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GREEN PRODUCTS GO ON HOLD IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES

2012-01-25T15:56:00.001+05:30

The patrons of green products are facing the burnt of economic conditions. While some are still thinking, most have gone back to cheaper non-greens

In August, Lloyd Alter came up against the limits of his environmental convictions when he had to replace the leaky roof on his house in Toronto.

“For years, I said I would install a reflective metal roof,” because it helps to reduce heat and lower energy costs during the summer, said Alter, an architect who writes about design for Treehugger, a sustainability-focused website. But “when push came to shove,” he said, “I bought asphalt (one which costs almost half of the metal roof and made from a a petroleum-based material).”

It is the kind of reality check that many eco-conscious consumers face these days. And like Alter, most have resorted to cutting their spending on a variety of items, particularly green products, which typically cost more than their non-green counterparts and can be difficult to justify, or even afford, when budgets are tight. In a bad economy, what used to seem essential can quickly become optional. At the same time, what was once merely fashionable can become a matter of necessity. Activities like growing and canning food, raising chickens and making your own clothes and other household goods are now seen by many as a way to economize while staying true to green values.

David Quilty, a blogger in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has stopped buying organic cotton T-shirts and shopping for produce at Whole Foods. And after years of buying packaged cleaners and soaps from eco-friendly companies like Method and Seventh Generation, he can no longer afford them, he said, so he has started cleaning his home with a solution he whips up himself.

Not coincidentally, his widely read environmental blog, The Good Human, recently ran an article entitled “23 Ways to Use Vinegar for Nontoxic Cleaning.” One of a number of similar features that have appeared on the site in the past year, it is a sign of the blog’s shift toward a do-it-yourself mentality.

The same shift in focus is evident on other environmental blogs. Alter said he sees it playing out daily on Treehugger. “Had you come on the site four years ago, before the recession, you would have seen a post every day for a new bamboo shirt or bamboo sandals,” he said. “We do almost none of that stuff anymore, because people don’t have the money to buy it.”

Not surprisingly, the green products industry is feeling the pinch. Laura Batcha, Executive Vice President, Organic Trade Association, said that while the organic-goods sector has boomed in the past eight years, going up to $29 billion from $9 billion in sales, the industry’s yearly growth rates dropped to less than 6% in 2010, from between 15 and 20% previously.

And some brands have felt the pain more than others. According to SymphonyIRI Group, a market research firm that tracks mass-market stores (excluding Wal-Mart), sales of Clorox Green Works tub cleaner and dish detergent each dropped by more than 30% in the 12-month period ending in early September. And another popular green brand Seventh Generation has seen a drop in sales of items like paper towels, which are down by more than 15% during the same period. Meanwhile, pricier items like hybrid cars have seen sales decline by more than 20% in the past year, according to Baum & Associates, another market-research firm.

Despite all that, Batcha insists that the green industry is continuing its “uphill climb” (the industry’s growth rates are back in the low double-digits this year, she said, although she was unable to provide specific numbers), and most people aren’t making a choice between green and cheap. At the moment, however, many eco-minded consumers seem to be wary of both.

Not long ago, Alter found himself in a grocery store, trying to decide between $10-half-kilogram organic bacon and a nonorganic brand that cost $5. In the end, he didn’t buy either one.

For Erin Peters, a stay-at-home mother of three who began using green products four years ago, the do-it-yourself approach was a response to what she thought was a temporary financial hardship. But despite forgoing things like green cleaning products and organic food, Peters said, she thinks she is living in a more sustainable way than she did before.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Planman Technologies

“DESIGN BUSINESSES TO DELIVER RESULTS”

2011-12-23T17:07:00.001+05:30

Operational ceos design businesses with the same rigour and discipline that they expect their teams to bring to designing new products, identifying clear requirements for operational performance and evaluating alternative operating model designs.

The challenges facing CEOs have never been greater: increasingly demanding customers, rapidly changing technology, accelerating industry dynamics, global competition. This tough business environment has seen the emergence of a new generation of ‘operational CEOs’. These are results-driven, operationally-savvy executives who realise that strategy on its own isn’t enough; delivering results requires a mastery of operational strategy. They take their inspiration from companies like Southwest Airlines, Toyota and Zara, who have leveraged operational strategy to create innovations that have profoundly altered the dynamics of their industries.

Managing outcomes
Being operational doesn’t mean that CEOs need to manage operations directly. Instead, they focus on managing the outcomes. They understand that businesses and their operations need to be explicitly designed, not just left to evolve organically, and that they have a critical role in defining the performance that each part of their business must deliver. They design businesses with the same rigour and discipline that they expect their teams to bring to designing new products, identifying clear requirements for operational performance and evaluating alternative operating model designs. They realise that sometimes incremental improvements aren’t enough; significant changes to their company’s operating model may be required to deliver the results they need.

Operational CEOs understand that all components of what a business does, from customer acquisition to customer service and support, need to be viewed in an operational context. They know the strengths and limitations of their current operating model and how it is different from their competitors. They have a firm grasp of the key operational metrics for every part of their business and understand the interdependencies between them and the performance trade-offs involved.

Designing & implementing new operating models
Start-ups have the chance to create their operating models from scratch – which is why they can be so dangerous. Operational CEOs understand how the limitations of their current operating model can constrain the strategic options available to their business. They also recognise the potential of operational innovation to change the basis of competition. They know the key design decisions businesses in their industry need to make and the time and cost involved in making changes to the different components of their operating model. Faced with significant uncertainty, operational CEOs put a premium on flexibility, and they design operating models that can respond rapidly to new opportunities and changing market conditions.

Zara: fast fashion delivers results
Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer, demonstrates how operational innovation and a radically different operating model can redefine the basis of competition and deliver superior business results. The company’s strategic vision is to deliver value-based fashion – fast. Zara can get new clothing designs from the drawing board onto store shelves in as little as two weeks, while it takes most retailers four to twelve months. The key to the company’s success is a high-speed operating model that integrates every aspect of the business, from product development to retail.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
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Planman Technologies

A BIG IDEA CALLED…DURGA PUJA!!

2011-12-14T17:14:00.001+05:30

Religious festival, colourful carnival … or a big, fat platform showcasing Ma Durga’s boogey-woogey with Ma Lakshmi?! 4Ps B&M’s Consulting Editor Monojit Lahiri probes a space where the spirit of commerce keeps shrewd company with the celebratory sounds of conch shells

The Big Idea has always meant different things to different people. In theory, it has been described as a “surprising solution to a marketing problem expressed in a memorable, verbal or graphic way.” It picks up power, force and momentum due to the chutzpah of its startling perspective that can alter a habit, opinion or a point of view. The big idea can originate from a variety of sources... arts, sports, politics, entertainment, popular culture, today’s headlines... but the central point is its ability to communicate a clear and compelling message that enlightens and entertains even as it empowers!

What better example than the Durga Puja?!
Few events have served as a more colourful and powerful commentary on contemporary life and times reflecting popular culture in the public space, than the Pujas. At one level it represents the close bonding of the neighbourhood. At another, a wonderful expression reflecting aspirations through the prism of creative pandal decoration. In keeping with the consumerist times, however, has the Puja today become increasingly corporatised? In this setting, have brand marketers shrewdly started capitalising on religious sentiments to ensnare the Puja shopper?

Ujjal Sinha – head honcho of the Kolkata-based ad agency Genesis – is spot-on with his take. “There has never been a bigger idea for mass-connect than the Pujas! It’s the one time in the year when all Bengalis come together in a spirit of joyous bonhomie celebration. The result is a gigantic captive audience, in a happy, feel-good frame of mind... carefree, loaded, adventurous, eager and willing to hit the impulse-purchase button!” says Sinha. He points to this matchless challenge-and-opportunity backdrop for all sharp brand custodians to unleash their big idea tapping into the mood and temper of this event, and turn on the receptive, bindaas audience base. Adds the smart adman, “the difference between this captive audience and others at railway stations, airports, sports stadia or concerts is essentially the state of mind. During those Puja days, they are in a different zone.” By “different”, Sinha is referring to the fact that people have their guards down.

Executive Director of another Kolkata-based ad agency, Response, Sid Ray, adds his own spin to the table. “In the east, the trigger months kick off from July-Aug because of the oncoming festival season. The durables and FMCG companies pull out the stops to identify every possible avenue to push sales. With Pujas being a hi-throng and hi-spend space, all the tricks in the book are deployed to gain the winning edge over competition,” says Ray. From the consumer’s perspective too, this is a freak out time. “Right from the Mahalaya – 10 days before the Pujas – till the immersion, the Puja scene is a thrilling blend of carnival, fashion show and food fest! The most significant factor of today’s youngistan-driven Puja is that everybody wants to make a statement! So clothes and fashion leap centre-stage. Add to this a 24x7 participation of media channels covering events like fashion shows, pandal decorations, entertainment, starry guests, awards for the best dressed couple etc. and you realise what a huge idea the Puja is!” adds Ray.

Cheil Worldwide Double impact!

2011-09-06T17:28:00.001+05:30

Cheil Worldwide’s Aneesh Jaisinghani and Sambit Mishra are the Formidable Duo holding the Creative Honours at South Korea’s biggest Marcom Agency!

Two heads are always better than one! This philosophy brought them together. They surely have not greyed their hair in the advertising industry since its beginning in India as they both are still running in their pseudo teenage years! But that does not steal away their experience and credibility! Aneesh Jaisinghani, Assistant Vice President, and Creative Director along with Sambit Mishra, Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide’s India operations, South Korea’s biggest marketing communications agency and a fast emerging one in India, with memorable campaigns for clients like Samsung have carved out an undeniable niche for themselves. The stars of this cover story share their voyage of togetherness not missing the pot-shots!

Was your teaming up a gradual process or was it an instant connect?
AJ: I had met Sambit for the first time when he had come for an interview at Lowe in 2004. I was introduced to him by my then copy partner O. R. Radhakrishnan and my college class mate Abhishek Dey. At that time, Prateek Bhardwaj, the Creative Director of Lowe had hired two teams, one comprising Radha Krishnan (now with McCann Ericsson Mumbai) and me and the other comprising Sambit and Abhishek Dey aka ‘Golu’. In sometime, Prateek moved to Everest Brand Solutions and the plan was that all four of us will move to Everest with him. But since Everest couldn’t have hired all four of us together, it was decided that two out of the four of us, one Art Director and one writer, would move first and in a month or so, the other two would follow. Prateek left the decision to the four of us to decide who would be the first two to move to Everest. And since I was having a hell of a time traveling all the way to Gurgaon to reach office everyday and Sambit was having a hard time adjusting to the Lowe way of working, it was decided that the two of us deserved to move to Everest first! I noticed that he was an extremely quiet person and let his work speak. But more or less it was an instant connection which got better with time.

SM: I first met Aneesh at a pub called 100 degrees with his then copy partner, O R Radhakrishnan. At that time, I found him to be serious and a matter of fact types. But in a couple of hours, by the time drinks had taken their effect, he turned out to be one really funny guy. It was a just a casual meeting but we connected there and then. The pub is now shut down and there’s a bath fittings showroom there.

How was the experience of working on your first assignment together as a team?
SM: My first job with Aneesh was on BILT ProAM golf tournament. I don’t remember what the client had to say about it but I remember our boss Prateek Bhardwaj going gaga over it. I still have that campaign details in my folio. Apart from his being a gem of a guy, professionally it helps an average copy guy to have a darn good art partner to hide the copy flaws [guffaws].

AJ: The first work that we did together was actually when we weren’t a full time team. It was a campaign for a ProAm Golf Tournament sponsored by BILT. It was a nice campaign which never got released but even I have that in my portfolio till date. It was really well appreciated by our colleagues. People still like it when they go through our folio!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

The royal malletiers are here, on ‘time’!

2011-08-11T17:23:00.002+05:30

If he’s successful in his mission, then Tag Heuer in India would not be known for watches anymore and it would contribute majorly in the turnover of LMVH. By Angshuman Paul

Manishi Sanwal
GM - Indian Subcontinent, Watch & Jewellery division of LVMH

You just can’t miss the gigantic silver plated insignia of Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton when you enter the New Delhi offices of LVMH, currently one of the world’s leading luxury brands, endorsed by the world’s biggest celebrities. What, then, would you expect if you were to meet the man heading the marketing operations of LVMH’s watch and jewellery division? Glamour, glitz, chutzpah, all loaded in one? That said, the simplicity of Manishi Sanwal’s office takes us quite by surprise. Manishi is the GM-Indian Subcontinent, Watch & Jewellery division of LVMH (overseeing the Tag Heuer brand), and despite the simplicity of his office environs, he is quite up the ask with concepts of marketing warfare and strategies for the Indian market.

It has been almost two years that Tag Heuer entered India and started marketing not only watches but also glasses, wallets, jackets and other similar accessories. Apparently, the legacy branding of Tag Heuer – combined with their age-old focus on technology perfection – has enabled LVMH to record an astonishing 40% growth rate in India. And even though Tag Heuer has forayed into several new segments, Manishi has made sure that the promotion and the marketing strategy for all these new products matches the brand-legacy of Tag Heuer. One of the key notable introductions was the uber-swanky Tag cellphone. The phone was released only in 11 countries and India was one of them. That led many analysts to question whether Tag had reached the country too late. Especially when a company like Nokia had already introduced Vertu many years back. Manishi defends, “Our positioning is different from Vertu. And further, within an year’s time, we are now available in all the metros; and are also providing appropriate after sales services. If we wanted, we could have had more retail penetration; but we didn’t want to go where there was difficulty in setting up after sales services.”

Manishi knows what he’s talking about. He has his ground-base knowledge pretty well structured. Manishi’s an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, and has already worked in several markets for Tag Heuer, including China and has also worked in various capacities in L&T, the Swatch group and even Samsung. Bucked up with such experience, Manishi knows the danger of over extension of a brand quite well. But given all that, and irrespective of that, Manishi is quite upbeat about introducing more products and jewellery under the Tag Heuer brand name. “Tag Heuer also stands for technology and sport and in all our brand extensions, we will resort to such common USPs. Then again, we are extending, but that doesn’t mean we will make our products available everywhere and increase our target audience,” shares Manishi.

Beyond red and sparkling...

