Business Mavericks : Tombstone Milestone

Versatility is a word people throw around lightly. On meeting Dr. Pradeep Chopra, that is the word that first springs to mind. From real estate, the monuments business, all the way to writing books, he has done it all with remarkable success. In his own words, Dr. Chopra tells Corporate Citizen the fascinating story of how he single-handedly earned control of Germany’s tombstone manufacturing business, and the lessons we can learn from it.

In the 1990s, when I was in Germany, I noticed that there was a huge demand for tombstones in Germany. There was also an acute shortage of granite, which led to a spike in prices for the headstones.

Once, while taking a stroll, I noticed a lone monument vendor store. I walked in and noticed an elderly lady at the counter. I struck up a conversation with her, and casually asked her what price she pays suppliers for the headstones. “1000 Deutsche Mark (DEM) (approximately Rs 36,000 today)”, she replied. I asked her if she would be interested in purchasing tombstones, imported from India. She replied in the positive. I said I would get back to her in some time.

I quickly called up my friends back in India, and asked them to make some enquiries. They found out that a good quality headstone would cost about 300 DM. I calculated that the cost of importing and other overheads would not exceed another 100 DM, which still left me a good 600 DM as profit. I went back to the lady and asked her for an order. She said that she would place the order, but she wouldn’t give me an advance. This posed a significant risk. What is she refused to accept the order, once it arrived? But then, what kind of entrepreneur is one who cannot take a risk? I accepted the order.

It took me a few months to acquire, polish and import the gravestones from India to Germany. On the night before the delivery, I felt very nervous. What if the lady refused the delivery? I had invested almost all my savings in the project. With these apprehensions, I went to meet the lady the next day. I asked her how she found the products. She said a word I will never forget. “Wunderbar”! She promptly made out my cheque, and placed a further order for a much bigger shipment. And this time, I even got my advance. That is how I entered the monuments business. To young entrepreneurs, I will say that if you can sell something even if you don’t have it ready, go ahead. You will get thousands of people who will be happy to provide or build it for you. Selling is the most difficult part and you have cracked that.

“To young entrepreneurs, I will say that if you can sell something even if you don’t have it ready, go ahead. You will get thousands of people who will be happy to provide or build it for you”

There was an incident a few years later, which I vividly remember. I took an order from a customer in Berlin, and I was to deliver it by June of that year. This order was for headstones of some very specific colours. Headstones are natural stones, and they can’t be artificially coloured. I faced a lot of problems from my suppliers in India, who were not able to locate the specific coloured stones, for a long time. By the time I managed to complete that order, it was June of the next year. The customer was livid, and refused to accept the order and called me to Berlin. I went there, and let him vent. After a while, he calmed down, but refused to accept the order unless I gave him a discount. I offered him a 30% discount, much higher than he was expecting. Not only did he accept the order, he also placed an additional order with me right away. The most important aspect of your business is your customer. If you provide a good customer experience at the end of the day, they will surely come back to you.

By this time, I wanted to seriously expand in the monuments business. The major obstacle in this plan was quality. There is a notion worldwide that Indian goods are inferior in quality. There was some truth to this perception. I knew I had to change this. I employed a talented stonemason from Germany, and sent him to India for six months, to train my workers. At the end of the training period, we were able to match and even exceed the German quality standards.

When we started, there were 596 factories making headstones in Germany. Today, almost all of them have closed down. Over 90 per cent of the tombstone requirements in Germany are now imported from India, and my firm controls over 60 per cent of this business.

To anyone who says Indian good are inferior in quality, I say this – India is the lowest cost producer in the world. If we can (and quite often do) match global quality standards, nobody can match our price.

By Neeraj Varty