eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome
Generally, about 70 percent of family businesses do not survive into the next generation, statistics show.
The blame has repetitively been apportioned on undecisive succession plans, where the immediate family members are not put in the know of critical business operations by the founder, hence a natural demise for some of the businesses.
Conversely, numerous family businesses have crumbled as family members particularly children profess ignorance on their predecessor’s line of business, as a result they run down the business when the button is ultimately passed on to them.
This is, however, not the case with Hashmook Naran, a man who has managed to successfully steer his family founded company ever since he took over the ropes from his late father Prag Naran.
Bought as Conte Shoes in 1967, the business has morphed in over five decades and presently the company carries the name Tika Shoes.
“Conte Shoes was a company bought by my father in 1967 from an Italian couple and started with a staff complement of 50,” said Hashmook Naran, the managing director of Tika Shoes.
Having studied Economics at one of United Kingdom’s majestic Universities, Hashmook Naran joined his father’s company in 1980 and over a three-year period, the firm experienced growth to 120 employees and capacity increased to about 300 pairs of shoes per day.
Conte Shoes registered remarkable progress over the years particularly in the 1990s and in the early years of the new millennium.
Just like any other business in Zimbabwe, Conte Shoes operations were severely affected by the hyperinflationary environment up to 2009, leading to Conte Shoes halting operations.
The resilient Hashmook Naran, however, reincarnated Tika Shoes in 2013 as a trading company importing and reselling shoe components to the footwear sector.
As time moved and economy stabilised, the company was resuscitated again and this time broadened its operations to specialise in the manufacturing of safety shoes but has since expanded its footprint to include school shoes, military footwear as well as fashion shoes.
It now supplies safety shoes and boots to mines, security and industrial companies.
As it stands, the company has redeemed its lost pride and is now geared for growth as witnessed by sustained investment in the business.
“Our company has invested in new machinery and hopes to increase the production about tenfold going forward,” Hashmook Naran told Business Weekly in an interview.
However, he bemoaned lack of Government support as the country continues to record influx of second hand shoes which are sneaked on a daily basis which is detrimental to the growth or rather resuscitation of the local footwear industry.
This has been compounded by financial constraints albeit government incentives to grow the leather sector.
“Our only concern is lack of support from the government in allowing second hand shoes in the market, cheap imports with duty not being paid.
“I never thought that Zimbabweans who were used to quality would one day resort to wearing plastic shoes,” said Hashmook Naran.
Like the majority of companies in the manufacturing sector, Tika Shoes director said his firm is a victim of power outages.
“We hope the situation improves this year because it is a constraint for growth.”
Despite the challenges, Hashmook Naran acknowledged that the footwear and leather sector continue to hold massive potential given the abundance of footwear sector raw materials in the country and a booming frontier to supply safari and farmer shoes due to traction in the tourism industry and potential to export.
This is made better due to skilled labour, which now include students being chained from tertiary institutions.
In the 1980s and 1990s Bata was making 6000 shoes per day while other five small scale manufacturers made an average of 500 pairs a day.
“Presently, besides Bata there is no company producing over 100 shoes per day, which is disappointing and we should improve on that,” he added.
To ensure continuity, Hashmook Naran recently incorporated services from one of his ex-employees.
Chantel Chinyani, a student studying Creative Arts and Industrial Design at the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), was full of praises to Hashmook Naran for awarding her the opportunity for internship at the company.
“I am grateful to Mr Naran for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams,” she said.
She said her long term vision was to contribute to the design of sneakers at the company and in the country.
In terms of Corporate Social Responsibility, Hashmook Naran runs the Jairos Jiri Naran Centre in Gweru.
The centre, which was donated to the Jairos Jiri Association by the late Prag Naran, provides education for children with hearing impairments from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to Grade Seven.
Last year the company sponsored several pairs of shoes to students that participated in the Business Weekly Capital Markets — High Schools Quiz.
Tika Shoes also sponsors the Sudoku competition in Sunday Mail as part of initiatives to enhance intelligence of the country’s populace.
