Brands
Jaipur Rugs rolls iconic Shyam Ahuja brand within its fold
MUMBAI: It’s laying it on pretty thick. Handmade luxury carpets maker Jaipur Rugs has bought over the iconic Shyam Ahuja brand in a move to revive its legacy as a global luxury name. This acquisition includes Shyam Ahuja’s personal collection and design archive, marking a strategic step for Jaipur Rugs to expand its influence in the premium rug market. Details of the transaction are not available, but estimates are that the value is in double digit crore.
Founded in 1963, Shyam Ahuja revolutionised Indian dhurries, introducing the flatwoven rugs to international markets and earning acclaim among A-list designers and global icons like Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis and Gianni Versace. Known for its timeless designs, superior craftsmanship, and sophisticated use of colour, the brand became synonymous with understated elegance and quiet luxury. The brand was a big spender in print, especially publications, which reached out to the diaspora or international travellers. Many of the inflight magazines were their preferred partners.
Jaipur Rugs intends to honour the original vision of Shyam Ahuja while elevating its status on the global stage, according to its director Yogesh Chaudhary. Both Jaipur Rugs and Shyam Ahuja share a commitment to empowering artisans.
Founded in 1978 by Nand Kishore Chaudhary, who has even been labelled as the Gandhi of the carpet industry, Jaipur Rugs is India’s largest handmade carpet manufacturer, with over 40,000 artisans across 650 villages, 85 per cent of whom are women. The company operates in 85 countries and has expanded to international showrooms in Milan, London, Singapore, and Dubai.
Jaipur Rugs artistic director Greg Foster called the acquisition “a sleeping beauty we intend to revive with great respect,” citing the immense design archive and the brand’s cult status among collectors.
The company plans to operate Shyam Ahuja as an independent entity with a distinct supply chain while continuing its retail presence through showrooms in India and globally. Further plans for the brand’s revival will be unveiled soon, promising to re-establish Shyam Ahuja’s position as a pioneer in luxury rugs.
(Picture source: Jaipur Rugs website)
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
