MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTION
When you are in the demanding business of online consumer electronics distribution, the clue to business success is in the name: distribution. If you don’t have effective and real-time route to market, you have no connection to the consumer and you simply become the output of one of your more popular home delivery products – toast! Established in 1973, Rashmian Ltd is today one of the UK’s leading wholesale distributors of branded consumer products. A family-run business now in the hands of its third generation, the company has built a solid reputation over the last 40 years specialising in optimising the supply chain to ensure the latest electronics technology and the leading brands get to the customer first time, every time and at the right price – whether it is headphones, audio accessories, personal care electronics, homeware, toys or watches.
It is a remarkable feat considering the founder of the family firm Chhabildas Patel had to abandon a successful business in Uganda four decades ago when in 1972 President Idi Amin gave a 90-day ultimatum to all Asians in the African country to leave or be arrested. The family, like thousands of others, fled to other parts of the world, but they were not economic migrants for long: less than a year later Rashmian Ltd was established in west London. Now employing more than 20 people, the business is today located in larger premises in Ruislip after it outgrew its first home in Harlesden and second warehouse in Wembley – meteoric growth that is testament to hard work, long hours and entrepreneurial determination. From little acorns in 1973, the fledgling firm has now grown into a mighty oak supplying every brand from Groov-e headphones to Kenwood, Panasonic, Olympus, Wahl, Casio, Sky and Seiko.
Along the way Rashmian has striven to meet the exacting customer demands of the late 20th and early 21st century customer – whoever or wherever they are and to this day makes the boast: “We base our success not only on price competitiveness, but also on the quality of service we offer.” But the success has not been achieved single-handedly. The family business was selective in terms of its distribution partnership, the basis of which underpinned the long-term sustainability of the nationwide service that provided the backbone of the enterprise.
Grandson of the founder Samir Patel said: “We had a relationship with Palletline for a number of years. We did try other distribution partners, but the service was simply not the same, so we returned to Palletline because they simply understand the market and the way that we work. They are in tune with our customer online portal. “They understand the volume that we do and the expansion and contraction of the market, so much so that they keep a spare vehicle free for our needs every day. We have been very impressed with the relationship, to such a great degree that we have had zero customer complaints about the service
Samir added: “The success of the partnership is not just about how we work with Palletline, but based upon the amount of repeat business from customers who value the complete service offering. Whether the item is £50 or £5000, we are confident that Palletline can deliver – the Palletline service has become our service and quality mark. We are confident that Palletline can deliver anywhere in the UK,” he added.