Shahabas Shukoor: A Visionary, Nonconformist Providing New Perspectives To Trico's Operations
Shahabas Shukoor
CEO
One of the India's top manufacturers and exporters of high quality knitted clothing is Trico Global Trades.The company exports world class knitted garments to apparel markets across the US, Europe and UAE, and operates across the entire value chain from design to fabric to brands. CEO Insights interviewed Shahabas Shukoor, CEO of TricoGlobal Trades, where in he enlightened us about his entrepreneurial and growth journey of the company.
Give us brief details about your educational and professional background. Also, how are you leveraging the best of these elements to add value to your company's operations?
My formal education qualifies me as a mechanical engineer, engineers are typically passionate problem solvers, with a sharp eye for details. Business process optimizations and operational planning management as some of the skills I picked up during my engineering days. My educational background is reflected in my management style, where I strive to identify problems and provide solutions rather than continuing to work on them.
What inspired you to establish the company? What were the major challenges that you encountered during the establish ment of your company? How has your journey been so far?
In 1989, the main firm MK Traders was founded by my uncle, Asif Haneefa. I have been in this sector since 2012 and saw a lot of promise in it. Hence, I thought of leveraging what MK Traders had established and use it for a wider global reach because the potential was so high. I felt compelled to enter this business, as well as share values with main firm, which is why I cofounded Trico Global Trades, along with Asif and Yasar Shareef. Among the problems I experienced during the setup were implementing
the management thumb rule and building a winning team.
As the CEO of Trico Global Trades, what different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking in the company? What strategies do you follow while setting up goals and reaching out to the next level of success and accomplishments?
See,at Trico we always strive to establish a platform for a great place to work. I also try to maintain stakeholder harmony and put processes in place. These are typically the key roles I play. If you ask me about my approach,I always prefer to develop fledgling leaders as well as co-elevate my leaders to the next level to attain Trico's A billion dollar company dream in the next decade. As a result, my primary goal is to develop leaders within my organization and let them run the show. I strongly believe in my colleagues.
When you started your professional journey, did you ever imagine that you would be an Entrepreneur and reach the ladder of success?
Entrepreneurship ha been in my blood since I was a child, my father is a businessman and my maternal and paternal grandfathers were also successful businessmen. And, yes, I have inherited their enthusiasm for business.I was always interested in starting my own business rather than working for someone else. Talking about success, to me success is beyond financial returns, it's the journey, experience and what we give back to our customers and colleagues.
The textile industry is facing a very tough challenge from the retail segment currently. How do you make strategies to help your company effectively compete in this scenario?
In this case, I am very optimistic, it is only through problems that we will be able to think beyond the box, and it is part of the game. To cater to the continuously changing consumer/market needs and demands from the retail sector a solid technology strategy is crucial. With consumers getting more conscious about their fashion experience more and more manufacturers are compelled to adopt sustainable practices. The future is innovative solutions & sustainable products. At Trico, we are embracing these changes, and this is one reason why we are on the road to become industry leaders.
Tell us about the various categories across which your company manufactures and exports garment textiles?
As the CEO of Trico Global Trades, what different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking in the company? What strategies do you follow while setting up goals and reaching out to the next level of success and accomplishments?
See,at Trico we always strive to establish a platform for a great place to work. I also try to maintain stakeholder harmony and put processes in place. These are typically the key roles I play. If you ask me about my approach,I always prefer to develop fledgling leaders as well as co-elevate my leaders to the next level to attain Trico's A billion dollar company dream in the next decade. As a result, my primary goal is to develop leaders within my organization and let them run the show. I strongly believe in my colleagues.
Entrepreneurship has been in my blood since I was a child as my father is a businessman and my grandfather was a businessman
When you started your professional journey, did you ever imagine that you would be an Entrepreneur and reach the ladder of success?
Entrepreneurship ha been in my blood since I was a child, my father is a businessman and my maternal and paternal grandfathers were also successful businessmen. And, yes, I have inherited their enthusiasm for business.I was always interested in starting my own business rather than working for someone else. Talking about success, to me success is beyond financial returns, it's the journey, experience and what we give back to our customers and colleagues.
