29-09-2014, PAGE 4.

40 YEARS AGO... AND NOW

tury-old ayurvedic major, Zandu Pharmaceuticals, which has been yet another landmark and turning point in Emami’s his- tory. Before we nally bought over a control- Connecting ling stake of 68.9 per cent in Zandu for ~713 crore in 2008, almost all key players in the Indian FMCG business had tried their luck and failed. The Zandu takeover brought to our fold some of the popular and prominent brands like Zandu Balm, Zandu with the mass Chyawanprash, Zandu Kesri Jeevan, Zandu Pancharishta, Sudarshan and Nityam Churna. The Zandu business grew rapidly, and we became debt-free within two years of the deal. We also pioneered the concept of celebrity consumer brand endorsement and in-lm advertising to create a noise and make our products known in the market. Marketing gurus will always recall With the acquisition of Himani, Emami entered matinee idol of yesteryears — Rajesh Khanna’s A le photo of the Sri Lalji Store in Kolkata. This is where Kemco products were sold before Emami reel role as the managing director of Emami in the mainstream personal care category was born. Later, the store also sold Emami products the 1983 lm Agar Tum Na Hote. Over the years, our products have been in the late seventies realised we were on the right track. that could also act as stress buster. We came up endorsed by celebrated and acclaimed enter- People say the art of entrepreneurship lies in with a second plant at Pondicherry to ramp up tainment and sports personalities like Madhuri the capability of nding opportunities that others capacity. Navratna, the ~500 crore-plus brand Dixit, Sri Devi, Sonakshi Sinha, Kareena Kapoor, he late 1960s were ing power. That was the time we rolled out would not nd, nding solutions that others can’t today, is the market leader in cool oil category in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav not the best of times Emami vanishing cream and Emami talcum create and nding a silver lining and making the country. Ganguly, Mary Kom and T to kick o one’s own powder. We did not taste success initially. But our some good out of chaos. And the same year (in We were on a roll and in 1995, Kemco so on. We are possibly the business venture. Certainly failures gave us the most vital insight —if you are 1978), we sensed a great opportunity in the cen- Chemicals, our rst partnership rm was only brand in the coun- not for two young boys, to capture the consumer’s mind space, there is no tury old, ailing Himani Ltd. Himani, which had a converted into a public limited company try to have both Amitabh who did not hail from a alternative but to stand out in the market. And strong brand equity in eastern India and a well as Emami Ltd. In 1998, Emami Ltd was Bachchan and Shah business family and who mind you, this particular market was dominated laid out factory in Kolkata, was up for sale and we merged with Himani Ltd Rukh Khan as endorsers were already engaged in by multinationals with deep pockets. took a somewhat revolutionary step by and its name was for the same brand, cushy jobs in a large and I must also add here that the idea of acquiring that company, notwithstand- changed to Emami Ltd as Navratna. Today, we are RS AGARWAL respectable corporate standing out in the market is easier ing the fact that inorganic growth was not per fresh certicate of a homegrown multi- group (Birla Group). But said than done. The task was even the order of the day for FMCG companies incorporation dated national with presence CO-FOUNDER & JOINT CHAIRMAN, then, if you love being the tougher because we were constrained in those days. September 1, 1998. in 63 countries. EMAMI GROUP boss rather than being by limited resources, a truly lean work- The nancial risk was also signicant. Our business strategy, With a group bossed around, if you have force. We had to put on several hats But eventually the move proved to be a over the years, has thrived turnover of ~8,000 a desire to be in control, things will always be dif- simultaneously — strategists, mar- turning point for us. Subsequent to our on continuous ideation, crore and a market cap ferent. And that’s exactly what happened with keters, door-to-door salesmen, pay- acquisition of Himani, we saw enormous innovation, spotting of of ~18,000 crore and me and my childhood best friend Radheshyam ment collectors and what not. We potential in the antiseptic cream market, the right opportunity and supported by a strong Goenka. So it was by choice that we left our jobs realised (and rightly so) that the only way to sur- which was then monopolised by Boroline. We on-time execution. When workforce of 20,000, and stepped into business. vive and grow would be through