WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A history steeped in troubles, tribulations, and complications is at a turning point with the settling of a 33 year old case over the Shezan name
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By Maliha Abidi
n 1975, a simple transaction was about to inextricably change the fates of two business families in Lahore, launching them in a three-decade-long legal dispute over a name — Shezan. In September 1974, the Bhutto administration declared the Ahmadiyya community non-Muslims, and a number of prominent Ahmadiyya community members, among them leading business owners, prepared to pack up their assets and leave the country. While the community was no stranger to persecution, for many the constitutional enshrinement against their faith was the last straw. Among those looking to sell their business was Shezan Restaurants and Bakeries. Owned by Shahnawaz Ltd, Shezan was very much a family affair and had been around since the late 1950s. They were pioneers of bringing desi and continental food together with fine dining. They had two restaurants in Lahore, Shezan Continental and Shezan Clay Oven, both on the lower mall. This was a time when there weren’t many dining options available to a rising upper middle-class. The lower mall was a swanky area surrounded by both government and private offices, which made restaurants that provided good, familiar food in a place with a fashionable ambiance a thriving business. So when the Ahmadiyya family that owned Shezan decided to sell, Chaudhry Meher-ud-Din decided to buy both restaurants from them. A shrewd businessman who owned automobile showrooms in Lahore, Meherud-Din recognised the potential of Shezan.
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It was a recognisable brand name, had a legacy, and had been built over the years over solid business fundamentals and catered to a specific need. He also knew that inside the restaurant was a bakery as well, which he could separate and expand the business. Meher-ud-Din’s ambitions extended beyond this. He also wanted to acquire a third asset that Shahnawaz Ltd had — the Shezan International factory which produced and packaged products like the iconic Shezan Mango juice, squashes, pickles, jams, marmalades, ketchup etc. This is where things get a little complicated. While the two restaurants were sold to the Chaudhry family, Shahnawaz Ltd decided to keep Shezan International Factory. The family had put in a lot of work to build up the business and while the threat to their lives and property was very real, they got many reassurances from the government of Pakistan and decided to keep this side of their business. This resulted in a situation where there were two different entities operating under the Shezan name. There were the restaurants and bakery owned by Chaudhry Meher-udDin and the factory owned by Shahnawaz Ltd. The restaurants were in the fine dining and bakeries business, and the factory produced and packaged the iconic Shezan Mango juice, squashes, pickles, jams, marmalades, ketchup and other such products. For the first few years things ran as smoothly as they could. But then came the trademark dispute in 1988, after which came the lawsuits. After a legal battle that has lasted more than three decades, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) recently ruled in favour of Shahnawaz Ltd — the original owners of the Shezan name. Essentially, the
case was less about the right to the name and more about who would get to use the Shezan trademark to expand their business. This is how it all went down.
The story after the sale
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hezan hasn’t had an easy time in Pakistan since 1975. Chaudhry Meher-udDin was from a staunchly Sunni family and Shezan bakeries all around Lahore prominently display a declaration of their faith on their windows. Despite this, whenever violence against the Ahmadiyya community rears its ugly head, Shezan Bakeries are often the first targets. Despite this prejudice, the Shezan name itself has made a name for itself also on the basis of consistency and reliability that makes it stand out. Of course, the Shezan Bakeries we know today are neither high-brow nor fashionable and that has been the product of conscious decisions. When Chauhdhry Meher-ud-Din had originally bought the restaurants, his eyes had been on the in-house bakeries. At that time, if anything was served from inside a restaurant, sales tax of 16 percent, value added tax at one percent with special excise duty on top were added to the bill. The bakery items were quite popular which is why Meher-ud-Din decided to separate the bakery from the restaurant which resulted in the prices dropping and demand rising. Immediately, the bakery was a big hit. They also began to stock their shelves with products from Shezan International. Since it was not very well known that the two entities had separate owners, people thought that Shezan Bakeries were selling their own brand of products. The arrangement was a profitable
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