2011-08-08T17:55:00.001+05:30

In conversation with Shephali Bhatt and Deepak R. Patra, Sunila shares what interests her in marketing, her mantra for success, and what lies behind the glamorous world of wine

Sunila Duggal
Head – Marketing, Sula Vineyards

It is nothing less than a carnival – thrilling and exhilarating with an array of celebrity guests, uber cool music, fantabulous Greek-style open-air amphitheater, and flea market shopping. And all of it spiced up with freshly made eclectic food flanked by an exhaustive range of local and imported wines. This is exactly what the party-goers get to enjoy at the ‘Sulafest’ organised by Indian wine maker Sula. But then, if you are thinking that it’s just another fun party in town, think twice. It’s not one of those without any purpose. The motto behind such a wine festival is to bring the consumer and the wine maker closer in a consumer-friendly way, keeping the long term goal of brand creation in mind. And so far, Sulafest has successfully delivered the best for the Nashik-based wine maker, Sula Vineyards. When Sharell Cook, noted India guide of About.com wrote that Sula Vineyards in Nasik was India’s “most popular and most accessible winery,” she was simply mirroring the fact that the Vineyards has now become one of the major tourist must-see attractions. Take that for super-marketing! Much of the credit goes to the unassuming and modest Sunila Duggal, Marketing Head, Sula Vineyards.

An enterprising team leader, Sunila is one marketing personnel who exudes the glamour and sensibility of her job profile. The lady who continues to read a lot of fiction in order to know which wines are favourite among prolific writers, is a hit amongst her team members who admire her for her leadership style, which is a mélange of domination, understanding and participation. And that’s what has helped her in streamlining the company’s marketing department making the processes smoother than they were earlier. In her short stint of two years in Sula, she has also introduced the company into social media. She still remembers, “I sat with my CEO and drew a sketch of areas where our presence will benefit us. And now we are into social media in a big way.”

She is certainly one of those people who love to live every bit of the glamorous profile of her work. “I agree that being the Marketing Head of India’s leading wine company, the work is very exciting and glamorous. However, a lot of hard work is put in by my team and me,” she says. Sunila adds that in this industry, everyday is a new day. Despite being in the industry for the past two years, she feels there’s still much to learn – “I am constantly learning something new about my company, my product and the market. And that is the most exciting part of my job.” But then, considering the facts that wine consumption is still at a very nascent stage in India and the industry is under many rules and regulations, sustaining a wine brand in this country is as difficult as establishing a new one. This, she feels, makes one think out-of-the-box to be present and be accepted by the people. “It’s not only about going for conventional advertising and marketing, it is about being different. Moreover, there is no fixed mantra,” she adds.

Any guesses why the picture looks pretty?

2011-08-01T17:41:00.002+05:30

In conversation with Neha Saraiya about the memorable moments in his journey and what it means to be India Head of Nikon Corporation

His association with India might be just two years old but he has already travelled to over 45 cities across the country and savoured almost all popular Indian delicacies including Dal Makhani, Masala Dosa and Chicken Tikka. After all, he wanted to know the real India to fulfill his ultimate dream – to establish Nikon as a local company in India and not as a Japanese brand. Today, he not only understands India well, but has also developed a penchant for Indian food. “When I had sambar for the first time, it seemed to be too heavy for me, but my affinity towards this dish has today made it my preferred breakfast whenever I stay in the southern part of the country. Even at airports, whenever I have to travel early and have time, I love to have sambar,” says Hiroshi Takashina, the newly appointed Managing Director of Nikon India (he was appointed on June 1, 2010).

Hiroshi Takashina succeeded Hidehiko Tanaka, the former head of Nikon India, who after establishing Nikon India and strengthening the division’s organisation during his three-year tenure, was moving back to Japan to take over a new assignment within Nikon Corporation. But it was not actually Takashina’s knowledge about the Indian culture that made him the successor to Tanaka’s throne, but actually his sales credentials. “His one and half year performance here in India to lead the sales and marketing team instilled confidence in me that he could take over the new role as MD of Nikon India,” Tanaka had commented when he left India. In fact, prior to Nikon, Takashina has also worked with one of Japan’s leading auto manufacturers for more than 24 years, looking after West Asia, Africa and Europe.

One thing that Takashina can never be suspected of is lack of vibrancy. His yellow tie and high spirits are enough to rest even the most irreverent critic. While yellow, we’re told, connotes Nikon’s symbol, Takashina’s enthusiasm conveys his mission, which is to establish Nikon firmly on the Indian soil. Takashina confesses to us that this is a far cry from his childhood dream of becoming a musician – while in his college days, he apparently tried his hand at several instruments, with his favourite being the piano; today, Takashina hardly gets time to play them.

Takashina is a self-confessed avid reader and a strategist who has an eye for detail. But with a preponderance of sales and marketing in his past background, doesn’t the role of an MD, which encompasses many more functions, confound him? Pat comes the honest reply, “I was always associated with sales and marketing in a major way but yes, fields like operations, HR and finance are new to me. So I am learning every day.”

Nikon, which landed on the Indian soil in November 2007, is still in an establishment phase and as such contributes just below 3% to its parent company’s revenues. This is considerably low when compared to other Asian markets like China and Japan that contribute a healthy 10-20% to Nikon’s global turnover. However, there has been a slow shift happening in the Indian digital camera market, which is a positive indication for the company’s growth. As Takashina puts it, “Currently a lot of professionals are using DLSR cameras. What happened in Japan earlier is now happening in India. As now more consumers are shifting to this range, there is a tremendous opportunity waiting for us.” In fact, Nikon’s quick drive to grab a 45% market share in this segment last year (which is anticipated to reach 50% by the end of 2010) stands testimony to this statement.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School
Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri
Planman Consulting

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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Delhi Police deny Team Anna permission to hold fast

2011-07-29T17:28:00.002+05:30

Delhi Police on Friday denied permission to veteran social activist Anna Hazare to hold an indefinite hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on August 16.

The Delhi Police referred to the Supreme Court's 2009 order to deny team Anna permission for the indefinite strike anywhere in Delhi, the Times Now channel reports. The police, in its letter to Hazare, said that as Parliament would be in session, no group could be allowed to capture the entire space at Jantar Mantar, as many groups come out for protests during that period. Charging the government of bringing a fractured Lokpal Bill, Hazare had said on Thursday in Maharashtra's Ralegaon Siddi town that he would protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 16. The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the official draft of the Lokpal Bill and trashed the key proposals moved by Anna's team.

The bill provides for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The bill envisages setting up the institution of Lokpal consisting of a chairperson and eight members with the stipulation that half of the members shall be judicial members.

It will have its own Investigation Wing and Prosecution Wing with such officers and staff as are necessary to carry out its functions. The Lokpal shall inquire into allegations of corruption made in respect of Prime Minister, after he has demitted office; a Minister of the Union; a Member of Parliament; any Group ''A'' officer or equivalent; Chairperson or member or officer equivalent to Group ''A'' in any body/ Board/ corporation/ authority/ company/ society/ trust/ autonomous body established by an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly financed or controlled by the Central Government; any director, manager, secretary or other officer of a society or association of persons or trust wholly or partly financed or aided by the government or in receipt of any donations from the public and whose annual income exceeds such amount as the Central Government may by notification specify.

However, the organisations created for religious purposes and receiving public donations would be outside the purview of Lokpal.

The Lokpal shall not require sanction or approval under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in cases where prosecution is proposed.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School
Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri
Planman Consulting

IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......
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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Advertising Big Idea - IS SMALL THE NEW BIG?

2011-07-18T15:48:00.003+05:30

Smaller Agencies are cracking the glass ceiling and breaking through to grab A-list clients, earlier reserved for the biggies.

Even a decade ago, could you have ever imagined corporate giants like ITC, Godfrey Phillips, TOI, Audi, Diesel, Platinum, Emirates or Renault cosying-up with any agency that did not feature among the top 5 in adland? Would these organisations ever dream of risking going to a small shop, no matter how hot the buzz they generated? Well, times, they are a-changin’, because that’s exactly what seems to be happening. In recent times, whether it’s Strawberry Frogs (Emirates), Law & Kenneth (Renault), Creativeland Asia (Audi), Taproot (TOI), Shop (Godfrey Phillips), Happy (Diesel), Metal (Platinum)… small agencies are indeed making big waves. What’s up? Has there been a paradigm shift in the mindset of the Indian management big boys? Are they, now, prepared to put their money where their mouth is? Is risky, edgy work slowly finding favour in place of predictable, stodgy stuff? Does this move signal a return to basics?

Ogilvy’s NCD Abhijit Avasthi takes first strike. He believes that since advertising is an idea-driven business, clients will always be drawn to any agency – small or big – who can provide that. “It’s never a conscious decision regarding scale or size. It’s usually governed by three factors: Great ideas, ability to take it through – in terms of infrastructure and media-engagement to ensure effective delivery – and the capacity to afford the agency of his choice”. He is convinced that any agency that can think fresh and stay ahead of the game has no reason to feel threatened. Santosh Desai, Communication Guru & CEO, Future Group, has a different take. He believes that smaller agencies shouldn’t be perceived small only on the cinema of size or scale. “Their uniqueness lies in the fact that these shops are about creative ambience which is brilliantly appropriate in a time when the ad business is definitely moving ahead to be governed – more than ever before – by the creative product. Most larger legacy-agencies, unfortunately, continue to be deeply entrenched in a structure, hierarchy and traditional blue-print and cannot be as free-spirited, edgy, quirky, interesting and nimble-footed as the smaller shops. Clients too, often find it easier to engage with these entities because, apart from fresh ideas, they are always available for interaction, which helps effective and prompt delivery,” says Desai. Everything considered, he is delighted at this move and believe it is an idea whose time has come.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Maruti Suzuki sales up in May

2011-06-13T12:18:00.003+05:30

Maruti Suzuki India today reported a 1.9 per cent increase in total sales for May to 1,04,073 units from 1,02,175 units in the same month last year.

In May 2011, the national capital-based firm reported an increase of 3.9 per cent in sales in the domestic market to 93,519 units from 90,041 units in May, 2010, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

MSI’s exports, however, fell by 13 per cent to 10,554 units from 12,134 units in the year-ago period, the company added.

Sales of the company’s model M800 fell by 11.6 per cent to 2,262 units from 2,558 units in May, 2010, the statement said. The A2 segment (comprising Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz) witnessed a 2.6 per cent decline in sales to 61,048 units from 62,679 units in the same month a year ago.

A3 segment sales (consisting of SX4 and DZiRE) increased by 24.2 per cent to 13,514 units from 10,883 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said.
Last month, the company sold 50 units of its Kizashi luxury sedan, which was launched in February 2011.

MSI’s total passenger car sales rose 1 per cent to 76,874 units in May from 76,120 units in the same month of 2010, it added.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Gayle left out of T20, first two ODIs against India

2011-06-03T17:49:00.002+05:30

"Chris Gayle will not be considered for selection to the West Indies team before an intended meeting with himself, the Selection Committee, the WICB Management and the West Indies Team Management," the WICB said in a statement.

"The Selection Committee views this meeting as necessary as a result of Gayle's comments in a widely publicised radio interview in Jamaica," it added. Gayle, who was recently ignored for the series against Pakistan, has had a massive war of words with the WICB after claiming that he was left to fend for himself during recent injury problems.

An angry WICB retorted by saying that the batsman was well looked after and it was he who kept the Board uninformed while flying out to India to play in the IPL for eventual runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore. The 31-year-old Gayle was the star of the recently-concluded Twenty20 league finishing as the top-scorer with 608 runs, including a couple of hundreds, but even this destructive form could not fetch him a place in the two national sides to be captained by Darren Sammy.

Pacer Kemar Roach has been rested for the lone Twenty20 and the first two ODIs in Trinidad. Roach will, however, be available for selection for the third ODI of the five-match series.

"It is expected that other players with heavy workloads will also be rested and rotated from time to time throughout the West Indies v India Series 2011 and moving forward," the WICB said. The explosive batting duo of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were declared "not eligible to represent the West Indies in Twenty20 format as they did not take part in the last edition of the Caribbean Twenty20". But both of them have made the squad for the first two ODIs.

"The WICB Selection Criteria outline that for a player to be eligible for selection to the West Indies team he must participate in the corresponding format of the game at the regional level," the Board explained. Although he has been allowed to return to "low intensity cricket in Trinidad", young batsman Adrian Barath has been left out of the two squads as he is still undergoing rehabilitation.
"A decision on his return to international cricket will be taken following the assessment and it is hoped he will be available for the Digicel Test Series West Indies v India," the WICB said. Pacer Jerome Taylor who like Gayle accused WICB of leaving him in a lurch during injury problems, has also been left out of the squad.

"Jerome Taylor is required to play a full season of regional cricket in order to prove his fitness to compete adequately at the international level before being considered for selection," the WICB stated. The 12-man Twenty20 group has uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie as the lone new face. But apart from the 26-year-old Santokie, there is no other change in the side that beat Pakistan in St Lucia in April.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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5 SURE-FIRE WAYS TO RUIN AN AD!

2011-01-22T16:12:00.004+05:30

Suddenly its ‘rush-hour’ for ads that are exhibitionistic, corny, pontifical, brain-dead, boring... Why such hara-kiri and determination to muck it up? Here’s a checkout!

It is a sad commentary of contemporary life that while communication continues to take quantum leaps towards building bridges (thanks to technological advancements), the barrier between individuals, at a human level, continues to widen, mocking the grand design. Sane and clued-in communicators keep trying to keep the equilibrium in balance, but mostly, it’s a losing battle. Why? Answers eminent social scientist Ashish Nandy, “The communication is sabotaged by the hysterical anxiety of some individuals, organisations and brand-custodians to be seen, heard and noticed at any cost! Sign of the times, I suppose”. Okay, ready to cut to the chase? All set to identify five simple identifiable common mistakes that invariably rain on the ad-parade? Here’s the list:

1. CELEBRITY ADVERTISING

Whether it’s the iconic Big B endorsing Binani Cement, Hema Malini praising Kent Water Purifier, Dhoni championing the cause of Amrapali, advertisers have used celebrities with a certain logic in their mind. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in many others jumping onto celebrities without any real reason – be it new cell phone manufacturers using cricketers, or photographer Atul Kasbekar selling a car or even the erstwhile New Delhi traffic commissioner Kiran Bedi indicating Ariel is the best. Where’s the rhyme or reason? The whopper example was when brewery giant Anheuser-Busch used Eric Clapton (and one of his songs) for their ads, at a time when Eric Clapton was a self-confessed alcoholic spending time in a detox facility. Lesson 1: Don’t use celebrities just for the heck of it!

