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“We’re not the company that works with every distributor out
there,” he says. “Our primary focus for years has been on large cus-
tom orders.”
To make big projects possible, Sunscope focuses on vertical inte-
gration with 10 full-time product designers, an in-house patent coun-
cil, an injection-molding manufacturing facility and a 3D rapid proto-
type machine. “Sixty percent of what we manufacture comes out of
plants we own fully or partially,” he says.
Family Business
Bhavnani’s grandfather started the company in Hong Kong in
1946, and now the entire clan—Bhavnani along with his wife, parents,
brother, uncles and cousins—manage the empire together. The crew is
mostly spread out among the company’s various offices—four in Los
Angeles alone; however, Bhavnani’s workspace shares a wall with his
parents’ (There’s a shared door—and it’s open, he adds.) while his
brother works 25 feet away.
The family-owned company operates in Asia, Europe, and North
and South America. Bhavnani’s uncles and cousins manage the Asian
and European operations, while two of his cousins look after the man-
ufacturing facility in Asia. Bhavnani talks with each of them weekly.
The arrangement works, perhaps, because Bhavnani always knew
he would join the family business. Born and raised in Manchester,
England, he attended UCLA while working at the company part time.
After graduation, he joined the company in 1985. Likewise, the
groundwork is already being laid for his three children to run things
one day. “I’m looking to create a platform for my children to take it to
the next level,” he says.
Bhavnani joined the company just three years after it entered the
U.S. market with the acquisition of promotional products company
Sun Coast. From the beginning, he was instrumental in creating
Sunscope, which entered the industry in 1987. One of his first projects
was designing and manufacturing a Mickey Mouse 60th birthday in-
park watch giveaway.
“My background has always been in the family business,” he says.
“I have a passion for learning, and understanding new businesses. I
understand the challenge of taking new enterprises to the next level.”
Managing It All
Bhavnani believes one of his biggest talents is hiring good people.
“If you get the right team, and you trust the team, there is nothing you
cannot do,” he says. “When I hire somebody … I have to feel a level of
confidence that this person can set his mind to do anything that he
wants to do.”
Not surprisingly, he often
struggles with time manage-
ment. “It’s my biggest chal-
lenge, has been and always will
be. It’s because I oversee quite
a few things, but I have three
children and a wife who need
my time, too.
“My interests are my fam-
ily and work, and—I’ll never
complain—but we always have
something that is open in
Asia, Europe or the Americas.
There is always somebody in
our organization who is look-
ing for information.”
Constantly being in the mix of things isn’t the norm for top-
level executives, but it works for Bhavnani. “I’m a pretty simple guy.
Even though this business has grown, we run it like a family-owned
business. There isn’t an executive or clerical employee that I don’t
know personally.”
25
Countdown
To 2015
SMALL BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2014 •
PPB
• 13
14
Bring Yourself
To Work
EYE ON APPAREL
21
Penned In
QUESTION
MORE QUESTIONS FOR
DILIP BHAVNANI
Does he ever stop working?
“No. I’ve been married for 20 years. My kids know vacation
means dad will be up before them, putting in three or four
hours before they wake up, then having breakfast and hang-
ing out, checking in during lunch, another three or four hours
of work and then having dinner, and while they’re watching
TV, I’ll be back to work.”
How big is his family?
“Eighteen uncles and aunts, 54 first cousins and 127 second
cousins. Not that I’m close to all of them, but I’m pretty close
to most of them. It makes family reunions fun.”
Does he do anything just for himself?
“When I’m not working or spending time with family, I like to
read two or three fiction books per week. Sometimes it’s the
only way to escape the routine. I don’t like nonfiction—I get
enough of that during my day-to-day life.”
When not working, Bhavnani
spends as much time as possible
with his wife of 20 years. Together
the couple has three children.
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