Lucknow: The CEO of Gala Global Products aims to leverage the Indian stationery and printing industry
India spends aroud 3% of its GDP on education every year. The country’s education received its highest-ever allocation of ₹1.12 lakh crore in the Union Budget of 2023-24. Every year, the government takes active steps to ensure that more and more children are able to obtain quality education in the country.
This increases the demand for stationery and educational products across the board.
This is where companies like Gala Global Products and entrepreneurs like Vishal Gala come into the picture. Gala Global Products is a noted multipurpose stationery and educational prouducts manufacturing company in India. It specializes in manufacturing school stationery, office stationery, educational products, and a range of other products in the realm of printing and stationery.
While Gala Global Products has reached a pedestal where it clocks down turnovers worth over ₹100 crore, it was built by the resilience of a man who chose to take the reins of entrepreneurship in his hands at the tender age of 18. Vishal Mulchandbhai Gala, the active CEO of the company, started a private company in the name of Gala Products Pvt Ltd as soon as he turned 18. With the help of his maternal uncle, who guided him in the printing and stationery industry with his experience, Mr. Gala filled his father’s shoes at a young age.
At the age of 18, while his peers were studying to secure lucrative jobs, Mr. Gala worked with the intention of hiring skilled professionals like Chartered Accountants for him instead of working under someone else. Gala Products Pvt Ltd was successful in creating its niche in the market by dealing in products like loose leaf pads, notebooks, office stationery, and other related products. By 2006, Gala’s proucts reached over 5,000 retail shops 45-48 distributors working for the company across the country.
While the company was doing well, Vishal Gala wanted to take his company a notch higher through fruitful diversification. This is when he witnessed an opportunity in tehe education sector. With thousands of students studying across thousands of schools and colleges (a lot of which were supported by the Government), the demand of school stationery soared. Tapping this opportunity, Mr. Gala ventured into the printing sector by setting up Gala Print City in 2010. The dedicated printing initiative helped Mr Gala and his company garner reputation in the Indian education sector. With his team’s efforts and thegoodwill be built in the market, Mr. Gala boosted the company’s turnover to ₹45 crore between 2010 and 2014.
Witnessing the success of Gala Print City, Vishal Gala planned to take a bigger lap to add another feather into his cap of achievements. He decided to merge it with the parent company (Gala Products), giving rise to Gala Global Products. Gala Global Products sported an ideal combination of wuality stationery products and state-of-the art printing services. Catering to 12-13 states across India, there was no looking back for Mr. Gala. In 2016, he finally decided to go public by issuing an IPO of ₹3 crore.
2019 was a special year in the personal and professional life of Mr. Gala. This was the year when Gala Global Proucts clocked in ₹100 crores in turnover for the first time. It was a massive feat for the company and all its stakeholders. Since then, the company has become a household name in the realm of printing and stationery. The “Gala” logo can still be seen on top of multiple stationery products in stores across the country.
Looking back at his journey up the market ladder, Mr. Gala believes that determination and resilience can help you move the biggest mountains. He says, “I’d like to believe that business runs in my blood. Growing up, my father and uncle were my idols and watching them sparked the fire of entrepreneurship within me. Decades of toiling to build and nurture a company with singular focus has taught me the importance of resilience in an entrepreneur’s life. If one sets their eyes on a goal and refuses to give into minor setbacks, no goal is big enough, and no dream unattainable
