Aditya Birla Group or what we fondly call, the ABG group are three alphabets that can’t be taken away from my life. From my childhood till date, ABG has been a part of my life. As soon as the lunch hour bell use to ring, I use to run out with my tiffin box to the cafeteria with an unexplainable excitement to unravel the food treasures my mother had packed for me. I use to wonder why my mother always wrapped the food in Freshwrapp aluminium foil. As I grew up, and mother’s food was replaced by the hostel food, I realised that the foil kept mother’s love and taste of the food intact even after hours. This was my first and unknown interaction with the ABG brand wherein a commodity as simple as an aluminium foil gave an emotional lesson in the future.
As I started to grow up the smell of delicacies in the tiffin box faded away into the perfumed fragrances of the shopping malls. Unaware of the fact that, most of them belonged to ABG, I often use to argue with my friends and family about buying my shirts, suits, trousers from Peter England or Louis Philippe or Van Heusen. Peter England became the brand of my formal clothing and a part of my day to day attire and personality as I grew into the corporate world. It gave a unique confidence to walk around in the formal shirt and cotton trousers. Since I joined my B school, my wardrobe is flooded with Peter England suits, shirts, casual shirts and trousers.
In my failures and success, ABG, specifically Peter England, has been with me. The toughest part of my life was the time when I was struggling in my career growth and decided to opt for an MBA. This was a tough time as I was low on confidence and had limited idea about my future. The process was long and required a lot of patience and constant self-motivation. I remember the times before each of my B -school interview, when my heart used to pound hard, thinking about the million ways in which my interview could go wrong. But every time, I ensured I suited up and gave my best in the opportunities I got. Some I cleared, some I didn’t but I came victorious in a place from where I had a vision for the future.
ABG has been an inseparable part of my life. The brands which ABG offers have become so internalised in our day to day life. Peter England, Allen Solly, Forever 21, People, Van Heusen and countless more brands have made an impact in the Indian market. Similar to ABG, I made impact when I first joined my job fresh from college. I was allocated to a pilot project, which required me to convince a client about a solving a complex business problem. As for ABG, it took time and numerous efforts to convince the client and make him trust my team so much that the model changed from client to a partner. In more than ways I realise, ABG has and always will be an inspiration.