PETALING JAYA, Oct. 22 -- There was no business plan. There were no industry contacts and no family trade to inherit. The only capital was what three sisters had personally saved.

When Suvitha Rajasingam and Jeevitha Rajasingam registered Pattushastra on August 23, 2012, with their elder sister Kavitha Rajasingam behind them, they were, by their own account, simply three sisters from Sentul who had grown frustrated trying to buy a decent saree.

"We are sisters from Sentul - born and bred there - with absolutely no connection to the textile industry and no family background in business," Jeevitha said.

Their father was a consultant for roadworks; their mother was a homemaker.

"Every part of Pattushastra - from its identity and collecti...