Hellen Keller had once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Proving this saying right is the power-couple of Sahil and Shivani Malik, the creators of the leading brand Da Milano. Anuradha Kaul explores their story, and how they perfectly balance their work and personal life.
Q: Let’s begin with how the journey began. Mr. Sahil, tell us how you were initiated into your family business?
I entered the family business and worked part-time right after I completed school in 2000. I studied Fashion Design and Information Technology from NIFT, post which I joined the business full time.
I was handed over the business when we there was only one store in CP in New Delhi. I always wanted to make it a global brand, and I started with opening more stores. The idea of creating a brand was novel to my family,and I had to prove myself by making this model a success.
Q: Shivani, how and when did you step into the business, and how would you define your journey?
I joined the business in 2007 when Da Milano had only two stores. We did not have a well-structured marketing department back then. Our focus then was only on production. When Sahil started working on expanding the number of stores, I aggressively started working on helping him grow the brand and making it visible.
Q: Tell us about the ethos of your brand, and what lies ahead for it?
The ethos of our brand is primarily connected and influenced by its origin in Italy. By making sure the essence of Italian culture is embedded into the brand right from its input; the leather being imported from Italy, in its design, and by having our Italian designers work closely with our Indian designers, we have permanently established the brand as a timeless product, set in its origin. Our culture is also determined by the other side of our business, our customers. We draw from our customer loyalty and reciprocate it with excellent after-sales service, one among them being a lifetime service warranty for all our products. This is imperative to create a mutual relationship with the customers, which in turn is what drives us.
Q: Working together as a couple, what are the good things and not so good things about it?
It is great to work with my husband. Being partners in both work and life ensures that we understand each other and have created an efficient routine and balance in both parts of our life. We also need to be aware of our actions at home and make sure that any work stress does not affect the family.
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