Kolhapuri chappals, one of the traditional footwears of Maharashtra, have suddenly become fancy, with premium, finished leather replacing the unfinished, grazed leather material generally used, and are now available in colors they have never been seen in, before. How did this happen? Well, credits go to Chappers India, where their priority is to uplift the image of Kolhapuris, before they move on to some other footwear. In this interview, Chappers India’s Founder, Mr Harshwardhan Patwardhan shares the story behind Chappers and his motives behind starting it; describes its specialities and tells us how Chappers is surviving and growing in the neck-breaking competition and how Prime Minister Modi’s Make In India campaign encouraged him to go ahead and start Chappers. Following are the transcripts of the interview:
Suyash: Tell us about Chappers and what drove you to start it?
Harshwardhan: We, at Chappers, have tried to redefine Indian footwear — Kolhapuri chappals, for now. We’ve made them super comfortable, young and bright. We constantly innovate and push our limits to ensure we provide good quality Made In India products to people world-wide. Chappers aims to uplift the image of Indian footwear in the minds of global as well as domestic audience.
Suyash: Right. So, how did the experiments with Kolhapuri chappals begin and why were only Kolhapuris chosen?
Harshwardhan: So, I used to love wearing Kolhapuris and I always used to wonder why people don’t wear them usually. I used to wear my Kolhapuris in UK too, when I was studying MSc. Management in the University of Nottingham. It captured the eyes of non-Indians really easily. But then, I had no plans of starting my own business and was inclined to work in my father’s transport company by the name Prasanna Purple Mobility Solutions. He was also encouraging me and thought me and my brother would make the future for the company. I came back to India and started working with him only to realize that transport is not my forte. I used to be frustrated and started looking at options. I gave a few interviews and got selected in a couple of companies, but doing a 9-5 job was really not my thing I thought. I wanted to dream huge and my dreams could not be counted in hours or even money. I started realising that I love India too much and would love to do something which would help my country grow, control poverty and bring prosperity and respect back to our country. That’s when I looked at my feet and bang, I had my business idea staring at me in the face!
Mr Harshwardhan Patwardhan, Founder, Chappers India
Suyash: How did Chappers survive and grow in this highly competitive fashion and footwear industry with numerous challenges?
Harshawardhan: First, I thought I would trade Kolhapuris all over the world and make them a household name throughout the globe. My family wasn’t really fond of the idea as they thought their son is going to be a “chappalwala”. But, I had different plans. I lied to my family and went to Kolhapur to find vendors who would make good quality Kolhapuris for me, got 10 samples made and distributed amongst a few friends. They found them good looking, but weren’t happy with the comfort and the slippery sole and found them to be very traditional looking and monotonous. I thought I will have to change my idea a bit. I was wearing my leather jacket once and of course my Kolhapuris to a reception of a friend, when people started complimenting my leather jacket but not my Kolhapuris. I decided I would use the leather used for manufacturing shoes and jackets to manufacture Kolhapuris — something that no-one has ever done till now. So, I went to Dharavi once and started asking people where I would get good quality leather, found some suppliers in the slums and made a few samples in Kolhapur again. I was frantically looking for success as I was getting a salary of only Rs 15,000. I used to travel alone in state transport buses and used to eat Vada pav in Dharavi and Kolhapur to save money for the sampling. Once the second lot of samples was ready, I distributed to friends and family and people literally had no clue what they were. After all no one had ever seen neon green, blue, bright red, orange colored Kolhapuris. I thought it was time to start out on my own now. I told my dad the idea and quit his company. I borrowed some money from friends and got 80 samples made and took a stall at Phoenix Market City, Pune. On the first day, I was alone at the stall and still sold 70 pairs out of 80. And, this marked the beginning of Chappers. And since then its growth has been steady.
Suyash: What is Chappers’ speciality?
Harshawardhan: While developing Chappers we concentrated on eradicating all the disadvantages of Kolhapuri chappals. We’ve made them comfortable by adding specially developed foam insoles, made them no slippery by adding an ultra thin layer of hardened rubber sole to the leather sole and have made them bright and young, which appeals to the modern global as well as domestic audience. Our aim is to uplift the image of Indian footwear from roadside slippers to luxury sandals. At Chappers, we also pay our craftsmen double wages than usual to improve their standard of living.
Suyash: Chappers, as a brand, is scaling high, with a couple of celebrities going in for it. Your comments.
Harshwardhan: Chappers have been used by many Bollywood celebrities including Jackie Shroff, designer Varoin Marwah, Mayor Girotra, Honorable Union Minister, Mr Nitin Gadkari and Yuva Sena chief, Mr Aditya Thackeray. I feel nice about it, but Chappers still has a long way to go.
Suyash: How do you think the atmosphere for business in India is, currently?
Harshwardhan: I think India is a nation with the most potential and is destined to be a super power by 2025. I am willing to do everything and anything to make this possible, because when I go to foreign countries I do not want people to look at us as a Third World country. I want to make India a First World country. If more people like me start working towards this goal, we will be the best nation in the next 10 years.
Selfie with Chappers
Suyash: Do you think Chappers will reinvigorate the tradition of Kolhapuri chappals and take it to a new level??
Harshawardhan: My main motive behind Chappers is to uplift the image of Kolhapuri chappals and make them a luxurious thing to own. People should be proud to own a pair of Chappers, proud to own a product which is made in India. Yes, Chappers will reinvent Indian footwear and give it an image. It will make Indian footwear a sign of prosperity.
Suyash: Will other things be introduced, apart from Kolhapuri sandals. If yes, then what?
Harshawardhan: For now, we are concentrating on Kolhapuri chappals. Once the image of Kolhapuri chappals is uplifted in the global market, we can move onto something else like mojadis, etc. Or, even matching belts for your Chappers.
Suyash: What have you got to say about a number of start-ups launching in India, Chappers being one of them?
I believe India needs to create more and more employment to feed its huge population. We have something that others don’t – an intelligent workforce. If India is to be number one, startups have to flourish.
Suyash: What impact has our PM’s initiative ‘Make in India’ had on Chappers?
Harshwardhan: The Make In India campaign gave my decision a final thrust and I was glad that the nation’s leader is also supporting the manufacturing segment now. Manufacturing is a very important sector for any nation as a majority of the GDP of a nation is generated from that sector. After the campaign was launched, we started including it in all our branding strategies.
Suyash: Where do you see Chappers in the comming years?
Harshawardhan: I see Chappers as an international brand and people wearing Chappers all over the world. In the next 10 years, we will be present in atleast 10 countries, selling over 20,000 pairs a month.
Tags: Chappers Harshwardhan Patwardhan india Kolhapur Kolhapuris Maharashtra Make in India Moadis Mumbai Prime Minister Narendra Modi Pune United Kingdom
