Jaipur Rugs: Doing Well by Doing Good

A Case Study

1. Background
Jaipur Rugs is Indias largest manufacturer and exporter of hand knotted and tufted rugs and
carpets. Using fine handspun wool, silk and cotton, the company has created a rich heritage of
artistically designed, high quality rugs with sophisticated textures in homes located across 40
countries around the world.
Established in 1978, Jaipur Rugs is the product of its founder Mr. Nand Kishore Chaudharys
(NKC) enduring zeal to work selflessly for the upliftment of the poor, downtrodden, and outcast
sections of the Indian society. With its headquarters at Jaipur, the company has a network of
nearly 41,000 skilled, home-based artisans across eight Indian states that keep alive the fine
traditional art of rug weaving. Eighty percent of the artisans are women, mostly residing among
the disadvantaged communities of rural India.
The inclusive business model of Jaipur Rugs helps deliver value to the customers while
concurrently improving the living standard of the artisans. It facilitates the socio-economic
empowerment of the weaver community at the grassroots through the provision of round-the-year
employment. In the process, the company has woven happiness and smiles into the life of tens of
thousands of rural Indian artisans by providing them with a respectable and sustainable livelihood,
and also connected them with the global market sand the elite icons of the world.
Jaipur Rugs has successfully created a large-scale, global supply chain that harnesses human skills
and capabilities at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). Through an innovative system of
organization, the activities of numerous geographically dispersed independent workers are
integrated together so as to produce a consistently high quality product.
The enterprise has established a robust mechanism to deal with the weavers directly, so as to
provide a fair return for their hard work and artistic creation. In doing so, it has virtually
eliminated the role of exploitative middlemen that are otherwise deeply involved in the carpet
trade. Further, the raw material for the carpets as well as the money earned by them is delivered to
the rural artisans at their doorstep.
Jaipur Rugs manages an efficient as well as effective value chain that has enabled the
multiplication of the companys revenues as well as artisan earnings over the years. It attempts to
match ensure and align the skills of its weavers with the needs of its customers.

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In this endeavour, it abides by core social values such as equality of opportunity as well as wages,
skill enhancement, and the provision of welfare services such as health care and education. The
company not only employs traditional weavers, but also teaches the craft to people who do not
hail from a tradition of weaving.
While the organization has evolved over the years, compassion continues to run deep within its
veins.NKC treats the artisans very respectfully as human beings in their own right, and as equals.
From owner to weaver, Jaipur Rugs constitutes one large and happy family.
Having adopted community service as its motto, Jaipur Rugs enables the human communities
with which it works to grow hand in hand with its own growth and prosperity. The company has
managed to build synergistic and mutually respectful relationships with thousands of partners and
associates spread across eight states in India. Threads of love and regard, woven by deft hands
and deep hearts, bind its people together in a tight embrace.
Building up this Rs. 125 crore social enterprise that produces over 500,00 rugs per year has been a
journey and a labour of love, vision, and courage. Jaipur Rugsis a story of the triumph of
simplicity, determination and compassion over poverty, exploitation and ignorance.

2. The Genesis of the Enterprise

Mr. Nand Kishore Chaudhary (NKC) was born in 1953 in a traditional Marwari family at Churu,
in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. He completed his Bachelors degree in Commerce, and
began his career in the familys shoe business. Meanwhile, NKC also spent long hours
contemplating upon the meaning of life. He read the Bhagavad Gita, and the writings of Osho,
Mahatma Gandhi as well as Tagore.
In 1975, he secured a permanent position as a cashier at the United Bank of India. To the surprise
and eventual dismay of his near and dear ones, NKC refused the job. His aspiration in life was to
do something on a much larger scale - as an entrepreneur. He reflected deeply upon the nature of
business that he might engage with. In due course, NKC heard that hand-woven woolen rugs and
carpets of high quality were in great demand. With its blend of economic and aesthetic appeal, the
carpet business appeared to be just the right choice for him.
Armed with this clarity and determination, NKC borrowed Rs. 5000 from his father to set up two
carpet looms in 1978 within the courtyard of their house. He engaged nine trained, nimble and
hardworking but unemployed weavers to commence the enterprise, and soon fell in love with the
weaving business.

