Sunday, February 16, 2025

Latest Posts

Fashion Retail Leaders: Kamal Khushlani, Founding Director, Mufti

Every business needs a leader with a vision, a leader who ensures a company lasts the test of time, who can motivate employees to perform better and lead innovation. Business leaders who can turn their visions into reality make for companies that are coveted by investors and consumers alike.

One such leader, who has been able to provide direction, is driven and innovative and has adapted to changing trends in the field of fashion retail is Kamal Khushlani, Founding Director, Credo Brands Marketing (Mufti).

Humble Beginnings

A Bachelor of Commerce (1987), Kamal Khushlani is a self-taught designer and entrepreneur who has been in the business of fashion since 1992. In that year, he started a small business named Mr & Mr which made and sold shirts for men. Although his shirt business was growing, Khushlani decided to go bigger. With no formal education in the field of fashion retail, he founded the homegrown men’s clothing brand Mufti in 1998 with a Rs 10,000 loan from his maternal aunt.

Mufti – which literally means casual dressing – was derived from the Hindi word Mufti which is used in the Indian Army for ‘casual dressing’, as opposed to a uniform.

Mufti began selling its wares to multi-brand outlets. An opportunity arose and the brand started to sell to large format stores as well. It wasn’t until 2006 that the brand entered offline retail and launched an EBO.

Today the brand boasts of over 1,773 touchpoints, including 379 EBOs, 89 LFSs, and 1,305 MBOs, reaching major metros as well as Tier-3 cities. It also has a website, www.muftijeans.in, and other e-commerce platforms for its online customers. The brand has over 600 employees on its direct payroll and indirectly employs over 2,000 people.

READ MORE: Mufti brand-owner Credo Brands Marketing files DRHP for IPO

Strengths & Weaknesses 

Khushlani says his strengths are that he is open to change, is a relationship builder and is committed to the vision of his company.

His weaknesses on the other hand include that he is emotionally attached with his employees, harsh to himself when he makes mistakes and that he avoids confrontation.

Aspirations 

His aspiration is simple – to always remain at the forefront of the Indian Fashion Retail business.

He says that there are many skills which helped him succeed in the industry, the foremost being an innate fashion sense, belief and perseverance and his people skills.

Lessons Learned Over the Years

Khushlani says an entrepreneur must always make:

  • Prompt decisions
  • Prompt payments
  • Prompt deliveries

His Take on the Future of Industry 

The Fashion Retail industry will get more and more D2C oriented. Mufti itself has expanded into women’s clothing as well as footwear in the last 5 years.

Role Model in the Industry 

Kamal Khushlani says he has always been inspired by Renzo Rosso.

Life Mantra 

A self-taught fashion designer, brand strategist, and futurologist, Kamal believes in creating a wave of culture and fashion that originates in India and is embraced worldwide. His life mantra is simple: “Life is not about every breath you take, it’s about the moments that take your breath away.”

Latest Posts

Don't Miss

Stay in touch

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.