THEME-BASED REALTY! DOES IT EVEN WORK?

For most part of the year gone by, realtors harped over the affordable housing strategy to lure consumers. But builders now are now trying to lure buyers through theme-based dreams! Do they even stand a chance?

But what about the illiquidity of it all? “The money that senior citizens, for example, will invest in buying property, can be recovered to some extent by taking reverse mortgage loans,” explains Mittal of Realty Stocks.

Female buyers on the other hand enjoy lower stamp duty rates and higher tax rebate as compared to male buyers. Emergence of career-oriented women with a desire to secure their future has also led to an increase in women buying houses, and banks too are not too worried about doling out loans to females as compared to menfolk. As a tactic to lure female buyers and boost sales over a short period, Meriton Group, for example, even decided to share registration charges (if the purchase of the flat was made before December 31, 2009).

Well, star-studded residential complexes like the Shahrukh Khan Boulevard in Dubai may still be a distant dream in India, but it’s now evident that one cannot summarily reject this new concept – and it might even work!

Savreen Gadhoke

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School Detail
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IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
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IIPM Workshop on careers in media - IIPM Lucknow

IIPM Lucknow in association with Young Force had the privilege of hosting Mr, Vinay Pratap Singh the Cluster Head (UP) of Radio Mirchi on campus. He talked about the careers in Media, various profiles available for fresh management graduates. He emphasized on the skill set required in media and explained this with the role of professionals in Radio Mirchi

On the later part the workshop analyzed the thought process behind the most creative advertisements and included the mental math that most advertisers used. Mr. Singh highlighted that most good advertisements tell a story and the ads which become memorable are the ones with a simple and engaging truth in them. “Every ad is an opportunity for the consumer to marry the brand”

With the marketing bunch in the audience aware of the strong nexus that marketers and advertisers have, questions on media and advertising flowed freely.

Having got a taste of the media sector from a person of Mr. Singh’s stature the students were left longing for more. The session ended with great applause and appreciation for Mr. Singh, who was very happy that students were taking keen interest in Media as a career, quite against the traditional norm. The session definitely gave the students an in-depth insight on a new field.

IIPM Publication - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Ramesh Chauhan

Chairman, Bisleri International

The colour blue always represents water and every bottled water player resorts to blue for promotional campaigns. But my marketing team suggested me to go in for a change using the colour green. Yes, they had to convince me regarding the same. Finally, we came out with a green label and a green cap. My marketing team taught me how the colour green could be used to promote our purity factor. I learned a lot from my team of youngsters. This was definitely a memorable marketing moment for me.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

“We will change your outlook” – The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read…

The Sunday Indian:-

B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!

For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine’s B School Ranking Scam Exposed

Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor

Don’t trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education

IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years

TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. – For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here

Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Ralf Bissinger

Director – Sales & Marketing, BMW India

BMW dethroned Mercedes-Benz as the market leader in the Indian luxury car market last year, and Ralf Bissinger played a very important role in the process. Be it the studio showroom or the other BTL activities that the German automaker has undertaken to gain market leadership, BMW’s marketing strategies under Ralf has been apt for the Indian market. Effective utilisation of the marketing resources has been a major pillar of BMW’s success in the Indian market. Nevertheless, the great moment BMW witnessed in 2009 needs to be continued as Mercedes is catching up fast to regain its leadership in 2010.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

IIPM 4Ps Business & Marketing - Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Rajeev Talwar

Executive Director, DLF

Rajeev Talwar has been associated with DLF since 2006. Prior to joining DLF, Talwar was Additional Director General for Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India. Talwar was hired to head the hospitality and tourism division. It was a smart decision which seems to have paid off. Today, DLF Hotels is a premium hotel and resort development company focused on developing the hospitality market segment in India. Its vision is “to be India’s premium hospitality real estate development company” by leveraging its real estate capabilities to build and own India’s largest chain of hospitality assets. All this has been possible because of the expertise that Talwar has brought in.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Nutrivita PRESENTS 100 MARKETING BRAINS THAT MOVE AND SHAKE INDIA

Saurav Bhattacharya

Director, Marketing, South Asia, Visa

2009 was a very exciting year for me, and was marked by the launch of several key defining moments including Visa’s largest global marketing campaign - “More people around the world Go with Visa” and its adaptation for India in March 2009. This was followed closely by our Visa Debit campaign featuring Vinay Pathak in May. The campaign reinforced Visa’s call to action, through a direct invitation to cardholders, to use their Visa Debit card directly at merchant locations. What made this campaign exciting for me was the duality of communicating the product proposition and providing consumers with direction. The campaign is aimed at driving transformation of consumers by spreading awareness of the key benefits of convenience, control and security when cardholders use their Visa Debit card instead of cash.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

WHAT THE F...?

