The Agarwals of Dainik Bhaskar have had a dream run in beating incumbents in the regional newspaper market. In Maharashtra, they might just meet their match in Lokmat
The streets of Aurangabad are awash with activity. At the centre of attention are its residents. And they are being courted with giant hoardings, banners, pamphlets, painted city buses and mobile phone text messages. Hundreds of smartly attired young men have fanned out across the length and breadth of the city. They move from house to house conducting feedback surveys, telling residents what the banners and buses already say: We’re here to listen to your views, because they should matter.
No, it is not election time. Rather, this is a battle for influence over the minds of the citizens of Aurangabad. It’s the battle of the newspapers. The ads, the surveys, the feedback forms all belong to the two warring sides.
The Cast
The Challengers: The Agarwal family of DB Corp.
In 2005, when the Agarwals launched the English language newspaper DNA in Mumbai with Subhash Chandra of the Zee Group, they literally burnt money poaching high-profile talent from competitors. However, the superstar team was neither able to overthrow The Times of India’s leadership in Mumbai nor work together as a cohesive whole. Wiser and poorer from that experience, the Agarwals are staying clear of hiring any Lokmat staff. Instead they’ve hired the majority of their staff from Sakal newspaper.
With the launch of Divya Marathi from Aurangabad, the Agarwals are displaying two of their core characteristics — a canny understanding of competition plus the desire to ‘shock and awe’ rivals into submission.
(This story appears in the 22 April, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)