities. They sold the shop in Rohtak for Rs 25 lakh and reinvested the proceeds in a 150-square-foot shop in Delhi's Chandni Chowk.

Meanwhile, Ashok's younger brother Sanjay graduated from Delhi University with a B Com and joined the family firm in 2003. A year later, he and a friend opened a separate computer spare parts and accessories shop in Nehru Place, New Delhi.

 Shree Balaji Textiles, a sole proprietorship firm under his father's name, had a turnover of roughly Rs 12 crore by 2009-10. However, Ashok recognised that the textile industry's market was shifting toward readymade clothing. Because they sold fabrics, their business suffered, and Ashok and his brother Sanjay began to look for alternative opportunities.

 "I considered beginning a new business and looked at real estate, but I didn't like it." In India, a fellow traveller inquired about the product while he charged his phone with the power bank while riding the metro. He couldn't connect with them because his phone was dead. At that point, Ashok realised there was a market in the country for power banks.

Ambrane India Pvt Ltd was founded in 2012, and they bought 2,000 power banks from China and sold them on Shopclues, an ecommerce portal.

 "The pieces sold out in a month," Ashok explains.

 They ordered more parts from China, which were produced specifically for Ambrane using Samsung batteries. Soon after, the brothers expanded the Ambrane brand and began selling keyboards, tablets, and power banks.

"We realised in 2014 that we could make power banks in India rather than importing them from China," adds Ashok.

They established a branch at Wazirpur, on the outskirts of Delhi, in a rented facility. Power banks were priced between Rs 999 and Rs 2499, depending on the capacity of the batteries. In 2014-15, they sold approximately 25,000 pieces per month and had a revenue of Rs 30 crore.

Ashok explains, "Power banks saw an unexpected surge in demand in India, particularly after the government made BIS certification necessary for the goods. It wiped out all of the market's smaller and unethical participants We were already doing good business, but the grey market was eliminated. As a result, our company thrived. We now produce power banks, chargers, USBs, and audio items such as earphones, neckbands, TWS (True Wireless Stereo Earphones), soundbars, as well as trimmers, grooming kits, and hair dryers."

Ambrane USB cables start at Rs 100, while their most expensive offering is the Rs 8000 sound bar. Their items are offered in both ecommerce sites and retail shops across the country.

The brothers intend to expand and will relocate to their new manufacturing plant, a 90,000-square-foot facility in Kondli, on Delhi's outskirts. On a personal level, Ashok enjoys going to the park every morning and practising yoga on a daily basis.

 Work is his only passion other from that. Hunny Rani, Ashok's wife, is a stay-at-home mom. She had been with Ambrane for two years and plans to return once the kids are a little older.

Sanjay and Ashok Rajpal  live in Pitampura, Delhi, in separate homes adjacent to one other.

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