Prologue: Indian entrepreneur Dhruv Jain’s company Orchid Ent Outfit has recently been awarded the master retail concession for the new Kushok Bakula Rimpochee (Leh) Airport terminal in Ladakh – at an altitude of 3,256 metres, India’s highest commercial gateway.
Leh Airport serves as the aviation entry point to the stunning Ladakh region – part of the northern Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory and famed for its spellbinding mountain ranges, lush forests, pristine lakes and rivers, and majestic desert landscapes.
Everything about this airport is simultaneously distinctive and demanding. The facility’s high-altitude setting places extraordinary pressures on its infrastructure. For example, a 2,700-metre asphalt runway is required to allow planes to generate enough speed to take off in the rarefied air.
From a pilot’s perspective, the approach is unidirectional – meaning aircraft are forced to arrive from one specific direction and land on a single runway end, regardless of the wind. To navigate through a corridor of 5,000 metre-plus peaks requires immense skill and attention.
Leh Airport has been undergoing an ambitious redevelopment of its terminal and support systems to create a contemporary hub while respecting a unique and fragile environmental ecosystem. And that makeover, as Dhruv Jain explains to The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie, includes a complete rethink of the commercial offer.
“What makes this project especially meaningful is the opportunity to build a retail ecosystem that reflects India’s identity in a far more authentic way – based on local craftsmanship, culturally rooted brands, and purpose-led retail that resonates with both travellers and the region itself,” says Dhruv Jain, a dynamic young businessman driven as much by a sense of purpose as any commercial imperative.
“There’s also a strong underlying narrative of the airport and its commercial offer supporting border infrastructure and contributing to economic activity in a strategically important area.
“From a travel retail lens, this is a rare greenfield opportunity to shape consumer experience in a high-impact, high-visibility location – and without the clutter of legacy formats.”
Jain praises the work of Airports Authority of India in creating the new terminal, for which the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2019 (construction was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic).
Besides its impeccable environmental credentials (the terminal is India’s first to be simultaneously powered by geothermal and solar energy), the airport’s cultural references are impressively rich, with Tibetan influences respectfully imbedded in the architecture and design.
Jain expresses particular appreciation to Airport Director and General Manager A. Umasankar and his team for guiding and supporting Orchid Ent Outfit’s endeavours to highlight local culture at the airport.
“Mr Umashankar has been a key figure in shaping the architecture of the airport to have the Tibetan influences it does,” he adds.
{Click on the YouTube icon to view ETV Bharat’s interview with Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport Director A Umashankar, in which he shares some fascinating insights into the new terminal}
An eventful entrepreneurial journey continues
For Jain, securing the airport’s retail concession represents a poignant and powerful landmark in an already richly storied life journey. “I have been in the airport field for around ten years,” he tells The Moodie Davitt Report.
“My parents Aarti and Sharad had been garment exporters for a long time – over 30 years. And around 12 years ago when I joined the business, they gave me the option to either do garment exports with them or start a domestic brand.”
Jain opted for the latter, creating a domestic fashion brand called Toscee. Not just creating but driving it from a start-up concept in late 2016 to a vast national presence in under a decade, becoming a highly visible name in Indian airport fashion retail.
The choice of retail channel was not accidental. “When the airport opportunities arose, it made great sense to me because while you are paying a premium rental, you’re also getting a tangible and very good customer who sees and buys your product,” he comments.
Through the process of opening airport stores across India, from Ahmedabad to Cochin, Guwahati to Srinagar and plenty of others, Jain was not only developing an impressively scaled business but developing further ambitions for the sector.
Man on a mission
This sparked an increasing interest in the possibility of becoming a master concessionaire. In the compelling form of Leh Airport, the first opportunity wasn’t long in coming.
A tantalising but far from simple opportunity. The combination of high altitude with tough terrain and environment might have deterred a less determined entrepreneur. But a first visit assuaged any doubts.
“When we travelled to Leh, we fell in love with the place, the people, the culture, the serenity,” Jain recalls. “You are surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and it just gives you a different perspective of life when you’re there.
“There are many brands who want to come to the airport and announce themselves to the world. That is the key ambition which I have for this project.”
Jain hopes the influence of The Moodie Davitt Report will not only get the word out on a daringly different airport retail proposition but also inform other Indian and international brands that this unique opportunity exists.
In terms of timeline, the airport authority plans to go live with the airport around August with Orchid Ent Outfit commencing retail fit-out next month.
There’s no mistaking Jain’s excitement, anticipation and sense of mission as he describes the project. “The views from the airport are some of the most mesmerising I have seen in my lifetime. And with the airport itself, the way they have inculcated the Tibetan culture is something beautiful.”
The new airport will serve around 18 domestic flights a day initially, building up to around 25. Initially, the main routes will be Delhi, Bombay, Srinagar and Chandigarh with increase flights into southern cities such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru to follow.
In terms of passenger profile, around 60% will be domestic or international tourists, generally with high-spending capacity. Around 25-30% will be locals and the balance comprising military personnel.
Enter the artisans
In terms of the master concessionaire model, it’s a matter of “lease and sub-lease”, Jain explains. “We are introducing a new model called the Toscee Collective because there are a lot of local brands which don’t have the financial strength to enter the airport.
“So we’ve come up with a model where, at a much cheaper price, we’re able to offer walls to smaller brands. That allows newer players to enter the airport, rather than just the big ones who have money.”
He relates the story of a high-quality local artisan who desired an airport presence but with a limited range of four oils, believed the economics of airport rents couldn’t work. “However, with the Toscee Collective concept, he can enter the airport whereby we give him a small wall, gondola or spinner where he can put those four fine products.”
While a Toscee store will also feature in the mix, Jain insists the real story lies in a unique curation of local artisan products.
The forthcoming opening represents another landmark in a journey that like all entrepreneurial narratives has had its highs and low. The COVID-19 pandemic had a catastrophic impact on Indian airports as well as the garment industry nationwide. So Toscee faced a devastating double-whammy hit.
“I had made such a beautiful model for myself, 15 self-sustaining stores in different airports. And overnight it became zero,” he recalls ruefully. “It took me a year and a half to build it up again. Then I started entering bigger airports, such as Bombay, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
“But it made me realise something – I am not an organisation, I am a bootstrapped entrepreneur. For me to handle a business which is in one place and bigger is easier to handle than an operation which is in 100 places but where each is smaller.”
Rather than trying to oversee a sprawling, multi-location empire, the master concession model was therefore a natural for Jain. With Kushok Bakula Rimpochee under his belt, he has tabled bids for other, at this point undisclosed, regional airports.
“We believe our concept of leasing and subleasing gives opportunities to local artisans through our collective model,” he observes. “And with my experience of airports, I know if you offer a good product from a particular area, where customers can find novelty, they will buy.
“So it’s about how you source that product and how well you’re able to present it in a particular location. People will buy it for sure.”
Sourcing, however, is more difficult than it sounds. “There are no sourcing agents,” Jain points out. “So we spent a week in Ladakh and went market to market, trying to find products, because most are not even online. We approached many shops and explained our model to them.”
Though initially wary of airport cost pressures, his explanation of the Toscee Collective swayed an encouraging number of local producers. “It’s been tough, but I think in the long run the area will grow and my sales will be much higher than me just bringing in those ten or so regular shops which you see at every airport,” he notes.
It’s a compelling and commendable story. Dhruv Jain has experienced both the highs and lows of business during his entrepreneurial journey but in the majestic, wondrous setting of Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, he seems certain in both commercial and landscape terms to experience new peaks. ✈
