The Aditya Birla Group has transformed itself from being one of the oldest and largest Indian companies to being probably the largest Indian MNC having become a global powerhouse with operations across 34 countries spread across 5 continents, with a workforce of 120,000 and with global revenues contributing more than 50% of its overall revenues. Its operations encompass fourteen industry sectors including Telecom, Cement, Metals, Mining, Banking, Branded Apparels, Financial Services including mutual funds and insurance, Carbon Black, Finance companies, Insulators, Pulp and Fibre, Textiles etc. In chosen sectors it holds top position, like being the third largest producer of cement globally, the largest producer of white cement in the world, top three aluminum producer in Asia and largest producer of Viscose Staple Fibre in the world.
While the AB group has a over 50 year history, beginning with Grasim Industries, Hindustan Aluminum , Eastern Spinning and Indian Rayon, post the 1970s, it started making global moves and built scale in every chosen sector. For instance, in cement, it picked up Larsen and Toubro’s cement plants, in Fashion in picked up Madura coats and Pantaloons, and replicated such moves globally too to expand its footprint, which now starts from Thailand and Indonesia in Asia and expands all the way to North and South Americas and Africa. It has also successfully transformed itself from being a B2B company in metals, mining, cement etc to being a B2C company in fashion, telecom, retail sales etc. It has also established a significant presence in the financial services space becoming a top three company in financial services, in asset management, in insurance, in payment bank etc. In a market where leverage is plaguing most companies, this group has expanded with conservative leverage strategies and commands wide respect with its bankers and lenders as well as shareholders.
Its positioning as a group which aims to be a global conglomerate with a mission to deliver superior value to customers, employees, shareholders and society with underlying values of integrity, passion, commitment, speed and seamless service has endeared it to all its stakeholders. It has found its top place in Great Place to Work surveys and has been named as Best Employer in India by Aon Hewitt. With a workforce comprising plenty of CA’s, engineers, post grads and MBA graduates, it remains a top draw at management schools as an employer as it offers experience spanning a lot of industries operating at global scale. With entry into sunrise sectors like financial services and retail and ecommerce, it remains an attractive magnet for young professionals looking for challenging assignments.
Personally I have been a direct consumer of plenty of service and product offerings by ABG as well as an indirect consumer. Arguably the biggest direct exposure I have to ABG is through their fashion arm. Having entered corporate life 2 years back, I had to extensively shop to improve my deportment at workplace and my wardrobe would reveal an especial inclination towards marquee brands like Van Huesen and Louis Phillipe for formal dressing as well as brands like Allen Solly to satisfy my Friday wear needs. The other direct exposure I have to the group is through the telecom vertical with me being a loyal customer of Vodafone Idea Limited since ages. Companies like Ultra Tech cement have become a stock market darling thanks to their leading market share and sustained profitability and have become an example in the cement industry for others to follow. While I don’t have a direct relationship with the metals and mining businesses of the ABG, I am exposed to it through the plenty of products which utilize its product offerings.
To conclude, ABG continues to be one of the highly coveted diversified conglomerates in India and truly exemplifies the core values of any business i.e. constant innovation and customer satisfaction.
#NMIMSMumbai#ABGLPWooMe
