The Heroes Behind The Brand
In 1986, thirty years after it went on stream, Hero Cycles became the largest bicycle maker in the world. Over the next fifteen years its motorcycle venture, Hero Honda (a tie-up with Honda Motor Company of Japan), also became the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, and the company firmly holds both pole positions even today.
Hero Enterprise chairman, Sunil Kant Munjal, a co-founder of the Hero Group, tells the inspiring story behind brand Hero ? the hard work and perseverance that went into it and the innovation and risk-taking ability that steered it along. From the landscapes of Quetta, which later became Pakistan, the Munjal family escaped to Ludhiana with little more than the shirts on their backs in the 1940s. In this near autobiographical account of the genesis and success of the two-wheeler empire, Munjal writes of the ‘family spirit’ that brought employees, customers, channel partners, suppliers and local communities together to create wealth, welfare and well-being for millions over seven decades.
Sunil Kant Munjal is the youngest son of Hero Group founder Brijmohan Lall Munjal. The Munjal brothers started from scratch. They had nothing but their hard work and passion to steer them forward and provide for their family. What began as the simple striving to fend for the family grew into an enterprise and then a group of ventures. It is the story of an enterprise driven by entrepreneurs, who made up in grit and determination what they lacked in the way of formal education.
Sunil Kant Munjal writes of the struggle, poverty and hardship that the four brothers had to fight on this rollercoaster ride to the pinnacle of success in the two-wheeler industry. He lays bare the turbulent times the Munjal family went through as they crossed the hurdles that came their way. ‘The Making of Hero’ is a book full of emotions and a history of an era that saluted the survival of the fittest.
In a riveting first person account, Munjal writes of losses, failure, rejection, competition, tie-ups, winning and rising to the top rung of the automotive industry. The book is an account of courage, valour and confidence.