2. ME-TOO SYNDROME

Once upon a time, there reigned the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as invented by the great Rosser Reeves. It worked because some products were indeed blessed with unique and special attributes. Today, thanks to technology, most attributes are generic, duplicable and hence vulnerable, leading guru John Hegarty to say, “USP has given way to ESP, Emotional Selling Proposition. Why does one eat, buy, wear, listen, engage with particular brands, people, things? How does it make them feel special or different?” Sadly, of the zillion ads that blitz our eyes (detergents, skin-whiteners, toilet cleaners, toothpaste...), most appear totally interchangeable! Where’s that critical differentiation presented with colour and drama? Where’s the big idea? Why is your car better than the competitors’ cars? Simply because the bozzo in your ad has a taped grin on his face 24x7? Do you really expect consumers to fall head over heels for that?

3. HUMOUR

It is true that we live in stress-driven times and escapist entertainment provides a great break, but it is hard to ignore the famous saying, “No one buys from clowns.” Unlike movies or entertainment avenues, advertising has a job to do – and a critical one at that – Sell! If the basic idea is going to be hijacked by humour or entertainment that is so overwhelming (in style or substance), it becomes black comedy and savagely self-cancelling! There has to be a definite, visible, comprehensible bridge that links the humour to the brand value designed to impact the consumer. As Ad and theatre veteran Bharat Dabolkar says, “Sense of tumour has replaced humour in many ads! The fit has to be seamless, not contrived and promoting the brand, not the joke or the individual.”

4. SEX N’ SENSATIONLISM

“Sure, sex is a traffic-stopper (Crash! Bang!) and sensationalism can get the eyes and mouth to widen like crazy. But at best, these unusual contortions can produce only a one-time sale and contribute zilch towards building brand-values or sustain long-term growth,” says Delhi-based ad veteran Esha Guha. She points out to the Amul Macho, Lux Cosy, flavoured condoms kind of ads and doesn’t know whether “to die laughing or puke all summer!” Like celeb and humour, this genre also demands a definite brand-fit. Outstanding examples are Axe, Tag, Old Spice – products that promote themselves as uncomplicated sexual attractant enhancers. Calvin Klein is another iconic example of successfully imbuing its brand identity with sexuality. Ditto, Victoria’s Secret. Blazing the titillation of the nudge-nudge, wink-wink kind invites attention, err, of the wrong kind. Nothing more.

5. FAKE PATRIOTISM

No ideas? Hit the patriotism button, guys! Come Independence Day, Republic Day, the birth/death anniversary of any great national leader and suddenly the ad-frat freaks out to outdo each other in paying homage to great noble souls whose path/footsteps we are committed to follow. Corny, clichéd visuals accompanied by syrup-drenched text defines these ad aberrations. Does anybody read, notice, remember or care a fig about these zillion ads blitzing supplements? Not a hope in hell! Ad veteran Nargis Wadia points to the recent Gandhi-Mont Blanc ad and is shocked at the insensitivity and the bizarre connect! “For a man who defined simplicity, austerity and a saintly life, this projection was unbelievably weird! Attention at any cost? What’s the world coming to…”! Please, do ditch the patriotic button, if not for the sake of sensibilities, at least for the sake of the nation.

Monojit Lahiri

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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GOTTA ADAPT TO BE ADEPT

2010-07-06T16:37:00.002+05:30

Kunal Lalani on why free-thinking, independent & flexible agencies are needed to quickly address the fast changing needs of brands today

Once upon a time there lived a king. He believed his kingdom was ‘his people’; who loved him, followed him, and were truly loyal to him. In fact, he knew that it was only because of his people and their faith in him that made him what he was. He had a highly learned team of people, who were supposed to know everything and who, with their worldly knowledge, were believed to speak only the gospel truth. They, as claimed, knew everything about people and how to keep them happy. And as long as the people were happy the king had his kingdom. The highly revered league was supposed to regularly update the king about his popularity and advise him on his future plans to maintain it. Everything was convenient and the advisory team with their old knowledge of the people behaviour continued to advise the king. All was well till the time that times changed. And with change came the crying need to find new and more lucrative territories to include in the kingdom (expand) and the need to fight other kings who were getting stronger (nimbler competition). The key need was to understand the change and act quickly.

The erudite advisors, although loyal and holding big resources in their hands, were neither fast nor flexible. They thought that the people in the new territories and the new world are still the same as the people in their old territory were. Alas! That was not true. The king finally understood the problem and hired a local man with the local knowledge of the people behaviour. The new man was quick to offer solutions. He was independent, fast, flexible, and knew how to adjust. He came with the power of knowing the finer nuances of the territory behaviour and helped the king win countless battles and expand his kingdom. The king was happy and decided to switch from the erstwhile big and slow advisors to the fast, efficient, highly flexible local man for his advisory role.

The King was called BRAND.

I think that every brand today is waking up to the new realities in this fast-changing world. Today’s competitive world asks for desperate measures. Local knowledge and quick responses are the need of the day. Gone are the days when one would apply the same formula of communication everywhere. People today differ by fraction and change by second. Aspirations change. Loyalties change. The need is to adapt quickly, talk to them in their own language but never waste a second. Because every moment you waste is going to cost. And the cost is your future.

Multinationals have one advantage. They are big. But that is their disadvantage too. They are too big to be flexible, and too big to understand the need for it. They come with a set format and style of working and with a lot of red tape (although many would debate it). They take time to react.

And that is where we are making a difference! The need is there for a free-thinking, independent and flexible communication services provider who understands and adapts quickly to the fast changing needs of the brand. It’s the age of information technology and several new mediums are in the offing. We have been offering new age solutions targeting the audience of today, in their language and at their speed. And if I may say so, quite successfully.

The change is there in the attitude and approach of the clients today. They have realized the importance of independent thinking. The dynamism, the chaos and the spark needed in this otherwise product parity market can only come from breaking away from the obvious. It has to come from someone who is ready to take a challenge; someone who is ready to take a chance. And companies like us are doing our best to provide that free-spirited fervor, adapting ourselves for the consumers, and hence clients, of today.

The fight with the multinationals is actually not there. Because brands – both big and small – today have understood the benefits of dynamic, independent, quick and flexible communication agencies, who are ready to change and who are ready to adapt. It’s quite natural that Darwin’s theory of adaptation would work everywhere. Right?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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In sharp contrast to its diminutive promoter, Madison straddles India’s ad-world like a giant colossus.

2010-04-01T14:31:00.005+05:30

But a the common refrain among envious peers was that despite its size, Madison was a one-man-show with Sam Balsara at its helm. Five years ago, his daughter Lara teamed up with him and now the duo have a new plan. By Aditi Prasad

It’s a fantastic tale, with all the ingredients for a provocative Bollywood pot-boiler. In the late 1980s, Sam Balsara quit Mudra because Mudra aspired to be the biggest and the best in the business. Sam believed that a good agency is one that is small with a few large clients, and so parted ways with Mudra to start his own agency, Madison, with just two clients – a status quo that he retained for the next five years because he feared that acquiring size would impede his service to existing clients. Many in the industry had then scoffed at his rationale. That was 22 years ago.

Today, at his unpretentious 5ft 3inches, 57 years old Sam is regarded among the tallest men in India’s star-studded media and advertising jamboree and his once ‘small’ media agency crossed annual billings totalling Rs.2,500 crore in 2009. Madison’s skeletal client list today boasts of the who’s who of premium multinat advertisers including P&G, Cadbury, Coca Cola and McDonald’s – an astonishing feat given that Madison is the proverbial David in the mêlée of global advertising Goliaths that crowd the Indian media business. Unlike other agencies, Sam has fought hard to preserve Madison’s ‘Indianness’ and has consistently fended off stake sales to global advertising sharks like Publicis and WPP. Instead, in a case of reverse osmosis, Sam went ahead and acquired 51% stake in MediaCom (a WPP group company) last year, in the process retaining the P&G account with Madison.

Ask Sam what happened to his small agency is better belief and he laughingly avers, “I’m allowed to change my mind. Consistency is the virtue of fools toy know...” (See page 76 for Sam’s most revealing interview yet). On a serious note, Sam says that he never did believe in growth for growth’s sake. In his initial years, he says, he stuck with a select client list primarily because he did not want to let down his existing clients. “Today, I view things differently because I am better resourced than I was in 1988,” he argues.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Interestingly, these two make up a single entry in our occult of 7, and not just because they are monozygotic twins (uh, identical) joined at the hip,

2009-09-17T13:21:00.001+05:30

but because they are... them!

“My professional career has been very bizarre… After working for six years, I quit my job in 2001. I was singing at birthday parties and restaurants,” shares Raghu Ram, Associate VP- Shows, MTV India. To try and picture this tough looking bald guy with a guitar in front of a chattering audience, is obviously, not the easiest ask. Especially when he is better known for the carnage of expletives he leaves in his wake in the top rated show MTV Roadies.

Close at hand to share in the endearments is Raghu’s twin brother, Rajiv Laxman, Creative Director for Entertainment, Colosceum Media Pvt Ltd. Raghu and Rajiv come from a pro-education Brahmin family, a family which has been full of doctors, engineers, accountants and lawyers. Their mother has been a working woman – a journalist in the 1980s. “But then came the twist; me and Raghu both dropped out of college,” divulges Rajiv with a distinctive smile, and smiles more “In fact, I flunked twice in the same class.”

And then comes the quick professional training biodata summary from Rajiv, “This was 1994. TV18 wanted to open a training institute called Academy 18. But the problem was they were not experienced in training people. So to train themselves in training people, TV18 decided to pick the largest bunch of losers, train them and learn from that mistake and finally launch the academy one year later. So, the biggest bunch of losers were collected and me and Raghu led that pack. We got the instincts that this is the only place where we might have a chance because there was no need for any formal qualification.”

But during this time, the first real job interview that the two went for was at an equipment rental company where they were supposed to sit next to tripod stands. “That didn’t workout though... I still remember we went there with our Computers Diploma and Graphic certificates,” adds Rajiv laughingly. Finally, the duo was retained at TV18; a mind blowing experience, as they call it, because it gave them a crash course in every aspect of television. For the next six years, they worked together in the Delhi television industry. During this time, they worked with Miditech for a brief period; and also with many other production houses. And in the course of things, they also worked on a few shows for MTV – like MTV Youth, Public Demand, Record Tod etc.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Commercially (De)Vehicled!

2009-09-07T11:40:00.000+05:30

The experts aren’t too bullish on the growth as they are of the view point that the company will see some more declines in the domestic sales figure in the next few months. However, they too agree upon the fact that after few months, when the comparable base for the company will be low, it will be back on the growth path. Moreover, the lower prices of raw materials will surely benefit Ashok Leyland; but it needs to clock better volumes to be able to reap considerable benefits. In fact, the company seems to be too cautious in its approach now and has already announced a reduction in its capital expenditure and investment plans for the current fiscal, taking it down to just Rs.1,000-2,000 crore during the next three years. This will certainly help the consumer vehicle manufacturer to save on working capital once it clears the inventories and pipeline stocks.

Though the company has cut costs aggressively, enabling it to record an operating margin of around 9% in the past two quarters, it’s the sharp rise in interest cost that has pushed Ashok Leyland (they had taken loans to increase capacity just before the start of the downturn) to the brink. In fact in 2009, the interest cost rose 139% to over Rs.118 crore. Moreover, the company had adopted pending modification in Accounting Standard 11 (that deals with the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates) by ICAI that placed a gloomy picture among investors this year. Had the earlier practice been followed, profits in the quarter and FY 2009 would have been higher by Rs.1 crore and by Rs.34.6 crore, respectively (as per a report by Angel Broking).

But then, the company isn’t looking too bullish on the product launches during this fiscal unlike India’s largest commercial vehicle maker by sales, Tata Motors that has already announced the launch of six new trucks as a part of its ‘world trucks range’. Tata Motors is trying to change its reputation of being a maker of low payload and fuel efficiency commercial vehicles via its new range. “Launching new products in the slowdown always helps in adding excitement to the market,” explains auto expert Tutu Dhawan.

Certainly, Ashok Leyland will have to look at the option of launching some new products in the market and especially in the light commercial vehicle segment if it wants to escape the avalanche fury. The launch of new vehicles will not only help in infusing excitement in the market but also will be very beneficial for the company in the long-run. Moreover the company should take an effort to augment its presence in the the light commercial vehicle segment too, if it doesn’t want itself to get stuck in the same situation again in future. Though, the experts believe that despite easier access to money, fleet operators may wait for freight volumes to pick up before they invest in new trucks but in the long run there is definitely a great demand for the segment in the market. Overall, as per the industry experts, the current fiscal will be a lot easier for the sales team at Ashok Leyland and who knows they might hit a safe base before the avalanche crushes them to pieces!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Tata’s Jhingalala year

2009-08-20T15:41:00.000+05:30

IIPM Best B-school

Brand: Tata Sky
Agency: Rediffusion Y&R

Hrithik’s inclusion promoted such huge brand recall that the year saw Tata Sky’s DTH services experience a mammoth growth in numbers. Subscriber base crossed 1 million; an achievement that Tata Sky did not fail to peddle using small spots on TV featuring Paresh Rawal, Kirron Kher et al. All in all, a smashing success; Tata Sky’s subscriber base is sitting pretty above two million now, with newer services in its kitty.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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What’s tall, macho & still sexy?

2009-08-03T12:45:00.000+05:30

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Brand: Mahindra Scorpio
Agency: Interface

Mahindra’s stylish Scorpio transformed not only India’s SUV market but also the auto major’s brand image - from a sturdy carmaker for the rural markets to one that can offer sexy machines for the urbane few. M&M spent close to Rs.20 crore on its ‘car plus’ launch campaign. The segment, growing at 14% till 2002, grew at 51% from July 2002 to March 2003.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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A good ‘Idea’ for the Tatas

2009-07-22T12:45:00.000+05:30

IIPM Respected Business School

While it was a good idea on part of Birlas to buy out Tatas’ stake in Idea (as discussed earlier), Tata’s exit wasn’t bad either. It was now that they could focus entirely on their solo telecom venture, Tata Teleservices. In fact, Tatas gained a cool return of Rs.29.85 billion out of an investment of Rs.14.21 billion over a 12-year period in Idea. Moreover, Tatas were able to pocket a whopping Rs.44.06 billion (Rs.40.51 per share) by offloading the stake, which could now be infused in to Tata Teleservices. But that was not the only reason avers Harit Shah, Telecom Analyst, Angel Broking, “Tata’s decision to opt out of Idea Cellular was also prompted by their love for CDMA technology.” In fact, today the company offers CDMA services in all the circles of India. What’s more Tata Teleservices now plans to be a dual technology company offering both GSM and CDMA services in all the 23 circles by the end of this year. Wasn’t that a good idea for Tata, Sir ji!