The textile industry is facing a very tough challenge from the retail segment currently. How do you make strategies to help your company effectively compete in this scenario?
In this case, I am very optimistic, it is only through problems that we will be able to think beyond the box, and it is part of the game. To cater to the continuously changing consumer/market needs and demands from the retail sector a solid technology strategy is crucial. With consumers getting more conscious about their fashion experience more and more manufacturers are compelled to adopt sustainable practices. The future is innovative solutions & sustainable products. At Trico, we are embracing these changes, and this is one reason why we are on the road to become industry leaders.
Tell us about the various categories across which your company manufactures and exports garment textiles?
Trico Global Trades is primarily a knit wear and woven manufacturer, and our main focus is on basicessentials in particular. This includes newborns, children, men's and women's clothing. The reason we focus on these basics is because they have a high sales velocity and can withstand economic downturns.
Tell us about your interior fashion design team, and their experience. How do you encourage creative thinking among your employees and push them forward to new design patterns?
Normally, our global design team pulls in fashion forecasts from various international agencies and creates commercial designs based on them. However, we always make sure that the designs we build are suitable for our customer's market positioning. The analysis is done before we release the designs. As a result, both consumers and brands are delighted with our designs. At Trico, design team plays a critical role in the value chain, we have always aimed to establish ourselves as a 360-degree service provider who operates across the entire value chain rather than a large scale tailoring unit.
What are the milestone achievements in your professional journey that bestow utmost satisfaction upon you?
Yeah, I'm happy to announce that we achieved our targets throughout the pandemic as well, and we are ahead of schedule and are continuing the saga.
Where is TricoGlobal Trades positioned in the current textiles and apparel industry of India and what are your thoughts on the present scenario and future of this space?
We are a Holistic Maker Of Everyday Fashion. From trend spotting to design to manufacturing and deliver we do it all. We are a one-stop-shop in this regard, and it is our guarantee to our connected partners. They approach us for our technology know how and 3 decades ofcombined expertise in the industry. We help them focus on selling while we focus on the making. Coming to my thoughts on this space, as you may know, this is an evergreen business that will continue to exist as long as humanity exists. The current situation is a short-term situation in which everyone is confronted with obstacles. And, talking about the future, Trico only have one vision to grow greater and larger! to be and continue to be one of the top and most respectable fashion export house in India.
Shahabas Shukoor, CEO, Trico Global Trades
Shahabas holds nine years of remarkable expertise in the worldwide clothing sector and is in charge of operations and administration of Trico Global Trades.
Tell us about your interior fashion design team, and their experience. How do you encourage creative thinking among your employees and push them forward to new design patterns?
Normally, our global design team pulls in fashion forecasts from various international agencies and creates commercial designs based on them. However, we always make sure that the designs we build are suitable for our customer's market positioning. The analysis is done before we release the designs. As a result, both consumers and brands are delighted with our designs. At Trico, design team plays a critical role in the value chain, we have always aimed to establish ourselves as a 360-degree service provider who operates across the entire value chain rather than a large scale tailoring unit.
What are the milestone achievements in your professional journey that bestow utmost satisfaction upon you?
Yeah, I'm happy to announce that we achieved our targets throughout the pandemic as well, and we are ahead of schedule and are continuing the saga.
Where is TricoGlobal Trades positioned in the current textiles and apparel industry of India and what are your thoughts on the present scenario and future of this space?
We are a Holistic Maker Of Everyday Fashion. From trend spotting to design to manufacturing and deliver we do it all. We are a one-stop-shop in this regard, and it is our guarantee to our connected partners. They approach us for our technology know how and 3 decades ofcombined expertise in the industry. We help them focus on selling while we focus on the making. Coming to my thoughts on this space, as you may know, this is an evergreen business that will continue to exist as long as humanity exists. The current situation is a short-term situation in which everyone is confronted with obstacles. And, talking about the future, Trico only have one vision to grow greater and larger! to be and continue to be one of the top and most respectable fashion export house in India.
Shahabas Shukoor, CEO, Trico Global Trades
Shahabas holds nine years of remarkable expertise in the worldwide clothing sector and is in charge of operations and administration of Trico Global Trades.