Slice Of Life: ‘My products are not valued as I cannot afford a shop’

My home town is Ramanathapuram but I was born and brought up in Chennai. Initially, I was running a bag shop in Adyar for nearly 10 years but that business didn’t prosper after a while due to the emergence of bigger shops in the area. I wasn’t able to take care of my family. My wife stays at home and my son is studying in college now. I wanted to give him the best education. I had to think of some other business and that’s when I had the idea to set up the helmet shop here. Now it’s been six years since I came to Checkpost. Even this business isn’t so great but I’m able to earn a minimum of Rs 500 per day. I travel to Parry’s corner every morning to procure goods. I save what I earn for my son’s education. We shouldn’t make our children carry our burden. Nowadays, people prefer branded products and go to shops which give them a warranty. With helmets, people are more careful than usual and assume that my products are of cheap quality. But I sell the same products as you get in any shop. Just because I cannot afford to buy or rent a shop, people underestimate my products. I wish to set up a shop like that one day.