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Shivers during summers?

2009-06-22T11:51:00.000+05:30

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Samsung and Sony are not the only exceptions though... Almost all durable giants are working in the same fashion and are launching a host of products under their name. Whirlpool has recently launched many new products across categories and has also revamped its range of washing machines with 11 new models in the top-load and front-load range, with innovative features like 1-2-3 wash and ‘Sports Wash’. It has also launched new models of frost-free refrigerators and ACs with unique MPFI technology. LG is also betting high on a wide range of LCD TV and Commercial ACs this time. Similarly, Panasonic India is making efforts to promote green technology and is focusing heavily on office automation product like projectors, laptops and telephone and cameras (with swilling capabilities). Asserts Sabiha Kidwai, General Manager – Marketing, Panasonic, “We are investing almost Rs.10 crore this season and the key growth drivers for Panasonic will be high-end televisions and washers. Besides that, ACs and refrigerators are forecasted to show tremendous growth too!” Shantanu Das Gupta, VP – Marketing, Whirlpool of India also echoes out, “We are focusing on consolidating the already significant presence in ACs and increasing our presence in water purifiers & microwave ovens.”

But besides technology and innovation, raw materials contribute to a significant chunk of the operating cost structure for this industry. But here’s a relief – in 2009-10, declining prices of copper, steel and plastics are expected to drive down raw material prices. This will lead to improved overall operating margins for the companies. Moreover, the excise duty cut, CRR cuts and reduction in petrol prices are playing the fairy for the sector. Citing the benefits from the cuts by the government, Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, Kent RO Systems Ltd, explains, “To keep intact the existing customers and woo potential buyers a further cut-off of 2-5% would help keep the sales up and going. Moreover, we even expect that this cut in excise duty from 14 to 10% would prove beneficial and help us emerge strong from the crisis situation”.

Then there are also revamped retail plans that makes tomorrow appear better than the current gloomy now! For instance, Sony has changed the branding of its exclusive retail store from Sony World to Sony Centre. Then there is Das Gupta of Whirlpool who claims, “We work very cohesively with all our trade partners including traditional and modern trade formats. We have increased our presence to more than 12,000 outlets across India and are continuously increasing the same”. Similarly, other durable giants plan to increase their presence in the interiors of the country and are looking at increasing the number of channel partners. They also plan to leverage the shelf-space provided by major retail outlets like Big Bazaar, Reliance Retail, et al, to increase visibility by manifolds. LG is also targeting a robust 15% growth, focusing on tapping the bottom of the pyramid – the rural markets, through low-end range products.

But the bottom-line remains - summers this year are surely not going to be cool. Credit availability will haunt the customers, and for the companies, it will become more difficult to customise products without passing on the cost to consumers. And yes, if current exchange rates continue, the consumer durable giants will not be able to avoid increase in price thereby stifling consumer demand further! After all, dear consumer, the consumer durable industry isn’t proving so durable, eh?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Fixed Money Plant

2009-05-06T16:07:00.000+05:30

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While markets are at a mess, FMPs offer a great solution to investors not only for returns but also for saving taxes

Skepticism is one word which amicably describes the investors’ investment plans with regard to equity or equity related funds. Cautious investors are readily looking to bring down the risk percentage in their portfolio and as stocks continue to be amongst the most hated lot, debt investment avenues such as Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) which combines small investment, tax savings and assured returns seem all the more appealing. FMPs as the name suggests, come with a fixed maturity period ranging from 3 months to 3 years. These are debt schemes, where the corpus is invested in fixed-income securities. FMP helps in the mitigation of interest rate risk as they invest in instruments held till maturity and maintain the portfolio return throughout the tenure of the fund. It carries minimal liquidity risk as it is designed to encourage investors to remain invested till the maturity of the scheme. Of late it has been giving good competition to fixed deposits (FDs), PPF and NSC. It is no wonder that with an indicative yield of 10.6 – 11.75%, FMPs moped up a whopping Rs.440 billion of investor wealth in 2008 alone.

Lower tax incidence and assured returns are the key to the success of FMP. In the case of fixed deposits, the interest earned is added to the investor’s income, which is taxable at the rate applicable to the investor’s tax bracket (which means an outgo of 33% of tax for deposit holders in the highest tax bracket). However, with FMP, the investor can choose to treat the interest/gain from the FMP as capital appreciation, which has a lower rate of tax (about 10% without cost indexation and 20% with it). This is especially beneficial for FMPs with tenure for more than a year. Longer tenure FMPs can avail the double indexation benefits while FMPs with a duration of less than one year can benefit if the investor cashes the gain as dividends. This way the investor is taxed at just 12.5% of the returns. This is one of the primary reasons why this scheme is beneficial for investors in high tax bracket.

Meanwhile, with fund houses launching this product with a minimum investment of Rs.5,000 it is becoming a favourite among small investors as well. As far as assured returns are concerned the time horizon needs to be considered; an investor with one month horizon should opt for liquid funds while those with say 3-9 month time frame can opt for FMPs. However, a word of caution from K. Sitaram, Head of Crisil Fund Services, “Fund houses use higher indicative yields as a marketing gimmick but they end up investing in low-grade paper.”

With the stock market and mutual funds yielding very little to zero returns FMPs are offering a breath of fresh air. Risk - averse investors, especially those falling into the higher tax bracket should opt for FMPs as their portfolios do not change much.

Gyanendra Kumar Kashyap

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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“The hoopla is because of money, not quality”

2009-03-14T12:20:00.000+05:30

Four-time National Film Award winner, Girish Kasaravalli, is a well known face in international cinema.

Would you say that in terms of cinematic excellence, is "Slumdog Millionaire" a perfect movie?
I would say it is very well shot, well acted and full of life. But in terms of content, it’s not at all a perfect movie. It starts of very well. As the film proceeds, it becomes slightly contrived, concocted and unrealistic. At one level, I felt that it is like cataloguing India which has slums, prostitution, communal tension, rich using the poor…like this. The first half-an-hour of the film is very interesting. Rest is pretty ordinary, even though it is an okay movie.

Has the film been made to cater to western audiences?
I think they have not deliberately done that. That is their perception of India. After all if you say if it is done by an Indian filmmaker, then I can say that he is trying to cater the western minds. But, in this case the director himself is westerner and his perception of India is entirely different.

If it’s not a perfect movie, why has this kicjed up such a hue and cry?
See, even "Gandhi" got plenty of applause when it won Oscar awards. If you compare "Slumdog Millionaire" with "Gandhi", it’s no match! Even other Indian films like "Salam Bombay", "Bandit Queen" and "Water" which were nominees at Oscar were much, much better than this movie and much more accomplished. We have classic film like Shaji N Karun’s "Piravi". What was happening here is that is entirely different. When it comes to popular cinema, Oscar is taken as the highest achievement. When it comes to serious cinema, Cannes is considered the Everest. I think hoopla is because of power and money not because of virtue of "Slumdog Millionaire" as a movie. And it is not just the Oscar: anything connected with the United States gains popularity in India and all over the world. For example, just look at the US presidential election's coverage in Indian media. We don’t see the same kind of coverage of the French presidential elections. In case of cinema, Hollywood is more powerful as far as marketing and money is concerned and hence the gaga. When it comes to intellectual content, French Cinema is in a higher strata. So, Cannes becomes much more important. The second thing is marketability, which can be noticed in Booker Prize too.....Continue

Jiah Khan: Terrified of dancing with Shahid Kapur

2009-02-21T14:55:00.000+05:30

The much talked-about dance for Ken Ghosh's untitled film choreographed by Justin Timberlake's choreographer Marty Kudelka almost didn't happen. Reason? Jiah Khan got two cold left feet when she realised that she would have to match steps with Shahid Kapur for one of the most intricate dance items ever shot in this country. Finally, Jiah took a deep breath and took the plunge.

"It was the most fabulous experience of my life. Shahid looked like Justin Timberlake and I looked like Britney Spears. We even danced in their style," Jiah exults. "Learning my steps from such a well-known choreographer was a dream come true. Marty has definitely brought in a freshness to our song and dance routine."

In her film with Shahid Kapur, directed by Ken Ghosh, Jiah Khan plays a choreographer. "It is a dance film, and my first film with a co-star of my own age. So, I finally got to romance someone of my own age. Shahid is an amazing dancer. I don't know how he does it. I was scared because I had to match his steps. I knew I would not be able to match him. But I know I can hold my own. Two days before we shot the song, I stopped sleeping. I was terrorised."....Continue

Maha home problem

2009-02-16T13:31:00.000+05:30

Since 1977, Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) has been synonymous with affordable housing. Although the last few years did not really see ‘affordable’ housing coming up, the situation changed drastically three months ago when Mhada came out with its first ‘one-room-kitchen set’ at Malad-Malvani. Around 850 flats were sold, with almost a lakh Mumbaikars trying their luck at the lottery. The last year ended with a bang when Mhada announced its ‘town plan’ of 3,500 flats for lower and middle-income groups at Sion, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Dahisar and Chembur and high-end premium flats at Versova.

But that's the end of joy. Buyers would get their keys only after making full and final payment. Presently, the least expensive LIG flats available at Dahisar and Ghatkopar are priced at Rs 3.5 lakh, the expensive HIG Versova flats at Rs 32 lakh to Rs 42 lakh and the MIG flats are priced between Rs seven to 16 lakh, and a one-time payment might push people to avail of bank loans.....Continue

Licensing policies continue to stifle India

2009-02-07T15:07:00.000+05:30

All across India, adulteration of fuel oil by mixing petrol with much cheaper and subsidised kerosene is a common practice, thanks to the major difference between the price of the two. As a result, the highly subsidised kerosene, meant for the poor, ends up being sold illegally in the open market; while the oil retailing firms continue to lose billions of dollars every year due to the subsidy, which continues to be a tool for vote-bank politics even when it’s no more a secret as to how it is misused and how much pollution it causes.

Forty-five years of license raj had done much harm and stifled this nation. Though things have changed for better in the last seventeen years of an 'economically independent' India since the advent of liberalisation, the remaining reminiscence of licensing continue to stifle the path to prosperity of the aspiring common man and put him at harm's way. After all, there’s no other economy where the price of junk scrap would be in lakhs and the prohibitive pricing of the quality liquor would drive the poor man to drink things equal to poison. Time to allow the invisible hand of the market economy do the talking.....Continue

‘Minus-avarice’ Antony

2009-01-29T11:28:00.000+05:30

AK antony, congress mp, kerala

Even for his ideological rivals, one scene will always remain in their minds as vintage AK Antony stuff… then Kerala Chief Minister, now Union Defence minister, vacating his chief ministerial bungalow with just a picture of his mother. The man, who a few people uncharitably call parsimonious, has few belongings even now.

Never scared to take a principled stand, even opposing late Indira Gandhi on imposing Emergency, Antony has been known always as a ‘people’s politician’. In fact, commoners in Kerala admire him as the Lal Bahadur Shastri of the South. “Political differences apart, Antony is among the very few admirable politicians in Kerala. Though he belongs to a bourgeoisie party like Congress, all of us respect and adore him as a leader of the masses,” says CPI leader and MLA from Cherthala, the native place of Antony, P Thilothaman. That says something, coming from a partisan Red politician!

Antony has always been famous for his values and simplicity. While he was the Kerala CM, Opposition members joked about his elaborated simplicity: lunch at the Secretariat canteen, travelling by an Ambassador car. Veteran journalist Harihar Swarup once wrote about Antony’s austere living in Delhi: his sole possession at the ministerial residence was a transistor. And for Congress Vichar Vibhag vice-chairman and KPCC member Jayaprakash Panicker, Antony is a seed that Congress can sow anywhere without worrying about the crop.

His wife Elizabeth, who works as a bank officer, owns some land and a few gold ornaments. Antony has no other wealth of his own. He was born in a poor Roman Catholic family and had to struggle at every step, hardships that steeled him. Despite his religious background, he fought the church and its ills all his life, so much so that he was branded as a heretic....Continue

Only a united world can fight global terrorism and usher in peace

2009-01-13T10:59:00.000+05:30

Take for instance, GPS and satellite phone that can be used from any part of the world, making it unfeasible for the victim country to track the devices. In such cases, almost all countries need to come together and share information about any susceptible movements.

A report released on December 3, 2008, titled 'World at Risk' talks about possible WMDs attack on US soil in the next few years to come. The same report states that "were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan" and bluntly singles out Pakistan as a prime suspect.

Rice's recent visit was primarily aimed at decreasing the chances of next attack on the US soil. However, it also acts an opportunity for Pakistan to undo its age-old image of being a pro-terrorist country. But will Pakistan, with the help of Ms Rice and thus US, eliminate its domestic terror camps and further help the world fight against terrorism? Time can never tell, but the sooner it is, the better!....Continue

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What is the point in creating when there’s so much of pain and uncertainty around?

2009-01-08T17:07:00.000+05:30

And, if you leave out some of these mad men, we do have a reasonably stable democracy that is now being repeatedly invaded by barbaric medieval folk whose every act is redolent of Stone Age cruelties. Snuffing out innocent lives is their idea of life. This “idea” is not about living, it is about dying! You have to confront this at close range to feel the hurt and angst that we in Mumbai do.

The only kind of reflection that makes any sense after all this is the one that promises to throw up credible solutions. What civil society needs is to find actionable inputs – and to ask those who are responsible for our safety, why on earth have they failed to create terror-proof mechanisms? Why are cops still armed with World War I rifles and defective gear, while the terrorists have no trouble barging into high-security areas armed with sophisticated automatic rifles, grenades and RDX? How come there was no attack in America after 9/11 and why is it that China never sees such acts of terror?

