Rajesh Bir Singh Tuladhar, Chairman and Managing Director of Avanish Group and Director of United Spirits Nepal Pvt Ltd is a young face in Nepali business arena. Just in his early forties, he has already reconciled his family business into a single group, and taken the business a step further than where it was a decade ago. The group has been involved in trading and manufacturing for the last three decades. 

 

After about 14 years of his joining the family business, Tuladhar has diversified the business and has made it even bigger. Tuladhar was the one to bring together all the businesses of his family under Avanish Group. There are three companies under the Group. Avanish Tradelink Pvt Ltd is the national stockist of United Spirits Limited India.  It is also involved in bottling and blending of the spirits. Avanish Distillery Pvt Ltd manufactures various spirits. The company recently launched Striker vodka, and according to Tuladhar, there are more products in the line-up. Avanish International Pvt Ltd deals with import of FMCG.  

 

Inception 

According to Tuladhar, Avanish Group is the outcome of his father’s long and unwavering effort and dedication, who started various companies at different times. His father started the business by starting Nepal Beverage and Food Products about 30 years ago. The company used to manufacture Kissan jams, juices and other products back then.  According to Tuladhar, his father was a good friend of Vittal Mallya, father of Indian entrepreneur Vijaya Mallya and former Chairman of United Breweries Group. Later, His father partnered with United Spirits India and established Nepal Liquors Pvt Ltd. The factory was set at Biratnagar for bottling of various liquors. 

 

Slowly the companies evolved, and after Tuladhar formally joined the business in 2000, he brought together all the companies under Avanish Group.    

 

Early Life

Tuladhar was born in 1972 in Kamaladi of Kathmandu to late Bhakta Bir Singh Tuladhar and Laxmi Devi Tuladhar. He did his schooling from Saint Xavier’s School and graduated from Nepal Commerce Campus. As a youngster, he had dreams of becoming a pilot. But like all other families that are in business,  businesses, his father too wanted young Tuladhar to look after the business. “As I was the only son, there was no one else to look after what my father created,” recalls Tuladhar. 

 

When Tuladhar was in college, his father made him work for a few hours in the company, and he had to prepare Daily Sales Report. Being a student of Commerce, he was quite good at it. “Though my father wished that I looked after the business, he never pressurized me to do it,” says Tuladhar. His father also made him attend a few international business seminars. In his own way, his father made him accustomed to the business environment. Slowly, he started getting interested in the business and gave up his dreams of being a pilot. After a few years, he was actively looking after his family business. 

 

Moving Ahead

After his father passed away in 2005, Tuladhar was under a big pressure. Till then, his father was the one chiefly handling the liquor business and maintaining relation with United Spirits India. As he was gone, young Tuladhar had to handle the business all by himself, facing the competition in the market and meeting the sales targets. “At that time, I remembered all the lessons my father taught me. I coped with the problem with my determination and assistance from my employees. ” says he. 

 

He travelled all over Nepal from east to west for two years to expand his business and to discover new markets. “I travelled with my team from 2007 to 2009. I had to revive my existing distributors and make new ones,” says he. He also brought in new technologies in his business, installed sophisticated accounting software and hired experienced manpower.  Soon, his business was running more efficiently and in a systematic manner too. 

 

Present and Future

Currently, Avanish Tradelink has four branch offices in Nepalgunj, Narayangadh, Biratnagar and Kathmandu and has more than 70 sub-distributors across the country. Avanish Tradelink alone has a turnover of four billion rupees.  There are 14 different spirits blended and bottled by United Spirits Nepal. 

 

After his liquor business again started doing well, Tuladhar thought of entering into manufacturing. He started Avanish Distillery in 2010 and launched Striker Vodka in the market only about three months ago, and has plans of adding to the line-up within a few months. Tuladhar is satisfied with his current business status, but still wants to diversify.  “I want to move ahead in hospitality and trading sector. I will be importing a few commodities by the end of 2014. I am just waiting for the opportune moment to start new ventures,” says Tuladhar. 

 

 

Personal Side

Tuladhar married Sapana Tuladhar in 2002, and the couple is blessed with two sons Avanish and Abhik. “My wife is a former lawyer. Now she looks after the household and also assists me in my business,” says he.  Whenever he is free, Tuladhar likes to travel to new places with his family. Apart from this, he is an avid gadget and automobile fan.

 

He has a collection of two Ducatis. He currently owns Ducati Diavel 1200 and Ducati Multistrada 1200. “I am very busy from Sunday to Friday, but on Saturdays, I go riding on my Ducati with fellow Ducati riders. It refreshes me and gives me a feeling of freedom,” says Tuladhar. When he is not riding, he drives Volkswagen Touareg. Watching movies and documentaries is his another pastime. Tuladhar is also interested in photography, and takes his Canon DX1 on his trips to capture the moments.  Other than that, he is busy in parties and socializing. His gadgets collection includes iPhones 5s, Sony Xperia Z1, Macbook Pro, iPad, Playstation 4 and a 65 inch Samsung LED TV among others.  

 

Words of Advice

Tuladhar believes that he is successful right now, but wants to move further ahead. “I believe success comes from a combination of finances and goodwill. One without the other is meaningless for me,” says he. According to him, anyone who wants to be a successful entrepreneur should be very much dedicated to the business. “You should not focus on making immediate profits. Focus on the long run, be dedicated and success will surely be yours,” says Tuladhar.  

 

“Reputation, goodwill and good finances are what constitute success,” says Tuladhar. In his own words, you should work in such a way that your product becomes your identity, and not the other way around.