CHAPTER 2

2.1 INDUSTRIAL PROFILE

2.1.1 History

The Poppys Group of companies, with an annual turnover of US$70 million, is the brain child of
our Chairman Mr. A. Sakthivel. Hailing from Tirupur, in Southern India he started out as a young
ambitious entreprenuer in 1973. Through sheer hard work, dedication and innovative trade
practices he has ensured that today, Poppys Packs Pvt Ltd is one of the leading Packs exporters
of India. Mr Sakthivel's endeavour has placed Tirupur as a leading player in the Packs Industry.
Poppys success would not have beeen possible without the unstinting commitment and
encouragement of Mr A Sivakumar the Managing Director.His efforts have been vital to the
development of the company as one of the best administered companies in Tirupur.
Poppys Packs Pvt Ltd has opened up global markets for it's products. It exports to over 50
countries worldwide and is a trusted supplier to global brands like Hanes, Ralph Lauren, Harley
Davidson, Caterpillar, M & M, Domino's Pizza etc. Poppy also has an enviable product range
that includes knitted and woven wear for men, women and children.
Poppys Packs Pvt Ltd makes such world class products possible by integrating cutting edge
technology, infrastructure and global best practices in design, manufacture and quality control.
The Packs division is ably supported by equally well equipped and world class labeling, tapes
and packaging units.

2.1.2 Mission

Our mission is to be a people oriented, professional organization with a performance constantly

bettering the best, rendering yeomen service in all our endeavours with a high degree of social
consciousness.

2.1.3 VISION

To be the leader in all that we do - in Quality, Efficiency, Growth and Market standing.

2.1.4 Organization

Poppys has a group turnover of USD 70 million as on date. The main stay of the group continues
to be it's Packs division and the allied group companies that feed this division in order to deliver
global quality knitwear products to it's national and international clients.
The Packs division has factories based at Tirupur and has an extensive product range covering
mens wear, womens wear and clothes for children.
Feeder plants to the knitwear division include:
Poppys Tapes - manufacturing a wide range of plain, frill and multi color elastic tape in a variety
of designs.
Poppys Plastics - involved in the production of a wide range of polypropylene and polyethylene
poly bags with multi colored printing, plastic trays and containers
Poppys Packs - manufactures all types of corrugated cartons and boxes which comply to
international standards and buyer requirements.
As a product diversification, Poppys has set up it's own sweater manufacturing unit called
Edelweiss in Tirupur. This company caters to European, American and Canadian markets.
Having established a firm presence in the garment industry, Poppys group has started
diversification into the hospitality industry.
Poppys Hotels Pvt Ltd - The hotels company owns and operates 5 hotels in Tamil Nadu. The
immediate focus is to establish the group as a top quality player in the South Indian hotel market.
In line with this strategy, Poppys hotels is undertaking development in another 4 locations in this
market and is also actively on the look out for growth through acquisitions.
Poppys Tours & Travels - Catering to both business and leisure travelers, this company of the
group provides wide ranging travel related services from ticketing to arranging site seeing tours.

2.1.5 Management

Padma Shri A Shaktivel - Chairman

Padma Shri A.Sakthivel is an entrepreneur nonpareil from Tamilnadu, India - a man
born to succeed. He has proved it many times over. From building and nurturing
the Poppys Group, to being the Chairman and Executive Committee Member of Apparel Export
Promotion Council (AEPC) for the past twenty four years, Chairman- FIEO (Federation of
Indian Export Organisations), to being awarded the prestigious Padma Shri.

His flair for business and keen interest in innovation and novelty helped him to build up a
diversified industrial group in Tirupur, known for its hosiery industry. Being a person who does
things differently, he swerved away from the beaten path of producing run of the mill hosiery
products and boldly ventured into manufacturing and exporting knitwear. After that it was a saga
of expansions and successes. From a modest beginning, by dint of courage and sheer hard work,
business acumen and drive, he expanded his business operations rapidly and promoted a number
of ventures in areas as diverse as yarn spinning, manufacture and export of knitwear and woven
garments, tourism and hospitality.

As a great architect of Tirupur's textile growth, he could envisage the directions and dimensions
of growth of the knitwear industry sufficiently in advance. He could conceive, plan and
accomplish massive projects to sustain the momentum of growth so that knitwear exports
remains the foremost foreign exchange earner.
Through hard work and a focused approach, Padma Shri A. Sakthivel has taken Poppys group to
new heights.Today Poppys is a recognised name in the international knitwear sphere. Along with
the growth of his company, Mr Sakthivel has given equal importance to the growth of Tirupur as
a global outsourcing hub for knitwear. He is the moving force behind the evolution of
irupur,from a little known South Indian town into the leading knitwear exporting centre in the
country. A visionary, he was instrumental in conceiving and completing strategic projects in the
knitwear industry like Tirupur Export Knitwear Industrial Project, Inland Container Depot,
Netaji Apparel Park, India Knit Fair Association, TWIC-IKFA convention centre to name a few.
The Govt of India has recognised Mr Sakthivel's unparalleled contribution to the growth and
devpt of the knitwear industry and the export sector by awarding the PADMA SHRI to him. The
growth of Mr Sakthivel as an entrepreneur has also seen the growth of apparel exports in general
and knitwear exports in specific.
Mr A Sivakumar - Managing Director Mr Sivakumar is another guiding light behind the success
of the Poppys group. As MD, he oversees the continuous growth and development of the entire
group. Mr A Sivakumar has been an over achiever since his school days. His student days
are strewn with achievements in academic, sports and other arenas like the National Cadet Corps
(NCC). He is also an avid gliding and aircraft enthusiast. He, like his brother Padma Shri A
Sakthivel, is passionate about the well being of Tirupur. He is the Managing Trustee of the
Tirupur Improvement Trust which provides yeoman service to uplift living and working
conditions in and around Tirupur. He is also an active member of Tirupur Social Service
Organization (TISSO) extending his monetary and physical support for orphanages, free
ambulance services, free health care for children below twelve years, free educational and
vocational training centers for the benefit of the down trodden sections of society.
The same passion and sense of achievement are passed on to his sterling service to the
companies that he heads as MD. Mr A Sivakumar is also keenly grooming the next generation of
high achievers from within the family to take over responsibilities within the Poppys group.
Directors Of Poppys group Mr Sakthivel Kaleswara Vignesh, Mr Om Saravanan and Mr Hari are
Directors in various Poppy Group companies. They represent the next generation of
entrepreneurs from within the family. They are being carefully groomed under the able

tewardship of both the Chairman and the Managing Director of the group. All of them are
actively engaged in the day to day operations of different group companies.

2.1.6 Markets

Poppys Packs is a preferred supplier to global brands. These brands are spread across the globe
and we cater to each of them both in their own home markets as well as in their export markets.
Poppys exports to these countries
1) Americas
2)Europe Middle East/Africa Asia Pacific
3)United States United Kingdom
4)Canada Germany