Godrej legacy diverges: 127-year-old lock-to-aerospace business splits into two

The Great Godrej Divergence: To improve the operational focus and long-term value creation, the Godrej family, with its illustrious 127-year legacy, has announced a major realignment within its conglomerate structure. The restructuring will see the division of shareholding into two distinct entities namely, Godrej Enterprises and Godrej Industries. The group will undergo a division, with Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir Godrej on one side, and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Godrej Crishna on the other. Here’s how the split looks like in a snapshot: 

Following extensive deliberations, the family, known for its diverse businesses spanning locks, aerospace, and real estate, has opted for this course of action to maintain harmony and to better align ownership in acknowledgement of the differing visions of the Godrej family members. 

The group operates as two different entities namely Godrej Industries which is controlled by Adi and Nadir and Godrej Enterprise which comes under Jamshyd and Smita. 

The Godrej group was founded in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej and his younger brother Pirojsha Godrej. Their initial venture into selling locks stemmed from Ardeshir's response to the surge in burglaries reported in Mumbai. Over time, the group diversified its interests and ventured into soap production in 1918, and never looked back. 

However, this divergence will not affect the ongoing collaboration between Godrej & Boyce and Godrej Properties for land development in Vikhroli, Mumbai and both entities will continue to use the Godrej brand for their respective businesses. 

The company expanded its business from lock and soap to furniture and almirahs in 1923, which became an inseparable part of India’s gifting tradition. In 1943, the group acquired Mumbai’s Vikhroli village which is still one of its most valuable assets.  

During the Bombay Docks explosion in 1944, Godrej gained immense popularity as its locker remained unharmed. Godrej also boasts of a legacy of manufacturing 1.7 million ballot boxes for the nation's inaugural elections in 1951. Subsequent years witnessed milestones such as the launch of Cinthol soap in 1952 and entry into the refrigerator market in 1958.