RPG Enterprise: Respond, Perform, Grow
Today, the sectors that the Goenkas have entered over a period are diversified from power to technology to retail

Clicking on the RPG enterprise website, one would find an interesting abbreviation for the acronym RPG – Respond Perform Grow (also the core values of the company). Well, truly, if one browses through its past, one gets a feeling that all these three words fit immaculately to the evolution that this group has gone through. It has travelled a journey that has seen the company only grow from strength to strength over a period of time. Established in the year 1820, this group has stood the test of time and has managed to establish itself as one of the most successful and powerful business families of India. What was started in the year 1820, by Ramdutt Goenka, as a mere business carrying its operations with the East India Company, this group has evolved to a behemoth worth $.1.7 billion (2004-05). It was in the year 1970 a Rs. 700 million RPG enterprise was set up by R P Goenka.

Today, the sectors that the Goenkas have entered over a period of time are quite diversified from power to technology to retail etc., an effort of Keshav Prasad Goenka who started the diversification spree during the 1950s. It was he who took up expansion of this group and acquired companies like Octavious Steel and Duncan Brothers. He led the group into the automobile tyre sector by setting up three companies in the same. Keshav Prasad Goenka also led the companies to diversify in to sectors like Tea, Jute, Cotton and Electric cables. Currently, the enterprise is present in seven different sectors with more than forty companies in its kitty and boasts a total turnover of $ 1.3 billion. The present market capitalisation of the whole group is at $ 1.12 billion. It’s not only about business, but the RPG group has been equally good in its responsibility towards the society. The group’s main focus in this direction is in terms of educational and vocational training, health, community development and environment protection and conservation. That is the subtle power of the RPG group in India!

The nawabs from Lucknow…
The company has successfully diversified itself into many sectors to become a conglomerate

Year 1978-three workers and assets worth $43. 28 years later, in year 2006 – over a whopping 910,000 workers and Assets over $10.87 billion. That has been the exploding growth story of the Lucknow based conglomerate that identifies itself as the ‘world’s largest family’ – Sahara India Pariwar. It’s also among India’s largest private companies, but one without any owner as all promoters, share holders, directors and partners of the company are from the worker’s rank and have taken an oath through notary affidavit in the court of law that neither they, nor their family members can even share the profit or assets of the company. However, only two of the group companies – Sahara housing and Sahara One are listed entities. Basically a parabanking company, Sahara India now has a depositors base of a mammoth 61 million. That actually means the company is serving one in every 17 Indians.

But growing beyond the original para-banking business, the company has successfully diversified itself into many sectors to become a perfect conglomerate. Moving ahead from the para-banking business, at present, Sahara India operates in sectors like finance, infrastructure & housing, tourism & hospitality, media & entertainment, aviation, consumer products, manufacturing and service & trading. The group, for the last few years is not only on a roll to expand itself into various verticals (sectors) but also it is integrating into different horizontals (subsectors). With a strong footage in para-banking industry now, Sahara group is now into housing finance, mutual funds and life insurance as well. Sahara India Life Insurance is India’s only ‘wholly Indian private life insurance company.’ Launched in the year 2000 Sahara One Media and Entertainment has been a dream venture for the Sahara group. Controversial – yes; but, there is no doubt on the entrepreneurial zeal and power of Subroto Roy.

Mark of the Singhanias
In the WTO regime, the Indian textile industry is poised to cash in on enormous opportunities that are opening up

When families break up, it is not as if carefully nurtured legacies are lost in the heartbreak of splits. Some segments of a broken up business house end up prospering even more as individual entities than as a part of some slumbering joint family driven business house. The Aditya Birla group is a classic example of this dictum. The Singhanias who manage Raymonds are yet another example. It can be arguably stated that of the three fragments of the original Singhania house, the Mumbai based faction that has nurtured Raymonds for decades has been the most successful. Another faction of the family that runs companies like J.K Tyres can also be designated as a survivor. However, the north based faction of the Singhania family that had J.K Synthetics is almost defunct. One of the key reasons for the Raymonds Singhanias to do well is the old fashioned virtue of concentrating on core competence. While many business houses have frittered away money and energy in ambitious diversification plans that have never really materialized, the Mumbai based Singhanias have focussed on maintaining Raymonds as one of the most visible, sold and liked textile and apparel brand in the country. Chairman Emeritus – Vijaypat Singhania, who is also famous as an aviator, has now handed over the reins to Gautam Singhania who is busy with new strategies to make Raymonds a global textiles and apparel multinational, cashing-in on the end of the quota regime in the international textiles market.

Despite stiff competition from a host of old and new brands in the market, Raymonds, Park Avenue and Color Plus are three brands from this business house that have literally stood the test of time. The group is also inking many joint ventures with international textile companies and fashion houses to script a global expansion plan. A recent one is the Rs. 50 crore joint venture with the Italian fashion house Grotto, to market the well known ‘Gas’ brand of premium apparel in the country through about 600 retail outlets. In the WTO regime, the Indian textile industry is poised to cash in on enormous opportunities are opening up. There are estimates that textile and apparel exports from India could cross $ 20 billion annually in just a few years time. With a seven decade legacy and extremely powerful brands and core competence in the sector, the Mumbai based Singhanias are clearly poised to fly high. Literally and figuratively, the ‘mark of a man' is leaving a distinct mark across the country!