As a 20-year old Gujarati bride marrying into a Marwari family, Urvi Piramal could hardly have dreamt that one day she would be the chairperson of her own group of companies. Though, even when the late Ashok Piramal was courting her, she knew she would be involved in the family business "" so liberal were her husband and in-laws.
Thus, from the very beginning, and more so after she lost her husband in 1984, Urvi Piramal has always been a part of the management at Piramals.
Till recently, there were few indications that the group (headed by Ajay Piramal) would split, though brother Dilip Piramal had parted ways with the family several years ago.
However, with Urvi's three sons now wanting to have a larger say in the scheme of things, a break-up was perhaps inevitable. The separation was finally completed last month and Urvi Piramal now heads a motley group of four companies in the fields of retail, real estate, textiles and engineering, with combined revenues of around Rs 700 crore.
It is something of a coincidence that Urvi Piramal began her career as a retailer, much before Crossroads was set up in 1999. Completing her BSc in chemistry after her marriage in 1972, she worked with Kemp & Company, a chain of chemists owned by the Piramals: she set up new systems and reworked the logistics.
That was her first brush with retail. The second opportunity came in the mid-1980s, after Ashok Piramal's untimely death in 1984, with Morarjee Mills. Realising the need to be closer to the customer, she did away with wholesalers, dealing only with semi-wholesalers instead. She also set up a design studio and also introduced saree brands like Sajeeli.
Today, Piramal faces a new set of challenges. While the group's businesses have potential, the operating environment is completely different from what it was, and far more competitive.
For instance, the retail venture is still in the red, despite having had a headstart. And while she may have turned around the group's engineering unit in the past, this is a different era. The realty venture has been doing well, though (the SEZ business would still be a challenge).
By most accounts, Piramal has tried to bring focus to the businesses. For instance, stripping real estate from Morarjee Mills, so as to leave it a pure textiles unit. Judging her performance thus far is not easy, not least because it is not clear who has been taking the decisions. From now on, however, it will be her call.
And while the responsibility of running the business rests with her three sons, she should take her role as a mentor seriously. There is no doubt she has business acumen. Even if it means time away from the forests and wildlife that she loves so much.
