Portal - March/April 2021
PORTAL FOCUS: South Asia
PMR: Fostering A Progressive Change in India’s Most Unstructured Industry
By Sharon Paul, Manager-Marketing & PR, PM Relocations Pvt Ltd

Sharon Paul
India has evolved drastically in the past few years in every aspect, with technical advancements, more start-ups and new innovations coming up every day. Our nation has developed into one of the most innovative countries in the world. Gone are the days when people would happily follow the herd or prepare for government jobs. Today, people invest in their dreams and make the best career for themselves. However, the relocation industry has been evolving for ages in India.
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No one thought of the relocation industry as a quality-oriented or service-based business initially; it was seen as related to truckers and laborers loading and unloading the goods. Back then, people were hardly interested in moving. But with the development of the country and the inception of coming-of-age companies and the boom in the BPO sector, people started moving to metropolitan cities for better opportunities. It was then they felt the need for professional companies to relocate their employees for new and challenging assignments in the land of opportunities. However, services that made their relocation seamless and hassle-free didn’t just come into existence through thin air. It was a dream of two young men back in 1986 who saw the potential in one of India’s unstructured and unexplored industries and worked hard to materialize the vision.
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The Dream
After enduring the loss of two relocation companies, Rajeev Bhargava partnered with his late friend Rajiv Sharma to lay the foundation of a company that was set to revolutionize the industry. In 1986, the two young men started a relocation company in Kolkata named PM Packers with just a few employees. It was one of the first relocation companies in India that aimed at moving people without any hassle. The concept itself was new for the people of India.
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The Head Start
After spending substantial years in Kolkata, Bhargava moved to New Delhi to explore the competition and opportunities in the industry. It has been 35 years and countless clients to date, and the company has come far from where it started.
However, a drastic change occurred when Aakanksha Bhargava, daughter of Rajeev Bhargava, expressed her wish to join the family business. Since the beginning, Bhargava was looking to streamline the business without knowing that a visionary woman was growing up in his own house. Watching her father work tirelessly and accompanying him on the pre-moving surveys inculcated her interest in this unstructured industry.
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Aakanksha Bhargava gave the business a new perspective and boosted its stagnant growth within just a few years of her joining. Moreover, the team grew greatly, and there are now 10 more branches across India and 500+ employees working to make relocation stress-free for people around the world. Not only did her leadership skyrocket the business growth, but she also played a pivotal role in changing the outlook of the industry by introducing more women into the labour-intensive profession. She took the family business to new heights, won several awards at national and international levels, and spoke at many forums as well.
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However, nothing can be achieved in one go; a family business requires a lot of hard work, nurturing, and many sleepless nights to accomplish goals of providing the best services to the people. And now, when there are relocation companies at every nook and corner, PM Relocations is still the first choice when it comes to quality and personalised services.
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The reason behind the company’s exponential growth is that we provide a personal touch in our services at every level. We have always gone an extra mile to build relationships with clients, understand needs, and deliver exceeding expectations. We invest on training very heavily, and on the importance of hands-on experience and learning.
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Coming in the Future
Each year, we make commitments as a company and do our best to fulfil them. However, last year was different and strenuous for everyone. The virus halted plans, and with borders sealed and restrictions imposed, the relocation industry was in turmoil.
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Nevertheless, we did our best to stay afloat, and with a strong team, we together faced all the waves of challenges that came towards us. And, as desperate times call for desperate measures, we made a new department dedicated to commercial moves. PMR has been able to stay relevant even in times of pandemic as we adapted and evolved to suit business needs for sustaining our continuity.
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With the introduction of the vaccine to the population, we are looking forward to a better and brighter tomorrow. We are working to provide an even more hassle-free relocation experience to our customers, which includes launching a revamped website and a user-friendly, customer-focused app that will make the relocation experience even smoother by being easier to use.