This Diwali, light up your homes with these 5 Made in India brands and be #local4diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights, is just around the corner as we look forward to our environment glimmering with bright fairy lights. Celebrated for five days, Diwali is one occasion that brings families together, with people jazzing up their homes — re-painting, decorating, and lighting. 

As the festive season raises our spirits, this Diwali, let’s make India #local4diwali. 

SMBStory has listed out five Made in India electrical brands that offer a variety of indoor lightings. 

Syska

For a company that has now become synonymous with electrical fittings, you’d be surprised that Syska was operating in a different industry some 30 years ago. 

It began as Shree Sant Kripa Appliances Pvt Ltd (SSK Group) in 1989 which was involved in the distribution of T-Series audio cassettes, CDs, and audio-video systems. Started by brothers Rajesh and Govind Uttamchandani, the Syska Group today is a Rs 1200-crore company — of which 70 percent revenue comes from Syska LED, 20 percent comes Syska Accessories and the remaining 10 percent from other segments. 

Talking to SMBStory, Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director of Syska Group, says,

“We are not an electric company so there were many challenges, and ups and downs before we came to where we are.” 

Today, Syska Group has grown into a domestic leader and diversified into Syska LED, Syska personal care, Syska mobile accessories, and Syska Wires.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals

Backed by a 75-year legacy of quality, long-lasting durability and innovation at its core, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd (CGCEL) is one of India’s leading consumer electrical companies that manufactures and markets a wide spectrum of consumer products — ranging from fans, lamps and luminaires, pumps, and household appliances. 

Part of the erstwhile Crompton Greaves (Avantha Group), the company demerged in 2015 to become an independent listed company. With over 10,000 SKUs to choose from and holding approximately 24 percent market share of fans in India as of February 2020, the company has grown rapidly over the years and has an annual turnover of Rs 4,520 crore.

A brand that evokes nostalgia, with a strong presence in the consumer electrical industry for several decades, has helped it evolve as a truly “Indian” brand synonymous with ‘quality’ and ‘reliability’. 

Goldmedal Electricals

Kishan Jain’s grandfather Otmalji Goraji started the family business of making bangles in the City of Glass, Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. But he had to leave the business and look for other work to make ends meet. This was when he mulled getting into the electrical industry. Soon, he moved his family to Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh to try his hand at something else. This was the beginning of his stupendous journey and the start of Goldmedal Electrical’s story. 

Otmalji took the guidance of a relative who was already in the electrical business. Soon, along with his son and Kishan’s father, Jugraj Jain, he started trading in electrical switches and wires in a small shop in 1979 under the brand Goldmedal Electricals, infusing a capital of Rs 2.5 lakh.

In an interaction with SMBStory, Kishan, who is the Director of Goldmedal Electrical, shares how from starting by trading with other brands, the company entered the manufacturing segment to gradually dominate the Indian electrical industry.

Goldmedal started by manufacturing urea switches and with a wide variety of products — including modular switches, home automation systems, wires and cables, LED luminaires, and electrical accessories. Goldmedal manufactures more than 5,000 SKUs and is thus, one of the leading brands in the wiring devices category in India. The company rakes Rs 1,400 crore annual turnover. 

Jaquar Lighting

When the Late NL Mehra started his bathroom fittings business in Delhi in 1960, he knew building the business would be an uphill task. At that time, faucets, taps, and valves were a new industry and were sold as commodities. Nobody saw the value of branded bathroom fittings. 

NL Mehra launched a brand named Essco and began building a value-for-money range in the highly unorganised market for bathroom fittings. 

Following this customer-centric approach of selling products with a ten-year warranty and relying on the founder’s hard work and determination to grow, Essco became reasonably well-known in the market.

It eventually became Jaquar Group — a Rs 3,600 crore turnover business which claims to command over 60 percent market share in the organised bath and sanitaryware sector in India. 

At the turn of the new millennium, the family business realised the only way it could truly become a market leader was through diversification. Today, Jaquar Group is a house of brands including Essco (value segment), Jaquar (premium segment), Artize (luxury segment), and Jaquar Lighting (complete LED lighting solutions).

jaquar Lighting offers complete lighting solutions – for residential, commercial and outdoor use. From LED bulbs and tube lights, to chandeliers, landscape lighting and accessories; Jaquar Lighting has an extensive range that lets consumers choose varied budgets without compromising on quality and reliability. The brand offers customisation and lighting consultancy services to address individual needs of homes and projects.

The brand has made a mark by being chosen by clients such as the Royal Orchid Hotels in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Jaipur, Hotel India Awadh Lucknow, Amber Conventional Centre Indore, Hindustan Club Kolkata, and Hotel Crown Bhubaneswar, among others.

Some of the other prestigious projects that have been won by Jaquar Lighting include — Governor House, Dehradun; Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Srinagar; Air Force Headquarters, Delhi; National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune; IIM – Shillong; IIT Mandi, IIT Guwahati, Hindustan Club, Kolkata; Bangur House, Kolkata, and ISRO. 

Jaquar Lighting also has corporate tie-ups with Sayaji Group, Lemontree, and Jaypee Group among others.

Vinay Electricals

At the age of 25 in 1968, Vinay Chheda made his way to Mumbai from Kutch in search of a better life during Diwali. 

While he was still searching for a business idea, the festive lights all around him fascinated him a lot. He realised that the demand for the decorative lights was big in Mumbai. As he met many people in that period, someone suggested him to capitalise on the opportunity of Diwali lights/toran lights.

Talking to SMBStory, Dhiren Chheda, son of Vinay — a second-generation entrepreneur, says, 

“My father didn’t take long to hit the possibility of making Diwali torans himself. He sourced a few raw materials locally and started manufacturing by investing capital of Rs 5,000 he got in his pocket when he left Kutch.”

Lady luck favoured Vinay and his business eventually grew. However, the business for decorative lights was seasonal and the cash flow was limited. To fulfil his big entrepreneurial dreams, Vinay had to venture into something new. Thus, he decided to enter into the electrical business and founded Vinay Electricals in 1975. 

Today, boasting of 6,000 dealers and 300 distributor network, Vinay Electricals also claims to have electrical fittings in Hyderabad and Belgaum airports. The company is even pitching for the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. In fact, it has also installed switches in the rail coaches of the East Coast Railway. 

Vinay Electricals clocks over Rs 300 crore annual turnover.