The civilised among us live in inclusive societies built around all kinds of freedoms. Without these rights – including the one that helps us create – life for us is meaningless. Yet as we are today, we feel thankful if we manage to survive till the next day. And make a note of this: we are weighed under this collective sense of hopelessness despite being in the majority. Yes, this is not resilience; this is, if anything, the powerlessness of the majority.

A major problem concerns the scores of competing identities in India. We continue to be divided along caste and religious lines. There are so many languages and castes and sub-castes, and in recent months we have seen all sorts of regional identities receiving disproportionate space in the media. Yet for the superficial and gullible folk, all this passes for democracy! And this fragility of ours is known to the entire world – especially those who have more homogenous populations and scientifically thought-up systems to counter the omnipresent threat from global terrorism. Why can we not close our ranks and strengthen our porous borders and so-called soft terrorist targets? What’s so soft about these that, even though we claim to be the world’s largest democracy, we are unable to put foolproof security systems in place? And ah, well, the Taj Mahal and Oberoi-Trident hotels were certainly not soft targets! Is it not a shame that our security forces could manage to catch just one terrorist alive – who too, by the way, could have died had he been more grievously injured than he was? What have our security agencies done – apart from passing the buck? Surely we deserve to be told why they failed to get wind of the meticulously planned attacks?....Continue

Army ignores all politicians in Pakistan’

2009-01-05T13:02:00.000+05:30

Captain Alok Bansal, a serving Naval officer and Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, tells Mayank Singh that politicians in Pakistan want peace, but not the Army and ISI

What lies ahead in Indo-Pak relations?

I feel that developments will affect Indo-Pak relations but not very significantly, if the US manages to pressurize Pakistan adequately. Recent developments have indicated that Pakistani Army and its rogue intelligence agency, ISI, are not under political control. The US might either take action against Lashkar (Jamaat ud Dawa) unilaterally or force Pakistan to hand over some of the people demanded by India to diffuse the situation.

Do you foresee any military options being exercised?

That possibility now is bleak but if the 20 men are not handed over and the issue does not fade from public memory, India may be forced to carry out a surgical strike on LeT HQ at Muridke or even target killing of its leadership by covert action.

Is Pakistan involved in the carnage?

I personally feel the recent attacks have been carried out by terrorists from LeT who have been influenced by Al Qaeda and trained by sections of Pak Army and ISI. The political government was neither consulted nor aware of the operations. The political leadership in Pakistan genuinely wants to improve relations with India but there is a strong bureaucratic-military resistance.

What according to you is the internal state of Pakistan?

Pakistan is a withering state and is being kept together by its Army. If the Army is weakened the state will wither away. The economy is in bad shape. The entire Pakhtoon belt has been affected by the virus of Islamic radicalism and the other ethnic troubles.

What can be done to control such activities?

Maritime security needs to be beefed up, at present the politicians and bureaucrats do not understand matters maritime. We need to set up an elaborate coastal security infrastructure, with coastal radar stations, transponders on fishing boats and marine police. Fishing needs to be regulated and vessels operating beyond a certain distance must have some communication equipment. There are multiple agencies dealing with maritime issues, to begin with an expert on maritime security, serving or retired, must be appointed as maritime security adviser with a maritime security advisory board. Delhi being so far off from the seas, not many security experts understand the peculiarities of maritime operations. ( Logistically, Karachi to Mumbai is three hours by a speed boat)....Continue

Developmental Imperative - Known response, sans solution

2009-01-02T15:04:00.000+05:30

Rana Nayar, Prof. of English, Punjabi University

Though terrorist strikes are always unpredictable, our response to these has become egregiously, hideously predictable. Every time such an incident rocks Bangalore, Ahmedabad or Delhi, leaving a few scores or a few hundred dead and many more injured, the respective state governments immediately go on the backfoot. The opposition suddenly turns offensive and starts making well rehearsed noises. Of course, the victims and their families are not even left alone to stitch together their tattered lives or absorb the daily growing influence of violence. After the Delhi blasts, the politicians (we have no statesmen left!) were, as usual, back to their games. Ironically, it was Narendra Modi who, having failed to contain terrorism in his own state, made a claim that he had forewarned the Central government. Rather than act, our former Home Minister Shivraj Patil was busy showing off his sartorial elegance and scoring brownie points by claiming that he had prior information on it, much before Modi chose to communicate it to him. No one seems to have thought it to be worthwhile to ask the Home Minister as to what he really did with the information he claims to have had.

Later in the day, when the Cabinet met to discuss the situation, the usual shibboleths were trotted off about how terrorism is a threat to the unity and integrity of our nation; how it is a law and order problem that demands more stringent vigilance on part of the security forces, but definitely no stringent laws to back them up in their fight against it. Of course, there was nothing startlingly new or refreshing about the response of the government. Over the years, our politicians have repeatedly been saying that terrorism is a ‘law and order problem’ or a ‘global phenomenon.’

Whenever our political leaders or decision-makers are either not able to deal with something or just want to shrug it off peremptorily, they often label it as ‘global.’ It sure is a refusal on their part to recognise the specifically local and national character of ‘terrorism’.....Continue

Where Assam failed, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh set an example in stemming the tide of illegal Bangladeshi migrants

2008-12-22T13:52:00.000+05:30

States in the northeast, the worst affected by the Bangladeshi problem, have often shown varying and sharply contrasting responses to the migrants problem. The Assam blasts had been claimed by the Islamic Security Force (Indian Mujahideen), which is believed to have among its ranks illegal Bangladeshis from the northeast. Strangely, Assam’s Congress government has for weeks now, been in the dock, blamed for trying to place the blame on militant groups like National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), to avoid displeasing its alleged Bangladeshi votebank in the state.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh continue to explore every legal provision that could help them detect and flush out illegal migrants . “Our legal provisions are such that even Indian citizens are not allowed to settle in the three autonomous councils that we have in the state,” HS Lyngdoh, Meghalaya deputy chief minister told TSI. “So where is the question of allowing illegal Bangladeshi migrants to settle in our state?”

Meghalaya has for many years now a check post at Jorabat, on the Assam-Meghalaya border, where police routinely picks suspected illegals from interstate buses. “It’s a deterrent,” says Meghalaya IG (special branch) Dr SB Singh. And how bad is the situation in Meghalaya? “It’s much more comfortable than in Assam,” says Singh. Expectedly, the state is now upset with Assam because of its failure on the Bangladeshi front. “We have check posts on every road coming into the state,” says Lyngdoh. “However, given the fact that we have a border dispute with Assam, we do not have a border so to speak with the state in many forest areas, which, therefore, are beyond our control. Once our border is sorted out, we will handle the problem there as well.” As a lot of illegals allegedly get their identity papers made in Assam, Lyngdoh said that such papers would not be accepted in Meghalaya.

Fearing a situation such as Assam, where illegal Bangladeshi nationals now dominate a number of districts, groups like Hynniewtrep Achik National Movement (HANM) and the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA) have been demanding stringent measures against Bangladeshi illegals in that state.....Continue

Spot of bother

2008-12-18T16:37:00.000+05:30

Astronomers have discovered something odd in the night sky. Millions of stars are racing at high speeds toward a single spot in the sky. The whys and wherefores of this cannot as yet be explained, simply because researchers don’t know what it is that is pulling so many galaxy clusters towards it. That is why they are calling it ‘Dark Flow’. Another mystery to ponder over about outer space....Continue

Astro-psephology: who will win?

2008-12-17T11:31:00.000+05:30

LaxmanDas Madan

"Congress in gloom, Lotus may bloom"
The elections dates and date of results are quite unfavourable. Serious violence is likely to erupt. Besides the large number of complaints about illegal activities and corrupt practices. Interestingly, Mayawati will not only lose ground, these elections might see her in deeper trouble.

Congress: In the Dasamsa chart of Congress, the stars will find it difficult to sustain their existing strength. The transit of Mars and Sun from the eighth house from the Moon shows that Congress will be accused of malpractices and face embarrassing developments. BJP: The sub-sub period of Ketu in the main period of Venus and sub period of Mercury will operate from November 11, 2008, to January 10, 2009. This coupled with other planetary movements are likely to benefit the party. LK Advani was confident and hopeful even during the negative period of Rahu, which ends on November 29. During the state elections, his Mars and Sun will remain in the ascendant and Jupiter will transit the second house, strengthening the BJP.....Continue

For world 'piece'!

2008-12-13T12:28:00.000+05:30

Since the last week of August, Russia has been consistently visible across the news spectrum, especially amongst the western media, facing brickbats from various critics and analysts. Russia’s decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has not only annoyed many developed countries but has also raised the age old latent question: Is cold war over?/ Does this mark the revival of Russia?/ Is Russia indirectly challenging the super power(s)?

The in-depth analysis of the latest 'Russian Doctrine' makes it evident that she is preparing both mentally and militarily to face her obvious enemy. Russia knows very well that she needs to work on her core strengths (world’s leading oil and gas supplier) that shall not last till eternity and may exhaust very soon. The nation is also facing a problem due to a decrease in population, a majority of which are migrants and not Russians. Presently, only 70 per cent of Russians constitute the country's military. To make matters worse, it is estimated that this percentage will be reduced to 60 in the near future.

Recently, the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Russia and said, "In contrast to Georgia's position, Russia's international standing is worse now than at any time since 1991… and the cost of this self-inflicted isolation has been steep." Moreover, Putin was also found stating that the scramble of USSR was the greatest disaster of the 20th century, but now Moscow is in a position to undo the damage.....Continue

Eloquent justice for the dumb

2008-12-05T12:14:00.000+05:30

Adeaf and dumb rape victim from a remote village in Ferozepore district of Punjab could possibly never had the chance to come out with her version of the ghastly incident, but for a landmark ruling by Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, ordering the trial court to record evidence of Sundari (name changed) as victim, with the help of sign language experts. The rape led to pregnancy and she gave birth to a girl child. The HC recognised it as a confirmation of the sexual action of the accused.

The High Court had to step in after the prosecution closed its case before the trial court, expressing helplessness in examining the victim, arguing that she was unable to communicate being deaf and dumb. The case was put before the High Court by Sundari's father as the state government seeking revision of trial court order, declined to allow sign language experts to speak for the victim....continue

Independents seem to hold the key for next Assembly

2008-12-01T15:24:00.000+05:30

IIPM Publication
Three of the four Assembly seats in Rajouri district have rebels contesting against their own party nominees. None of the rebels of major political parties -- National Conference, Congress, People's Democratic Party and BJP – stayed away from the elections for Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakote Assembly seats of the bordering district.

So far as noise making goes, the PDP election manifesto – titled 'make Self–Rule happen' – echoes its role of filling the political space between separatist and mainstream parties with its soft separatism agenda. It emphasise bringing Jammu and Kashmir politically, economically and constitutionally closer, foreseeing a "shared sovereignty" of a united J&K between India and Pakistan.

NC president Omar Abdullah released his party's Vision Document for J&K "At the political level, the NC Government will try to convince those who have taken recourse to violence and intimidation as means to achieve their goals to come on the dialogue table," the Vision Document says. Meanwhile, the only party displaying lethargy is Congress despite having ruled the state for three years in coalition with the PDP. Though it is open to elections, the party is yet to release a poll manifesto. While former chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, will spearhead the poll campaign, the party lacks a concrete programme to approach the elections held in an environment of strife.....Continue

Stock of a nation

2008-10-30T14:18:00.000+05:30

As a senior Indian official in France would put it that the perception about India in Western Europe can be distinctly divided between the phase before 1998 and the one after that. Before 1998, for the first 50 years India was more of an economically poor but culturally rich nation of philosophers who distinctly had a paradigm impact on modern Europe. India in those days was synonymous with mysticism, being a country known more for black magic, snake charmers and tigers than for its soft power and software. Yet 1998 and the assertion India made with its testing of five thermonuclear devices changed it all. Here was a country which through those tests was asking for its legitimate rights and venting out its frustration against a world which never paid heed to its concerns of terrorism and threats from China. It wasn’t just the nuclear test but the economic embargo in its aftermath imposed by the Americans and its stooges that made all the difference and that exposed the fundamental strength of an otherwise shy and a reclusive India. One has to remember the sheer impact of economic sanctions when imposed by Uncle Sam, something that crippled Iraq for a decade due to the oil embargo. It caused the death of thousands of children owing to lack of basic medicines and Iraq was doomed for ever. Yet when those same sanctions were imposed on India, the loss to American companies in terms of cancellation of governmental contracts was more than what a resilient India suffered. By then, seven years of liberalised economy had already solved the problem of forex reserve and to mitigate any eventual problem of the future, the government of India issued Resurgent Indian Bonds to be subscribed by the Non-Resident Indians....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read also :-

The red letter day

2008-10-21T16:03:00.000+05:30

Privatisation will benefit India Post and also uplift the rural economy

Change is the only thing constant in the world. Ironically though, we have a natural tendency to fear it. The same is true for India Post. Economic liberalisation and the resulting competition has blessed many industries by pummelling the domestic players into shape. However, India Post remains a stark exception to this trend, and there is no doubt that this anomaly has to change very soon. It has become imperative for Indian Post to exploit fully within its limited resources. We proceed to analyse how reforms in Indian Post can bring a paradigm shift in India. Consider this: India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) achieved a total turnover of approximately Rs.9 trillion (over $200 billion) with only 10,000 branches and the largest private commercial bank ICICI, with a mere 1308 branches, exceeded the total turnover of Rs.12.10 billion in 2007, whereas Indian Post, with over 1,55,000 branches, remains one of the biggest loss makers among state run giants. Instead of being a pride for the nation, it remains more of a predicament for the country.....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Wrapped in plastic, it’s fantastic

2008-10-11T14:54:00.000+05:30

Presenting the new male every Barbie doll will love!

Trimmer waistlines, wrinkle-free skin, more hair… that’s what men want these days. More and more men today are opting for cosmetic surgery to help them look younger and fitter. Like their female counterparts, they are recognizing the benefits (both personal and professional) of cosmetic surgery. Men are also increasingly choosing face, neck, and eye lifts, forehead and brow lifts; having lasers and peels to make their skin look younger; re-sculpting their noses; and undergoing tummy tucks to trim away excess amount of fat from the abdomen.

