Modi with his wife Shilpi (seated) and son Vedant (right)ĭestined for SuccessAs a child, Modi, the only son of his parents, was good at mathematics. If it wasn’t for his destiny, the 45-year-old believes he would have perhaps been sitting at his nearly-50-year-old family-run shop in Kolkata’s AC Market, selling menswear, and at best opened one more store to expand the business. “I am a firm believer in destiny,” says Modi. Modi’s wife Shilpi has a board seat, while his only child, Vedant, after whom the company is named, is chief marketing officer. A year before that, revenue was ₹915.54 crore and net profit ₹236.6 crore. Last year, amid the pandemic, Vedant Fashions closed the year with a revenue of ₹564.81 crore, while net profit stood at ₹132.9 crore. They are sold under brands such as Manyavar, Mohey and Mebaz.
It has over 600 stores across India and 11 international stores, where it sells everything from men’s kurtas, sherwanis and jackets to women’s lehengas, sarees and gowns. His 23-year-old company, Vedant Fashions Limited, of which he is chairman and managing director, is worth ₹26,000 crore after it listed on the bourses in February. As of April 15, Modi’s wealth stood at $3 billion and he is among the youngest billionaires in India. Modi makes his debut on the 2022 Forbes World’s Billionaires List-he’s ranked 1,238 with a net worth of $2.5 billion. It hasn’t made any difference to his business. He’s even reduced the time he spends in office, and now goes there only once a week. “We must realise that clothes such as suits aren’t meant for the Indian climate,” he says. Modi has also renounced wearing western clothes, claiming not to have worn one in five years. He has built a clay tennis court there and is now learning to play the game. “Here, the trees talk to me,” says Modi, who tried 12 houses before shifting to the new one immediately after the first lockdown. The scorching Kolkata heat doesn’t bother him. He prefers to meet people on the verandah of his house, which overlooks a neatly manicured lawn. “Whatever vegetables we eat, they come from within the house,” Modi says. Unlike many of his peers who relish the hustle and bustle of city life, he has moved out of his home of 36 years to a calm and greener township where he even grows vegetables. Modi indeed leads a simple life on the outskirts of Kolkata. I am a simple man with no materialistic needs. “That’s when I bought my Mercedes in 2017,” Modi says. He stuck with his Honda City for the next 15 years, until his son asked him to change it after a family friend met with an accident. Modi skipped his plan to buy a Mercedes, and instead decided to plough back all the profits into the business to avoid falling into a debt trap as he expanded. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: The incorrigible India optimist And I said yes.” Modi adds: “Then he told me, ‘Thode din ke taklif zindagi bharka aaram, ya thode din ka aaram, zindagi bharki taklif (Pain for a few days, and you can have a lifetime of relaxation, or relax for a few days, and you could have pain for the rest of your life)’.” He asked me if my business has the potential to grow. “He asked me if my business was sustainable. I said I can,” the soft-spoken Marwari tells Forbes India. However, as he firmed up his plans to buy a Mercedes, his father, who had earlier inadvertently brought out the entrepreneur in Modi, asked his son a few questions. His then-four-year-old business, Vedant Fashions, which made popular ethnic wear, Manyavar, was doing reasonably well and money was flowing smoothly. “My belief was that if you can afford it, buy it,” says Modi, who’s dressed in a blue kurta pyjama at his house in Newtown, Kolkata. Not because he was a petrol head or because he wanted to flaunt his newfound success in his hometown, Kolkata.
Sometime in 2002, in his mid-20s, Ravi Modi wanted to buy a Mercedes.
Ravi Modi, Chairman and managing director, Vedant Fashions Limited
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