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NKC picked up the nuances of the art of carpet weaving by observing the weavers at work. He
took time to sit, talk to, and even eat his meals with these craftsmen. NKC forged a close and
respectful relationship with the weavers, and gradually developed trust in their abilities.
This trust was duly rewarded upon the completion of the very first carpet, which had been made
to order for a Jaipur-based exporter. The buyer was so delighted with the quality that he invited
his own karigars (artisans) to inspect it. This gave NKC a lot of confidence.
He decided to expand his operations. Within the space of two years, 6 additional looms had been
acquired and the enterprise was thriving. The contractor supplied the raw material, and NKC
delivered high quality, finished carpets in return. By 1980, this operation was yielding a net profit
of over Rs. 30,000 per month.

2.1 Establishing the Business

NKC re-invested a substantial portion of these earnings into the purchase of additional looms. He
also ventured into the villages adjacent to Churu in search of good talent. While the village
artisans were desperate for work, NKC was careful to select and engage only with those who had
great passion and at least some discipline towards their work. Most importantly, the individual
also had to be a good person.
As the number of weavers and the worksites grew, a rudimentary management system was
created. One of the weavers was upgraded to the position of Quality Supervisor, and was provided
with a motorcycle for travelling to inspect the ongoing work at the looms. The supervisor
compiled a Production Progress Report (PPR) that mapped the square feet of weaving per artisan,
and was also tasked with making payments to the workers accordingly.
After 8 years of working as a contractor, with over 300 weavers and 100 looms under his charge,
NKCs annual earnings touched Rs. 1.5 million. However, the business still rested upon the
greedy shoulders of the exporters.
This hampered the deeply idealistic entrepreneurs aspiration to excel at his work, and also to
make a difference in the society at large.
In 1986, in partnership with his brother, NKC decided to invest in additional looms as well as raw
materials so as to commence the direct export of carpets. After three years of effort, they received
their first direct order worth about a million rupees from a German customer.
There was a huge worldwide market for rugs that was waiting to be tapped, if only the challenge
of producing high quality handmade carpets on a large scale could somehow be surmounted. NKC
responded to the opportunity by making the state of Gujarat his main production base.
Accordingly, in 1990, he shifted his entire household to the town of Valsad.

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The tribal people in Gujarat were artistic as well as loyal, provided that they were treated with
love and respect. Moreover, the state government provided training to the tribal artisans, and even
equipped them with carpet weaving looms for free. It took NKC three years to develop a deep
rapport and bond with the tribals, and to train them in weaving high quality carpets.
The Gujarat operation gradually scaled up. In less than a decade, NKC had trained 10,000 tribal
weavers with over 2,000 looms. Production in far-flung villages was tracked by means of
communication over a wireless set. Two jeeps and twenty motorcycles ferried quality inspectors
over rocky terrain. A truck full of carpets was now being dispatched to Jaipur every week for
inspection prior to their eventual export.
The fledgling enterprise received a tremendous blow in 1999, when NKC and his brother decided
to part ways. Having focused primarily on developing weavers at the ground level, NKC had
acquired very little expertise in operating the commercial side of the business. Nevertheless,
armed with a few looms apart from twenty years of goodwill, he started all over again. His genius
helped notch up exports of nearly Rs. 4 crores in the very first year.
However, problems soon cropped up. NKC recruited professional managers to handle these, but
the malady turned out to be deadlier than the disease. These professionals came on board with
massive egos and expectations of their own. The business suffered as a result, and started to make
losses. At one point, it appeared that the company might even have to shut its doors.
In this grim situation, NKC turned inward once again for answers. He read the scriptures, attended
satsangs, and generally remained in communion with nature. These musings helped him to
discover the simple truth that all the limitations experienced by human beings actually reside
within their self, and not outside of it.
Before attempting to bring about change in the external situation, NKC realized that it was
necessary to first alter ones own thinking and perspective.

