Ahmedabad-based Goblin India – a designer and marketer of travel, business and casual luggage – is approaching the primary markets with its IPO. Promoted by Mr Manojkumar Choukhany and Mrs Sonam Choukhany, the company plans to list itself on the SME platform of BSE. Operating in the oligopolistic market of travel luggage with VIP Industries and Safari Industries as competitors, the journey of Goblin India has been short of exciting.
Goblin India: Starting from basics
The company started operations in 1989 as Kal-Chop Export Private Limited but changed its name and business focus in 2002, following the induction of Manoj Choukhany in operations. Since then, the company has come a long way. In 2002, the company entered into corporate gifting of items such as umbrellas, novelty products, white goods and crockery.
Fast forward 2007, Goblin forayed into the luggage business and introduced ‘Goblin’ as a brand for luggage items. In the next year, Choukhany led the company to open the first Goblin show room in Ahmedabad. On its website, Goblin lists IIM Ahmedabad, India Today, ITC, ONGC, and Pidilite among its clients.
Goblin India: Product innovation
“Innovation is the key”, says Chaukhany, pointing to the new product innovations introduced by the company. This includes convenience and new-age features such as cabin luggage and hand luggage with USB charging port. Another example of combining technology with functionality is the anti-theft feature introduced in its trolley bags. An event of the bag moving more than 10 meters away from the owner triggers an alarm on user’s mobile phone. The best part is that this feature can be switched on and off as and when needed.
Chaukhany also shares an insight that the growing domestic travel is leading to higher demand for lighter luggage products.
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Goblin India: The road ahead
Chaukhany has his eyes firmly on network expansion to drive sales growing forward. The company is currently present in 370 stores (including one owned store) and has a distribution agreement with AVA stores at domestic airports. In the next two years, it plans to boost this number to 1,000 and open its own retail outlets in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Apart from the domestic market, the company is already present in France through an exclusive showroom and partnership with more 200 dealers. However, it plans to enter Germany and UK in the next six months. Its revenue from overseas operations stood at INR8 crore in FY2019.
This wide network is the vital piece of strategy in Goblin’s armor. The company aims to boost its top line to INR120 crore by FY2022.
Goblin India: IPO funds to boost profitability
The company’s IPO will help it immensely in better managing working capital and setting up its own manufacturing plant near Changodar in Ahmedabad. Goblin’s working capital requirements are quite high at 37% of its annual revenues and thus, it can make good use of IPO funds to bring down this cost.
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Similarly, the company’s plan to establish its own manufacturing facility is expected to further enhance product quality and offer better designs. Currently, the company is sourcing its products from vendors in India and China at its specifications.
It doesn’t take long for a fellow industrialist to understand that the opportunity Goblin is eyeing is huge. As a result, Yogesh Choudhary of Jaipur Rugs did not waste much time in picking up 286,000 shares or 3.8% equity stake in the company by investing nearly INR1 crore.