Cosmetic surgery was once primarily a female indulgence, but with the changing times, the looks of men have become increasingly important, and that has led to an increase in cosmetic surgery among men. And just in case you thought that this was an American fad, there are men in India heading to the surgeons in droves in order to enhance their appearance and be more appealing to the women.....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Just 2.51%? This is on the t‘rocks’!

2008-10-07T16:01:00.000+05:30

Daimler is the fourth foreigner to set foot in Indian truck domain. Will it help break the low foreign sales jinx?

Trucks are ‘huge’. That’s a no surprise. They mean ‘huge’ business. That’s a no surprise either! And the power punch becomes even more brutal when we talk about an economy like India, which is witnessing a radical improvement in its mass transportation system, with billions of rupees set aside for the same. As proof, industry sales released by SIAM show that in March 2008, 404,930 commercial heavy vehicles were sold in the domestic market – a dazzling 14.17% y-o-y growth rate. And where Volvo, Man and Tetra have already set their firm foot on the Indian soil, there is a fourth giant gearing up for the muscle magic – German truck-maker, Daimler.

The company entered into a 60:40 JV with India’s Hero Group, to manufacture commercial vehicles on April 21, 2008. The total capex will amount to $1.1 billion, with Daimler contributing close to $343 million. There has been an energetic scouting for a plant location in South India, with production forecasted to commence from 2010. Andreas Renschler, Head, Daimler Trucks comments on the occasion, “It is an important milestone for Daimler Trucks and our Asia strategy. In the Hero Group we have found an ideal partner, as the two perfectly complement one another in terms of the experience and expertise...” The duo are looking forward to mass manufacturing a new brand of LCVs, MCVs & HCVs; with close to 80% degree of localisation. Sounds encouraging till you hear this one – the Indian market has had a long lasting love-hate affair with Tata Motors. And this will prove a major hurdle for international players including Daimler.....continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Steady the ship, mate!

2008-10-03T13:46:00.000+05:30

L&T must adopt a more conservative approach to hedging
When you look at a company like L&T, talks of a decelerating Indian economy seem to be nothing but pure hogwash. The company continues to show strong operating performance, as order inflow growth is set to beat expectations of 30% in FY’ 08.On this backdrop, news that its 100% subsidiary, UAE-based L&T International FZE (LTFZE, which undertakes commodity derivative transactions with a view to hedge commodity exposure of the L&T group companies) may post losses of as much as Rs.2 billion came as a bit of a rude shock to investors. LTFZE bet heavily against a fall in prices of zinc and some other commodities, a move that backfired, with zinc declining up to 62% over the past one year.

What is the implication of this event at this point of time? Abhishek Gumashta, analyst, Sharekhan reverts, “Consequently, in view of this development we expect LTFZE to report a net loss of Rs.1.013 billion in FY2008 as against our previous estimate of a profit of Rs.980 million.” Counters Swapnil Pawar, Director, Park Financial Advisors, “If it is on account of a business linked hedging, we do not see anything wrong with the loss.”.....Continue

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Left, Right step on Chawla’s toes

2008-09-22T15:01:00.000+05:30

The EC’s proximity to Congress is too close for their comfort
Both the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Left are one in opposing the Congress-led UPA Government’s move to bring the three Election Commissioners at par. This is only possible through a constitutional amendment. Peeved UPA ally, the CPI, opposes the move that it describes as Congress’s “reaction” to the BJP’s hounding of EC Navin Chawla.

“What the BJP is doing is not right, but it is also clear that the move is to save some one person. The constitution is not changed every other day,” argues CPI General Secretary A. B. Bardhan. The BJP wants Chawla, who is close to the Congress, to be sacked. In its petition to the CEC, N. Gopalaswami, the BJP-led NDA “extensively documented Chawla’s role during the Emergency.” The “document” included Justice Shah Commission findings and info on prime postings during Congress regimes and grant of MPLAD funds to his private trusts.

BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley, who’s been leading the charge, says that Chawla’s proximity to the Congress is too close for comfort. “He is shackled, he can’t function independently, detachedly,” he scoffed, adding, “this is setting a terrible precedent. Now all will be tempted to pack the EC with favourites.” (The BJP is demanding Chawla’s dismissal under Article 324(5) of the constitution) Yet, how justified is the demand? Says constitutional expert, Rajiv Dhawan, “The BJP has no business asking for someone’s removal just because it disapproves of him. Every time the Congress was in a crisis, it reacted by amending the constitution. It’s unholy!’’

For amending the constitution, a party needs two-thirds majority in Parliament. And with the Left continuing to waver, this is a Herculean task for the Congress. The BJP fears that by the time the next Lok Sabha polls are held, Gopalaswami will have been succeeded by “pro-Congress” Chawla.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Effectiveness of online advertising

2008-09-20T15:41:00.000+05:30

With any product or service, there is an ecosystem that evolves to ensure that it is used by the customer in the most effective way. So, in this context, it is not surprising that there is a large community of third parties that have come into existence that aim to help the advertiser make the best use of online advertising and Google AdWords. Not only is this an expected reality but, from Google’s point of view, it is a necessary element in the rapid introduction and acceleration of the proper use of online advertising. We view agencies and other similar third parties as partners with whom we will help businesses evolve their marketing and business strategies to include digital medium both on the web and elsewhere such as on mobile devices. It is fair that an Indian business may not fully appreciate the effectiveness of search advertising or the reach of the online medium and the relatively high purchase frequency of online users. Together with these third parties, we can more rapidly provide the necessary information and education for Indian businesses about online advertising. For many businesses, this may be a very new domain, and the critical decision in selecting a third party to support you is competence. Businesses should do their due diligence, and through reference checks ensure that they are selecting a competent party.

What’s your strategy behind AdWords?

Google AdWords is a quick and simple way to purchase highly targeted cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) advertising, with the flexibility to set and modify the budget level. AdWords ads are displayed along with search results on Google, as well as on search and content sites. AdWords has become a popular program, in large part, due to the fact that businesses can precisely target their advertising campaigns to a desired audience. Google enables this by matching relevant ads to the keywords that users submit which indicate their interests and preferences.

Further, AdWords operates on cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-1000-impressions (CPM) model, i.e., advertisers pay either when end users click on ads, or when the advertiser’s ad is shown on a site. This provides advertisers the ability to prove ROI. Also, AdWords provides other features like restricting ads to customers that have their browsers set to a specific language or to customers who are surfing in a particular city, state, or country to make the advertising medium even more effective.

What will be the important emerging trends and technologies over the next couple of years?

The online advertising market in India, as estimated by third parties at Rs.218 crores in 2006-2007 is growing at a fast pace and expected to reach Rs.2,250 crores in 2009. We expect consumers in India to continue to increase their use of services delivered via the Internet. I am very bullish and expect continued strong growth in the use of online advertising. We believe that mobile advertising will be an opportunity specifically interesting to businesses given the proliferation of mobile and the increased use of data services over mobile devices.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Crack begin to appear in fortress

2008-08-25T12:47:00.000+05:30

Chavez faces first major electoral loss since coming to power in 1998
For almost a decade, the Venezuelan Opposition hasn’t known what a victory is, at the national level. They played all the tactics, right from boycotting elections to staging a coup against the elected president. On the other side, President Hugo Chavez grew in strength. The more the Opposition attacked him, the stronger he became. This was the domestic scene for the last nine years. Yet, the divided Opposition managed to defeat Chavez’s ambitious constitutional reforms by a narrow margin in the December 2 referendum. Chavez sought a series of reforms including letting the President run for re-election indefinitely. The reforms, in his words, would have sped up Venezuela’s transformation into a socialist country. However, many of his supporters, who gave him a victory in the December presidential elections last year, did not turn up to vote ‘yes’ for their Leftist President. Speaking to B&E, Dr. Shannon K. O’Neil, a Latin American expert at the Council of Foreign Relations, said, “This is the first setback for Chavez. Nevertheless, he still maintains substantial power – control of the presidency, the Congress, the courts, most of the media, and most of the local & regional governments. He has significant decree powers, so many of the issues he tried to pass through the referendum could potentially be passed through the pro-Chavez legislature.” The referendum has sparked off a new debate across the US. Is it the beginning of the end of Chavezism in South America? Certainly not in the near future at least, he still has the capacity to withstand setbacks.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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IN 2029, PCS WILL OPERATE AT HUMAN LEVELS

2008-08-20T15:59:00.001+05:30

You’ve written extensively about machine intelligence moving well beyond human intelligence. Are we on track?
The road map from the semiconductor industry foresees 4-nanometer features and chips, which would enable us to simulate all the regions of the human brain for about $1,000. This exponential growth will ultimately be quite transformative. There’s been so much progress in getting self-organising, three-dimensional molecular circuits to work. We also have nanotube-based memory from Nantero due to hit the market next year. On the software side, a number of new scanning technologies now enable us to see individual neural connections for the first time. Brain scanning really didn’t make significant progress in allowing us to reverse-engineer the human brain until just recently. We’re gaining the means of tracking individual signals in Neurons so we can simulate brain regions in increasingly precise ways.

What would be the benefit of these simulations?
I’ve projected 2029 as the year for having both the hardware and software to have computers that operate at human levels. At that time, the hardware will be powerful enough for surpassing human intelligence. Look at your humble $1,000 PC today. It’s greatly superior to human intelligence in some ways. It can remember billions of things, while we’re hard pressed to remember half our phone numbers. Most importantly, machines can share their knowledge at great speeds. So achieving basic human intelligence with our machines and combining that with the superior benefits of machine intelligence will let us perform feats that go far beyond what we can physically do.

How close will we get to our machines?
They’ll go inside our clothing and inside our bodies and brains. We’ll be putting blood-cell-size devices, nanobots, inside our bloodstream to keep us healthy from inside. If that sounds fantastically futuristic, let me point out that we’re already doing this with animal experiments. One scientist actually cured type-1 diabetes in rats (using blood-cell-size devices). The University of Rochester and MIT have succeeded in selectively identifying and destroying cancer cells using blood-cell-size devices. I believe in 10 or 15 years we’ll overcome all the major diseases that kill 95% of us. How will the World Wide Web change over the next 10-20 years?

We’re going to move toward a worldwide mesh concept, where rather than our devices being spokes into a network, they’re going to be nodes on the network. They’ll be very tiny, and there will be millions of nodes inside our bodies, inside our clothes, inside the environment. It will be a cloud of both computation and communication resources, so if you need a million computers for 500 milliseconds that will be instantly organised for you. They’ll keep us healthy from inside and interact directly with our biological neurons to enhance our intelligence.

How will we defend against tiny biological or robotic devices?
Probably in 6-7 years, we’ll have a rapid response system. I think that spending the money would be a worthwhile investment.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tropical paradise

2008-08-13T15:26:00.000+05:30

The company has agents on hand to help answer questions and attend to sales though their official greeter is a rather strange golden retriever. If you are already a resident, check out the available property listings at ‘www.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Real_Estate’ for your dream waterfront villa or tropical paradise. To know more, visit the Ivory tower library of primitives for in-world tutorials on SL’s building system. It teaches you how to become an architect in SL.

Probably the most innovative aspect of SL is that almost all content in-world is created by the residents and not Linden Labs. SL provides a three-dimensional modelling tool that allows Residents to create anything they want – buildings, landscape, vehicles, furniture, and machines to use, trade or sell. Such creations can in turn create businesses like restaurants, shopping malls or nightclubs. This creation is the primary activity in the SL economy.

Residents own the Intellectual Property Right (IPR) of anything created by them within SL. You can open a retail store or start a house-building business, run a casino or become a landscaper. Today, SL has an economy that defies imagination with a turnover of more than $650,000 a day. And that’s real world money I am talking about. On the March 9, 2007, a whopping $1.5 million was accounted in transactions. Virtual businesses propelling a virtual economy that is generating real money! Hard to believe? Jennifer Grinnell quit her real world job when she realised that her Second Life avatar Janie Marlowe was making more money as a fashion designer. Janie’s in-world boutique Mischief is quite popular for uber chic digital clothing. If you have imagination, you can sell anything. For example, Tringo! 31 year old software programmer Nathan Keir found that Bingo (commonly known as Housy in India, it is a game of chance where randomly-selected numbers are drawn and players match those numbers to those appearing on printed 5x5 matrices) was a popular game in SL. He felt that it could be more fun if the game was not purely based on chance. So he combined Bingo with Tetris, the popular computer game and Tringo was born. Nathan’s avatar, Kermitt Quirk has since then sold over 200 copies of Tringo for USD$50 a piece to interested parties, with ease.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

Taurus MF

2008-08-12T14:40:00.000+05:30

R. K. Gupta
MD, Taurus MF

Taurus Star Share, Bonanza Exclusive Growth, Taurus Infra Tips, Taurus Discovery Stock Fund and Taurus Liquid Fund are the five funds which should keep up with investors’ expectations in near future. The Bonanza Exclusive Growth is predominantly a large cap scheme wherein volumes and growth bear positive correlation. As of today infrastructure is a dominant player in the capital market and Taurus Infra Tips is well suited to take that advantage. The midcap stock provides a cushion against the market volatility; the Diversified Stock fund, predominantly a midcap scheme is a good option in these volatile times. The liquid fund is a good option for the corporates.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Reserve Availability

2008-08-11T16:49:00.000+05:30

Therefore, the real issue is not reserve availability, but timely deliverability and here enhanced cooperation and dialogue among all parties to ensure security of demand, as well as security of supply.” The report estimates that from 1995-2003, new discoveries had actually improved recoveries by almost 138 billion barrels. This was especially possible due to more advanced extraction techniques & management. By 2020, oil production is likely to cross 1600 billion barrels with reserves close to 3400 billion barrels! On the basis of OEPC’s own data, it can be logically concluded that the oil price dilemma is not necessarily dependent on consumption alone. Various analysts have contended that OPEC deliberately controls production in order to safeguard its own interests in order to maintain a high price point.

While the top ten oil extracting nations produce about 52 million barrels/day, the top ten oil consuming countries together use close to only 50 million barrels/ day. This means that that a good 2 million barrels of crude can be utilised in price stabilisation, especially when volatility is playing havoc with the global economy. It’s technically proven that the world currently produces more oil than it consumes, but uncertainty of oil prices remains. Production has increased by a salubrious 26% as compared to levels in the 1960s. In fact, oil price insecurity can easily be alleviated on the prospects of huge untapped reserves in Alaska, Latin America and Siberia.