2.2 Organization Building

The philosophy that NKC eventually decided to adopt was that of finding yourself through
losing yourself. In practice, this translated as the giving up of ones own sense of ego and self-
importance, and becoming more sensitive to the capabilities of other human beings.
This approach yielded phenomenal results. Among other developments, his children now began to
join the business- one by one. NKCs eldest daughter Asha graduated with a BBA from Emory
University in Atlanta in 2002. She expanded the companys customer base in the United States
from specialty rug stores to mass retail and interior designers. Asha also initiated the process of
modernizing carpet designs to suit contemporary tastes and trends.

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The middle daughter Archana completed her BA in Textile Chemistry from North Carolina
University in 2004, and began to focus on Product Quality. She set up checks and balances at
every step of the production process.
The youngest daughter Kavita graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, and assumed
charge of the Design Department at Jaipur Rugs.
The same year, NKCs elder son Yogesh dropped out of Boston College to work full-time with
his father. He played a key role in the adoption of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
software by the company.
The entry of each of the family members created a visible impact on the business. In 2006, the
company underwent a major restructuring and a change in nomenclature from the erstwhile
Jaipur Carpets to the present Jaipur Rugs. The various operations of the Jaipur Rugs
enterprise are presently handled by multiple legal entities.
The Jaipur Rugs Company (JRC) is run by NKC along with his son Yogesh.JRC and its 22 branch
offices take care of all the aspects of production - from raw material procurement to the export of
finished goods. Jaipur Rugs Incorporated (JRI) manages the sales and distribution of carpets in the
United States. Based at Atlanta, JRI is run by Asha and Archana Chaudhary.
Bhoomika Wools (BW) is the firm responsible for wool procurement and processing. The raw
wool is inspected and cleaned at its seven warehouses in Bikaner, before it is carded and spun into
yarn with the help of external partners. NKCs brother-in-law Shri Navratan Saraf holds charge of
this entitys management.
The final pillar of the enterprise is the Jaipur Rugs Foundation (JRF). Established in 2004, this
non-profit organization receives a percentage of the profits earned by the Jaipur Rugs Company.
These funds are deployed towards the welfare, training and motivation of the artisans. The
Foundation also conducts medical camps and literacy classes for weavers and their families.
The coordination of activities across the different operational groups provides the company with
access to the necessary skills, though not their ownership. The company also maintains a
significant influence over the key production processes, even though it does not control them
directly. Finally, this distributed approach helps to decentralize the investment.

3. The Technology of Rug Production

The process of carpet production begins with global sourcing of raw materials, and ends with the
worldwide distribution of the finished products. A series of over sixty intermediate steps in this
operation are governed by a comprehensive system of quality control and logistics.

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Rug orders are received over the telephone or electronically, and the production process begins
after an order is generated by the Production Department. Wool is the primary raw materials
required for carpet production, and is sourced from auctions. The raw wool is sorted and blended,
before being sent for carding and spinning.
Carding is the process of brushing raw wool in order to prepare it for spinning. During the carding
process, the wool fibers are separated. Unwanted matter falls out, and the fibers are then aligned
together. This process can be done by hand or on a machine. However, hand-carded wool makes
for the best quality. In fact, hand carding is actually required for the rug to be classified as
authentically hand spun.
After the wool has been carded, it is ready for spinning. The process of spinning provides
consistent thickness to the yarn. The woolspun by hand is considered to be superior to machine
spun variety. The quality of the yarn depends largely on the passion and dedication of the
spinners. It takes a spinner nearly an hour to spin one kilogram of wool. The spinner delivers the
spun wool in a hank, which is a unit of yarn that is in a coiled form.
The next process is that of dyeing the wool in up to 3000 different colours. This is followed by the
procedure of opening of the yarn, whereby spindles are made out of the dyed yarn hanks. The
spindles are then stored in companys warehouse until they are transported (bundled in a bag with
along with the design map) to any of the 7,000 looms across 600 villages in eight states of north
and west India for weaving. Artisans weave the rugs from a provided rug map.
The quality of a carpet rests chiefly on its knots. As NKC says, Funde ki nau barabar ho,
lachche ki jod barabar thuke, taadi ka tension barabar ho. Yehi basic cheezein mujhe samajh
mein aa gayi. (The shape of the knot, the joint of the loop and the tension of the thread these
are the basic things you need to get right). But the single most important aspect is the number of
knots per square inch. The more the knots, the more the detail, the more valuable is the carpet.

