Nine Yards to Turn Around ; Mysore Saree Maker Ksic Pulls Itself Out of the Red.

Summary

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When Mysore silk bridal sarees priced at Rs 1.5 lakh apiece hit the market last year, affluent Bangaloreans grabbed them. They did not crib about the price. A Mysore Silk saree, after all, does not fade with time, instead, runs through generations. The oldest saree in use was woven in 1948. But the story of the company making it, the state-owned Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC), was not as glorious. It turned chronically sick within five years of its launch in 1980 and showed major Nine signs of recovery only in 2005- 06 when it reported a profit of Rs 1.73 crore. After a profitable last year, the PSU hopes to end this year with a profit in excess of Rs 3 crore. We are now a lean organisation and our products are trendy, says P. Vijayan, Chairman & Managing Director, KSIC.

For more than two decades, KSIC withered under the weight of a bloated workforce, production-sale mismatch, and non-remunerative prices, among other things. A series of recent initiatives, including downsizing and ramp up in production and marketing has paid off. Between 2004-05 and now, KSIC sales have doubled to touch Rs 46 crore. That was an incredible turnaround for a PSU that everyone thought was headed for closure. We have increased production with our existing looms and produce according to the market requirement, Vijayan says.

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Nine Yards to Turn Around ; Mysore Saree Maker Ksic Pulls Itself Out of the Red.

The 12 Mysore Silk showrooms, including one each in Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvana...

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