innovation and were aggressive and came up with our rst ag- fairness creams were we now stand tall, not The entrepreneurial journey has never been introduction of new products. For the rst time ship brand Boroplus antiseptic cream from the meant for women only only among Indian business conglom- smooth and certainly not in the initial days. We in the history of Indian FMCG industry, we intro- stable of Himani in 1984. Three years down the and our peers and others erates, but both Radheshyam Goenka had the toughest ride in the initial years. The duced products with imported French perfume road, BoroPlus, the only antiseptic cream with never thought that men and myself feature amongst the top greatest challenge was to get the right product and innovative packaging in plastic containers ayurvedic ingredients, became the market leader. might also desire to look Forbes 50 billionaires of India. line and control our losses. In 1974, we nally with imported Japanese labels that had golden The next decade (the 90s) was extremely ‘fair’, we realised that a whopping 30 per cent of But what is more satisfying, as the second set up Kemco Chemicals, an ayurvedic medicine motifs and printing. The strategy paid o and eventful for Emami and we started o with the female fairness cream users were in fact men generation promoter directors from our two fam- and cosmetics manufacturing unit with an initial shortly both the products became immensely launch of our next agship brand, another inno- who were actually closet users. Call it a market- ilies gear up to take this Group to the next level, capital of ~20,000. Well, that was the beginning. popular and by 1978, Emami vanishing cream vative product Navratna cool oil, again from the ing history or something else, in 2005, we is the fact over the last 40 years we did not have The mid-70s were marked by the story of ‘the became the market leader with 22 per cent mar- Himani stable. It was also an industry rst. The launched Fair and Handsome, the rst fairness a single day of labour unrest. great Indian middle class’ with its growing ket share and Emami talcum powder became market, dominated by traditional hair oils, actu- cream for men. The show, or shall I say, the battle to propensity to consume and increasing purchas- the No.2 brand in its category in India. We ally had a latent demand for a therapeutic oil Then came the acquisition of another cen- excel goes on.

SOURCE: http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/40-years-ago-and-now-connecting-with-the-mass-consumer-114092800748_1.html able to handle pan-India in, say, the top 30 markets. But if I am a new player starting from scratch, and it is my only business, the simpler I The new and confident keep it, the better it is. It is an inter- (20-09-2014, BUSINESSLINE (BLINK), PAGE 5) nal choice and not market-driven. Every region of India will be as big as many countries in terms of market Indian customer size. What is the perfect recipe for a successful supermarket? The inside story of modern retail in India, the opportunities and the Worldwide, some of the largest food-led value retail chains tend to challenges for the seller be local. It is not about local owner- ship but about tuning into the local customers. I call India not just an rom Hindustan Unilever to cabulary of understanding.” The That is opening up opportunities ev- emerging but also a very assertive the Future Group, Damodar erywhere. Products, people and re- market, especially about her food SupermarketWala Mall has worked with some today’s observations and insights tailers need to be more imaginative preferences. Those who start by say- Secrets to winning of India’s biggest customer- on the confident Indian customer to to keep pace with what the consum- ing ‘the customer is right and I will consumer India faciFng companies. The CEO of Value people coming to the consumer er is ready for. Also, most products serve her’ are likely to be in a better Damodar Mall Retail at Reliance jots down his ex- goods and retail sector. Random House and services get designed for the sal- place with a shorter learning curve Non-fiction periences in modern retail and aried, ‘credit card’ India, and leave than those who start by saying ‘I ₹299 much more in SupermarketWala — Has the Indian customer evolved out the large and moneyed self-em- know what modernity is going to be an attempt to decode today’s “confi- or have her shopping preferences ployed — Gold Collared — segment. eventually and I will start from dent Indian customer”. In conversa- remained the same over the last there’. They will have a steeper learn- tion with BL ink, he discusses the two decades? What advantages do regional ing