Meet man, who once worked as salesman, started business with Rs 10000, now runs Rs 32000 crore company, Kohli is his...

Ravi Modi is ranked 64th on India's rich list by Forbes and is the founder-owner of one of India's largest clothing brands Vedant Fashions, the company which owns several popular brands like ‘Manyavar’, ‘Mohey’, ‘Manthan’, ‘Mebaz’ and ‘Twamev’. He emerged as one of the top wealth gainers in India last year by taking his company to a successful IPO in 2022. Vedant Fashions today has a market cap of Rs 27,660 crore.

Who is Ravi Modi?

Ravi Modi belongs to Kolkata and started his career as a salesman in his father’s clothes shop as a 13-year-old. After a dispute with his father, he started his business with Rs 10000 that he got from his mother.

When he was in his mid-20s sometime around 2002, Ravi Modi wanted to buy a Mercedes to flaunt his newfound success. However, his father asked him whether he could afford it. His father also asked him about his business. He had told Forbes, "He (father) said you will require capital. I said yes. He asked me if my business had the potential to grow. And I said yes." Modi adds: "Then he told me, 'Thode din ke taklif zindagi bharka aaram, ya thode din ka aaram, zindagi bharki taklif (Pain for a few days, and you can have a lifetime of relaxation, or relax for a few days, and you could have pain for the rest of your life)'."

So, after this sound advice from his father, instead of owning a Mercedes, Modi founded Vedant Fashions in 2002, named after his only son. He had identified a gap in the market and decided to enter the manufacturing space, getting his own ethnic wear made in Uttar Pradesh. Modi made Vedant Fashions a market leader and ‘Manyawar’ a household name for wedding wear across the country. 

The brand’s popularity was propelled by endorsements by popular celebrities like Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Kartik Aaryan. From selling clothes for cash, Modi’s company grew to own over 600 stores. Vedant, his son on whose name Ravi named his firm, is today its Chief Marketing Officer. His wife Shilpi is a board member.

Modi’s net worth today is over Rs 32,400 crore. However, he lives simply and resides in a housing society located in the suburbs of Kolkata. Ravi is so media-shy that did not even attend his company’s successful public listing. As for the dream car, Ravi Modi fulfilled his Mercedes wish 15 years later in 2017.