Rotomac plant closure gave hotel whiff of scam

KOLKATA: At least three months before the Rotomac scam hit the headlines, a luxury hotel in Kolkata had perhaps realized that something wasn’t well with the company. Oberoi Grand switched to another pen in November 2017 after supply of

Rotomac pens

suddenly stopped.

Earlier, the dot pens — in white plastic shell with Rotomac etched in black on one side and Oberoi Grand on the other — were handed out to conference delegates and guests. Since 2011-12, the hotel started providing black pens manufactured at EIH Press — an

Oberoi Group

stationary unit — to guests. The white Rotomac pen continued to be used by its own staff. That is till last November when the 600 Rotomac pens that it buys every month from a vendor never arrived. On inquiry, the vendor told hotel authorities the Rotomac plant had shut down. While Oberoi Grand officials did not delve deeper into the matter. Had they done so, they would probably have got an inkling into the scam that was about to unfold.

In February, CBI arrested Rotomac Pens owner

Vikram Kothari

and his son Rahul in connection with a case of loan default of approximately Rs 3,700 crore taken from seven public sector banks.

“When the consignment did not arrive in November, we had to procure pens of another company to meet the immediate requirement. We have since decided to use the black pens manufactured by EIH Press for back office operations as well,” an

Oberoi Grand Spokesperson

said.

In hindsight, the hotel authorities are glad the supply constraint forced Oberoi Grand to end the association with Rotomac before the scam unfolded. “There was nothing wrong with the pen. But once the Rotomac brand took a hit, it would have been natural for any hotel to distance itself,” he remarked.

Brand guru Harish Bijoor says a good brand will tend to keep at an arm’s length a brand that has gone bad. “Brand is a thought, usually a positive one. When a brand takes a fall, like Rotomac has, a scar is left on the brand,” he explained.