Mango For all seasons !
In India, the month of May is synonymous to Mangoes and while we all are enjoying the season of the king of fruits to the core, there is another Mango, which is available across the year, bringing smiles to our faces.
Mango, the world class stationery brand was born in 2004 and since then has completely transformed the conventional stationery retail experience. Pravin Chheda and his brother were the pioneers of Mango, which has become a household name in Thane and Navi Mumbai with two stores in each of the cities. Having been around in the retail industry for over three decades, Chheda is well-known for his brands like Hastakala, Silkline, Cotton Bazaar, among many. With Mango, the enterprising retailer added one more feather to his hat and enhanced his existing repertoire. Around four years back, Pravin’s son Sitanshu joined the family business, determined to take his father’s legacy forward.
Sitanshu, who has a penchant for stationery, avers, “Stationery business was not that big in India. A typical stationery shop would have pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and that would be it. However, my father, who is a globetrotter, saw a dream to change the stationery landscape of the city. During one of his business trips to Thailand, he came across a Japanese stationery brand ‘Loft’. It is a very big brand in Japan and has an eight storeyed building in Tokyo. Unlike India, the definition of stationery is very broad overseas. Inspired by ‘Loft’ my father decided to start something similar in Thane. This is how Mango was started to offer a classic stationery retail experience.”
Be it the name or the wide avalanche of quality products that it houses, Mango stands apart from its peers. The Chheda scion states, “While my father was thinking about the brand name, he simply happened to consult one of his photographer friends. That friend posed one simply question to my father, ‘What is the one thing that you like the most?’ My father quite naively said, ‘Mango’ and this is how the name ‘Mango’ was fixed. ”
Sitanshu adds, “Mango is a small name, easy to recall, and ofcourse most of the people love it. Also the colour yellow is a sign of prosperity and happiness.” Speaking about colour, the Mango store is an epitome of beauty and elegance, thanks to the extravagant range of colourful products it offers. There are over 20,000 different products which the customers can choose from.
He opines, “Shopping is a therapeutic experience. When it comes to something like stationery products, which are full of vibrant colours, the shoppers simply tend to forget everything and get immersed in the joy of buying. We at Mango ensure that we offer the best stationery retail experience to our clients by letting them touch and feel the products and just let them be by themselves during their visit.”
The budding entrepreneur, who wants to spread joy with stationery believes, “Art is essential for all of us. Art can be anything from drawing to singing to pottery. Any art works wonders. It helps you to not only be calm but also connect with your inner self. For adults, it certainly reduces anxiety and stress, while for children, it aids in developing their cognitive skills, creativity and motor skills.” Mango hosts different workshops to cultivate different arts among people. People from varied age groups join these workshops and by the end of it they not only learn new things but also bring about a positive change in their personalities.
Over the years, Mango is known to embrace innovations with open arms, whether it is computerized inventory management or the use of ERP for its daily functioning. Recently, it introduced “the yellow box”. Sitanshu describes, “The yellow box is an ultimate art, craft, stationery and lifestyle subscription box. It is a surprise box specially designed to ignite customers’ creativity. It contains a bunch of delightful goodies and other little surprises. It is delivered to the doorstep and at present has three subscription options; three months, six months and 12 months.”
Expressing about his future plans, the young businessman says, “We would like to start a few more stores in the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) and then have a presence in Gujarat. Apart from this, somewhere down the line, we would look to go into manufacturing.”
From being the first in the market to letting customers inside the store shop for their favourite school, college and office essentials to delivering the accessories online, Mango has redefined the stationery business. There is seldom any doubt that the brand totally stands by its tagline “Makes my day.”
Before signing off, Sitanshu Chheda gives a humble message to the upcoming businessmen, “Keep trying different things. You never know what will work. Don’t fall in love with your idea. Be humble enough to realize your mistakes. Surround yourself with people from whom you can learn. And finally, invest in good people because in your business, you are not expected to do everything on your own.”
Read E-Magazine : Mango-May 2021
