By Sujan Tiwari

Akhil Kumar Chapagain, Chairman of Akhil Trading Concern Pvt Ltd always had thoughts of being a businessman since he was a child. Even though he was born in a family whose profession was agriculture, he had deviations towards business.   His family background was no motivation for him to start a business, so for some time he thought of holding a job, as he had no other career aims. “Besides my career, my ambition was to become a national level player and I fulfilled that. I was a national athlete from Koshi zone,” says Chapagain. But despite his success in sports, he wasn’t interested in making it his career. In the back of his head, he always thought of owning a business. Fortunately, he was able to realize his childhood dream immediately after graduating. 

Akhil Kumar Chapagain’s new ventures will be in the sector of tourism and agriculture, which are quite new for him. After 29 years of running a successful trading business, Chapagain now has plans of opening a resort in Dhulikhel. “While abroad on business delegations, I have always tried to sell something from Nepal. As Nepal has such immense potential in tourism, I thought of opening a resort. I will accomplish this within the next two or three years,” says Chapagain. He also has plans of starting his own farming business. 

For the last two years, Chapagain’s major focus has been on opening own retail outlets for his products. “The outlets reduce the hassle of appointing wholesalers and retailer. The customers can buy the products at a cheaper price so I am focusing on such outlets,” informed Chapagain. Till date, he has opened retail outlets for his brands Suvari, Istikbal, Rodimood and Colin’s.

Chapagain says he believes in doing fair business, and wants to be long-run player. “After all these years in business, I have made a name for myself and my company. I have a reputation to maintain. So I always do fair business,” says he. According to him, having moral courage to face the society is very important for him, and making profit comes only after that. He believes he has contributed to the society through his fair business, and is happy about that. “As I am associated with numerous trade associations, I encourage all to play fair game. It always pays off in the end,” says Chapagain. 

Early Life 

Born in Bhojpur, Dingla in 1957 to Thama Nath Chapagain and Pushpa Kumari Chapagain, Chapagain says he was mischievous and aggressive since his childhood. With eight siblings, he grew up in quite a big family. He spent most of childhood and school days in Biratnagar. According to Chapagain, he was very athletic and loved sports, and had a lot of friend. “I still miss those days when I used to play with my friends in a garden near my school. We climbed trees, swam in the pool and had a really good time,” said he. After moving to Kathmandu, he joined Min Bhawan Campus for higher education, and later graduated from Trichandra College.   

Initiation

Chapagain had started his business journey by opening Akhil Trading Concern as a private trading firm in the year 1984. To start with, he imported wrist watches and cosmetics from Switzerland. Sadly, his first attempt didn’t pay back well and he suffered loss in both the products. “At that time, many companies were importing watches through illegal channels. I imported the watches through legal channels by paying all the taxes, which may have increased their prices. So it didn’t go well,” recollects Chapagain.  

After receiving his first blow, he thought of changing his approach, and focused on the products that would suit the need of the people here, and were quite inexpensive. After much thought, he imported dry fruits from Singapore, and it did a satisfactory business. This helped him to cover his earlier loss, and most importantly, gave him the courage. Filled with new hope, he imported refrigerators from China, and it too went well. “Later, I discontinued importing Chinese as the quality was inferior, and I started importing FMCG from European countries,” says Chapagain. Today, majority of his imports are from Europe. 

Evolution of Business

Chapagain was in Germany once, searching for some business opportunities. Walking on the streets, his eyes fell on a store with a brand named Fakir. He found out that it was a household appliance brand, and intuitively wanted to import and sell its products in Nepal. After his return to Nepal, he made correspondence asking the company for dealership. Back then, Akhil Trading Concern wasn’t a big name as it is today, so he had little hopes that his request would be accepted. “I had informed them about my actual status, and they knew that mine wasn’t a very big company. I wasn’t very hopeful for a favourable response,” says he. 

The representatives of the company came to Nepal and had talks with him. They also met with people from other companies here, most of them at a higher position than his. Sometime later, the company offered him the exclusive dealership despite the size of his company. This dealership gave him his first big break. “Years later, I asked the company men why they selected me over other companies. They said that they were impressed with my honesty as I had told them about my status without any exaggeration,” says Chapagain. The dealership did a good business for him and he focused on more European products. 

Present Times

Currently, Chapagain imports more than a dozen big brands from Europe, Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong. Some of these brands are Suvari, Rodimood, Colin’s, Istikbal and Khao Shong. Most if his imports are from Turkey, as he says Turkish products are of European standard, and are affordable as well. He says he imports only the best products with superior quality. According to him, his import Khao Shong is the number two coffee brand in Nepal and Arabella is number one in pasta. The products include FMCG, textiles, furniture, appliances and apparels among others.  

“Honestly speaking, I wanted to do business because I dint want to work for anyone, and wanted to be my own master. I preferred it over doing a job for some company,” says Chapagain. He started his business with an investment of 300,000 rupees, and imported one or two products. Today, he runs a successful trading business and has more than a dozen products in his list. According to him, the business is doing really good, and is growing year after year.  

On success, Chapagain shares that he is satisfied with what he has accomplished. “To keep a trading firm running in Nepal all these years is a success in itself as it’s a very risky business,” says he. He strongly disagrees with those who say trading is easier business than manufacturing. According to him, trading is in no sense an easy business, and has its own threats and challenges. “Traders have to face problems like grey market, counterfeit goods and other traders’ monopoly over brands. We also have a huge responsibility towards the customers,” says Chapagain. He has no plans of foraying into manufacturing, and is contented with what he is doing and what he has achieved.  

Family

Chapagain married Gyanu Chapagain at the age of 29. Their fathers were old friends, and the marriage was fixed even before he was aware of it. They went to the same school and knew each other, but he never thought he would marry her. Very shy around girls, Chapagain vividly remembers the first time they met with the purpose. “I was quite a rebel, so I didn’t want to go with my father’s decisions. But when she reached marriageable age, we got together quite well and we both agreed to marry,” says he.  Gyanu is a housewife and maintains all aspects of his personal life. According to Chapagain, she maintains the family bond and looks after all the family matters as he is too busy for them. The couple is blessed with two sons Arpit and Arjit. His elder son Arpit has recently joined the company as the Managing Director. 

Personal Side

Very health conscious and athletic, Chapagain exercises a lot. He jogs 5 kilometers every day, and has been doing it for the last 25 years. He is a frequent blood donor and has donated blood 26 times. Travelling and trekking are his hobbies, and is abroad for about five months a year. He has travelled Asia and Europe extensively. He spends most of his free time with his family and acquaintances in outings and get-togethers. Chapagain enjoys all sorts of foods, and is a social drinker. He enjoys good wine, and imports them too.

Chapagain says he is very conscious of his clothing, and wears brands like Pierre Cardin, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and of course, Suvari. “I like to groom myself, and use some cosmetic products as well.  I always want to look presentable,” says Chapagain. He is passionate about gadgets, and owns iPhone 4S and a Sony Vaio. Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 are on his wish list. Chapagain currently drives Nissan Super Saloon. 

Epilogue

Chapagain believes that all the diplomatic missions and offices in foreign countries should promote Nepal. “All such offices should have a booth to inform about Nepal and our products as it helps in promotion and publicity of Nepal. The rest of the world needs to know about Nepal and what Nepal has to offer,” says he. He has personally promoted Nepal during his business delegations and visits. 

He believes that all should stop blaming the government for the problems, and take responsibility squarely on their shoulders. “There is too much negativity around us. Everyone from all walks of life should move ahead with a positive and constructive mindset,” says Chapagain.