1. Tata Group – 1868
With INR 21,000 and nine years of experience working in his father’s company, a young 29-year-old man started a trading company in British India. He later went on to buy a bankrupt oil mill at Chinchpokli and converted it into a cotton mill. Two years later, he went on to sell the mill for a profit. He soon set up another mill in Nagpur. Jamsethji Tata, a pioneer, visionary and a man with extraordinary skill and acumen, was the spearhead behind today’s global enterprise – The Tata Group.
It is said that Jamsethji Tata had four main goals – setting a hydro-electric plant, a steel plant, a great world-class educational institution and a great hotel. While during his lifetime he was able to set up the Taj Mahal Hotel, his legacy and lineage were able to fulfill his other three dreams. Incidentally, the Taj Mahal Hotel in those days was the only hotel in the country to have electricity.
Today, the Tata group has operations in more than 100 countries and exports to over 150 countries. The total revenue of the group was USD 108.78 billion in 2014-15.
2. Dabur – 1884
Daktur Burman, that’s how the people would call him with respect. Sitting in a small village in the bylanes of Kolkata, Dr S.K. Burman would cure several Indian villagers of their diseases with his Ayurvedic medicines. The news of his ‘miraculous medicines’ spread far and wide and soon ‘Daktur Burman’ became a renowned name across the region. Dabur is derived from this very name - ‘Daktur Burman.’
What started in a small clinic in West Bengal today is said to be the fourth largest FMCG company of the country. The group’s revenue was over INR 7800 crores by the end of 2013-14 and is considered as one of world’s largest Ayurvedic medicine and natural healthcare company. The company portfolio is spread across 21 categories and has over 381 trusted products.
3. Godrej – 1897
When a lawyer quit law and took to lock-making, little did he realise he was building a global brand. A serial entrepreneur of those days stunned the world when he went to make toilet soap from vegetable oils. Especially after making one the world’s best safes and security equipment. It was Ardeshir Godrej’s dream to create a global Indian brand, which was carried forward by Pirojsha Godrej.
The Godrej Group has its operations across different sectors like industrial engineering, furniture, security, agricultural products, appliances, real estate, and consumer products.
4. Nilgiris – 1905
Who would have thought the quaint store at the beginning of Bengaluru’s Brigade Road is one of the oldest supermarket chains of South India? The story of Nilgiris began with S. Arumuga Mudaliar, a mail runner for the British from Erode district, Tamil Nadu. He would carry cheques and letters for the British from Coimbatore to Coonoor and Ooty. It is said that he would often get requests to carry dairy items, and this prompted him to buy a butter business from an Englishman in Vannarpet. This marked the beginning of – The Nilgiri Dairy Farm.
As the name suggests, this organization specialized primarily in milk and dairy products and other confectionaries. Arumuga’s son Chenniappan had visited Europe and the US, and decided to set up a supermarket. The Brigade Road store was set up in 1936. The family set up a manufacturing facility in Erode post independence. The Nilgirs brand is iconic in most south Indian homes. In 2008, Actis, a UK based investment firm invested USD 65 million in the group, and in 2014 November, Future Consumer Enterprises acquired 98 per cent from Actis and other promoters. Nilgiris now is a subsidiary under Future Consumer Enterprises.