curve. opportunities and challenges in the The one constant thing is that retailers like D-Mart have Indian market, and what goes into the consumer is always chang- over national chains? Does the book provide the gist of making a successful Supermarket- ing, with growing purchasing The food preferences in your experiences at retail chains or Wala. Edited excerpts: power and aspirations. Brand India vary so much that does it go beyond that? owners and retailers are un- it is sometimes simpler It is definitely beyond my roles and What prompted you to write able to keep pace with con- to do a regional and high- experience spanning Hindustan this book? sumers — the kind of er density set of stores, as Unilever and modern retail. It draws I write an invitation blog for Forbes products, the manner in it keeps your variables from the outcome of various con- India and my publishers found me which they are sold lower. But in terms of sumer studies. Beyond the consum- there. They said my thoughts, and and the way services size of opportunity, er end of modern retail, way of writing, are shareable on a are designed. there is not much SupermarketWala looks at building much bigger scale and that’s how In urban India, brands, and the impact of change the book happened. As I say in the every six or sev- can take either a on small vendors and on associates book, I was not meant to write. I sell en years, in- density strategy working in modern retail stores. comes are or a pan-India There are lakhs whose lives modern things about modernising retail doubling. strategy for retail. retail touches in a way that the rest from a customer-centric view, un- of the economy cannot. The book is like the usual square feet, supply management written in my SupermarketWala chain and investment narrative. bandwidth and risk mode and is not just about the jobs I Selling points Kishore Biyani says in the preface: Damodar Mall, appetite. If I am a have been in. “Someone needs to give the new CEO of Value Retail large corporate, modern retail phenomenon a vo- at Reliance then I may be RASHMI PRATAP

SOURCE: http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/40-years-ago-and-now-connecting-with-the-mass-consumer-114092800748_1.html BOOK REVIEW (29-09-2014, BUSINESSLINE, PAGE 17) The changing face of retail in India what dissatisfied.But the touches upon the need for The insights in this easy-to-read book points are communicated the modern marketer to on consumer behaviour are not look at buying behaviour as ing findings are being dis- a ‘daily swayamvar ’. The earth-shattering, but they are useful. cussed. You intuitively consumer of today is ready The consumer the author is talking Book: Super Marketwala: know what the book has to to accept options that save Secrets of Winning say, but that is what is im- time, but not at the cost of about could just as easily be you or Consumer India pressive. The examples are completely giving up tradi- someone you know Author: Damodar Mall apt and thankfully do not tion. Be it the need to serve Publisher: Random House read like typical marketing fresh food to the family or Price: Rs 299 case studies. the shift to salads from sa- VISHWADEEP KUILA pronounced when it comes mosa or take help from the to India. Higher disposable Lifestyle and habits local aunty to serve up fes- t’s with sound reason income, connectivity to the With some reference to tival delicacies. Conve- that many pundits say world and being part of a changing lifestyles at the nience is welcome, but not retail is a course in hu- fast-growing economy mind of the consumer. Easy lend credence to the points beginning of the book, the complete change oood man psychology. Suc- make Indians feel proud. to comprehend and equally that the author is making. author tries to deal with ve- habits. The consumer is cessful,I not-so-successful But the very same situa- easy to relate to, the book It is obvious from the 32 ry diverse areas. He goes more ready to experiment and even stumped retailers tion has become a night- doesn’t hand you a fish, but short chapters dealing with from true liberation of the would vouch blindly for mare for one fraternity — it helps you learn to fish in consumer through modern that. the consumer marketer. the changing consumer sumers, that the author is retail to how modern retail WX Consumer behaviour Rapidly changing demo- scenario. deeply aware of the various touches more lives than The consumer of today plays a key role in this slice graphics and psychograph- cultures and practices one can imagine, while also is ready to accept of business. And that’s one ics of the Indian population The modern consumer across the country. Wheth- dealing with recycling