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Consumer goods family business Godrej takes to the road

By Rashmi Kumar

First it was Ratan Tata, head of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, who had a building in Harvard Business School named after him. But now another family business has made headlines, this time for having a road in the heart of India named after the company founder.

Godrej Group, the consumer goods giant controlled by the eponymous family, now has a road in Mumbai named after Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej, who founded the company in 1897. According to the Times of India, the road leading to Godrej Baug – an area predominantly occupied by followers of the religion Zoroastrianism – was named after the late Naoroji on 1 January 2012.

Descendants of the founder, who are all of Zoroastrian faith, were reportedly out in full strength to mark the momentous event. “[Naoroji] was a great entrepreneur who built the Godrej Group on solid grounds,” Adi Godrej, third-generation chairman of the family business, told the Times of India.

Its 40% growth in revenues between 2008 and 2010 is perhaps testament to its strong history. One of CampdenFB’s fastest growing family businesses in the world, Godrej Group had 2010 fiscal revenues of €2.5 billion.

The 114-year-old company started off manufacturing locks and now operates in sectors ranging from real estate to engineering. The Godrej family owns around 90% of the business.
 

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