When Jamsetji Tata closed the first Tata enterprise without hesitation
Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group, made a strategic choice in the 1890s to shut down the Tata Shipping Line, demonstrating his willingness to exit from unviable ventures. This tough decision was driven by his effort to break the monopoly of the English P.&O. shipping line that dominated exports from India during the 1880s and 1890s, charging high freight rates and favoring British and Jewish firms.
Jamsetji Tata's textile business suffered due to P.&O.'s exorbitant freight rates and discriminatory practices. Determined to challenge this, he traveled to Japan to collaborate with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), the largest shipping line in Japan. NYK agreed to partner with Jamsetji, provided he took equal risks and managed the ships himself. To launch the 'Tata Line,' he chartered an English ship named 'Annie Barrow' at a fixed rate of 1,050 pounds per month, marking the first venture bearing the Tata name.
Believing the Tata Line would lower freight rates for the entire Indian textile industry, Jamsetji set the rates at Rs 12 per tonne, compared to P.&O.'s Rs 19 per tonne. Soon after, he chartered a second ship, 'Lindisfarne.' His efforts received praise, with The Tribune newspaper commenting in October 1894 that it had «been the subject of general praise in the industrial centre of India.»
However, P.&O. countered aggressively, slashing rates to Rs 1.8 per ton but requiring merchants to agree not to use the Tata Line or NYK ships. They also offered some merchants free passage for their cotton to Japan and
