Asoka Spintex

The October-December 1999 (Vol 24, No 4) issue of Vikalpa had published a Management Case titled “Asoka Spintex” by Parvinder Gupta. The case had focused on the turnaround of Asoka Spintex from an ailing company in 1987 to a growing company in the year 1997. We had requested the readers to respond to the question: What strategies should Anang Lalbhai adopt for the long-term survival of the company? In this issue, we are featuring three responses on the case by Pradip N Khandwalla, S Ramnarayan and Niti Pandey, and N Ravichandran. Asoka Spintex, a Lalbhai group company, was set up in 1920 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to manufacture coarse and medium fabrics with a capacity of 13,000 spindles and 350 looms. Since its inception, the company did reasonably well. However, the balance sheet for the year 1987 showed cash loss for the first time in three decades. The company was on the verge of closure in 1991-92; however, subsequently, it started showing positive results. The case discusses the background of Asoka Spintex, the troubled times (1985-1990), the phase of uncertainties (mid 1990-mid 1992), the phase of struggles and challenges (1992-1995), and the phase of consolidation and growth (1995-1997). The case concludes with a discussion on the future plans of Asoka Spintex.