Friendship is usually attributed to waste of money and to misdeeds. But it is a story of such friendship, which has become an example for others today. It is the story of two first-generation entrepreneurs who have set a unique record by playing their friendship well. The childhood they held each other in friendship since 8,800 crores empire is still standing together. These two boys, with the same name, became close friends in school, studied together, excelled in sports and later jumped together in business as well.
Along with the name, his thoughts and dreams were also the same. Radhey Shyam Aggarwal and Radhey Shyam Goenka made Cosmetic Market their first business. Along with attending both colleges, a lot of their time was spent in the second hand book shop to learn the chemical formula of cosmetics. With this, they both made board games with cheap glue and cardboard, repackaging isobgol and toothbrushes, and sold them shop-to-shop in Kolkata’s Bada Bazaar.
Despite three years of continuous efforts, he was not getting success in the cosmetic business. Seeing the struggle of these two, Goenka’s father gave them 20,000 rupees in hand and both friends decided that there would be 50-50 participation in the business. Then he started Chemco Chemicals but he did not get success here either.
There was a major change in his personal life. Aggarwal and Goenka get married. Now the economic pressure and responsibility on them increased even more and both started looking for new business opportunities. Meanwhile, he got a job in the Birla Group on a good income. For five years he worked there and learned the tricks of the business. After gaining experience, he decided to quit the job.
Keeping the Indian middle class in view, they launched a vanishing cream called Emami. The name Emami had no meaning but it used to sound Italian. They thought that this would affect Indian customers and this happened. He took a lot of information about the market and came to know that what is found in the box of talcum powder tin seems very simple, then he played a big bet. Packed in a plastic container very beautifully in a plastic container and labeled golden in it, it gave a posh and exotic look.
And then this product started flying. Its demand increased day by day and it also left behind Ponds, the emperor of the powder industry. This first taste of success was tasted by Agarwal and Goenka. His new experiments and direct contact with customers had become his strength.
In his next move, he brought a multipurpose antiseptic beauty cream Boroplus to the market in 1984. And this made them the market leader and it became a brand of around 500 crores. Emami was spending heavily in branding. In 1983, Rajesh Khanna starrer “Agar Tum Na Hote” featured Rajesh Khanna as Emami’s managing director. And for this Rekha modeled. This strategy brought Emami to a new place in the minds of Indians. After this, he brought cold and Ayurvedic Navratna oil to the market, which gave a profit of 600 crores within three years. Then his next move was the first ever Fairness Cream for Men which was very successful.
Many actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Shah Rukh Khan, Zeenat Aman, Kareena Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and many players like Sania Mirza, Sushil Kumar, Milkha Singh, Mary Kom and Saurabh Ganguly have promoted their product. Aggarwal and Goenka knew that with the support of celebrity they would become a household name across the country.
It is their passion and thirst for success that Emami’s turnover today is more than 8,800 crores. Agrawal and Goenka’s friendship is an example for today’s era. Their friendship has turned into Kundan as Emami, meditating in the heat of trust, courage and high spirits. It is also established among the second generation of friendly families.
Despite three years of continuous efforts, he was not getting success in the cosmetic business. Seeing the struggle of these two, Goenka’s father gave them 20,000 rupees in hand and both friends decided that there would be 50-50 participation in the business. Then he started Chemco Chemicals but he did not get success here either.
There was a major change in his personal life. Aggarwal and Goenka get married. Now the economic pressure and responsibility on them increased even more and both started looking for new business opportunities. Meanwhile, he got a job in the Birla Group on a good income. For five years he worked there and learned the tricks of the business. After gaining experience, he decided to quit the job.
Keeping the Indian middle class in view, they launched a vanishing cream called Emami. The name Emami had no meaning but it used to sound Italian. They thought that this would affect Indian customers and this happened. He took a lot of information about the market and came to know that what is found in the box of talcum powder tin seems very simple, then he played a big bet. Packed in a plastic container very beautifully in a plastic container and labeled golden in it, it gave a posh and exotic look.
And then this product started flying. Its demand increased day by day and it also left behind Ponds, the emperor of the powder industry. This first taste of success was tasted by Agarwal and Goenka. His new experiments and direct contact with customers had become his strength.
In his next move, he brought a multipurpose antiseptic beauty cream Boroplus to the market in 1984. And this made them the market leader and it became a brand of around 500 crores. Emami was spending heavily in branding. In 1983, Rajesh Khanna starrer “Agar Tum Na Hote” featured Rajesh Khanna as Emami’s managing director. And for this Rekha modeled. This strategy brought Emami to a new place in the minds of Indians. After this, he brought cold and Ayurvedic Navratna oil to the market, which gave a profit of 600 crores within three years. Then his next move was the first ever Fairness Cream for Men which was very successful.
Many actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Shah Rukh Khan, Zeenat Aman, Kareena Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and many players like Sania Mirza, Sushil Kumar, Milkha Singh, Mary Kom and Saurabh Ganguly have promoted their product. Aggarwal and Goenka knew that with the support of celebrity they would become a household name across the country.
It is their passion and thirst for success that Emami’s turnover today is more than 8,800 crores. Agrawal and Goenka’s friendship is an example for today’s era.
