Enterprise: Drishti Lifestyle

Founding Partners: Dimple Sachdev, Hitesh Sachdev, Girish Sachdev

Industry: Fashion & Fashion Accessories

Year it was founded: 1996

Based out of: Delhi-NCR

The English poet John Keats famously wrote, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

This expression rings true for certain timeless clothing and accessories in your wardrobe that remain favourites for their impeccable design, fit, comfort and the sheer joy you feel wearing them. With the aim to create garments that are classic, feature quality handwork and are timeless in appeal, Dimple Sachdev started a leather garments export unit, Drishti Lifestyle, in 1996.  With the dint of her hard work, the enterprise has grown steadily over a span of 23 years. Dimple started the export business with only seven machines. Drishti Lifestyle now boasts of 300 machines, 350 employees and a 50,000 square feet manufacturing unit in Manesar (outskirts of Delhi). In the past decade, Dimple’s sons Hitesh and Girish have joined the business and brought fresh ideas and vision to the enterprise. As Girish puts it, for a family business to succeed, it’s important to, “Know the past, get the present and make a future out of it.”

With two generations of entrepreneurs committed to realising their business dream, watch this video to find out why Drishti Lifestyle is an ‘SME Inspiration’.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Girish Sachdev (Girish) traces the business journey of Drishti Lifestyle and how the second generation has ventured into e-commerce retailing to further build the brand.

GL: Tell us about your business and how it came into being.

Girish: My mother (Dimple Sachdev) came up with the idea of creating fashionable leather garments and products and with this began the journey of Drishti Lifestyle in 1996. She had spent a lot of time working as a buyer for a buying company prior to this venture and therefore, she started with fabricating garments for other factories.

We had just seven machines initially and now we have nearly 300 machines in-house. To help her scale the enterprise further, my brother Hitesh and I joined the business almost 10 years back. Together we have established Drishti Lifestyle as a major lifestyle brand.  We produce 10,000- 12,000 finished leather goods every month, and export garments to major brands across the globe. Our specialty is creativity and hand work.We have gained global market trust due to our emphasis on zero defect manufacturing.

Some of our products have been worn or used by internationally renowned celebrities. Recently one of our garments designed by a designer from USA was worn by the former first lady of the United States and needless to say, it made us immensely proud!

Being second generation of entrepreneurs in the business, we felt the need to have a presence in the Indian market where the focus Is to find the right balance between design and creation. Funkaari, which features beautifully handcrafted leather bags, wallets and pouches for men and women, is the product out of the same. Our aim is to develop the most user-friendly and chic designs and empower the artisans to make it possible.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

Girish: In this age when almost everything can be done using machines, we specialise in handwork on leather. That I believe is our USP.  We love having fun with designs and patterns and seeing our creations take shape.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

Girish: The biggest challenge was to deal with the mindset of the artisans. The garment industry is still a big unorganised sector, especially when it comes to tailors. There is a lack of education and formally trained people. So, to strive for zero defect manufacturing becomes quite challenging. 

GL: What has been your greatest learning as an entrepreneur?

Girish: We have learnt that adaptability, improvisation and implementation are the golden keys to success. In order to meet the growing demand of the people and keeping in mind that our products are viable, unique and fashionable, it is important that we adapt to newer technology and implement and improvise changing fashion into our products.  

GL: How do you believe GlobalLinker benefits business owners? 

Girish: GlobalLinker is a perfect platform for SMEs to connect with like-minded people. It is amazing to interact with people who you can relate to. It keeps you inspired and, motivated. TradeConnect, the flagship cross-border networking event organised by GlobalLinker in Singapore, was the perfect blend of networking, inspiration and motivation. It helped a firm like ours to proudly present itself on an international platform. We were introduced to new people; shared and gained valuable knowledge. We had a great opportunity to make people aware of who we are and what we do. Moreover, we were able to establish contact with a potential lead from Philippines who is interested in our products.

GL: What is your big business dream?

Girish: We want our mother’s legacy and our efforts to shine bright for generations to come. Our big business dream is to see Drishti/Funkaari reach every household and to be among the top three exporters in India.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Girish: A person who works hard and is focused can achieve milestones. In order to reach where you desire to be, it is important that you show consistent efforts every single day.

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