Baggit’s Nina Lekhi : Inspirational story of the Indian woman entrepreneur
“If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.”
-Wanda Sykes
Failure plays a very vital role in one’s success. The successful journey of Nina Lekhi led her to one of the biggest bag companies, Baggit. A girl who failed in her academics and went on to establish a 100crore empire in her life. Nina Lekhi, the founder of Baggit is a very successful entrepreneur.
Baggit has become one of India’s reputed brands. It has more than 300 exclusive outlets in India. By providing quality, Baggit has become one of India’s favorite bag brands.
Her Entrepreneurial Journey
Nina started her entrepreneurial journey due to the first failure in her life. It resulted in the creation of a global bag brand. She got the name when she was hearing Michael Jackson’s popular ’80s song Beat it. She got a spark and named her brand Baggit. She was featured in Fortune Magazine’s list of most powerful women in 2015. She received the women entrepreneur award in the same year.
She recollects the grief she felt when she failed her first year at the university.
“Always being the best student, it was for me as if I’d failed in life,” she recalls. She kept herself busy by attending classes in painting and interior designing. Later that experience helped in setting up retail outlets for Baggit. In 1984, when she was merely 18, she got an idea to make bags with an attitude which she worked towards achieving. Lekhi had separate bags for swimming, gym, and partying. But she could not find cool bags for those purposes. So this was from where she got inspired to design her own bags. She made her problem an opportunity.
Nina paid for using the space to put her bags at the garment retail store Zedd’s even though it was owned by her relatives. 30 years ago Nina Lekhi used her dropped year at Sophia Polytechnic College in Mumbai to buy canvas in bulk, and create bags to sell to college students.
“Coming from a very sheltered and protective background, I was not ready to face what I was going through at that particular age; it was disheartening. I was already completely confused about what I should do with my life, failure compounded the confusion, and I became a complete rebel. I took it upon myself to prove that I was not a dud, that I was capable.”
This was how, with a borrowed money of Rs 7,000 from her mother, she established Baggit in 1985 along with a dream.
“No woman in our family had ever worked before, but my mother was extremely encouraging. I think Baggit is proof that failure is the stepping stone to success,”
Says Nina
Rise of Baggit
She realized the need in the market for fun, funky and contemporary bags at a young age. A leading brand gave tempting offers to her for their brand on her bag, which she denied. “My brand or no deal” was her answer. She is a self-made entrepreneur. Nina Lekhi began Baggit 30 years ago as a vegan accessory brand. Today the brand which is available offline and online is all set to launch a new offering as it eyes at international expansion.
Baggit has become one of the leading fashion accessory brands. From her love for accessories and creative ideas, she caters to the need of fun-loving urban Indian customers. The brand has a strong belief in beauty without cruelty.
She started designing fashion accessories like sling bags, purses, wallets, clutches, and shoulder bags. Baggit has its presence in 61 cities across the country. Anyhow her first attempt to open a store was a failure. She lost more than the money she invested. But that did not strike her. Today, catering to every woman’s need for fashionable, durable, and useful bags, Baggit has grown into a Rs 111 crores company with over 360 SKUs in handbags, 360 in wallets, and 70 in mobile pouches. Nina always looked for features that would benefit the customer. She wanted to satisfy the customers by adding essential features to her bags. Baggit bags are made of eco-friendly products. As a policy decision, Baggit does not use leather for its products.
Her Employees
Her recruitment policy was simple. She did not look for qualifications. Nina searched for anyone who could work well and get the job done. She treated her employees more like a family.
While asked about the character of her brand her response was
“Our vision is to be a responsible fashion brand, which is internationally successful but based out of India. While most of the fashion brands pitch on the seasonal, trendy, latest fashion, we are more in the mold of classic fashion. Our products do not become irrelevant at the end of the season.”
Nina’s failure was just the beginning and not the end. She evaluated her skills and competence in terms of the efforts given and not in terms of the years. She has been such an inspiration by creating a product that she wanted to buy. Nina has an inherent desire to achieve more in life.
