Emotional farewell given to Ratan Tata
An emotional farewell was accorded
to Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, who chaired his last annual general
meeting of Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) today. The 111th AGM got sentimental
with shareholders recounting their past experiences with him.
IHCL runs the Taj brand in the
luxury five-star segment; the Vivanta brand in the four-star segment; Gateway
Hotels in the three-star segment; and Ginger in the budget space.
Shareholders were told that Vivanta
has performed higher than its competitive set and that the distinct brand
elements of Vivanta are strongly endorsed. The multiple-brand strategy followed
by the company to ride the growth wave in the Indian hospitality industry and to
retain its domestic leadership, appears to be working well, company officials
said.
Future plans
“Domestically, the state of the
economy is a matter of growing concern with slowing economy, persistently high
inflation, uncertain political environment and depreciation of the Indian rupee
weakening the overall economic sentiment of the country,” said Ratan Tata.
Commenting on the international
operations of IHCL, he said the focus would be on its hotels in the US and South
Africa. “These hotels are a cause of concern for us. We hope to be profitable
soon,” he added.
He said the company’s stake in
Orient-Express is a great strategic opportunity. “Orient-Express has some iconic
properties in many countries,” he said. IHCL has a 6.93 per cent stake in
Orient-Express.
In the last one year, IHCL
witnessed five new properties opening under the Vivanta by Taj brand, and one
property under The Gateway Hotels brand. This included new markets for the Taj
Group such as Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir; Bekal in North Kerala; Coimbatore
in Tamil Nadu; and emerging business districts such as Yeshwantpur in Bangalore
and Begumpet in Hyderabad. These new hotels have added a total inventory of
about 800 rooms to the company’s portfolio.
Special coin
Ratan Tata is to retire at the end
of 2012 when he turns 75. Many shareholders at the AGM suggested the name of
Krishna Kumar for the next Chairman of IHCL.
While one of the shareholders
suggested that a special coin memorabilia be released with 111 embossed on one
side and Ratan Tata’s face and signature on the other, Ratan Tata reiterated
that he would consider the suggestion. Shareholder Asha Lata Maheshwari recited
poems for the Board of Directors and said: “We will miss Tata. I hope he takes
up the role of Chairman Emeritus. It is difficult to find a replacement like
Tata.’’
- Umesh Shanmugam
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