Ford has once again banked on the alphabet ‘F’ – this time they call it Figo. But will the Figo brand really be a game-changer for this Detroit giant in India?

The ‘F’ word is critical to Ford. And they make no qualms about it at all. In the world of cars and history of automobiles, if there were to be straws drawn on which car qualifies to be an American icon, there’d be too many who would vouch for the pretty impish lot called the F-Series. The series (of Ford’s full-size pickup trucks) has sold more than 32 million units worldwide since its launch in 1948 (just behind Toyota Corolla, which has sold more than 36 million units in its 44 years journey). But where the F-Series shrivels up the competition is the fact that in the US markets, the F-Series has been the best selling vehicle for 23 smashing consecutive years including the year gone by, with a fantastic share of Ford’s profits coming from the inimitable series.

Inexplicably still, the F-Series is not sold by Ford in India! Or in China! And this despite these two markets being two of the most promising automobile markets across the globe. But however head scratching that move (or lack of it) might be – or might not be, given the per capita dynamics – what Ford is trying to pull off now in India could well define a historic moment of its existence in the subcontinent. And that is the introduction of Figo! The hatchback from Ford’s stable is expected to hit the Indian roads sometime in March this year. With the launch of Figo, Ford is finally making its debut in the A2 segment, through which they are targetting a significant pie (the small car segment constitutes about 70% of the Indian car market). But it’s not as if this wasn’t expected.

The Figo had been showcased in New Delhi in September 2009. And industry watchers surely expect the competition in the A2 segment to get more intense with the launch of not only Figo but also Volkswagen Polo in March this year, adding to the sparks created by General Motors’ Beat that was launched in December 2009. And industry analysts expect the market leader Maruti Suzuki to lose noticeable market share from the segment (though Shanshank Srivastava, CGM-Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India did tell 4Ps B&M, “2010 will be a tough year for Maruti Suzuki. As the competition in the small car market will increase, the company is expected to lose some market share in that category. But it will not be substantial.”)

It’s certainly a news in favour of Ford India, but then one should not forget that players like Toyota and Honda are also all set with their plans for the small car market in the country which make the road all the bumpier for this automotive giant in India. This certainly puts a lot of burden on Figo’s shoulders as far as Ford’s exposure in India is concerned. But Michael Boneham, President & MD, Ford India seems pretty confident when he tells 4Ps B&M. “Figo is a very important product and we expect it to chart a new success story for the company in the Indian market.”

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

HOW DOES THUMS UP KEEP STEALING THE THUNDER!..

Interestingly, Thums Up had just begun to bask in its glory of success when in 1988, PepsiCo re-entered the Indian market through a joint venture with Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation and Voltas India Ltd. Pepsi, right from its heydays in the Indian market, was gung-ho over celebrity (read: film stars) endorsements. In 1993, Pepsi roped in Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai & Mahima Chaudhury to endorse Pepsi (remember the famous Sanjana ad?!) with the tagline: Yehi hai right choice baby. Being proactive, Thums Up, by 1991, had already positioned itself as a strong masculine drink and had decided to only cast macho alpha male as its ambassadors in future, which included Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar along with Mahesh Babu and Chiranjeevi for the southern markets.

While Thums Up was vehemently defending its position as India’s top selling cola drink, it got a big blow when Coca Cola too re-entered India in 1993. And why not? The fight now had become a three-way battle. And that’s exactly when Ramesh Chauhan baffled many, by selling off Thums Up to Coca Cola. “Parle sold Thums Up to Coca Cola as we wanted to concentrate on the packaged drinking water segment, which was beginning to gain momentum as an industry,” reminisces Chauhan. And then began the bitter battle between Pepsi and Coke of which Thums Up was now an integral part!

