Ajanta Sells 9/10 wall clocks in India!

A thread on the company which started with Rs 1 lakh in 1971 and is now a 1200 Cr business -> Ajanta Group (1/12)

The company was founded by Late Shri Odhavji Raghavji Patel who worked as science teacher for 20 years before starting his venture at the age of 45 with an investment of 1 lakh. Initially operating out of rented premises in Morbi, manufacturing magnetic clocks with coil (2)

In 1974, newer models of clocks were introduced globally. In mid-1980s, Patel moved to quartz technology realizing it would replace mechanical clocks as it allowed for more reliable and affordable clocks and Ajanta Quartz came into being (3)

These clocks were simple and provided an accuracy that was earlier available only on large, expensive pendulum clocks. They did not require much maintenance and were smaller in size (4)

This technology gave Ajanta an edge over its competitors as the margins were higher which helped them pump more money into the business and propelled the business in growth and eventually became market leader with over 90% share in wall clocks segment in India (5)

From manufacturing 100 clocks a month to over 1.35 crore clocks/year is a testament to the kind of growth the company has undergone, which also led the founder Shri Odhavji to earn the title of "Father of wall clocks (6)

The company now has 3 major brands - Ajanta, Orpat (entitled from founder OR Patels initials) and Oreva ; and has further diversified its product portfolio across segments like LED lighting, fans, home appliances, calculators, telephones (7)

It has a network of 450+ distributors in India, 50000+ retailers and exports its products to 45 countries. Apart from being the leaders in clocks, Ajanta commands a 60% share in compact fluorescent lamps competing with companies like Philips, Havells etc. (8)

Their brand Orpat has been doing well in home appliances, fans and switches segment. In addition to this, the company has promoted women workforce since 1980s, and has over 70% women in their workforce (9)

Sticking to its core competency with timely & calculated diversification have been the cornerstone for the company's success and is set on the target to double its revenue to 2400 Cr by 2025 while providing employment to 5000 additional people (10)

The company is also very confident of maintaining its dominance in the wall clock segment as said by its current director Nevil Patel "To manufacture a wall clock for a single wall clock, you would need over 200 products and processes (11)

For us, everything for glass cutting to coil making, everything is done in-house that is the reason we are able to sell at a reasonable price. There’s a lot of acceptability in the market which makes us 100% confident that we will be able to maintain our no. 1 position" (12/12)