3.1 The Logistics of Rug Production

Each rug produced by Jaipur Rugs passes through a complex, geographically dispersed supply
chain. The company uses standardized as well as non-standardized processes for the assignment
and movement of the raw materials, work in progress, and the finished goods. Numerous
departments work in close mutual cooperation to run the complex operation of carpet
manufacturing.
Upon the receipt of a production order, the Central Control Room determines if an existing design
sheet might suffice in fulfilling the order. In case changes are required, the Design Department

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initiates the preparation of a new Map or Build Sheet. These maps furnish the weavers with
easily understandable directions on where to put each strand of the different colours of yarn.
A Raw Material Card is now matched with a design, printed, cut, then laminated for durability
and pasted together. In addition, yarn samples are stapled to help avoid errors in colour selection.
Prepared maps are centrally stored for future use.
The Production Department now determines the approximate geographic area in which the rug
will be made, based on the required type and the quality. The Raw Material Card along with the
Design Map and the requisite bundles of dyed yarn are packaged into a bag.
This parcel is sent out to nearest Branch Office in the geographical area selected for the
production of the rug. The local Area Commanders at the Branch Office assign a weaver to the
job - based upon loom availability, skill level, and the weaving speed. Because the map is very
simple, a weaver essentially needs no training to produce a new design on a given loom.
After the weaving is completed, the rug comes off the loom. The woven rug is then transported to
the Carpet Receiving Department at Jaipur, along with the design map and the leftover materials
(if any). From there, the woven carpet is dispatched to the Finishing Centre, while the surplus
materials are sent back to the Stores.
At the Finishing Centre, techniques are employed to fix the residual mistakes and to accentuate
the highlights of the design. Rugs are washed to bring out the natural sheen in the yarns used and
dislodge any dirt from the weaving process. The completed rugs are evened out, trimmed,
inspected and prepared for export before they are shipped. The finished rugs help transform the
living spaces of the customers who purchase them.

4. The Operational Strategy

Jaipur Rugs facilitates an autonomous group of geographically dispersed artisans in processing
the provided raw materials into finished rugs of the finest quality. Its operational strategy is
founded upon four fundamental pillars. These building blocks are as follows:

4.1 An Innovative Business Model

Jaipur Rugs is a family business that stresses the importance of keeping family values alive. The
company seeks to empower every lady of the house by giving her access to a sustainable
livelihood at her home itself. It has tailored its operational model to honour the traditional Indian
community practice that encourages women to engage in productive work within the precincts of
the home, and refrain from stepping outside for employment.

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Jaipur Rugs organizes for its business to travel to the doorstep of the weavers. Through a
grassroots network that requires specialized logistical support, raw material is dropped off at an
artisans home. Quality supervisors regularly travel to inspect the looms in order to ensure
consistent output while tracking progress. The artisans are thus able to work from home more
comfortably than most entrepreneurs and corporate employees across the world!
The supervisors ensure that the artisans are not interrupted by a shortage of yarn or any other such
disruptions to their earning capacity. They also make payments to the weavers every month at
their looms. When completed, the rug is picked up at the doorstep of the weavers and passed on to
the next stage of the rug making progress.
This way, more women can work towards financial independence since they do not have to
navigate the commute. Further, mothers with young children have no trouble working and
weaving at the same time. Weavers also get to decide their own work hours, and can work around
their familys schedules. Also, they lose no working hours in the processes of receiving and
transporting material.
Jaipur Rugs deploys a number of different models to engage with the weavers. It has established
direct relationships with thousands of weavers, and indirect relationships with numerous others
through entrepreneurs. The company supports weavers in obtaining government subsidies, helps
to finance cost of the looms, and even lends its looms to deserving weavers until they are able to
purchase their own. The entrepreneurs are usually former weavers who own multiple looms and
employ local villagers to weave rugs on their looms.
In addition, middlemen facilitate about 20% of the companys weaver relationships in
geographical areas where enough weavers cannot be independently located. Apart from these, the
company also gets work done through outsourcing partners that employ artisans.
The Jaipur Rugs enterprise has three kinds of employees work in the field. A Branch Manager
looks after the operations of each of its22 branch offices. Most of them are former weavers who
were promoted over the years when they demonstrated managerial potential. Each branch has a
posse of Area Commanders who are responsible for maintaining communication with the weavers
in a given area. Finally, the JRF Motivators are responsible for recruiting the weavers, managing
their skill training as well as education on various beneficial government schemes, and
maintaining good relationships with the artisan families in general.

