Web Desk
Brampton-based Sandeep Gupta has built a multimillion-dollar cross-continental business empire from scratch since his arrival in Canada in 2002.
Established in 2006, the Aarti Group of Companies today has interests in textiles, real estate development, mortgage and steel manufacturing.
Starting out in textile yarns, this man went on to weave a huge tapestry of success and later branch into real estate, mortgage lending and steel manufacturing. In fact, real estate development has become a big part of his business portfolio over the past five years.
“By the grace of God, we currently have a pretty big real estate portfolio of almost a dozen projects across southern Ontario. I am glad to say that we have grown exponentially since starting our entrepreneurial journey 20 years ago. My staff and I have put in a lot of hard work to become successful,” says Sandeep.
Putting a ball-park estimate on his real estate portfolio, he says, “Once all these projects are completed, their sale value could be north of $5 billion.”
Narrating his exciting entrepreneurial journey in Canada, he says, “As I said, we started as traders in textiles in 2005-2006, selling mostly in North and South Americas. Today, we sell across the American continent, Africa, and Asia and we have offices in many countries.”
As the company delivers thousands of containers of textile materials globally annually, Sandeep says, “We source from textile majors such as Reliance, Vardhman, Nitin Spinners, etc., in India. In Indonesia, we deal with Aditya Birla Yarns and Prakash Lohia’s Indorama Corporation. We also buy from some top Chinese companies – Hengyi, Rongxin, Tongkun, etc.”
Apart from India, the company maintains offices in China, Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, etc., also.
“Our back office remains in Panipat in India where we have quality control, sourcing and logistic teams. Some merchandisers are also working from our China office.”
Taking his textile business to another level, he plans setting up warehousing facilities in all the countries where his group sells.
As he has a team of experienced professionals to take care of his textile operations, Sandeep has now trained his sights on the real estate business.
“Actually, we started in real estate in 2010, but it was more of a passive business for us – like buying plazas and industrial buildings and leasing them. Then we were serious about the hospitality business. But since 2019, we have been focussing on actual real estate – meaning buying land and developing it.”
With 11 active real estate projects in southern Ontario currently under his watch, Sandeep says he is busier than ever.
“My daughter Rachita has joined us and she looks after the real estate portfolio. She might have told you that one of our major projects involves four towers of 2,300 units opposite Shoppers World in Brampton.”
Considering the current market conditions, he says his group is currently concentrating only on industrial condo units.
“In Burlington, we are building 34 industrial condo units. A similar project in Etobicoke is in the final stages of approval. We have another residential project on Market Street in Brantford.”
In Hamilton, the company has two projects under way. “One project on King and Queen Streets in downtown Hamilton involves 180 rental units. Another project of 400 units will come up on Upper Ottawa Street. We are also planning a project in St Catharines.”
The Aarti Group also has big land holdings in southern Ontario. “We hold nearly 300 acres of R-zone land near Niagara Falls and 100 acres in London. We also own 40 acres of industrial land near Niagara Falls. We are also working on land development projects in Pickering and Midland.”
In addition to these projects, his group also owns some industrial buildings.
Parallel with his real estate development business, he has also become a successful private lender.
“God has been very kind as we are doing very well in our lending business as well. Our current portfolio is close to $50 million and our aim is to become big players,” says Sandeep.
A great believer in diversification, he has also forayed into steel manufacturing. “We have bought a steel tubing plant in Bolton. With a turnover of about $15 million, the plant is doing very well.”
Indeed, this son of a small cloth merchant in Karnal has come a long way.
And he credits his entrepreneurial success to what he learnt in his father’s small shop.
“As a young boy, I loved assisting my father in selling the cloth. I learnt the trick of the trade and developed a passion for the textile/yarn world there.”
And that passion was to become his destiny.
Graduating as a textile engineer, he went on to work for Reliance Industries and later Arvind Mills in Gujarat. “Working there, I always dreamt about making more money and becoming a businessman even as I finished my MBA part-time.”
As if to fulfil his dream, destiny took him across continents to Canada where he landed in August 2002 to join as a sales manager for New Brunswick-based Atlantic Yarns.
A sharp salesman, he saw a huge sales potential for his company in Latin and South America and wanted to extend their trading operations there. But his bosses were not convinced.
“So I quit my job in 2005 and started selling containers of raw yarn from India to Latin and South America under the name of Aarti.”
That’s how the Aarti Group was born and Sandeep became his own boss.
Why did he choose the name Aarti for his business?
“When we started the company, we didn’t know what lay ahead of us. My mother’s name is Roshni Devi and my wife’s name is Puja (they married in 1997). We considered these names. But then we named it Aarti. It is a very spiritual name and it has been very lucky for us. I am a deeply spiritual person,” he smiles.
Indeed, he is a deeply spiritual person. And not surprisingly, when the Mahakumbh started in January, he left many things mid-way and hopped onto a flight for India to take a holy dip in the Ganga at Prayagraj.
“Taking the holy dip at Prayagraj was a divine experience. There was positivity everywhere as millions of people converged every day on Prayagraj. It is a small place, but the kind of temporary infrastructure they created to accommodate millions was mind-boggling.”
Being a Hindu, he says, “I believe in the concept of karma. We must serve others for our own spiritual well-being.”
That’s why, he says, going forward he wants to do a lot more charitable work to serve fellow human beings.
Already big on charity, he has pledged $1 million to Trillium Foundation and is donating liberally to two hospitals in downtown Toronto.
In India, he is donating to various charities and sponsoring talented poor kids for their higher education.
Any role models?
“Of course, I have my own journey, but I feel very inspired by so many successful people in our community. I am a Gupta, and there are two hugely successful Guptas here – Steve and Ray – and they are like role models for me. Then there are Kuldeep Sharma and Norton Kothari and others. I am inspired by them.”
His tips for aspiring entrepreneurs?
“If you are hard working and focussed, Canada is the place for you. It is a land of opportunity. In my journey, hard work has played a key role. Of course, there are other factors such as luck. But hard work is the real key.”
Sandeep is spot-on.
