Godrej- A Century-Old Company That Perceived World Transformation1

1. Godrej- A Century-Old Company That Perceived World Transformation Every person in this world, especially in India has used the Godrej manufactured products. Though hardly any knows about the founder of the Godrej Group. Ardeshir Burjorji Sorabji Godrej is the man behind this company, which is almost more than 120 years old. Today, the company has gained a global reputation. The Early Life Of Ardeshir Godrej Ardeshir was born to Dosibai Gootherajee and Burjorji in Bombay in 1868. His father and grandfather were well off and had a real estate business. This Parsi-Zorastian family, now famous as Gogrej was earlier knows as the Gootherajee’s Family.

2. Ardeshir married Bachubai in 1890 but lost her the very next year in a mishap that happened in the Rajabai Tower. He never remarried but stayed focused on his career. It was in 1894, he graduated with a law degree and was immediately hired by a prestigious law firm to fight a case in Zanzibar. He withdrew from the case and soon realized he is not meant for law and decided to come back to India and join a pharmacy as an assistant chemist. He gained interest in manufacturing the instruments used in surgical and hence decided to take a loan from his fathers’ friends, Merwanji Muncherji Cama rather than that from his father. On asking, why did he do so, he said his father would have given him the money as a gift and not a loan. Being the man of principles, Ardeshir did not even inherit his father’s business, even on his father’s demise. The Phases Of Ardershir’s Own Business Phase 1 – His products getting rejected for a silly reason On receiving INR 3000 from Cama, Ardeshir established a manufacturing unit for surgical equipment. He made sure to add the “Made in India” label in each product and soon started exporting it to England. Despite the product being of high quality the Britishers did not agree to deal with Ardeshir as he being patriotic refused to stop printing the made-in-India label. He chose his country and decided to close down the firm. Phase 2 – Ardeshir coming up with a new business model Despite many failures, the young boy did not give up. His destiny changed when he read an article about the felonies that have been happening in his city. It was then when Ardeshir decided to come up with locks of high quality, ensuring the houses to be secured and away from thefts. But due to his failed business, he was still in debt but decided to ask Cama for a second loan. Cama loved the business model of Ardeshir and gave him a second loan without asking about the first. Phase 3- Establishing “Anchor” On 7 May 1987, he opened his company- Anchor in central Mumbai. He was just 29 when he founded the firm. He started manufacturing reliable and unbreakable locks that came with a warranty card assuring the quality. Ardeshir’s business was gradually growing and he soon decided to come up with his invention ‘gordian locks’ and ‘detector lock’ It was in 1901 when he decided to manufacture safe that were both burglarproof and bulletproof. The manufacturing of the safe took a lot of effort and rough designs on pen and paper to finally bein out in the market in 1902.

3. Phase 4 – Entering the international market In the mid of 1908, Ardeshirs younger brother, Pirsoraj joined hands with him. They were granted a British patent the following year for springless lock, which was the first in the world. This innovation of the brothers brought a lot of fortune to them. It was in 1910, the two brothers decided to travel to Germany, France, and England for a better understanding of what their competitors manufacture. Phase 5 –Partnering with Cama’s Nephew After coming back from the trip, Ardeshir decided to return the amount he took from his father’s friend, Cama. But Cama being the generous man refused to take it he did not want to be deprived of the fact of helping Ardeshir with his success. He instead asked Ardeshir to hire Boyce, his nephew. Ardeshir being thankful for Cama decided to make Boyce his partner and renamed the company to ‘Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co.’ Cama’s nephew was never interested in working on this firm, so he decided to quit as soon as Ardeshir came back from his Europe trip. It was the kindness of Ardeshir which did not let him retain the companies name. You can read the full content: https://www.businessupside.in/godrej- a-century-old-company-that- perceived-world-transformation/ -------------------------- Business Upside Email ID: support@businessupside.com Phone No.: +1-425-605-0775 Visit Us: https://www.businessupside.com/

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