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4.2 Developmental Values
The companys social values are manifested in the introduction of various developmental
initiatives for the artisan community. In line with its mission is to make a positive difference to
the lives of rural artisans, the JRF regularly organizes health camps to provide continuous
healthcare support to the entire village community. Apart from the treatment of general ailments,
those with severe health issues are referred to specialized hospitals for proper care.
The Jaipur Rugs Foundation (JRF) trains weavers who have no viable work employment available
to them within their immediate area. Potential artisans are identified through an intensive
campaign, and the mission of the Jaipur Rugs is explained to them. Skills training is then imparted
to the new recruits by the JRF staff members as well as other experienced weavers. Through
JRFs intervention, these artisans thus gain access to a perennial means of employment that is not
dependent upon the vagaries of the weather or the season.
JRF conducts a six-month long Alternative Education Program (AEP) for illiterate artisans and
other village community members who have not completed primary education. The ambit of this
initiative is basic literacy and numeracy skills, as well as the development of an understanding of

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health, hygiene, family life, education and the environment. The AEP essentially seeks to build
the confidence and self-reliance of the students.
The JRFs Weaver Engagement Program introduces rural artisans to the entire process of rug
weaving, and giving them a holistic perspective of the contribution made by them. Members of
the companys grassroots workforce visit the companys Head Office to experience the art that
they create, and derive pride in their work. Women who had woven carpets for 30 years without
ever seeing a finished rug, or even stepped out of their village in their lifetime, are mesmerized by
the experience. In 2014, the JRF engaged 800 women weavers in this manner.
JRF also conducts management and leadership development programs for young women in order
to tap into their natural leadership ability. Most of the women weavers have never attended
school, and spent the greater part of their life in executing domestic chores instead. This program
helps build the confidence of these women to assume leadership roles in their village, assists in
subvert the traditional gender imbalance within rural societies, and prepares them for assuming
managerial positions.108 women were thus trained in the year 2014.
Financial inclusion has been a major gap area in the development of rural communities in India.
Jaipur Rugs identifies locally accessible banking services, and helps open bank accounts for the
artisans. From 2010 onwards, over 2000 Bank Accounts have been opened.

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4.3 Low Capital Intensity
Jaipur Rugs works on very low fixed costs by decentralizing the work. Rug production is done
purely on a pay for performance basis, with payments determined by the quality and quantity
produced. Further, most of the manufacturing operations such as the dying, washing, machine
carding, machine spinning and most weaving looms are outsourced. Besides reducing the capital
requirement, these features also allow for significant operational flexibility.

4.4 Communications Architecture

A combination of human talent, an electronic network, and logistical infrastructure helps Jaipur
Rugs to institutionalize quality and to maintain its influence over the entire process of rug
production. The companys investment in IT infrastructure includes an ERP system to optimize its
geographically diverse supply chain. Its well-designed communication network facilitates the
delivery of raw materials, regular communication with the weavers, and the monitoring of the
progress of the work that is happening in remote villages with limited resources. These
communication channels are used by the companys offices to effectively manage a highly labor
intensive process.
Another interesting process is the design and creation of the build sheets (known as maps) that
provide easily understandable instructions to the minimally educated weavers.

