India needs to learn a lot of new skills for making global brands: Kumar Mangalam Birla

P. R. Sanjai
Live Mint
15 February 2016

Making global Indian brands requires time, patience and consistent product quality, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said. Edited excerpts from an interview on the sidelines of the Make In India event in Mumbai:

What is the biggest challenge in making India a global manufacturing hub?
India needs to learn a lot of new skills for making global Indian brands, including miniaturization. We are some time away from that. However, this is right time to start learning new skills for India.

Do you see a global Indian brand emerging sometime now?
I think that making global Indian brands is something that requires patience, requires time and consistency in terms of product quality. I think we are yet to see any brand coming out of India that is truly global.

Which sector can make it to a global brand?
Right now, opportunity for consumer brands is in India. So, the focus has to be here. Abof.com (an e-commerce initiative from Aditya Birla Group) is easier to take global.

Is fall in the rupee a worry as you are focused on commodity business?
Not really. We are in financial services. We are in telecom. We are in services. I see a lot more focus on the services sector.

Which Aditya Birla Group brand can go global first?
I think we have a great brand Idea. It will be our starting point. However, currently, we are focusing in India. There are a lot of challenges here.

Which model you follow while pursuing global aspirations?
We follow a conglomerate model instead of a federal structure. We have a corporate talent centre to help group companies.

How do you find talent for such global ambitions?
We have already implemented 2/2 structure. A leader will have to work with two different businesses in two different geographies. He gets the best chance to get a plum role in the group.