Saravana Bhavan never fails to dish out hot stuff - within their restaurants; and outside it as well. Chennai’s arguably finest restaurant is in the news again.
But before I get to the news, a few words about Saravana Bhavan if you know precious little about this brand.
Saravana Bhavan was started in 1971 by a guy named Rajagopalan, who started his life as a shop boy and dreamed of making it big in the restaurant business. And boy did be make it big or what!
His hotel – the first choice in south Indian dishes and the last word in taste - became synonymous with impeccable quality and exceptional service. It never advertised in the mass media. The brand’s customers did. Saravana’s customers could never stop talking about its variety of its menu; the delicacy of its offerings; the precision of its servings; and the warmth of its service.
Saravana Bhavan became a case study in more ways than one. Not just in marketing classes and discussions. But in HR practices too. Each one of its employees handpicked from interior Tamil Nadu is trained, ruthlessly, it looks so. Yet treated with utmost care. I understand every employee is insured; given a month’s pay along with leave to visit their loved ones in their hometowns.
No wonder the brand has grown. To more than 50 odd branches – not just here in India, but also all across the globe. If my memory serves me right, Saravana Bhavan has more than a dozen branches in the U.S. alone. And continues to grow at a rate that could put a South American inflation to shame!
Did I say Saravana Bhavan is in the news? Correction; the brand isn’t. Its owners were earlier, and now are again. First, a few years back, its owner Rajagopalan, was caught in a murder case. He was accused of killing a husband whose wife, he had wanted to remarry. That Rajagopalan had a few wives already serving him is another matter altogether. The man who prides in serving 14-idlies, 7-uthampams wanted the same variety in his personal life as well, I presume! The case is still in court and expected to be that way for another decade. His arrest and the case itself continues to hog the headlines to this day.
One of his two sons, Sivakumar, is now in the news. Reason: he had allegedly fabricated visas for four of his employees to take them to the U.S. and get them employed in Saravana Bhavan restaurants there. The press, that constantly craves for brutal rapes, gruesome murders and downright deceptions, has found this news a godsend. It has been hogging the news like it’s the end of the world.
Now, did Sivakumar try to cheat? Is he involved in human trafficking? Did his dad encroach on another’s marital property? Did he murder? Who knows? Who cares? Who bothers?
Not me, definitely.
I don’t care if he and his dad did or didn’t. I don’t give much to their sexual habits or secretive ways. But what interests me is its impact or, more precisely the lack of it, on the brand, Saravana Bhavan.
If you had expected all this negative publicity to impact the brand, you are right in expecting so. Most brands get too intertwined with their founders or the management. Case in point: Kingfisher and Vijay Mallya, Cavinkare and C.K. Ranganathan, Infosys and Narayanamurthy etc., But no, not Saravana Bhavan. The brand continues to march ahead as if nothing happened around it.
I was in two of its outlets these last few days. And it has been business as usual. In fact, I suspect business has even picked up. I had to wait before I could get a chair to park myself to feast on Saravana’s sumptuous offerings. And this was in one of its outlets that had a seating capacity of close to 150! And I was there around 4 P.M. – hardly lunch time you would call.
Is there a lesson for us marketers here? You bet there is. Especially to family-led businesses. The lesson is this: Distance yourself from your brand. Nurture your brand and help it grow and all that. But don’t put your face to the brand. Let the brand have a face of its own. Remember, it could be your baby, but it is public property. It will outlive you; it has to. It grows independently of you. And grows faster. Spreads wider. Lives longer.
Even if you treat yourself on others’ wives or transport human parcels.
