By Radhika

1. William Nanda Bissell

3. William Bissell
 The Managing Director of FabIndia
 a second generation entrepreneur, who has a degree
in philosophy, political science and governance from
Wesleyan University in the U.S.
 In 1993, while holidaying in Australia, William Bissell
once ran into an experienced surfer who shared an
invaluable lesson with the 27-year-old.
 Today, Fabindia is considered one of the most
profitable retailers in the country. It earns a net margin
of 8%, nearly three times more than the industry
average, evoking the envy of every rival.

4. Leadership
 Fabindia has almost singlehandedly built a network of
a rapidly vanishing breed of handloom weavers and
artisans.
 India's 35 top towns through its network of 144 stores.
 Fabindia's elaborate--and almost dedicated--supply
chain organization is now in place.

5. Cont.
 He co-opted 22,000 artisans made them into shareholders
 that became the subject of a Harvard Business School
case study in 2007 and made Bissell a poster boy of
inclusive capitalism.
 "It seems contradictory that we pursue both a social goal
and a profit, but I believe that is the only way to do it," says
Bissell in that case study.
 "He sat with the artisans and explained how inherently
valuable their craft was and how it could be capitalized. He
convinced them that they should also have a share in this
value by investing in it. - Sumita Ghosh (Rangsutra)

6. Criticisms
 World Bank president James Wolfensohn's private
investment fund picked up a 8% stake in the company for
Rs. 50 crore.
 William has often been criticized about opening Fabindia
stores in malls, as opposed to stand-alone heritage
properties which lent a unique character to the brand. He's
also criticized for bringing in powerloom fabrics, where
John was fanatical about handlooms, of replacing cotton
thread for stitching with polyester thread, of combining
plastic shower curtains with ethnic home furnishings, but
most of all for growing Fabindia too fast.
 William's mantra seems to be „giving the customer what
they want„ in the most efficient, accessible and eco-friendly
way

7. Future
 Which is why he is working on a new vision plan, one
that will grow the company's outlets to three times the
number it currently has over the next four years. After
saturating much of the demand in the bigger cities
(Fabindia has 13 stores in Bangalore and 22 in NCR)
he now wants to unlock demand in smaller towns like
Vellore, Karnal and Rishikesh. By 2015, he wants to
put 300 stores in these tier two towns. There are also
plans to open 10-12 large format stores to showcase
Fabindia's home furniture range.

8. Cont.
 To fund this growth, Bissell needs capital. In the
last few weeks, he has been holding daily
meetings with venture capital and private equity
firms to dilute about 25% of its equity and at least
a dozen firms--from Carlyle, Sequoia, Everstone
to PremjiInvest--are said to be queuing up at his
door. The valuations are said to be steep.
Sources say Bissell expects to dilute at about six
times current revenue. Part of the money will go
towards buying out Wolfensohn's share, some of
it will go for ESOPs (employee stock ownership
plan) and the rest will be for growing the
business.

9. Awards and recognition
 Fabindia was awarded “Best Retail Brand” in 2004 by
The Economic Times.
 In 2004, Fabindia was featured as part of a CNBC
special TV report on India.
 Fabindia brand does not advertise, and largely works
through word of mouth publicity.
 In 2007 the craft-conscious enterprise concept of
Fabindia became a Harvard Business School (HBS)
case study.
 2010 marked 50 years of the foundation of Fabindia,
and release of the book, The Fabric of Our Lives: The
Story of Fabindia, by Radhika Singh

10. Philanthropy
 William and John Bissell established "The Fabindia
School" in 1992 in Bali, in Pali district of Rajasthan.
 "The John Bissell Scholars Fund", established in 2000

11. Fabindia Products
 The textile-based product range
 The Home Products
 Fabindia Organic
 Fabindia's range of authentic Personal care products

12. William Bissell‟ book
In this book, the Author takes on
all the problems that plague India,
and describes solutions that are
Mathematically Sound,
Scientifically Possible, and
Ideologically Inspired.
The ideas offered in Making India
Work are new, different and
refreshing, and are a must-read
for individuals interested in
alternate governance, or anyone
who yearns to see a beautiful,
competitive and just India

13. William Bissell
 The Man: The MD of Fabindia transformed the export-
focussed textile company that his expat father founded
into a big domestic brand, and changed the way the
upwardly mobile Indian male dressed during functions
and festivals. Fabindia has now hit the accelerator with
private equity funding. He says we need to examine our
assumptions of how narrowly we want to define
performance.
 The Oeuvre: Started artisans co-operative in Rajasthan in
1988. His book, Making India Work, is a collection of his
ideas that can solve some of India‟s pressing problems.

14. Cont.
 X-Factor: Imaginative, idealism combined with business
acumen and tough negotiating skills.
 The Message: We need to examine more closely the
environment that encourages widespread corporate fraud,
and look at more encompassing ways of assessing the worth
of a company and its leadership.
 "In popular myth, John Bissell was an idealistic visionary and
his son William his antithesis: Discarding Fabindia's core
principles en route to exponential growth. The truth is (as his
book Making India Work makes abundantly clear) William,
though differently, is as much a visionary as his father; while
idealist John was also an intensely practical business man."