Watch out, East India Company is returning to India

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Aug 13 (PTI) Sanjiv Mehta, the Indian-origin
entrepreneur who acquired the historic East India Company will
resurrect the well-known brand in the form of a luxury foods
store here, and says he will take the company once again to
India in 2011.
The only difference is that unlike the company's first
peregrinations into the Indian sub-continent from 1600
onwards, this time the company will be owned by an
entrepreneur of Indian-origin.
"Surely, we have no political ambitions, but this is
the world's most successful brand, and we'll open stores in
Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore in the first quarter of 2011,"
Mehta told PTI on Friday, a day before the formal opening of
the store here.
The 'East India Company' store on Conduit Street, off
Regent Street in London's West End, has already aroused
considerable interest among shoppers, even before the high-end
food store is formally launched.
Mehta has ambitious plans for the company's expansion
across the world.
The store measures around 2,200 square feet, and
reminds many of the Company Bahadur's heritage – its coat of
arms hangs on the wall while ancient Indian coins are placed
across sales counters.
Imbued with a sense of history, Mehta, 49, explained
how history dictated the designing and formatting the 21st
century incarnation of the East India Company, which ruled
over India until 1875, when it was dissolved.
"A lot of thought has gone into each and every facet
of the store – from colours, crest, logo, fonts, food range,
quality and replication of images associated with the company.
"The company originally started with food, and we are
treading the same path again," Mehta said.
He added: "If the East India Company had remained a
commercial enterprise and had continued to function until this
day, what shape would it have taken? That is the question I
ask myself and that is what dictated my vision for the
company".
Mehta has secured replication rights from museums of
various artefacts associated with the company, such as the
Queen's table placed in the Victoria & Albert Museum,
chandeliers, etc.
He acquired the company in 2005 and has since invested
15 million US dollars.
The store on Conduit Street will sell 350 high-end
products, including over 100 varieties of tea, chocolate
boxes, biscuits and mustard.
High-end, carefully sourced items for sale include
marmalade mixed with gold leaves.
Mehta has a family background in gems and jewellery,
and migrated to Britain in 1989.
He studied at the Sydenham College, Mumbai and
gemmology in Los Angeles, and maintains close links with India
through his business interests. PTI PS