4 Friends Started Company After World War II, Ruling Over The Indian Market For 6 Decades: Billionaire's Story

World war II in every sense has been one of the most significant factors to move the Indian economy's roadmap. On one hand, it ruined the food supply chain in the country, Indian soldiers were solely involved in the war. India even spent more than the UK on the war and experienced 'sterling debt', as the war ended, only to sink the economy far. However, during WW II, some of the private businesses in India actually opened new doors to thrive. During the period, when the Quit India Movement was taking place in 1942, India banned the imports of paints from the foreign markets, when an Indian entrepreneur found such an opportunity to utilize the decision. With the ban on foreign paints, India's domestic companies in the sector started to grow.

Champaklal Choksey, a resident of Maharashtra, with his four friends, Chimanlal Choksi, Suryakant Dani, and Arvind Vakil stepped into the business of paints, under the name of Asian Paints, in 1942. At that moment, Shalimar Paints was one of the most significant names in the said sector. Champaklal and his 4 friends started their business in a garage in the city of Mumbai. However, only in 10 years, the intelligent business mind of Choksey made the company which had an annual turnover of Rs. 23 crore, and within 10 more years, the company became the leading player in the sector.

Champaklal Choksey's basement to grow his business was intense market research. He realized that affordability and supply were two major factors he had to understand to play in the sector. Apart from Shalimar, some other paint companies were providing products but, those were not affordable for the common people. On the other hand, if Choksey starts to offer their products at cheaper prices, they will not be able to stand longer due to a lack of profitability. So, he started to focus on innovation and technology to improve their products, and to offer paints to customers at cheaper rates. It certainly worked. Additionally, the significant distributors also did not agree to sell their products because they were new to the field. So, Asian Paints stepped into the rural markets to strengthen their business.

Now, Asian Paints is a leading listed company and has a market capitalization of Rs. 264,824 crore, and also provides dividends to its shareholders. The current market price of the company is Rs. 2,760. In the last 5 years, its share price has surged sharply by 150.24% for the investors. In the last 52-week, its share price has moved between Rs. 3,590.00 and Rs. 2,560.00. The company often stays on the top gainers' list on the NSE.