Industry veterans proclaim that Coca Cola, soon after acquiring Thums Up, did not give due attention to the brand (in fact, it even tried to kill it) as its main focus was to promote Coke in the Indian market – an allegation that Ricardo Fort, VP-Marketing, Coca Cola India vehemently denies. However, all this while, PepsiCo was strongly promoting Pepsi as a drink for the young. Sensing the growing competition from Pepsi, Coca Cola launched the Grow up to Thums Up campaign. “It was a tactical campaign launched vis-à-vis Pepsi. An entire generation had grown up on Thums Up and the ad was to appeal to that set of audience,” says Sridhar of Leo Burnett. Tables turned when, much to the astonishment of Pepsi, Thums Up launched the blind taste test (an old Pepsi tactic used against Coca Cola in US) against Pepsi itself, where the latter lost to the former. And then in 2003, Thums Up became the undisputed market leader as the largest selling cola brand with a market share of 23.7% (as per ACNielesen/ORG) with Pepsi trailing with a market share of 21.6%. Ever since, despite cola controversies and activist actions against cola majors, Thums Up has continued to rein the charts of the Indian beverage market.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Is consumer still the king?!

Thousands of mobile users suffered from cut-off calls and no reception as almost 300 allegedly illegal telecom towers were sealed in the satellite city of Noida on the premise that they were built on private properties where commercial activity is banned. And now, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) too is planning to seal close to 2,500 towers in Delhi leading to communication coming to a standstill in the capital. Amidst this tug-of-war between the authorities and telecom operators, it is the consumer who is at the losing end. “The concerned parties should sit and amicably work out a solution rather than take harsh steps,” says a senior RCOM official. More than 15 million people a month become new users of mobile phones in India and the setup of new towers is inevitable. All the towers have been in accordance to a 2003 MCD policy. In 2008, the MCD made new regulations, which stated that the RWAs have to give permission for such towers, the sanction of which is pending for the last two years. As per rules, no reply in 60 days means the sanction is deemed okay. In such a case authorities have no right to suddenly seal towers. The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUTSPI) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) should immediately pull in the Telecom Ministry and work out the issue or else the famous marketing phrase – Consumer is King, will soon become a glitch.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

ROADBLOCK IS THE NEW WEAPON

As far as Vertical Roadblocks go, the oAs far as Vertical Roadblocks go, the ones on Viacom 18’s MTV stand out. Take Cadbury’s ‘Meetha hai khana, aaj pehli taareekh hai’ campaign. Cadbury tied up with MTV for the launch of this campaign. The TV channel created two videos – one was a hip-hop and the other, a pop version of the original commercial. On July 1, 2009, the day the campaign broke out on television, MTV aired only these aforementioned Cadbury commercials the entire day. In short, it was Cadbury, Cadbury and only Cadbury that day, for all MTV viewers! Similarly, Bingo had tied up with MTV for April 1, 2009, and branded the day as ‘Bingo Bakra Day’. Interestingly, in these cases Roadblocks were not limited only to ad-spot buys, but were smartly integrated as a part of the content too. “Roadblock advertising is an important part of our marketing plan. We set aside a certain portion of our ad-budget every year for Roadblock advertising for a particular brand from ITC Foods,” reveals an ITC foods official. An example of Horizontal Roadblock advertising is SRK’s film My Name is Khan, whose trailers blocked 11 Star India channels, including Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold & Channel V, on December 16, 2009, at 10 pm to telecast a three-minute trailer of the film. Now that’s marketing the King Khan film in a king-sized style!

Another very talked about Roadblock which happened twice last year, was by HUL, which blocked advertising on Star and Zee network channels in September and again on Star Network in October for some of its brands. Industry reports suggest that HUL spent roughly around Rs.10 crore a day on this effort. However, there are some experts who don’t view this HUL gameplan as a very smart one. One such critic is T. Gangadhar, MD, Mediaedge:cia, who argues that “Roadblock ads work well for a brand, but not for a company which uses it for multiple brands!” Allied Media’s Delhi Head Surbhi Murthy, also doubles up as she claims, “Roadblock means I am blocking everyone else. But what HUL did was more like a family get-together or a celebration. It wasn’t practically a Roadblock!” Talking about the evolution of Roadblocks in Indian media, we do expect some innovation in the format over time; one possibility being as a media analyst says, “We may see a Roadblock on a channel, where even the anchors and characters in the various shows, talk about that particular brand the entire day.” Interesting, yes, but in the present times, the very difficulty of implementation and the costs associated with the plan, pose a huge challenge to marketers, as TOI’s Kansal says, “Convincing a client to do a Roadblock is very difficult…” Implementing a Roadblock needs a lot of muscle since a 100-200% premium on normal ad-rates need to be spent to block a media vehicle. Considering such high opportunity costs, extra caution is mandatory as Dentsu’s Gupta says, “It is not a way of life, it is an innovation and therefore has to be done too too sensibly!”

