Reminiscing 75 Years Of BAB Leather

The year 2020 marks 75 years of BAB, in the world of Leather.

BAB’s roots trace back to 1945, when Dr. B. A. Balasubramaniam, my
grandfather, who was then involved in leather trading, conceived and established BAB
Leather.

With a workforce of 15, BAB Leather began operations in manufacturing and supplying leather, from a factory in Ambur (today known for its sizeable Leather industry), in the Madras Presidency of British India.

BAB Leather was then supplying leather to the footwear industry in
India, catering to the requirements of many foreign companies as well.

BAB Leather Plant in Ambur, present day.

Fast forward to 1996, after BAB had completed 50 years in business, and had earned a name for itself in the Indian market, my father, Mr. Suresh Kumar, put up another factory in Chennai, to manufacture and directly export leather and leather bags, to the American market.

Over the years, different generations have helmed the BAB brand, evolving
it to stand for something better each time. With the same passion and pursuit for excellence, BAB continues to stay as an expert, at the forefront of the leather industry.

We continue to craft exclusive leather, with a benchmark that has been
set by our predecessors. We deploy technology at every step of our endeavours, with the objective of providing superior luxury and comfort to our patrons.

We are proud to be one of the very few leather manufacturing units in
India, that offer bespoke products and services, to domestic as well as international clients.

Reimagining Your Interiors

While we were doing well exporting manufactured leather to businesses
outside India, we always felt like we should also serve the end customer. This dream of ours was realized when my mother, Mrs. Deepa Suresh, opened the very first retail showroom for BAB Leather, in 2008, in Chennai. We branded the retail outlet as BAB Leather Lounge.

This showroom, was originally a garage! We converted it into a 759 square feet-luxury outlet, to showcase our fine leather-upholstered furniture, to the end consumers.

BAB Leather Lounge, the first retail manifestation of BAB Leather, in
Chennai. Within the first year of the opening, we had completed around 120 projects, manufacturing and supplying over 500 leather upholstered seats, in Chennai.

By 2012, we had completed around 280 projects, manufacturing and supplying over 3200 leather seats.

However, we soon realized that the Indian market has a much bigger scope, with demand for different varieties of upholstered furniture. With leather, we were able to target only a specific niche in the market. And the quality and pricing of our manufactured products had grabbed more eyeballs.

Therefore, we diversified into making Fabric as well as PU upholstered
furniture. This opened up a new opportunity for us, to cater to the requirements of restaurants and resto-bars, with whom, we were able to achieve more volume in our sales.

BAB Leather Lounge was rebranded into BAB Living – the lifestyle furniture unit of the BAB Leather Group.

From 2015, we started witnessing a rise in our projects in the city of
Hyderabad. Our first major project was the mockup house of Hallmark Foundations, a residential space customised to every inch. The furniture was designed and the project was executed to much appreciation from fellow builders and architects.

This made us realize and understand the demand for customised furniture
in the city. And very recently in 2020, we launched a new outlet, at Banjara Hills, one of the prime locations in
Hyderabad.

BAB Living Showroom, at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

BAB Living has established a market presence for itself in South India, as one of the biggest manufacturers of upholstered furniture, with two fully operational retail outlets.

We cater to a whole range of interior and furniture needs, right
from your living room, to your dining, to your bedrooms. We engage in residential as well as corporate projects, especially in hospitality, with restaurants and resto-bars.

We’ve completed around 2600 projects, rolling out over 22,000 leather and non-leather upholstered seats.

And now… Inside Your Automobiles!

The BAB Leather Group has brought a series of benchmark products, in the
leather manufacturing and retail industry. In pursuit of taking our 75-year legacy to even greater heights, we are thrilled to introduce to you our newest brand of products –CETUS.

CETUS is the birthchild of our rich legacy in leather, coupled with a
passion for automobiles. CETUS is our new line of automotive products, which are going to remodel the interiors of your four-wheelers.

Our showcase of products encompasses a rich collection of leather seat covers for your cars, along with car accessories, available in multifarious, definitive, and customisable designs.

CETUS Automotives is a product of our vision to create a benchmark in the aftermarket industry. We aim to provide products that not only uphold the legacy of BAB Leather in terms of the quality, but are also customised to meet yours and your car’s needs.

CETUS looks to deliver high-performance products, with a distinctive variety to accommodate and fulfil every car owner’s preferences. Our plant, in Chennai, is already manufacturing automotive seat covers and cut components, for CETUS Automotives.

We have ambitious plans lined up for CETUS, which include opening a new retail outlet in the city of Chennai, very soon.

Until then, we hope to cater to the upholstery needs of your car seats, from our showrooms in Chennai and Hyderabad, once we overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

We cannot wait for you, to drive in!