5. The Sustainability Challenge

In light of its noble mission, the main issue for Jaipur Rugs through its nearly four decades of
existence has been that of sustenance. This problem is likely to exacerbate in the future. Going
forward, some of the specific challenges that Jaipur Rugs might face are as follows:
In 2015, JRCPL was undertaking a capital expenditure of Rs. 15 crore in order to increase its in-
house manufacturing capabilities, thereby reducing the outsourced work alongwith the
concomitant job work expenses. This has largely been funded by internal accruals.
On the working capital front, the companys Receivables Turnover period declined to 99 days in
FY15 from 123 days in the previous year, due to improved payment terms from its largest client.
However, this was offset by a significant increase in inventory levels (inventory days increased to
160 days in FY15 as against 105 days in FY14), keeping the overall working capital intensity at
broadly the same levels as the previous year.
The capital structure of Jaipur Rugs continues to be leveraged, and vulnerability of the companys
operating profit margins remain vulnerable to the movements in raw material prices. Given the

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companys reliance on exports, its performance is also impacted by adverse forex variations
(sharp rupee appreciation).
Intense competition in the hand-made carpet industry, and the high client concentration risk by
virtue of around two thirds of its revenues and receivables being derived from JRI are some other
concerns for the future. Two other specific challenges that the company is likely to face are that of
finding dedicated and loyal people at all levels of the organization, and of finding ways to deepen
relationships between its 40,000 virtual employees and its global customers, as a key to
sustainability and scalability

6. Accomplishments
NKC founded Jaipur Rugs upon the principle of preserving and enhancing human dignity. He
managed to subvert the antiquated social practices that shunned the poor, the women and the
artists, and brought dignity back to the art and craft of rug making. As a result, 40,000 Indian
artisans and the companys clientele across 40 countries of the world today subscribe to the
philosophy of responsible manufacturing. Most importantly, the artisan incomes have gone up as
a result of the Jaipur Rugs activities. A snapshot of the same is as below:

Snapshot of 40,000 Contractors*

Average Monthly
Production Average Monthly Alternative Income from
# of Workers
Activity Incomes Employment Alternative
Employment
Initial sorting of Agriculture,
50-60 Rs 1050 Rs 300*
raw wool Government schemes
Raw wool Work in similar
15-20 Rs 2500-3000 Rs 3000
washing factories
Carding-
60 Rs 3000-4000 Salesperson Rs 3000-4000
machine
Included in Agriculture, Livestock;
Carding-hand numbers for Rs 1100-1300 Government schemes Rs 300
hand spinning for rural employment
Spinning- Work in similar
50-60 Rs 2500-3000 Rs 3000
machine factories
Agriculture, Livestock;
Spinning-hand 10,000-12,000 Rs 1100-1300 Government schemes Rs 300
for rural employment
Included in raw Work in similar
Yarn washing Rs 2500-3000 Rs 3000
wool washing factories
Dying 35 Rs 3,000-Rs20,000, Unskilled/skilled labor Minimum Rs 3,000

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 Average Monthly
Production Average Monthly Alternative Income from
# of Workers
Activity Incomes Employment Alternative
Employment
depending on skills. in factory for unskilled labor
Masters are the
highest paid
Jewelry making (in
Opening 200 Rs 1800 Rs 1200-1400
Sarai Bawri village)
Handicraft making and Handicraft: Rs 1200;
Weaving 28,000 Rs 13003000
agriculture Agriculture: Rs 300
Regular workers: Similar work with
Finishing 500 Rs 3000-3500/ other finishing centers/ Rs 3000
Washers: Rs 6000 factories
40-50 (direct Rs 1155-upto Rs
Similar transportation
Transportation and indirect 8000 for company Rs 1155
work
employees) drivers
*Agricultural work is seasonal. So, the average monthly income figure has bee normalized per
annum.

