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| Wipro Corporate - Initial Years |
Wipro started in 1945 with the setting up of an oil factory in Amalner a small town in Maharashtra in Jalgaon District. The product Sunflower Vanaspati and 787 laundry soap (largely made from a bi-product of Vanaspati operations) was sold primarily in Maharashtra and MP. The company was aptly named Western India Products Limited.
The Birth of the name Wipro - As the organization grew and diversified into operations of Hydraulic Cylinders and Infotech, the name of the organization did not adequately reflect its operations. Azim Premji himself in 1979 selected the name "Wipro" largely an acronym of Western India Products. Thus was born the Brand Wipro. The name Wipro was unique and gave the feel of an 'International" company. So much so that some dealers even sent their cheques favouring Wipro (India) Limited. Fortunately, the banks accepted them!!
By the early 90s, Wipro had grown into various products and services. The Wipro product basket had soaps called Wipro Shikakai, Baby products under Wipro Baby Soft, Hydraulic Cylinders branded Wipro, PCs under the brand name Wipro, a joint venture company with GE named Wipro GE and software services branded Wipro. The Wipro logo was a 'W", but it was not consistently used in the products.
It was clearly felt that the organization was not leveraging its brand name across the various businesses. The main issue remained whether a diverse organization such as Wipro could be branded under a uniform look and feel and could there be consistent communication about Wipro as an organization.
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