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Fabindia

Artisanal Lifestyle RetailFounded 1960
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Fabindia?

John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell · Founded 1960 · HQ today: New Delhi, India

Who founded Fabindia?

Fabindia was founded by John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell in 1960. It is now led by Rajeshwari Srinivasan.

Founders
John Bissell, William Nanda Bissell
Founded
1960
Headquarters
New Delhi, India
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Rajeshwari Srinivasan (since 2023)
Where was Fabindia founded?
Fabindia was founded in New Delhi, India in 1960.
When was Fabindia founded?
Fabindia was founded in 1960.
Who started Fabindia?
Fabindia was founded by John Bissell and William Nanda Bissell.
How old is Fabindia?
Fabindia is 66 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 1960, John Bissell, an American from Connecticut, arrived in India on a grant to study rural crafts. He quickly realized that the incredible, ancient hand-weaving techniques of the Indian villages were dying out because the weavers had no access to lucrative urban or international markets. He founded Fabindia to act as the crucial bridge. He literally drove out to remote villages, lived with the weavers, and taught them how to standardize their dyes and looms to meet Western quality standards, inadvertently saving the craft and building a retail empire.

John Bissell

Background

Before India, Bissell worked in retail buying in New York. His Ford Foundation work on cottage industries gave him the contacts and quality standards he used to link rural weavers with overseas buyers.

Role at Fabindia

John Bissell (1932-1998) was an American who arrived in India in 1958 on a Ford Foundation assignment to advise on handloom exports. In 1960 he founded Fabindia in New Delhi, initially selling handwoven furnishings to buyers abroad. In 1976 he opened the first Fabindia shop in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, which made handloom kurtas and home linen popular with urban Indians. He suffered a stroke in 1993 and died in 1998. John Bissell was born in 1931.

William Nanda Bissell

Background

Combines a liberal-arts education with years of grassroots work organizing rural craft producers in Rajasthan.

Role at Fabindia

William Nanda Bissell (born 1966) is John Bissell's son and chairman of Fabindia. After studying at Wesleyan University he worked with artisans in Rajasthan, then took over the business in the 1990s and became managing director in 1999. He grew Fabindia into a national retail chain, created supply-region companies in which artisans held shares, and served as managing director until 2018.

Bissell was born on June 10, 1966. He served as managing director until 2018 and is chairman of Fabindia. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Fabindia: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Rajeshwari Srinivasan

Chief Executive Officer

2023 – Present

Appointed CEO effective April 2023 after 30+ years in FMCG, retail, luxury and hospitality, including roles as a Tata Administrative Services officer at Rallis India, Tata Consumer, Indian Hotels and Titan Company. She is an IIFT alumna and Chevening Scholar.

Viney Singh

Managing Director & CEO

2016 – 2023

Served seven years as managing director and CEO before retiring in April 2023; he stayed on the board as a non-executive director.

William Bissell

Managing Director (now Chairman)

1999 – 2018

Took charge in the 1990s after his father's stroke and became managing director in 1999, a role he held until 2018. He turned Fabindia from an exporter into a national retailer and remains chairman.

John Bissell

Founder

1960 – 1998

An American who came to India with the Ford Foundation, he started Fabindia from two rooms in Golf Links, New Delhi, exporting handloom home furnishings. He suffered a stroke in 1993 and died in 1998.

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Who Founded Fabindia? FAQ

Who was John Bissell and what inspired him to found Fabindia in 1960?

John Bissell was an American who worked in retail buying for Macy's in New York. In 1958, he traveled to India on a two-year Ford Foundation grant to advise the government on developing handloom textiles for export; falling in love with Indian craft traditions, he founded Fabindia in New Delhi in 1960.

What was Fabindia's original business model when established in 1960?

Fabindia originally operated exclusively as a wholesale export house out of a small garage in New Delhi's Golf Links. It curated and exported handcrafted Indian handloom furnishings, curtains, and upholstery fabrics to interior decorators and department stores in the United States and Europe.

When and where did Fabindia open its very first domestic retail store in India?

Fabindia opened its first domestic retail store in 1976 in the Greater Kailash (GK-1) N-Block Market in New Delhi. The store was an instant success among diplomats, artists, and urban consumers seeking authentic, elegant Indian home linens and apparel.

Who was Bimla Bissell and how did she contribute to Fabindia's early success?

Bimla Bissell (née Nanda), wife of John Bissell and an accomplished Indian professional who worked for the World Bank and United Nations, was an integral partner in Fabindia's social network, aesthetic direction, and community connections across Delhi's cultural landscape.

What craft communities did John Bissell partner with in his early sourcing journeys?

John Bissell traveled extensively across rural India, forming enduring partnerships with master weavers in Panipat (Haryana), block printers in Sanganer and Bagru (Rajasthan), Chanderi weavers in Madhya Pradesh, and handloom rug weavers in Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh).

How did founder John Bissell ensure fair treatment and economic dignity for rural artisans?

John Bissell instituted strict principles of fair upfront pricing, timely payments, zero exploitation, and mutual respect. He treated rural weavers as equal creative partners rather than low-wage labor, establishing Fabindia's ethical reputation.

What was the Bissell family's enduring contribution to Indian education and philanthropy?

In 1992, the Bissell family established The Fabindia School in Bali, Rajasthan, providing high-quality co-educational English-medium schooling with a special emphasis on educating rural girls, sponsored directly by Fabindia's social initiatives.

How has John Bissell's founding vision influenced ethical commerce in modern India?

John Bissell proved that business could be an instrument of positive social change, creating a self-sustaining commercial bridge between rural Indian artisans and modern global consumers that pioneered social enterprise and conscious consumerism in India.

Who founded Fabindia?

It was founded by John Bissell. A former buyer for Macy's in New York, he possessed a brilliant eye for retail. He spent years traveling to incredibly remote Indian villages, helping local weavers standardize their looms and dyes so their ancient crafts could be sold in modern retail stores.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.