Out of 5000+ publicly listed companies in India, not a single one has all five. There are companies that have one or two of these attributes - maybe even three - but not all five.
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It is a Nifty company - which means it’s reached significant size and scale
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It’s grown each and every year since it started (in revenue terms)
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It’s been number one in its industry since 1967 - a position it has not relinquished, at all, till now, ever - which is probably the longest any business in India has stayed at the top of their sector. If you look at India’s corporate history, most leading brands have churned. Premier Motors with Fiat couldn’t hold on. Bajaj Auto, Airtel - same story. Any industry that has survived in free competition in India has seen a churn in its top players. Asian Paints hasn’t seen that, yet. Maybe it will going forward, but that hasn’t happened so far.
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It’s a family-owned business - not the family of a single promoter but of four unrelated families (two are technically related but it’s not an immediate relation). In any case, not enough has been written about the uniqueness of the family-business construct in India. This one is even more unconventional.
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Lastly, it is professionally run. It is as professional as you can get, in that it has been a premium destination for the brightest MBAs in India right from the 1960s.
So these five things, all taken together, are what make it unique as a subject of study.
Above is an excerpt from the newsletter mentioned below!
I loved reading this deep dive on Asian Paints - Three Mangoes, Two Horns, and a Garage - by Rahul Sanghi
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