What was the reason you chose business as a profession?
I was born at Manik Ghosh Bazar in Cuttack city. Cuttack is the most prominent business hub of Odisha and being born and brought up by a businessman, my father, Mohanlal Bagadia, it was a natural choice. I spent a lot of time learning the nitty-gritty of business from my father. Next, I started supplying bedding materials to Odisha government’s medical store in 1978. That also ran successfully for a long. Now, my younger brother is managing that business.
How did you associate with Titan?
Due to my education and experience in the market, I used to have good business ideas/sense of business. So, I have always been interested in running my business with top brands. In 1989, I came across an advertisement for an exclusive Titan showroom. I was quite fascinated by it, and interested to start a business with branded watch brand like Titan. I was lucky enough to get the company’s first franchise in Odisha. Then, I established the brand’s first air-conditioned watch showroom at Cuttack’s Buxi Bazar which till now has been a milestone of my life.
How is your business performance at present?
As we value the priorities of our customers, business has been good despite the technical advancements in recent times. Based on the good performance and customers’ demand, I have three other showrooms in Cuttack to cater to their needs. We have whole range of Titan watches and eyewear. We also have a 1,600 sq ft showroom at Jajpur Road. Watches have a great demand during weddings, birthdays, thread ceremonies and festive season. The company also gifts a slew of offers every now and then to attract customers. The sale was affected during the pandemic. However, it is slowly gaining momentum. We hope to have a good business in the upcoming wedding season.
What kind of watches and what other essentials do your showrooms offer?
Now Titan is not only limited to quartz watches rather it has created a great demand in the market with its contemporary smartwatches and digital watches. These gadgets not only show you the time but also provide a host of features like tracking your fitness, stress, pulse rate, heart rate apart from reminders and alarms. We also offer men’s accessories like wallets, belts, perfumes, sunglasses and gold watches of Nebula.
How do you spend leisurely hours?
The definition of leisure has changed in today’s competitive industry. I do business for a living but I also work for society through initiatives like health and job camps for women. I get solace by lending a hand in marriage and thread ceremonies of the financially weak. I encourage bright and young entrepreneurs to engage themselves in social work.
What will be your advice to the youth in business?
In this challenging atmosphere, it is definitely a good feeling that the youth are showing interest to take up business. You have to dedicate yourself completely to taste success in this field especially one should try spending less initially and focus on how to expand the business. It is important to cultivate good customer relations, behaviour and ethics as they are the secrets to succeed in the trade.