Some call Roadblock advertising a ‘sheer display of brawns’, which some brand it a ‘shrewd art of brains’; whatever be the cause, the effect is simple – people-talk! And if that’s what makes it a sellout, why not experiment?

Pallavi Srivastava

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS RE-VISITED!

Are celebs paid monster-bucks for their glamour, star attraction and red-hot performance curve in their area of showbiz, or snow-white morality and politically correct image in the public space?

In the past, Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Kate Moss, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton (among a zillion others) have played with fire and emerged with different degrees of damage. Many have bounced back because the public has a short memory and the ever-hungry, promiscuous and sensation-seeking media quickly moves across to the next big stink. The buzz is that with wife Elin moving out, pressing for divorce and demanding half his incredible fortune, there could well be a ‘sympathy vote/shift’ towards Tiger. And then who knows, both the growl and the sponsors could well be back!

At the end of the day, we live in an age of gross opportunism where everything is up for sale. In the case of celeb-disgrace, it might do some good to remember the classic line: When giants fall, dwarfs walk tall.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Mohit Khattar

Managing Director, Godrej Nature’s Basket, talks to b&e’s angshuman paul about the peculiarities of the industry and the company’s future plans

B&E: Don’t you think the Godrej Group has been too late in recognizing the potential of retailing?
MK: I can’t comment on other businesses of Godrej group but regarding Nature’s Basket, yes. Five years back, the group didn’t have any intention to foray into retail. But during the last two years, the group has moved on and we are exploring all possible opportunities for growth; and one of the biggest opportunities in recent times is in the retail industry.

B&E: Ernst & Young claims that organised retail accounts for an approximate 4% of the total retail sector market, and players are in an inordinate hurry to capture the retail sector. Is this the reason that propelled you to join the retail bandwagon?
MK: We are not into the trading business and we don’t believe in doing something just because other players are doing it. Our retail brand was an initiative to offer everything that the Indian consumers’ palate would require. Most of these are gourmet retailing, which Indian consumers have never seen before. That was the reason we rolled out Nature’s Basket.

B&E: Gourmet retailing already has brands like ‘Le Marche’ functioning. Given that, how do you think your brand is unique?
MK: We are tying up with many foreign brands and will be providing a wide array of products related to food and beverages. Moreover, we have our own food products [of the company]. We started operations in 2005 and in five years, we have done our market-research, set up our logistics and supply chain. We are fully prepared to expand our presence now and we know we won’t come across a situation where we will have to shut down a store once we’ve opened it. We have ten stores while Le Marche has just eight.

B&E: Yes, you have ten stores, but the first store was rolled out in 2005. Do you think the pace at which you’re growing is relatively slow?
MK: The type of format that we are offering [in fine dining] is very exotic and we did not want to roll out stores unless we have done our ground work. Our conscious steps have paid off; we did not have to shut down our stores like other brands had to do in Mumbai. Nature’s Basket is different in terms of the products, offerings and services that are offered. Our target audience are the people living in metros and we can’t be expanding in every nook and corner of the country.

B&E: But then, even in metros, you are present only in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Will you continue to follow this retail penetration strategy in the future too?
MK: Not really. Of course, we didn’t expand in all cities across India as we didn’t believe in going places where we don’t have a market. And then there’s no point in opening stores unless you are financially or logistically prepared for the same. In gourmet retailing, we don’t have much competitors and we are the only one having presence in two metros. We will be rolling out Nature’s Basket in other metros too by the end of this year.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Casting a spell!

From The Princess Diaries to Ella Enchanted, from giving the voice-over for Little Red Riding Hood in Hoodwinked to playing the adorable Andy Sachs in The Devil wears Prada, 27-year-old Anne Hathway certainly has become the face of all fairy-tale and fantasy movies in Hollywood. After recently playing the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, Anne is now all set for playing Emma, a Cinderella-like character in the upcoming movie, One day. From princess to queen to fairy, she surely has her audience enchanted!


