The “Spirit” of Entrepreneurship
“Far from the glaring arch-lights of the media, a revolution is brewing in West Bengal, yet unsung, but one that will one day change the way the Nation thinks about fiscal management and good governance in the field of revenue generation” said Monoranjan Roy, the young and dynamic Chairman & Managing Director of Pincon. Secure in the knowledge that the full attention of the audience has been grabbed with his opening gambit, the emotionally charged Roy, professionally qualified, son-of-the-soil entrepreneur, continued:
“Have you noticed how the negative terms like empty coffers, lack of investments, industrial slow-down, step-motherly attitude of the Center and the like have been pushed away from our collective consciousness? This has been achieved by pro-active measures, by a will to set the house in order, by single minded devotion towards good fiscal management, for which full credit should be given to the incumbent Government. Revenue generation has been stressed upon, procedures have been streamlined, weak-links in the chain have been identified and addressed, leading to compliance having improved, which in turn have yielded record collections, putting the state back on the growth path. Needless to say, the most important component in this whole scheme of things has been the collection of Excise Duties – and it gives me immense pleasure as we too have contributed, in our little way, in this effort to ensure that West Bengal regain her rightful place in the economic sun”.
Roy has reasons to be content. His flagship, Pincon Spirit, contributed a few crores as Duties to the State’s Exchequer in the current year, something that is continuously increasing at a steep rate over the years. This surge has been brought about by the run-away success spread across its major brands – Highland Blue Whiskey, Pincon XXX Rum ,the King’s Coin range and last but not the least, Pincon Spirit Limited’s major hit in India Liquor Industry, it’s venture in IMIL (India Made Indian Liquor) or the Country Liquor “Bangla No.1 , Uddan & Bengal Tiger brands. Presently Pincon Spirit Limited is the largest producer in Country Spirit Segment in India. Besides, with growing social acceptance of alcoholic beverages, the recession proof market is expected to grow exponentially in the near future adding further fuel to the ongoing fireworks.
“There is a perceptible shift in the preference for spirit based alcoholic drinks – the “medium segment” as it is known in the trade circles – at the center of the pyramid and consumption patterns indicate a huge untapped potential” says Roy. “At Pincon we are not only working towards winning over this population who are embracing branded products with assured quality standards at attractive price points, but are also taking all possible steps to streamline our production and logistical support systems to cater to the needs. This will not only mean higher realisations for the company, but also a substantial increase in our contribution to the overall development and growth of the state by way of taxes. The satisfaction of weaning away the consumers from locally brewed alcohol that is neither quality assured nor safe for regular consumption, being and added extra.”
The company has already taken giant strides in its traditional base, the eastern states of West Bengal, Odhisa, Jharkhand and the North East, and is currently focusing on the southern and northern states of India where medium liquor has a huge demand. “The game plan is in place and we are confident of having a pan-Indian presence by 2017” says a visibly proud Roy.
“I am extremely bullish about the market – not only because of the social factors that are at play, but also for the extremely pragmatic steps that are being initiated by the Government” says Roy, adding “I will not be surprised, if over a reasonable period of time, we at West Bengal are able to present before the Nation a thriving model of revenue generation and will certainly hope that Pincon will be at the very forefront of this positive exercise.” Not a tall order, considering the fact that Pincon is today among the fastest growing entities in its segment in the country and has a whole lot of things going its way – its focus on the medium segment, where the maximum growth potential exists being the game changer. “They have well entrenched brands in every segment across the Whiskey, Rum, Brandy and Vodka divide apart from having a formidable presence in the strong beer segment” said a competitor who did not want to be identified. “What is remarkable is the way the company manages its logistics, scaling up to cater to emerging demands in this high volume game”. It will not be out of context to point out the fact that the company already has distilleries running in West Bengal, Odhisa, Jharkhand, Sikkim and Goa which provides it with a significant competitive edge – a solid base on which Roy is busy building the superstructure of future growth.
Considering the fact that Pincon is a relatively young company that has been built from the scratch, almost single handedly by Roy, its illustrious Board of professional Directors notwithstanding, the accolade, especially from competitors that include the big and the mighty, is enough to make a sense of complacency slip in. But Roy is made of sterner stuff, “When I go out of the state, I keep hearing people state pejoratively that our efforts towards industrial resurgence is doomed to fail as we do not have, what they call son-of-the-soil-industrialists. In fact, many list it as the biggest shortcoming we have vis-a-vis states like Gujarat. I have taken on myself the onus of proving every single critic of the state wrong by the dint of honest hard work. Every one of us at Pincon is focused towards this end and we will not rest till we are able to convert Pincon into a case in point”.
Noble words, those. Especially, considering the way the spirit of entrepreneurship is raising a toast to the state, shedding new light on the entire gamut of the now clichéd Public-Private Partnership.
(*Note: includes sales from the FMCG sector where the Pincon has a substantial presence across states in the edible oil market. As a matter of fact, the Pincon brand is an undisputed leader in the segment having painstakingly built up a loyal customer base by the dint of its consistent stress on quality.)