Taj Online joins Group
22 September 2008
Grass Roots Group has announced the acquisition of the Mumbai based merchandise and corporate gift supplier Taj Online Pvt Ltd. This latest investment by the U.K based performance improvement company gives it ownership of Tajonline.com, an online portal set up in 1999 by owners Charoo Aggarwal and Vineet Aggarwal, to cater for the needs of Indians based overseas who wish to send gifts to family and friends in their home country.
The company was among the first to enter the e-commerce arena in India, based on a series of key account relationships with high recognition brands in the Indian market and a robust distribution process. Supported by a modern technology infrastructure and stringent operational processes, the platform has evolved from its original purpose of serving an overseas consumer market to administering and fulfilling reward and other marketing programs for corporations in the Indian market.
The Taj Online team has 48 people across sales, merchandising, technology, operations, and is amongst the first Indian e commerce companies with an ISO 9001: 2000 certification for their management system.
Charoo Aggarwal now reports to Steve Hibberd who heads the Grass Roots Group interests in Asia. Hibberd has wasted no time in relocating the Grass Roots India head office to Mumbai. The Delhi office which opened in September 2007 will remain in place to serve clients based in North India.
Grass Roots Group Chairman David Evans is enthusiastic about the prospects for this latest venture: “Combining technology with robust process and outstanding people has been the foundation of our success and with Taj Online we found exactly that. It’s an exciting part of the world for us to be operating in and I’m very confident in future growth for Grass Roots India, with a strong team under Steve Hibberd’s leadership.”