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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
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For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

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Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Dr. Manish Gupta

Director, IBM Research - India & Chief Technologist, IBM India/South Asia talks at length with virat bahri of B&E on IBM’s Vision 2015 and the future of business analytics

B&E: Tell us about the Big Bets happening out of IBM India research and their implications.
MG: The research division globally places what we call big bets in certain technology areas, which usually means a $100 million investment over a five year period. There are two big bets where we are making very significant contribution. The first is the mobile web big bet. It was the first instance where a non-US lab was asked to drive the big bet. Two main reasons why India given leadership – the first is the innovation that our research team has shown. Secondly, in India, there is a revolution happening in the mobile space, both in terms of mobile phones becoming ubiquitous and in terms of the business models. They are Indian telecom companies which are under stress due to price wars but still making money at ARPUs of $5, where companies in the US are losing money at ARPUs of $50. One of the key innovations that Bharti did was to outsource IT infrastructure and network (considered core at that time) to focus on acquiring customers and maintaining relationships with them. When I give talks to universities in India, students have that perception that we take research from US and apply in India. I cite Bharti’s example and ask them, how many US companies do they know with over 100 million mobile phone subscribers. We have been a key partner of Bharti and provided certain services like billing et al at fractions of amounts that other telecom companies end up spending in the US. We have developed technologies like Snazzy and have already completed planning for Bharti when it crosses 200 million subscribers.

B&E: Research is normally perceived as a cost in most companies. How do you measure research outcomes?
MG:We have fairly well defined processes to measure the impact of research on IBM’s businesses and clients. We define research division accomplishments of different kinds – base level accomplishment, outstanding accomplishment and extraordinary accomplishment. There’s one accomplishment most common – business impact… where we measure whether the research help create more revenue for IBM or helped IBM save money. You have to have atleast $10 milion of impact before it is considered a RDA, next level is $100 million and then it is $1 billion. Another accomplishment is scientific impact. Have we created a new field or established a new direction for the research community? We also talk about Horizon 1 2 and 3. There are some projects where we are looking for an impact this year, some where we look at 5 years and there are technologies where we know we won’t make money on for the next ten years, like quantum computing.

B&E: IBM’s engineers were criticised for many years as being disconnected from the market. How is that changing now?
MG: Many many years ago, research was corporate funded and research teams would do what they wanted to do. Often there would be technologies that we would develop and competitors would take them to market first. IBM Research’s Edgar Codd developed relational databases, and yet who made the most money – Larry Ellison and Oracle! We have started working very closely with our product teams. Now we are also working very closely with clients. We now believe that true innovation has to be done in an open, collaborative manner. It has to be global and multi-disciplinary. Once you understand your clients you can come up with insights that are important.

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

An electric shock or a safe recharge?

Despite promises, Reva has been struggling over the past decade to strike gold when it comes to sales. But with M&M acquiring a controlling stake in the electric carmaker, much is expected to change in the near future. So has Anand Mahindra placed an electrifyingly winning bet? by Pawan Chabra

There is also another interesting talk doing the rounds amongst auto experts. When Reva entered the UK market, it did so sans dealers, sans showrooms, sans advertising and sans salesperson – in short, like a bull skydiving sans a parachute! And guess what it had in mind – to sell its products through the online route. However, with M&M coming into the picture, Reva will find due sense being knocked into its head, as it goes on to become a mainstream automaker, thanks to M&M’s widespread distribution network. Just a niche manufacturer, no more! As for M&M, the excitement is no less. Apart from getting aggressive with the upcoming launch of Reva NXR & NXG, M&M is now looking ahead to sell the electric car in US. But what about India? Is there really a market for electric cars?

Sounds harsh, but critics argue that with around 3,000 electric vehicles on the Indian roads, it’s not Reva alone that is struggling. Players like Honda have also tasted the salt, bitter to the tee. Even the much-hyped Civic hybrid gained such a lukewarm response in the Indian showrooms that the company was forced to empty its inventory at a massive discount of Rs.800,000 on the marked price. However, there are optimists who expect that 20% of cars sold in India by 2020, would be electricity-run. Considering this, the bet placed by M&M on Reva seems to be a winning one. Further, as far as synergies between the two are concerned, Mahindra’s past record and its love for alternative fuel engines (Scorpio Micro Hybrid, for instance), the two seem to be a well-matched. “As a result of Mahindra’s investment, the new company Mahindra Reva will be able to scale, innovate and accelerate for greater electric vehicle access to consumers,” explains Maini. In fact, an internal research on past Indian mergers by B&E’s research desk supports Manni’s claim. The study conducted over a period of a decade, reveals that whenever an Indian company has acquired a “controlling stake” in another Indian firm for over $10 million, the shareholders wealth on an average, has increased by over 135% within two years of the deal; that’s a buy for the M&M stock! With a running cost of Rs.0.40/km, Reva has a clear edge in a market like India. Even the Pulitzer Prize winning Thomas Friedman has praised Reva to no ends in an op-ed column in The New York Times early this year. And are we forgetting this – M&M has just laid its hands on the top-selling electric car in the world! So whether we see a new record-breaking hybrid model from M&M (like the Toyota Prius, the largest selling hybrid) or we see the deal falling flat on its face, expectations and critics are a part of any new deal package. Surely, Maini’s got his money and M&M has got the marked “environmental” touch now, and both Anand and Maini know that India will take time to warm up to the hybrid game, but Europe and Americas are waiting!