and options that save time, of the reasons why Damo- is opening up new opportu- The book could not have er he is talking about culi- inherent green lifestyles. but not at the cost of dar Mall’s Super Marketwala nities and posing new chal- come at a better time. But if nary delicacies such as the Four sections essentially completely giving up should grab your attention. lenges for the marketer. you are expecting a ready- puran polis of western India, deal with observations of tradition. One area where we see the made guide to your next su- or nolen gur of the east or retail and consumption Wholesale changes permarket chain, that is not the pesarattus of the south, habits in anecdotal fashion, It is said that the world has retail. all find the right context. and makes for compelling regions thanks to the availa- changed more in the last 10- There is no longer one so- He has carefully chosen not Though each chapter reading. bility of ready-to-cook reci- 15 years than in the previ- lution for all and it has be- to provide readymade solu- does not lead on to the oth- Take this passage, for in- pes. The fact that, given the ous 100 years or more. This come imperative to get to tions. Rather, he has opened er, the book loosely strings stance: “Ritu Agarwal, a same ambience, a Haldi- phenomenon is far more know consumers at close up unusual ways oooking together a single theme: banker in Delhi, was on her ram’s beats a McDonald’s quarters to be able to talk to at the consumer, insights the changing character of way to London for an ex- hands down on foot falls, is them meaningfully. Super he used duringhis long the consumer and her/his tended training trip. At the testimony to India’s readin- Marketwala takes a good years at the helm of Big Ba- habits. However, in some swanky new airport in Del- ess to try what is western, peek into consumer psyche zaar and now Reliance Val- places the change of con- hi, she stood in the check-in but still prefer what is as well as modern trade ue Retail. text is too sudden. While queue of the airline, and Indian. practices. The book gives you a peek talking about consumer be- found something pushing The author also has sec- That said, it is not a into the changing roles and haviour in one chapter, you against the back of her legs. tions on what trends the manual on modern retail ways of the modern con- are transported to the posi- When she looked back, she modern retailers should but a treatise on the philos- sumer. Each character tive influence of modern re- found the passenger be- watch out for and what they ophy of consumer beha- could be a man or woman tail on the lives ots em- hind her gesturing her to could do about these trends viour — and is a good read you know yourself. But you ployees in the next and you move forward, his baggage to their benefit. not only for seasoned mar- have possibly not looked at almost feel you have started trolley nudging her ahead. Not really illustrative of keting professionals but al- their consumer side con- Ritu found that there was a the section heading, are a so for anyone who is inter- sciously. The book touches The fact that there are no gap between her and the set of case studies of brands ested in understanding the upon those little aspects of obvious action points at the person in front, and the pas- that have done well against behaviour that define a per- end of each chapter also senger behind her was urg- odds. While there are some son’s attitude to retail. leaves you feeling some- ing her to close the gap. She insights on how some Damodar Mall is a graduate of IIT-Mumbai and Damodar Mall’s language moved ahead and all was brands have been success- IIM-Bangalore. He started his career with Hindus- is extremely simple, not WX well yet again. No more ful, these case studies do tan Unilever but switched tracks to start a venture meant to test your vocabu- The book touches prodding.” not drive home a specific which finally took shape as the DMart Chain. He lary, but it touches the right upon those little These sections illustrate learning or theme and has been at the helm of two major modern retail chord. Super Marketwala is a aspects of behaviour the physical change in buy- seem disjointed. giants, Big Bazaar and Reliance Value Retail. ‘Super compendium of small ob- that define a person's ing behaviour and the need Marketwala’ is his first book. servations beautifully per- attitude to retail. for the consumer to be in The reviewer is the founder- sonified by characters that command. Accordingly it director of Brand Vectors

SOURCE: http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/40-years-ago-and-now-connecting-with-the-mass-consumer-114092800748_1.html