Owing to its innovative and socially beneficial business model, Jaipur Rugs has received several
awards for outstanding performance in the carpet industry.
The CNBC TV18 Emerging India Award conferred in December 2014 in recognition of the
companys efforts towards the benefit of the society as well as the underprivileged. The
NASSCOM Foundation presented the Social Innovation Honours Award to Jaipur Rugs in 2014
in recognition of the creative leveraging of Information and Communication Technology by the
company to create solutions that address gaps in social development.
Jaipur Rugs also won the Bihar Innovation Forum Award in 2014. Apart from this, the
IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Award was presented to the company in May 2014.
NKC has ceaselessly championed the cause of the downtrodden and the socially underprivileged
people in India for nearly four decades now. His efforts over the decades have been duly
recognized. He was awarded The Times of India Social Impact Award for 2012in recognition of
his efforts to provide livelihood opportunities for people living below the poverty line in remote
and distant areas. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award was also conferred upon
NKC in 2010.

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7. The Way Ahead
NKC looks upon Jaipur Rugs as an institution that is not merely a source of income or profit, but
a medium for putting human talents to good use and a way of life in itself. NKCs vision is to
have one hundred thousand people working with Jaipur Rugs by 2020.He considers the enterprise
as an opportunity to promote holistic community development.
Going forward, NKC would like to enable the weavers to secure a greater share of the wealth that
they produce by making them stakeholders in the enterprise. He also considers it beneficial to
help establish an emotional connection between the end-users of the rugs and those who actually
make them. To that end, every loom is likely to acquire a barcode in the near future. He also
wants to examine the option of selling the products directly under the Jaipur Rugs brand name.
Jaipur Rugs has outlined six strategies to help meet their future endeavors:
a) Expand the Core Offerings: Jaipur Rugs aims to offer a full product line of rugs, and
also expand the product line to include curtains, furniture and complete interior-decor
solutions.
b) Country focus: Continued focus on penetration of the US market. Outside of US, focus
on seven high potential countries: South Africa, Turkey, Italy, UK, UAE, Japan and
Germany.
c) Capacity Building: Make design as the companys core competence by attracting new
talent and developing new creations based on customer insights.
d) Adaptive Organization: Redesign the organizational structure in order to better align the
activities with the respective functions.
e) Efficient Supply Chain: Build distinct supply chains for low end and high-end products,
with a continued focus on three main aspects: a) time, b) transparency and c) trust.
f) Financial prudence: Exercise financial prudence by monitoring important metrics, and
build closer linkages to customers, employees and processes.
Jaipur Rugs is a social venture with a for-profit mission that allows rural artisans to make rugs at
home for export to foreign markets. The company identifies BPL communities, and aims to
employ unskilled, unemployed, and uneducated rural women from backward classes. While a
business approach is the key to its success, grassroots entrepreneurship is encouraged and the
workers are always given first priority.
NKC is often referred to as the Mahatma Gandhi of the carpet industry. This is the lasting legacy
of Jaipur Rugs.

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References

http://jaipurrugs.org/ Ac

http://www.jaipurrugsco.com

Prahlad, C.K. (2009), Jaipur Rugs: Connecting rural India to global Markets, Michigan Ross
School of Business, Available:
(http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyResearch/ResearchCenters/ProgramsPartnerships/IT-
Champions/JaipurRugs.pdf) accessed 1 August 2015

An Interview with Mr. Yogesh Chowdhary, Available:

https://pratibimbtapmi.wordpress.com/category/jaipur-rugs, accessed on February 20, 2016

Tyagi, Ruchi (2012), Sustaining by working at the bottom of the Pyramid: A case of Indian Rugs
Manufacturing Company, Available:
https://www.mruni.eu/upload/iblock/a09/3_Ruchi%20Tyagi.PDF , Accessed on February 17,
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Misra, H. & Choudhary, K. (2010), Opportunities and Challenges for ICT Mediated Innovations
in Development Oriented Value Chain: The Case of Jaipur Rugs Company, Vilakshan: The
XIMB Journal of Management;Sep2010, Vol. 7 Issue 2, p21

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