What’s in a name? Plenty, according to KE Pareeth. When searching for a name for his line of executive shirts, he stumbled upon Corona, which means crown in Latin. Pareeth, who felt that the word had a nice ring to it, decided to brand his shirts, Corona. And while the line is now defunct, Corona Textiles and Readymades, a small clothing store at Beevipaddi, Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam is currently a centre of attention for passers-by. “Many stop by to click selfies and photos with either the name board or with me in front of it,” says Pareeth with a chuckle, over the phone.
A class seven drop-out, Pareeth, who opened the store, learnt tailoring from his brother Makkar before deciding to branch out on his own. And so with just a single sewing machine, he started Mini Tailors in 1978 at Pezhakkappilly, Muvattupuzha. “I then opened Pant House, a tailoring shop with several employees working under me at Pezhakkappilly,” he says.
KE Pareeth at his store
As their stitching centre became known for their well-stitched shirts, Pareeth decided to launch two shirt brands in 1993 — Yaka shirt (stitched from a thick variety of cotton) and Corona. “I, however, had to fold the unit as we faced stiff competition and lacked the marketing know-how to promote our lines,” he explains. He then started Corona Textiles and Readymades at Pezhakkappilly in 1997 before shifting the store to the current location two years ago. “And no, we no longer have a tailoring unit.”
Pareeth, better known in and around his locality as ‘Corona Pareeth’, says, “When I started the store, it was just another clothing outlet with an unusual name. Now, it’s the cynosure of all eyes because of the Coronavirus,” says the 60-year-old. He adds that it was a journalist-friend who first featured his shop in Pezhakkappilly’s local cable channel.
“Since then, I have been flooded with phone calls and visits from news channels and publications,” says Pareeth, who is assisted by his wife, Subaida, at the store. Many now stop by to ask him about his choice of name for the store. “Some of them even pick up an outfit or two.”
Pareeth, who now has hand sanitisers for customers at the store, says he does not intend to change the name of the store. “The name has stood me in good stead over the years and so I intend to continue with it,” he avers.
