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Kicked out of VIP Industries, built a new company worth 10,500 CR, beat VIP 14 years later. 1. At the age of 21, Sudhir Jatia joined VIP Industries as a trainee in their value luggage segment, Aristocrat. Everyone doubted him, but he proved everyone wrong. In just 12 years, he became VP of VIP Industries. 🙌 2. He rebranded the portfolio: marketing VIP as a premium, business-class line and positioning Aristocrat as an affordable youth brand. By 2010, VIP Industries had grown from a loss of 10 CR to its biggest profit of 56 CR. But then things changed. 👇🏻 3. In 2010, management brought in a new lead VP, and Sudhir got sidelined. He wanted to build his own company and take his sweet revenge. Then he noticed something. 🤔 4. In 2011, Safari was a listed luggage maker, but was struggling with only 2.65 CR in annual profits. He wanted to build it to defeat VIP Industries. In September 2011, he invested 29 CR to acquire a majority 41.34% stake and became the owner of Safari. 🚀 5. Sudhir's first order was clear ⏩ Shut down all repair centres and replace any bag under warranty rather than attempt repairs. If Safari made a defective product, it would simply give a new one. Sudhir forced his design team to eliminate any flaws, but challenges came thick and fast. 👇🏻 6. He had an ageing workforce and a disillusioned dealer network. Everybody thought Safari was just an emotional brand, so Sudhir built on quality. He re-evaluated everything from moulds to materials to ensure durability. But the job was still not done. 👇🏻 7. Safari offered both quality hard-shell and soft-shell luggage, but lacked proper sales channels. So, Sudhir partnered with major retail chains (Big Bazaar, Reliance Trends, Spencer's) and became the first luggage brand to go on Amazon and Flipkart. And magic happened. 🪄 8. By 2015, Safari had doubled sales to 150 CR, and 30% of its sales now come from ecommerce. In 2016, it acquired smaller players, such as Genius and Magnum, to expand into school bags and budget luggage. Big Players like VIP and Samsonite were finally awakened from their sleep.😴 9. As VIP focused on aspirational branding and Samsonite, with 100% offline distribution, Safari went all in with a stylish luggage advertisement push and tie-ups with large-format retail players. By 2019, Safari had clocked sales of 600 CR. It defeated Samsonite and became the No. 2 player in the space after VIP. ✅ 10. Even during COVID-19, it became the only player to fulfil 100% of orders. By 2023, VIP had become an 8476 CR company, but Safari clocked sales of 1,212 CR and became a 9,273 CR company. Sudhir's revenge was finally taken. 💪 11. Today, Safari clocks sales of 1800 CR at a profit of 185.57 CR. With over 800 products and 9300 touchpoints, it has become the most valued company at 10,734 CR. 📈 ➡️Who would have thought that Sudhir Jatia would take on a 54-year-old player after getting kicked out and beat them 14 years later?