How Talha Sareshwala, a BMW retailer, built a Rs 200 cr business in 5 years

Though no one in my family or relatives had ever ventured into the stock market, I, along with my two elder brothers, was obsessed by equity investment.

Immediately after completing my graduation in 1988, I went on to do a short-term course in investment and portfolio management from NITIE in Mumbai. My brothers were already trading in the stock market after completing their training with a BSE broker. I, too, joined a brokerage as a portfolio manager. At that time, there was no organised platform for Muslim investors. I thought of tapping this niche segment and started my company, Parsoli Corporation.

I took a loan of around Rs 10 lakh from my family and leased office space in Mumbai. I believed that Shari’ah-compliant stocks of companies involved in halal or legitimate business had a huge potential. The biggest challenge was educating our potential investors on Shari’ah-compliant stocks and investments. We conducted seminars across the country for this purpose and even invited religious scholars to explain Shari’ah investments as sanctioned under Islam.

Our efforts began to pay off. People started investing in the stock market through us. In the first year, we registered a turnover of Rs 50 lakh. Though we dealt in Shari’ah-compliant investment solutions, our customer base was not limited to just Muslims. Nearly 20 per cent of our customers were non-Muslims. However, the 2002 Gujarat riots proved to be a disaster for us. One of our offices in Ahmedabad was burnt down. My head office remained closed for more than two months. At that time, the NSE squared all our positions, disabled our terminal, and we suffered huge financial losses. Still, the catastrophe didn’t shake our spirits. We began working with a renewed resolve. Within a short span, we were back in the game. The money we made was invested in building infrastructure.


By 2006-7, several corporate players started offering services that had been, until then, our speciality. Moreover, this time, the stock market started to be dominated by large players such as banks and foreign institutional investors. The business changed from being a fee-based activity to a fund-based activity. We were mindful of fund-based activities due to our business beliefs. Our margins started taking a hit and we decided to diversify.

Gujarat was one state that most of the luxury car manufacturers had ignored. I decided to venture into the luxury car retail business. BMW was inviting applications for dealerships in Gujarat and we decided to bid for it. At that time, there was only one leading premium car player in Gujarat. His annual sales were limited to five cars. I was convinced Gujarat was not a five-car-a-year market. So, we put in place a smart marketing plan and it helped us secure the BMW dealership.

We started Parsoli Motors and invested close to Rs 12 crore, which we had saved through internal accruals. We leased space for the showroom in Ahmedabad. It was ready in May 2008 with four luxury cars on display. I always believed in interacting with the customers directly and not relying only on sales personnel. I managed to sell 50 cars in the first year and the firm clocked a turnover of around Rs 20 crore.

We employed 35 people to manage the business. As business grew, we closed down our stock trading firm to direct all our efforts in the new venture. We opened another showroom in Surat in 2011. It displayed nine luxury cars. Last year, we moved to a bigger showroom in Ahmedabad. It displays nine cars on the ground floor and five on the first floor. We recently also entered the used-car segment for BMW cars.

Currently, we are employing 150 people and sell some 600 cars annually. The average sale per car comes to around Rs 40 lakh. In 2013-14, we had revenues of close to Rs 200 crore. We are planning to open another outlet in Rajkot. Though we don’t have a dedicated office in Vadodara, we have set up a sales office in this city.

I always knew that dreaming about success was the first step to being successful. By continuously striving to achieve it through hard work and perseverence has taken us to new heights. Our achievements can inspire others as well. I personally guide the company’s employees to be the best in the business, deliver quality service and products, and stick to our strong values and code of ethics. My goal has always been to empower my employees and provide them with dynamic career paths in conjunction with corporate objectives. I always believe that success has to be earned. One needs to work with dedication.

Now, we are planning to expand and set up several outlets across the country. Besides expanding our reach, we are looking to enhance our offerings and are planning to enter the luxury bike segment as well.

(As told to Amit Shanbaug)