Pawan Chabra

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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎

Disinvestment dilemma

However well-intentioned the government’s disinvestment policy may be, the results till date haven’t met expectations.

And as far as unlocking wealth for all stakeholders is concerned, the least said the better; the share prices have plunged 22.5% (since the date of the issue, March 10, 2010). The valuation (Rs.300-350 per equity share) was way above what financial analysts had expected, and it is apparent that the government doesn’t really seem to be looking for broad based shareholding (in true spirit); it simply wants money and is least concerned about who’s buying the shares. Even for the NTPC issue (Rs. 240-250 per equity share) which was more or less reasonably priced, did not tempt the small investors (a 5% discount to the ruling price wasn’t good enough in this kind of volatile environment) and the retail investors hardly participated. The government needs to learn a lesson or two from the past two experiences (NTPC & NMDC FPOs, the retail subscription for NTPC FPO was a mere 0.25 times while that for NMDC FPO, a paltry 0.02 times) and realise that the retail participation will be better only if the issues are attractively priced. The idea, from now on should be to have a much broader investor base by targeting more retail participation, even if it means pricing the issue at a bigger discount. After all, be it NTPC, NMDC or REC, they have to come to the market again and again in order to fund their respective growth plans. Thus they need to build up a loyal and dependable shareholder base rather than cater to overseas institutions that move in and out in tune with their own priorities. If necessary, the quota for retail investors can be increased from the current 30%.

The start has not been up to the expectations and the current target too looks a bit optimistic and a lot will depend on the overall market sentiment. Prabhat Awasthi, Head of Equity Research (India), Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities, said, “Disinvestment targets of Rs. 400 billion are not small and would be hostage to market conditions. Let’s also not forget that the private sector would probably be raising resources as well given the significant pick-up in the capital expenditure cycle.”

But there are others like R Balachander, IPO leader at E&Y, who believes that, “It is a realistic target and I think that the government could have set a target of Rs.500 billion.” How much of the intent (disinvestment plan of all profitable large PSUs) gets stuck in bureaucratic inactions remains to be seen.

As a matter of fact, in the past 16 years including FY’10, the government has exceeded its disinvestment targets only five times (see graph) and that makes one sceptical about achieving the target, leave alone increasing it. One of the prime reasons as explained by Bose is that the proceeds will be available to the government to be spent on capital intensive social schemes (he specifically says, “one set of national assets being replaced by the other”). While this may sound great, inherently the proceeds will help the government bridge the fiscal deficit (currently 6.75% of GDP) and help meet its target of reducing the same to 4.8% by 2011-12 and to 4.1% by 2012-13 (in tune with the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission).


Aninda Mitra, Vice Senior Analyst, Moody’s, says, “The financing of the deficit should be reasonably comfortable, if the government utilises its new-found ‘political space’ and follows through with a concerted disinvestment effort.” However, DK Joshi, principal economist, Crisil, has a slightly different take, as he says “Disinvestment programme should not be viewed from the angle of plugging the fiscal deficit as it is a temporary provision, the long term solution is that you should set your public finances right.”

Despite all odds, PSUs dominated FY’10 and raised a total of Rs. 309.42 billion or close to 66% of the total amount raised through the primary market. Of that, Rs. 211.62 billion was through divestments. The government seems determined to go ahead with its disinvestment plans, all that it needs is to follow its ‘budget wordings’ in true spirit else the government may not meet its target once again.





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).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
“We will change your outlook” - The Sunday Indian on B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED! A must read...
The Sunday Indian:-
B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
For Exclusive Footage by Sunday Indian Click Here

Outlook Magazine's B School Ranking Scam Exposed
Business Standard Exposes the Outlook Magazine Money Editor
Don't trust the Indian Media!

IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN‎