In June, when Eureka Forbes, the Mumbai-headquartered facilities management company that makes water and air purifying systems and vacuum cleaners among other products, sent about one thousand of its frontline salesmen (internally called Eurochamps) to Bangkok; “some of them had never been on an airplane before, and many never out of the country. So their family members came to the airport to send them off,” says Marzin Shroff, CEO - Direct Sales and VP - Marketing, Eureka Forbes.

He says the “family spirit” extends to the entire organisation comprising 8,000 direct salesmen. “Because of that feeling of belonging and reaching out to our customers, we can take door knocks, door slams, and recession doesn't hurt us much.” But, he adds, Eureka Forbes, owned by the Shaporjee Pallonjee group, is not a recession-proof company; “but we can weather certain storms better.”

One of the major direct marketing companies in the world, its salesmen knock on more doors than the UK population put together (56 million), says Shroff. “We knock on about 75 million doors every year, and have grown on the basis of what people ask us to do.” So from an Aquaguard in their homes, people wanted water purifiers for the office, the building or a factory/plant. “We now do large water-based projects for industry. We've done the Vedanta plant in Orissa and have got a significant order for a power plant of L&T.”

Requests for air-purifiers followed and the company entered the indoor pollution segment. A case study at the Harvard Business School, Eureka Forbes has been adjudged India's best employer for three years by the Hewlett Packard study.

He recalls how in 1982, when the company wanted to sell vacuum cleaners, “the research pundits turned around and said, ‘wrong number, guys; India has the cheapest domestic labour in the world, and most Indian homes don't have carpets that need such cleaners'”.

But persistence paid, as also the decision to remain in core areas. As in water, even in cleaners, the company first began with the home, then made larger ones for offices and factories, and now also provides onsite cleaning services for a pollution-free environment.

Drinking water

Eureka Forbes was the first to enter the drinking water purification segment, which now has numerous players. “India perhaps has groundwater of the worst quality in the world and in many places the water table has gone down drastically. Punjab, India's granary, has among the lowest water tables and Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have high levels of water contamination.” The falling water-tables are bringing in newer impurities that were not seen even 10 years ago.

Over the last 29 years, Eureka Forbes has mapped water quality in different areas of the country through its 18 laboratories. You can enter your pin code on its Web site ( www.waterwonderfulworld.com ) and get a rough idea on the quality of your water. In rural areas, the company offers water at Rs 1.20 for 10 litres, which can meet the daily requirement of one family.

Future plans

Today, in the vacuum cleaning category Eureka Forbes has over 80 per cent market share and in water purification, 52 per cent. Shroff's ambition is to “duplicate in rural India what we've done in urban India, as we see a huge market there”. But price and value equation remain a challenge. “How you break down the price and what value is seen in your product are the key challenges. The number of rupees per day the customer pays for his water as opposed to the Rs 10,000 paid upfront. It is the sachet-shampoo story.”

Institutional business will bring the second area of growth. The company already has a substantial business in cleaning trains and railway stations and sees air purification, security and home automation as growth areas of the future.

Business and corruption

On whether it is possible to be ethical and do business in India, Shroff says, “The word ethical is interpreted differently by different people, so there are shades of grey there. But an example of ethical conduct is Ratan Tata, who stands there and says: ‘I will stand on my principles, I don't care what happens'.”

He disagrees that there is only one Ratan Tata; “there are many Ratan Tatas and many who desire to be like him but are victims of circumstances. A line has to be drawn somewhere. Business at the cost of ethics is a never-ending trap.”

Eureka Forbes values transparency; in performance evaluation, an unhappy employee can represent to the highest body of the company, the Core Leadership Team. “We also have an open policy on vendor sourcing; anybody can question anything. It's all on record. We are a completely transparent organisation. You may do 15 things right but one wrong step can trip you and destroy your reputation. My take on corruption? For some, it's a necessary evil, but in my business I don't want to do it and don't do it.”

He says social networking - through the Facebook or Twitter or the BlackBerry Messenger - is making people think and respond to social issues such as corruption or increase in crime. “We now have a revolution on the Internet and technology has become an enabler. When I read something in a newspaper or magazine, it's your opinion, which I may or may not accept. But on the Internet I am more involved because I comment on it.”

Shroff is very ‘buoyant' on India's future and says some of the attributes on which we've been brought up - such as perseverance, struggle, standing in a queue to get almost anything, a 60-90 minute commute to work - are all positives. “Long hours are not a big deal for us. Most people have been made to earn and value every single rupee, so we value money. We've always had good education, but Indian entrepreneurship is now ready to take off. Today we are the biggest and best provider of services in the world.”

So what could trip us?

“Many things. Politics and politicians; this is our single-largest bane, as also the gap between the rich and the poor. Every country goes through it, but the gap that exists today is a little frightening.”

High on jazz

Eureka Forbes’ Marzin Shroff is a huge jazz fan, and has “perhaps the best collection of jazz in the country, running to about 1,200 CDs,” along with an eclectic collection of all kinds of music. Music runs in my soul, I love dancing too,” he says. His wife listens to a lot of sentimental, love music. “I find that interesting, palatable, but it doesn’t stir me up like jazz, which is amazing, powerful, incredible.” When I recall a jazz concert I once attended in Cape Town, he is all interest and says: “Cape Town is the hotbed of jazz. In Johannesburg, you have these clubs in the middle of Soweto where [you should] go without your purse, watch, ring, carrying just a few currency notes. It’s an awesome experience.”

Shroff is a foodie too, and talks with passion about various restaurants and cuisines he loves. “My favourite is Japanese cuisine but I like Greek, actually all Mediterranean food.” He then quizzes me closely on the restaurants I frequent in Chennai and says, with a tinge of disappointment, “Oh, so it’s basically Indian food that you love”!

An eclectic reader, Robert Ludlum and Aldous Huxley were his one-time favourites but today all his spare time is consumed by music. The man who once played football for Bombay University admits he doesn’t like to work out. “But I have to… I have no choice. So I walk on my treadmill at home for about 40 minutes. My fitness motivator is my wife; every time she looks at my stomach and says: ‘You need to work out’.”

A movie buff with a huge collection of DVDs, Shroff loves to watch world cinema and explains in detail the story of a Spanish movie Biutiful. “It’s a fascinating movie about this guy with two kids dying of cancer… it’s a weird movie but I see a lot of weird movies! I see a lot of French cinema too.”

Passionate about travel, his favourite destination is Goa, where he holidays at least twice a year. “It’s therapeutic; my wife and I go there on a Thursday and return on a Sunday. I hire a car at the airport; we don’t decide where we’re going to stay… I’ve stayed in almost every hotel in North Goa. We eat, we chill.” London and the rest of Europe and North America are other favourite destinations

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