It's end of the road for K K Birla brandname

KOLKATA: Three years after the death of Krishna Kumar Birla, most of the companies under the K K Birla Group will shed the legendary tag. A majority of these companies are being managed by his daughters and sons-in-law who want to create their own identities.KK Birla had divided his empire among his daughters Nandini Nopany, Jyotsna Poddar and Shobhana Bhartia , leaving Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals — the biggest group entity — to be managed jointly by Jyotsna’s husband Saroj Poddar, Shobhana’s husband Shyam S Bhartia and Nandini’s son C S Nopany.Saroj Poddar, who renamed his group ‘Adventz’last month, told TOI that there is “nothing called KK Birla Groupnow” . “There is no point calling it KK Birla Group as it is dividedamong his three daughters. If there is a problem with any company in the group,then the others may be affected,” he said, adding: “The otherdivisions are also changing their identity . Chambal is not likely to be calleda K K Birla Group firm any more.”Only the sugar companiesunder Nopany are still loosely called ‘KK Birla Group of SugarCompanies’ . Nopany could not be contacted forcomment.“For all practical purposes the K K Birla Group isnonexistent . There is hardly any crossholding between the group firms. Whateverremains is pure investment by one fraction into another. K K Birla was avisionary. We are taking lot of initiative in his name,” Poddaradded.He said that Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals (of which he isthe chairman) would continue to be an independent company. It is not underAdventz as it is a mixed affair . How are the Birlas taking it? S K Birla— K K’s nephew and now the second eldest member of the Birla family— accepted it as the “rule of the world” . “There is noBirla in the group. One is Nopany, another Poddar and the third Bhartia. Everycompany in the K K Birla Group has a different chairman. So, it is quitenatural,” he said.S K Birla, who created brands like OCM andDigjam , sounded philosophical about the end of an era: “Life should goon. Once there were 10 Birlas in Birla Building . Now, I and Basant Kumar Birla(K K’s younger brother) are the only two regulars. You have to change withtime.”