Let There Be Light

How the Uttamchandanis are transforming the ₹11,500-crore group from a predominantly trading firm into a fast moving electrical goods maker

- Rajiv Singh

It was early November in Pune in 2013. The meteorological department had predicted a colder than normal winter, with temperatures expected to drop to 9 degrees Celsuis. For the Uttamchandani brothers—Rajesh and Govind—though, the winter chill was the last thing on their minds. The owners of SSK Appliances were busy breaking a sweat over something ostensibly trivial: Naming their new venture.

A couple of names were mooted for the LED business, the first major diversification of SSK Appliances which distributes Samsung mobiles and accessories. None, unfortunately, had the ‘right divine vibration’.

What made the task all the more taxing for the Uttamchandanis was a directive from their spiritual guru: The name must not only connect with the Almighty but should also be of deeper significance than the existing flagship company, Shree Sant Kripa (SSK). After a few days, and nights, of intense brainstorming, the duo hit their Eureka moment with Syska (Shree Yogi Sant Kripa Anant).

“Shree stands for goddesses, Yogi is for Lord Shiva, Anant is endless, and that’s how Syska was born,” recalls Rajesh, 54, the younger of the Uttamchandani brothers who launched the Syska label of LED lights in February 2014. In a little over four years, the LED business clocked ₹800 crore in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2018.

Syska LED may be the face of the company which is endorsed by actor Irrfan Khan, but it is just a fraction of the overall empire of the Pune-based conglomerate. The money-spinner is SSK Appliances, which brings in revenue of over ₹10,000 crore. BaghBahar Appliances enjoys revenue of over ₹500 crore, SSK Retails adds ₹100 crore to group turnover and Syska E-retails, the youngest in the Uttamchandani stable, chips in with ₹50 crore.