As shareholders of DAH Chanderi Ltd, attending the first AnnualGeneral Meeting o

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As shareholders of DAH Chanderi Ltd, attending the first AnnualGeneral Meeting of the company, they will listen to the directorstalking about not only things like quality control and timelyproduction, but also less familiar matters such as balance sheet,profit and loss account, dividend, and change of auditors. Thedirectors of DAH Chanderi will also call for the approval of allresolutions, giving the weavers (including those who are barelyliterate) a first-time feel of the statutory privileges of theshareholder of a company.
The weavers’ acculturation to the formalities of a corporateorganisation is, after all, one of the important objectives inestablishing DAH Chanderi, one of the 17 “supplier-regioncompanies” (SRCs) set up across India by Fabindia, theDelhi-headquartered Rs 260 crore retailer of handloom garments andhandicrafts.
These SRCs, also described as “community-ownedcompanies”, are part of Fabindia’s ambitious plan toorganise its expanding supplier base into corporate entities andenable thousands of homebased artisans in rural areas, who aremired in economic backwardness, to become shareholders.
Up to June-end 2008, DAH Chanderi and other SRCs had sold shares atpar value of Rs 100 per share to about 9,000 artisans, who also getassured Fabindia orders through these companies. The 86-storestrong retailer plans to set up dozens of more SRCs and sign up atotal of at least one lakh artisan-shareholders by 2010 in stepwith its own expansion and in line with Managing Director WilliamBissell’s vision.
Change in Chanderi
At the AGM of DAH Chanderi, the general mood is that of a happysocial gathering. Manu Hasija, the CEO and a Director of DAHChanderi, has even arranged samosas and tea. At the entrance, twomen busily check the identities of a crowd ofshareholders—some of them have come with theirchildren—before allowing admission.