A Survival Story

  8 min 35 sec to read

Anup B Malla
 
Anup B Malla, Chairman of Nepal Kangri Carpet Industry (P) Ltd and President of Nepal Carpet Exporters’ Association is one of the oldest players in the carpet business of Nepal. Malla has dedicated three decades of his life for the promotion of carpet export from Nepal. Malla, who is also the Chairperson of FNCCI’s Export Promotion Committee, says he has survived through the hardest times in the carpet business.
 
In his starting days, Malla didn’t have dreams of being in business. As a student of science, he had plans of becoming an engineer. To pursue his dream, he went to Pune to study engineering, but unfortunately had to return back within three months. “My mother was diagnosed with liver cancer. The news came to me as a shock, and I had to return to look after the family as I was the only son,” recollects Malla. 
 
After his return, his life took a different turn. As carpet business was booming in those days, his father opened a carpet factory for him, and he got involved in the business from the year 1984. Prior to this, Malla hadn’t taken any responsibilities for his family, and it was quite tough for him in the start. “It was hard for me, but I had to do it for my family. The factory I started from was quite a small one, with 22 looms and around 90 employees,” remembers Malla. 
 
Rise of Business
Soon, Malla started learning about the business, and saw tremendous prospects in it. The industry was in a primitive stage back then, and all the processes of manufacturing were done manually.  He supplied the carpets to local exporters who then exported them to countries like Germany, Holland, France and England among others. He wanted to export directly to Europe, and started to get completely involved in his business. 
 
In 1986, Malla met with an official from Eastern Kayam OCM, a London based carpet exporter. He received orders from the company and stared directly exporting the carpets. At that time, he was exporting around 200-300 square metres of carpet a month. The carpets he exported were branded by the company as Kangri Carpet, and then he also renamed his company as Nepal Kangri Carpet Industry in 1991.     
 
Though he was satisfied from his exports, Malla wanted to expand his business. His big break came in the year 1989 when he went to participate in Germany’s biggest carpet and floor covering fare, Domotex. It was Malla’s first time abroad, and first time in an aeroplane. When was in the Fare, he realized that the demand for Nepali carpets was tremendous in the European market. He had taken with him a few photographs of his products, and two small carpets for demonstration. He was very well received in the Fare, and the two carpets that he had taken sold as hot cakes. 
 
He received numerous enquiries about his products and production capacity. To his surprise, he received an order for producing 2700 square metres of carpet, which was worth 200,000 US Dollars at that time.
 
Happy with the order, he returned back and increased the capacity of his industry. In the year 1993, his company was among the top ten carpet exporters. Malla then regularly participated in Domotex, and had many customers. When the business was on peak, his industry exported 125,000 square metres of carpet in a year.  
 
Anup B MallaDownfall and Survival
What goes up must come down, and same proved to be true for the Nepali carpet business. Around the year 1995, the demand for Nepali carpets started to decline. According to Malla, this was chiefly because Nepali manufacturers compromised in the quality of the carpets. Also, Indian imitation carpets were flooding the European market. There were also the issues of child labour and toxic dyes used in carpets. All of these contributed the downfall of Nepali carpet industry. To worsen the situation, the country was hit by the armed conflict, power crisis and strikes. “Around the year 1993/94, the carpet business went down, and hasn’t gained the momentum till today. The exports are going down every year,” says Malla.
 
Owing to the decline in exports, many companies shut down and there were no new players in the market. Ordinary carpets were no more in demand, and the importers wanted new designs, and very high quality products. “. It was the time for research and development, and tie to employ new advanced technologies. The situation called for a drastic change in the carpet manufacturing sector. It was survival of the fittest,” recalls Malla.  Determined to continue with his business, Malla paid more attention to the demands. The market now has demands for better quality products, with new designs and new colours and new trend. 
 
Malla tried his best to change with the changing times, and survived when it very tough. At present, Kangri Carpet Industry exports around ten to twelve thousand square metres of carpet a year. Last year, his company exported to 10,000 square metres of carpet. “The capacity of our industry is much more than this, but it’s hard to predict the market these days, so we produce in moderation,” says Malla.
 
Malla believes himself to be a survivor who made it through the toughest of times. 
 
Early Life
Malla was born in Sinamangal of Kathmandu in 2022 BS to Govinda Bahadur Malla and Malla Keshar Kumari Malla. Malla says he grew up in a very protective and possessive family as he was born after six sisters. He went to Bhanubhakta Memorial School for his primary education and passed his SLC from Demonstration Multipurpose School (DMPS). 
 
Malla married Suchita Malla in the year 2049 BS. His mother has passed away just a year ago, and was pressurized by the family for marriage. As all of his sisters were married, and there was no female member in the family, He had to make the decision very quickly.  “Around that time, I saw a girl at Thapathali Campus. I was instantly attracted, and it was love at first sight,” recalls Malla. He couldn’t find the courage to talk to her, but wrote a letter to her proposing for marriage. They started talking on phone, and got to know each other better. Everything went fine and they married about six months later. “Looking back, I feel I made a very good decision. I am a very happily married man today,” says Malla.  
 
Anup B MallaPersonal Side and Philosophies
Malla gets up at 6 every morning and exercises for an hour. He has been doing Pranayam and Yoga for the last ten years. Tennis and swimming are his hobbies, and also like music and singing. He was the vocalist of a rock band when he was young. Lately, he is attracted by classical music. Malla loves to have free time to spend with his family, and believes in living life to the fullest. “Enjoying and living life is the major thing for me. I don’t run after money because it is sheer necessity. In that sense, I may not be very ambitious,” shares Malla.
 
 Malla usually spends his Fridays with friends and family. GG Machan at Jhamsikhel is his favourite place to hang out. He is a frequent traveller, and has been to almost al of Europe, many states of USA, China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and many other countries. According to Malla, many perceive him as an arrogant and tough person. “Those who are newly acquainted with me feel that way about me. In fact, I am a very soft hearted and easy going person,” says he.  
 
Malla believes in hard work, and says one has to know pain and hardship to enjoy happiness in life. “I have faced many problems in my life and suffered a lot at an early age. That’s why I can fully enjoy and cherish my success. I am very happy and satisfied with my life,” says he. 
 
Future
If the business environment becomes friendlier, Malla says that he may be involved in manufacturing such commodities that can be locally consumed and exported as well. As export has always been his expertise, Malla says Nepal should realize its export potentials. “Nepal is gifted with a wide variety of climate, temperature and ecosystem. We have many products with comparative advantage. We should be able to turn these into products with competitive advantage,” opines Malla.  He also believes that more such products should be sought apart from the 19 items promoted by the government. 
 
To be successful, one should be involved in those occupations that make us happy, says Malla. “If we turn our passion into our occupation, then success will surely follow. Life paves way for us, we just have to be alert and follow,” says Malla.
 

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