By Ruma Dubey

“Only Vimal, Only Vimal…” the jingle went.  It was probably one of the first advertisements for fabrics on Doordarshan and the brand which made Reliance into a household name. It was the brand which made the country sit up and take notice of Dhirubhai Ambani and also the brand which made Mudra Communications, the ad agency which is amongst the top notch ad agencies of India today. It was the first brand to use cricketers as brand ambassadors – Sir Vivian Richards and Allan Border.

There was always this curiosity – why the name “Vimal?” And it was only much later, as the brand built up that it was known that it was named after Dhirubhai's nephew Vimal Ambani, son of his elder brother Ramniklal, who is still on the RIL board, the oldest member. It was Ramnikbhai who helped Dhirubhai set up Reliance’s first textile mill at Naroda in 1966 and by naming the fabric “Vimal” it was Dhirubhai’s way of trying to express gratitude. Vimal was more famous than the sons – Anil and Mukesh.

Two-three years ago, Mukesh Ambani has put this iconic brand on the sale block. But for reasons known to them, either due to lack of buyers or on account of not getting the right price or maybe having Mukesh Ambani having second thoughts, this sale just did not go through.

It would have been indeed very foolish to sell this brand because it holds so much sentimental value. This is the division that launched Reliance into every nook and corner of India, is instrumental in making Reliance what it is today. And thus seemed unlikely even then that Mukesh Ambani, for a few dollars more, that too when he is the richest Indian, would part with this iconic brand.

Yet, despite this, over the past few years, from 2000 to 2007, the brand was in oblivion, and it made a comeback only in 2007. It was re-launched in a new format, new fabrics, with differentiated price points and offerings under sub-brands such as Vimal Red, Vimal White and Vimal Black.

Today this brand is getting all the attention that it deserves and Reliance is working on changing the brand positioning. From being a saree or suiting/shirting textile, the company is now positioning it as youth-oriented, affordable fashion label. It has set itself the target of doubling the sales to Rs.1800 crore from this brand alone.

Keeping in tune with its image of being reinvented and youthful, it is launching a marketing strategy with new age entrepreneurs promoting the product. It will be running Vimal ad campaigns featuring Zify Founder Anurag Singh Rathor, iD Fresh Food Co-founder Musthafa PC, Bankbazaar Founder Adhil Shetty, Local Banya Founder Karan Mehrotra and Chumbak Founder Vivek Prabhakar as it looks to connect with young aspiring Indians.

Why we have highlighted this story today? Some brands like ‘Only Vimal’ are a part of folklore and many a times represents the rise of a new company, a new icon. ‘Only Vimal’ was that and more for Reliance Industries – it was recognsied as ‘Vimal company’. Thus some brands will remain, will get reinvented and remodeled as long as the company is alive. It’s a pity that brands like Orkay and Garden which ruled the roost those days are no longer around.

Yes, some brands need to stay around because they represent a piece of history.

PS: Vimal Ambani, the man whose name became the iconic ‘Only Vimal’ brand is today the man behind Tower Overseas Ltd,  a company which makes ‘Vehicle wraps’ which  are essentially vinyl laminates, used to cover vehicles in myriad hues and designs.