“Oil prices are not determined by the ‘real’ supply-demand for oil, it is the ‘anticipated’ supply-demand, which ascertains the value of the product,” says Saikia. As far as the blame game is concerned, the supposedly new oil hungry nations putting pressure on global oil prices, are factually not the raison d etre’ for the anomaly. China, the nation taking up most of the blame, consumes close to 7.2 million barrels/ day however more than half of this (3.8 million) is met by domestic production. US, on the other hand, consumes a preposterous 20.5 million barrels every day, while contributing a miniscule 8.1 million. Even major oil producing countries like Indonesia cannot hold on to prevailing pressure. With the dangers of ‘galloping inflation’ looming, the country is all set to withdraw from OPEC. It’s the most stinging irony with power. Those that hold oil reserves are making life dificult for the rest by constraining production. The problem then is not shortage of oil per se, but rather the concentration of oil resources in a few hands, which are failing to see beyond their own interests towards the larger good of the planet.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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K. V. Sridhar, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett

2008-08-07T14:10:00.000+05:30

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

K. V. Sridhar, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett: Sambit is a great creative guy. There are some creative types who try and do different work and he is one of them. He basically enjoys positioning a brand and taking things forward. The way he has been working for Coca-Cola is spectacular. In fact, he has been completely involved and responsible for the launch of the Minute Maid brand. The tagline ‘Where is the Pulp’ was his brainchild. We wanted to position Minute Maid as a different and natural drink, as pulp is the real differentiator. The way he brought in energy into the brand, which otherwise would have been just another rational copy is superb. Sambit has brought in loads of attitude into a simple thing like pulp and also at the same time ensured that the ad caters to the young generation. He has come up with a fantastic way of positioning the product, keeping in mind all the things that make a brand really successful. He is a genius in commercial advertising. He has been very successful in the 3600 kind of thinking, which is a more in-the-face kind of communication. He has a strong vision and thinks in a holistic fashion. You don’t get to see his kind of maturity often.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Four-wheeler domain

2008-08-05T14:05:00.000+05:30

It is important to understand why biking giants are foraying into the four-wheeler domain. Has the two-wheeler sector saturated already? Let’s look at the figures. As compared to FY2006-07, domestic two-wheeler sales shrunk by a lamentable 7.92% to 7.25 million during FY2007-08; exactly the period when the CV sales rose by a commendable 4.07% to touch 486,817 units and PV segment sales rose by a healthy 12.17% to touch 1.55 million. Infact, during the same period, the LCV segment alone witnessed a walloping 12.29% growth to touch 215,823 units. So there you are, if we base our analysis on historical data, considering that with two-wheeler sales suffering, Hero and Bajaj couldn’t be making a better extension to their product mix. Confirming the same, Vaishali Jajoo, Auto Analyst, Angel Broking asserts, “The two-wheeler industry growth is expected to fall in the long run as per capita incomes increase. Further interest rate fluctuations and uncertain movement in inflation have put comparatively larger pressure on the two-wheeler industry as well...” Therefore, the move is positive in the long run as improving affordability is resulting in higher volumes for the four-wheeler segment compared to two-wheelers. Even when we consider the moves ordinally, they do look well-judged. No wonder the investment plans are also huge with Hero-Daimler’s JV plan to invest over €700 million over the next five years (of which Daimler will bring-in €220 million in the form of FDI). The JV expects to start production of CVs by 2010 and aims to achieve a localisation rate of up to 80% in order to optimally utilise cost synergies, with exports planned to commence a couple of years after production begins.

On the other hand, the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan trio in a perfect military secret mission type have given a code to their project – ULC. Bajaj will own a 50% chunk in the JV while Renault and Nissan will own 25% each. A production plant will be set up in Chakan (Maharashtra) with an initial capacity of 400,000 units/year. The company proposes to commence roll-out of vehicles by early-2011. “The venture is still at the nascent stage. We are here surely to make a difference and apart from this, we cannot disclose much at this point of time,” reveals Nitin Kochar, Exec. Director, Bajaj Auto. Indeed the plans of the two-wheeler giants look grandeur. However, the four-wheeler Indian drive for these specialists is expected to be bumpy. They need to overcome a number of bottlenecks. “The foremost challenge is moving into a completely new segment. Dealership problem to a certain extent will also pose as a major challenge,” cautions Jajoo. Moreover, with competition heating-up every minute, we might just see a situation of oversupply. Surely, late movers will have very little advantage in this regard.

For Complete I I P M Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

No chinks in his armour

2008-08-04T16:52:00.000+05:30

Despite a blip in Mittal’s plans; the steel tycoon is going strong

Tony Stark, the protagonist of Marvel comic series Iron Man, is in many ways similar to Laxmi Mittal, the steel empire builder. Both men were relentless empire builders even in the wake of adversity and reservations. Neither was ever affected by complacency. The moniker of Iron Man is best suited for a Marvel universe inspired socio-economic structure. But we may still conclude that the Iron Man of the real world is indeed living up to his name. Not satisfied by his multibillion dollar bid to merge the world’s largest steelmaker with his own company back in 2006, Mittal is back for more. Obviously when you have $105.2 billion worth of revenue, complacency is well just another impediment.

With a production of 116 million tones of steel, ArcelorMittal has a market share of close to 10% in the global consolidated steel industry. In a bid to even further his reach, the businessman of Indian origin has already fired up the first three months of 2008. In April, he first acquired 50% share in Gonvarri Brasil forming a steel servicing JV. “This JV will allow us to further grow in this very promising market (Brazil),” said Jon Riberas, CEO, Gonvarri. Then Arcelor Mittal has announced that the I/N Kote facility in US will now have an additional capacity of 480,000 tones for building continuous galvanizing line (CGL), almost doubling the facilities galvanising capacity. On an annual basis, the I/N Kote facility in Indiana produces close to 450,000 tones of hot-dip galvanised and galvanealed sheet.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Home Shop

2008-07-31T16:07:00.000+05:30

Another instance is that of Home Shop 18, which actually happens to be the brain child of SAIF and, therefore, calling it an investee company won’t be right. It’s a JV between SAIF and Network 18, and an example of an idea that the Fund was sure about. The reason: SAIF had already successfully invested in Acorn, China’s largest home shopping firm, which recently got listed on NASDAQ. If one looked at the enablers for home shopping – like TV penetration, telecom penetration and spending power – it seemed the right and opportune time to tap the Indian market. India has approximately 105 million TV households, and mobile penetration of 281 million.

“SAIF partnered with Network 18, one of India’s most reputed media houses, to launch a home shopping channel with our learning and knowledge that we had in China. We knew how to source, what kind of product to sell, how to package it, and so on and so forth. We gained traction by partnering with TV-18, and we targeted TV, which had all the ingredients of success. This company is doing phenomenally well and the rate at which it is growing, it will emerge as one of the largest retail company in India in couple of years across categories, even accounting for offline players,” boasts Vibhor.

However, like all PE/VCs, Vibhor is hesitant and apprehensive to disclose SAIF’s average returns from India investments. “We are the best kept secret in India, both in terms of our returns as well as the size of our non-sponsored fund,” he says. But sources contend that the portfolio that Vibhor has been associated with has appreciated 2.5-5 times in a span of less than two years.

Entering high-growth markets like China & India is a dream for every company. The GDPs of both China & India have risen 120% in the past five years (according to IMF data). With dedicated local offices in China, India and South Korea, SAIF currently manages over $2 billion of portfolio. And as far as India is concerned, SAIF is all poised to be the next big thing, or rather, the biggest PE/VC player. Beware Blackstone and Temasek!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
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The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
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Investee: India Cements Ltd.

2008-07-30T16:58:00.000+05:30

Investor: Fidelity, ABN Amro, HSBC, et al

Investment Value: $137.67 mn

The capital raised through this deal will give the much-needed impetus to ICL’s expansion plans. Substantiates V. M. Mohan, ICL, Joint President (Corporate Finance), “We are in the process of raising capital to fund a Rs.1,450 crore expansion plan that would double its cement production capacity to 18 million tonnes over the next two years, and to set up a 40-50 MW captive power project and buy two ships for coal transport. The QIB issue is a part of that.” The company may also reduce their debt balance through these issues.

Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) – Fidelity, HSBC, ABN Amro, among others – in a deal worth Rs.592 crores bought 7.5% stake in India’s third largest cement firm, India Cements Ltd. (ICL) in December last year. Considered to be the largest cement player in South India, the company boasts of seven manufacturing locations, spread over Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. ICL issued 20.78 million shares at Rs.285 per share, including premium, to these QIBs. With an objective to become a pan India cement manufacturer (and plans to increase capacity to 18 MTPA by December 2010), the company wants to use the net proceeds of the issue primarily for capital expenditure and other expenditure support. They also plan to finance new projects through this issue. The cement maker is setting up two plants in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, besides having several mining leases in these two states. Considering the boom in the domestic infrastructure and real estate market, the demand for cement has been going up for some time; and ICL is poised to benefit from this latent potential.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

Number of designs

2008-07-29T16:42:00.000+05:30

But we wanted more dope; and dope was what we got when we found that it was J Walter Thompson that was the agency credited to have coordinated with Bobby Kooka to create the Maharaja! We scurried out Ivan Arthur, former National Creative Director, JWT and current Vice Chairman, Aicar, who gave some eye-openers, “One day, simply looking for an interesting letterhead, Bobby Kooka phoned the agency and promptly received a number of designs, all done by this talented young JWT Art Director named Umesh Rao. One of these designs had a neat line-drawing of some Maharaja bowing in a gracious welcome. Kooka liked it a lot and the letterhead was finalised.”

But remaining confined to the letterheads wasn’t supposed to be the fate of our prince, there was more to come Initially introduced merely to ornament the Air India letterhead. As Arthur reveals, “Sometime later, the ever-inventive mind of Bobby Kooka asked why that cute little drawing could not step out of the letterhead and be used in the advertising as an add-on. ‘But of course, it could’, said the agency and the next advertisement had the little bowing Maharaja signing off above the Air-India International logo. (The airline was called Air-India International then). Kooka was pleased. And the Maharaja continued to sign off on some of Air-India International’s advertisements, till on another inventive day, Kooka asked why the little fellow could not grow bigger and actually take centerstage? He did. And so was born the Maharaja as mascot.”

Soon the Maharaja won many hearts and became one of the most important members of the Air India family. And since then, he was seen in all their advertisement campaigns; and for over sixty years, he continued to remain Air-India’s surrogate salesman, selling tickets not by hawking but by being charming. Rohit Manchanda, CEO, Planman Life, comments to 4Ps B&M, “The Maharaja usage was the first example of non-advertising icons used as advertising, in the Indian ad industry. A breakthrough!”

Could anyone have then imagined that this royal ad-king would subsequently gel not only with Indians, but most brilliantly with foreigners as well? Ergo, it seems more surprising that such an emblazoned iconic creation’s dominance has now ended, and that too because of competition. Bharghav diplomatically explains, “No doubt, Air India has been a conservative advertiser in the past; but now, as the environment has changed to become much more competitive... the need of the hour is to move on...”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Peer-to-Peer

2008-07-22T15:17:00.000+05:30

Despite initial hiccups in its plans, who symbolises peer-to-peer marketing better than Amway in India

As a multilevel marketer, we’vealways focused on expanding our membership & not just the consumer base. It’s all about connecting people who share common goals & aspirations. So, introducing world-class products at competitive prices and adequately training our distributors is what drives the organisation. As all Amway products are concentrates, we literally have to ‘train’ our distributors ‘how’ to use these products. All this is to ensure that they are armed with adequate product knowledge when they go out in the field. Because at the end of the day it’s a people business – it relies on the most important personal touch as its main promotional tool – word of mouth.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

Tailoring to perfection

2008-07-21T12:59:00.000+05:30

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Saville Row is still miles away from the indian sub-continent. But here’s a man who’s taken it upon himself to create space for his brand on the global stage

Sparkling lights, dazzling crystals, glamorous dresses and pulsating beats… one just cannot desire for more from spectacular models walking the ramp with unique fits and royal cuts. And who deserves credit for all this? Well, it’s none other than the Indian Textile industry which is currently upbeat and all enthusiastic about its much exaggerated novel innovations and celebrity endorsements. So there we were, all set for an encounter with S. Krishnamoorthy, President & Head of Textiles Unit, Grasim Industries Ltd, a flagship of the Rs.175 crore Aditya Birla Groupwhich has been synonymous to urbane chic fashion and classy apparels for ages now.

We entered his office and the sight that greeted us made us believe that in the midst of this glitz and shimmer surrounding the word fashion and apparels, there still exists ‘simplicity’! We shook hands with a man whose impeccable simple charm and efficacy has enabled him to roll aside the biggest boulder on his path to success. Krish, as his business card pronounces his name (and not the fantasy Indian Super Hero) was somewhere in his sixties, simply dressed and was taking his brunch bites off his plate. He was done with it in a while and then began our chat session with a man whose friendly approach and warm smile was unbelievable considering the industry to which he belonged.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Science (in 1973) and has further completed a Diploma in Wet Processing of Textiles from City & Guilds, London. His industry ride started in 1974 with a stint at Madura Fabrics and later on joined Arvind Mills in 1995. There, he laid down a plant which later proved to be a marvel as it turned into a shopping place for all the premium brands in the world, currently producing about 34 million meters of high value shirting. On being asked about his alliance with Grasim for 8 long years, he humbly asserts, “The experience with the Birla group has been awesome. We have certain values like integrity, commitment, speed, passion et al.” Crowned as one of the most dynamic Sales & Marketing personnel in the Indian textile industry and credited with the growth of Grasim Brand in the domestic arena, he claims that, “To dominate in Indian market you need to have a strong brand image. And that’s what I have done with Grasim. I made it a Grasim Brand; the brand from then to now. And today, we command a huge 15% market share!”

