Bajaj Electricals shines on 75 years later

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INCEPTION: Bajaj Electricals' journey in the last 75 years is a case study of a company creating a brand that became a household name from a loss-making start with a turnover of Rs 18 crore in 1938. It was set up as Radio Lamps Works and got its current name in 1960.

THEN AND NOW: Chairman Shekhar Bajaj says, "From making losses in 1938, now we are looking at a topline of Rs 4,200 crore this year."

Bajaj's lighting and consumer appliances divisions command a lion's share of the business. Its constructions order business has seen the impact of the economic slowdown. It also has the licence to sell Morphy Richards products across the country.

It came up with the classic jingle for its lights that went as 'Jab main chhota baccha tha' in the 1960s. The tagline has since changed to 'Inspiring Trust' from 'Tradition of Trust'.

A senior official at a rival company says, "Forget sales, even the brand equity is solid. It is one of the strongest in the Indian market and a household name."

To keep the company on a growth track, Bajaj has been eyeing acquisitions but high interest rates are spoiling the party for the moment.

NAMES BEHIND THE BRAND: The chief architect is the chairman, Shekhar Bajaj. But the soft spoken Bajaj says it has been a team effort.

The classic lights TVC jingle was done by Ayesha Sahini, an ad freelancer. It was first conceived a little longer but keeping in mind the audience's short attention span, it was cut. "I actually had dismissed the idea at first but then we decided to go ahead with it and the rest is history," explains Bajaj. "It was a runway hit. People at that time with loved it and used to wait for it to come on air on the single channel available then," Bajaj adds. So phenomenal was the jingle, that it made sure Bajaj's products made their way into most households.

REINVENTED?: However, as the company completed 75 years this year, it has now come up with a new campaign orchestrated by the tabla maestro Zakir Hussian's brother Taufiq Quereshi, and conceived by O&M.

Whether it will become another classic remains to be seen.
The column, 50&Counting, will chronicle brands which have survived for 50 years and more in India. We decipher their good times and bad times.