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Mumbai: Godrej Enterprises Group, one of the two entities formed following the split of the 127-year-old Godrej Group earlier this year, adopted a new logo on Thursday in a bid to differentiate itself.
The change is subtle. The new logo retains the stylized Godrej name in cursive - as required by an agreement between the two Godrej factions - but the tri-colour scheme has been dropped in favour of a solid purple.
Godrej Industries Group, the other faction, so far has retained the original logo.
To consumers, the change may be too insignificant to tell the two Godrej folds apart. But executives hope that investors can now easily differentiate between the two.
"We have seen, for instance, that when we have done a press release on, say, an aerospace launch, people think it's done by Godrej Industries, and their share price goes up,” joked 75-year-old Jamshyd Godrej, the chairman and managing director of the Godrej Enterprises Group.
Godrej Enterprises consists of the unlisted company Godrej & Boyce, which has 14 lines of business including aerospace, defence, locks, consumer durables and furniture. The Nadir Godrej-led Godrej Industries, on the other hand, comprises listed companies Godrej Industries Ltd, Godrej Properties Ltd, Godrej Agrovet Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd and Astec Lifesciences Ltd.
The Godrej group split earlier this year to accommodate the differing visions of the two factions for the future. The group's third-generation promoters - siblings Adi and Nadir and their first cousins Jamshyd and Smita - amicably split their businesses, keeping the units that they were already in charge of.
The new logo is part of a brand repositioning at Godrej Enterprises Group, which is also going through succession. Executive director Nyrika Holkar, who is the niece of Jamshyd Godrej, will be the fourth-generation heir to look after the operations of the Godrej Enterprises faction.
“The new brand identity is more than just a change of colour,” said Holkar. “It embodies dynamism and blends authenticity with our ambition to redefine consumer experiences by leveraging design-led innovation and service differentiation.”
"The division of the group into two parts is entirely amicable so it makes sense to evolve the two identities," said Zia Patel, brand strategy director at Ochre Brand.
"The differences in things like the choice of colour are there to signal change, but not complete separation. This is a logical move," she added.
Godrej & Boyce continues to remain one of the largest unlisted companies in India, with 2023 revenues of ₹14,574 crore, as per Crisil. The company will remain private for the time being.
"Listing really depends on whether the business that we want to list needs huge amounts of capital, which we are not in a position to provide,” the veteran Godrej said, adding that there are no immediate listing plans for either the holding company or any individual business.
"If you look at our history, we have basically been able to fund all our growth, including new investments in new locations,” he said.
The company has no diversification plans on the cards either, Holkar said. It will stick to its 14 lines of business, the largest being consumer products.
“I think we are already quite diversified, so we will be looking at doubling down on the businesses that we have,” she emphasized.
In the real estate sector, Godrej & Boyce is one of the biggest landlords in the country, with 3,400 acres of land, including a 3,000-acre contiguous land parcel at Vikhroli in Mumbai. The family agreement allows the Godrej Enterprises Group to develop real estate only in the land parcels it owns for the coming six years. After six years, it may explore construction outside its captive land, but it will have to use a different brand, Holkar said.
The Godrej Industries Group will exclusively use the Godrej brand in real estate beyond the captive land parcels of Godrej & Boyce.
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