Two young men jostle in a rickshaw as it clatters along a narrow, bustling lane of North Kolkata, each with a leg dangling over the side of the vehicle, a bulging sack of cosmetics nestled between them. The protagonists here are the founders of Emami - Radhe Shyam Agarwal and Radhe Shyam Goenka - childhood friends who gave up cushy corporate jobs to build a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. From a 200-square-foot rented space on Muktaram Babu Street in North Kolkata, brand Emami stepped into the competitive world of FMCG 50 years back, armed with just three products: Vanishing cream, talcum powder, and cold cream.
Emami's soaring fortunes have been dragged down to earth by the blaze that torched its AMRI Hospital, killing 93 people. With seven directors -- six of them family members -- in jail or absconding, can the Emami Group survive the rocky road ahead?
The Zandu business grew rapidly, and we became debt-free within two years of the deal.
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