Taking key consumer insights into consideration, Grasim earns many applauds for its fabulous product range which includes sub-brands nurturing a whole array of choices such as Freedom (the softest fabric currently available), Ice Touch (a fabric which keep body temperature at 5 degrees cooler), Venetia (the latest line of Italian stripes and checks), Medova (international fabric launched for the first time with Modal), Caramel (soft, smooth and light weight fabric) and many other exclusive showroom products. Today the Grasim group has forty-five exclusive brand stores under its umbrella and plans to add thirty more by next year. And what about its global operations? Well, it is fast spreading its wings across continents and is foraying into European and many other markets explaining which he adds, “In our case, 50% of our total revenues come from the domestic market and the rest comes from exports. And that is because we have focused on both the markets.” Grasim is also belligerent about increasing its pan-India presence through its strategy of establishing itself in the tier two and tier three cities as well. And apart from roping-in Akshay Kumar as its brand endorser, it has also tied up with Godrej Aadhar and ITC’s eChoupal to tap the ever growing demand and revenues in the rural and rurban markets. “I think the overall industry has grown phenomenally during the past two years. Globally speaking, the reason for this forward march is the abolition of quota systems and in the domestic market the prime reasons are an increase in purchasing power and of course, the retail revolution,” asserts Krishnamoorthy who is also an active participant in the Indian textile industry and a member of CII for textiles.

But while there’s prosperity for one, the others are not deprived of the furious pace at which the industry (both in India and globally) is marching ahead at; and that’s precisely where competition creeps in. When asked about the same, he calmly responds, “We might not have created a strong brand name and though we are invisible in the global markets, yet our revenues are equally distributed geographically...” Confidence for sure in his tone, something most expected from a veteran who has had his share of experience in domestic & global sales, marketing and exports as the President of Grasim Industries.

With an ode to the enormous amount of success attained so far, we couldn’t help but wonder about his next agenda. “We are also looking at the JV route; we are talking with some European markets together for technology & design for womenwear...” Sure enough, this man exuded confidence that would ratle his competitors and please his customers. Meet this leader and you’d believe us when we say that Krish is indeed a “self made man”!

Edit bureau: Neha Saraiya

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

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IIPM - Admission Procedure
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Prudence

2008-07-18T13:46:00.000+05:30

When rivals in the banking sector are aggressively wooing numbers, HDFC is moving with characteristic caution. Their prudence may well pay off

The target audience for HDFC Bank is unique as it’s targeting the youth. Besides, since the focus is on the retail market, HDFC’s sturdy brand name helps. The bank has segmented its services according to the customers, where I think it has a competitive advantage over others. Though, the pace of deposits at HDFC have slowed down in the recent past, yet I think it will improve in the future. The bank’s current strategy is thus prudent enough.

By Nilesh Parikh, Banking Analyst, SSKI Research

Punctuality
Remember how your door-bell rang within 30 minutes, the last time you ordered a pizza? And what about the assurance that the brand gives you? All that has been built through hard-to-erase action, and is always on your mind. Think about it – 30 minutes is all that it takes!. Hungry Kya?

Punctuality is something that has helped us to create a strong brand image for Domino’s and undoubtedly it has also helped us to create a clear-cut distinguisher. Punctuality in delivery has been our USP and our positioning has revolved around it. To maintain such punctuality, whenever we decide to open a new outlet, we first find out whether we can deliver the product within 30 minutes to cutomers in the vicinity. Our team members personally go there and visit each and every corner of that locality by scooter and find out the feasibility of delivering the product in 30 minutes in all circumstances. That’s how we have been sustaining our punctuality! We have 4,400 delivery boys, and in places where there’s heavy traffic, we have introduced delivery by cycles. All this is done to enhance the brand image created by Domino’s and it is helping us to become the fastest growing pizza company in the delivery segment.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)

IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)

IIPM makes business education truly global

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)

IIPM Campus

“Stooges of modern retail behemoths”

2008-07-12T12:43:00.000+05:30

The apprehensions continue despite a slew of reports from PricewaterHouse Coopers, KSA Technopak, ICRIER, CII et al, all stating that modern organised retail is an idea whose time has come. Irrespective whether you call these organisations “stooges of modern retail behemoths”, the fact is that most of them conclusively opine that modern retail will, in fact, not harm the 12 million mom & pop stores and hawkers that the protestors are routinely brandishing. “In fact, most of this 12 million small retailers affected are in small town and rural India, while the $35 billion proposed modern retail investments are specifically targeted at bigger cities and towns, as of now,” explains Sen, adding that even in these cities, a modern retail outlet will at best displace only the mom & pop stores in the vicinity and not all of them operating of them. “KSA Technopak believes that, in effect, only about 3,00,000 grocery stores across the country will be effected and certainly not all 12 million.” The buzz is that even the still un-tabled ICRIER report, commissioned by the government of India to study the impact of organised retail on grocery stores and vendors has ruled out any major negative impact on them, although an e-mail to ICRIER expectedly went unanswered.

What’s more, most reports go to great lengths to explain the benefits of modern organised retail on the economy. A CII-PwC joint study titled The Rising Elephant forecasts more than eight million additional jobs; increased investment in the economy by both domestic and foreign retailers; organisation of the last mile distribution and supply chain for Indian agriculture, reducing wastage due to the present fragmented supply chain; farmers benefiting from rising productivity and better prices; enhancing sourcing and exports from India, among others. As of now, a fragmented and ill-equipped supply chain causes over 40% of India’s farm produce to go waste. The only organised sourcing by domestic companies is being done by Bharti FieldFresh and ITC, most of it is for export market.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

“...But can a minority really make a difference,” asks adman Prahlad Kakkar

2008-07-11T17:38:00.000+05:30

IIPM - Admission Procedure

There were times when social causes or issues were picked in advertising only with the purpose to add some creative awards to your kitty. Very few ads involving social messages were made by mainstream brands. The reason was simple: clients were not willing to take the risk. They are always scared of entering into any sort of controversy that such ads may lead to. For example, if a brand started addressing the issue of reservations and says that reservations should be abolished, it becomes controversial and the brand may have to face some opposition from a certain set of people in the society.

However, in the recent past there have been numerous changes in the advertising landscape. Marketers are now ready to take a little risk and they are picking up realities of Indian society and incorporating them in their communication. This is a huge step and a very welcome change that the advertising fraternity is taking. I believe that marketers and advertisers should incorporate social message in their communication, instead of restricting it to a plain vanilla selling exercise. However, ads like this have a risk of eliminating certain set of people from the usage of the brand. Take the recent Idea commercial (featuring Abhishek Bachchan) for that matter. There is a risk of alienating sections of society, especially fundamentalists. However, gradually a minority of clients are waking up and incorporating such issues in their commercials. But it’s a silent minority. What we should do is that we should create a forum where we can discuss issues like this. Once we start discussing such issues as planting trees, education, corruption, we will surely go a long way.

Another reason why marketers usually shy away from incorporating social issues in their ads is that advertising is something that is used to sell a product or service. So people might get the impression that you are using a social cause to sell your product. It may give the consumer a feeling of being conned, which can prove fatal for the brand. But, if treated correctly, such ads have the potential to generate immense goodwill for the brand and for their marketers!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

‘Park’ed in hospitality

2008-05-05T12:25:00.000+05:30

Priya PAUL... finds herself in an industry which is on a roll and is expectedly laughing out loud!

Priya Paul, the Director of Apeejay Surrendra Group and President of Park Hotels, has been a frank and forthright entrepreneur in the hospitality sector. An Economics graduate, her soaring growth chart in the hotel industry has made more than few envious of her grit and gumption.

Conferred the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the turn of the millennium, by the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India, her sophisticated demeanour hides behind it a determined-to-succeed entrepreneur.

Being in the service industry, Priya is an out-an-out people’s person. Rupa Thomas, Associate Director, Corporate Communications for the Park Hotels says that Priya Paul believes her biggest asset to be her team, “which makes it great to work with her and work for her.” As a result, Priya takes great personal interest in the growth and development of all her employees that has led to the formation of an exhaustive training calendar for all management trainees, while seniors managers are sent to Harvard and Cornell to study international trends.

“She meets every employee of the various units of ‘The Park’ formally and informally to understand their needs and to thank them for helping her realise her dream,” says a source in The Park.

Paul believes work should be fun, and combined with her unswerving belief in her employees, is making them determinedly stand by her side in taking The Park chain to great heights.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank

The Sunday Indian

Apple iPhone set to launch in June end!

2008-04-02T16:01:00.000+05:30

The proximity sensor detects when the phone is lifted to the ear and immediately gets into the power save mode! Since the phone will be up against the mighty Nokia N series and Sony Ericsson W series, Apple has made sure that its music phone is not deprived of the regular high end ‘expected’ features. EDGE, a 2 MP camera, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 will accompany the handset. The iPhone will also be available with the usual iPod features. The iPhone comes in both 4GB and 8GB versions, enough to store 16 hours worth music.

On the prospective entry, Avinash Ramachandra, Head (Marketing), Apple Asia, told 4Ps B&M, “The iPhone is going to be launched by the end of this month (June) in the USA. The 4GB version will retail for $499, while the 8GB version will retail for $599.” His answer was unclear though when asked about the India debut; but Manil Shetty of Maple Technologies, a reseller of Apple products in Mumbai, tweaked our hopes as he said, “The Apple iPhone might just reach India by January next year.” Till then, let’s make do with the Chinese, eh!

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Getting a makeover

2008-03-24T12:31:00.000+05:30

The Air India crew has decided that enough is enough: it’s time to move with the times and smartly! As a starter, the emphasis will be on being well turned out. Fashion guru Pierre Cardin and reigning desi diva Ritu Beri have been roped in for the makeover. While Ritu Beri will create new uniforms for the female cabin crew – Cardin will take care of the male dressing. High time Air India became more fashionable – particularly now that Jet and Kingfisher have been giving everyone a complex!

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

A commitment to saving lives and looking good!

2008-03-03T10:47:00.000+05:30

It wasn’t always like this though. If we go back in time, during the Age of Sail, we find that the only kind of lifeguards then, were people who were paid to rescue ship-wrecked sailors. Armed with little more than a row boat, this fearless group of people would row out, oft en in a wild storm to rescue sailors in danger. However, the advent of steam-ships and a general increase in the sturdiness of the sea vessels rendered them obsolete. The need for lifeguards began to be felt in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when going to the beach, surfing and swimming began to gain acceptance. With this development came the inevitable rise in water related fatalities. For instance, during one weekend in Newport Beach, California, in the early 1900s, 18 deaths were reported, the cause – drowning. Alarmed by this and other similar incidents, beach authorities and local bodies decided to set up life guarding services so that trained professionals would be on constant stand-by in case of an emergency. That was the start of lifeguards, as we know them today. Initially, reflecting their heritage, these early lifeguards were also equipped with long row boats. During emergencies they would row out and pull the victim into the boat before he drowned. Single rescues, popularised by Baywatch the world over, where a lone swimmer would swim out and save someone from drowning, were frowned upon, as the panicked victim presented a danger to everybody. This type of rescue was possible only much later when rescue buoys came into existence.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom
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The crystal ball

2008-02-18T11:30:00.000+05:30

One may be tempted to draw parallels to the US real estate boom, which has now shown signs of a painful slowdown. The outlook for appreciation in 2007 is relatively fl at out there, while at least a third of American metro areas are expected to see slight declines in housing prices. According to RREEF (research firm with Deutsche bank), capital allocated in real estate in US in 2007 is expected to be less than its value in 2006, while in EU, an additional $70 billion is expected to be invested. Investment in Asia Pacific reached $63 billion in 2006, five times its value since 2000; and is expected to shoot up to $366 billion by 2010.

One area that shows a huge promise, even to us, is the SEZ space. Just 8-9 SEZs are currently operational, while around 230 SEZs are formally approved. But critically, the major fault with the sector lies with the government, which, instead of initiating a long standing public-private partnership to plan economic growth & ensure coordinated development of housing for masses & development of commerce, has limited itself to using the ‘interest’ stick as an electric control rod.

Unless the government reworks its understanding of structural macroeconomics, the real estate sector, uninhibited during both boom times and depressions, could lead to India’s economy being exposed to extremely dangerous vagaries of yo-yo economics, where markets rise and crash very fast and during very short periods. Real estate was never meant to be a speculative industry; unfortunately, that is what it has started becoming, with players buying and selling property in order to make money over the short term. Can our government put an urgent stop to this? We haven’t got a reply from them; if you do, call us.

Ministry of good sexual practices

2008-02-05T12:32:00.000+05:30

When her tall persona fails to intimidate Indian menfolk, the Women & Child Development Minister, Renuka Chowdhury uses candour to bring home the point – if Indian men really care for their wives, they need to use condoms on a regular basis. She even suggests to women that if their husbands are irresponsible in picking up the safety device on their way home, wives should take matters in their own hand and do the needful. In as much, the minister is rightly out to shake up the very foundations of India’s orthodox Patriarchal setup. And the drive behind her bold utterances? Yes! To prevent Aids and other ills plaguing Indian society.

One should applaud Renuka for spearheading a frontal attack on the sometimes hypocritical moral fibre of Indian society, but oft en she does give a feel of overstretching her brief and indulging in glib talk. This was evident when she recently talked about registering all pregnancies & abortions within the country. Of course, one doesn’t dispute her intentions, which are primarily directed towards preventing female foeticide (a study by The Lancet, a British medical journal, reported last year that upto 500,000 female fetuses are aborted each year in India, leading to birth of nearly 10 million fewer girls over the past two decades), but what one does argue against is the wishful thought that such a measure can be effectively implemented in a country like India.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy

Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom GIDF

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The Sunday Indian

Having silenced competitors, Rio Tinto’s bid for Alcan is a perfect corporate suicide tale in the making…

2008-01-25T12:36:00.000+05:30

Give what names you wish to the Rio Tinto management, but the bitter reality is that a logical strategist derives no pleasure in realising that while Alcan’s shares were trading at just $61.03 per share on the NYSE (on May 4, 2007) before the share price was artificially puff ed-up due to the bid-war, Rio Tinto offered it a rollicking $101 per share (as on July 25, 2007) – a breathtaking premium of 65.5% over its true value, perhaps in an attempt to wash away the competition!

Tom Albanese, CEO, Rio Tinto, tries to justify his company’s logic concerning ‘true value’ as, “We’re very comfortable with the fact that we’ve found the right balance between the compelling offer for Alcan shareholders & a Rio Tinto offer that’s consistent with our approach to value…” However, this too falls fl at when considered that the current market value of Alcan stands at just $32.92 billion which is yet again overvalued (as proven by the fact that Alcan share volumes traded rose by a deafening 1587.1% on the subsequent trading session after May 7, 2007) only due to the recent two-month long bidding rally as the total market value of Alcan was just $22.08 billion before the bid started!

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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