BIRLA #1: THE “UNKNOWN” GLOBAL INDIAN CONGLOMERATE

The Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The group is primarily structured around its three holding companies: Grasim Industries, Hindalco Industries and AB Nuvo. These companies through their respective subsidiaries are into various areas like viscose staple fiber, metals, cement (largest in India), viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, insulators, financial services, telecom, BPO and IT services. Many of them exist to support the group's strategy of vertical integration.

In terms of statistics, when Kumar Birla took over the reins from his father, the turnover was only $2 billion and overseas operations accounted for a miniscule part of the overall business with only Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia being major centers. Under KM Birla's strong leadership the group's turnover spiraled to over $40billion. It has expanded operations to more than 40 countries including Australia, Dubai, and reaching out to North America, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary and China. Sixty percent of the group's revenues come from abroad and several thousand people are being hired globally for their business operations.

Apart from above, Kumar Birla Carried out several other changes such as:

Globally the Aditya Birla Group isà a metal powerhouseà No.1 in viscose staple fiberà No.1 in carbon blackàThe 4th largest producer of insulatorsàThe 5th largest producer of acrylic fiberàAmong the top 10 cement producers globallyà Among the best energy-efficient fertilizer plantsàThe largest Indian MNC with manufacturing operations in the USA

In India, the group isà The largest fashion (premium branded apparel) and lifestyle playerà The second-largest manufacturer and largest exporter of viscose filament yarnà The largest producer in the chlor-alkali sectorà Among the top three mobile telephony companiesà A leading player in life insurance and asset managementà Among the top two supermarket chains in the retail businessà Among the top 6 BPO companiesà The largest manufacturer of linen fabric

However, the Birla group still has to go a long way in becoming India's #1 conglomerate there are four possible reasons behind this lag:

Contributed by:-

Prasoon Aggarwal

Section A

Strategic Management