Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Maxi Swan, 204,500 INR

A special gift for some special people…that’s exactly what this Maxi Swan stands for! Designed by Anton Hirzinger in faceted and smooth clear crystal, this 6.5X6.5 wonder belongs to the Swarovski stable and holds a lot more than elegance, class & perfection under its wings. Add a genuine sparkle into the celebrations with this stylish & unique gift this festive season for those enduring memories….

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Monday, February 25, 2008

FESTIVE FILTH

High spirits floating in the air, majestic idols, mouthwatering sweetmeats.. blinding is the flash of festivity. But if eyes rubbed a little, the ebbing darkness brings to sight an alarming picture - pollutants in the air, wastes of idols contaminating the water and a taste of sweet poison…while we may sing the song of happiness during festivals, the environment has a different tune to hum, the tune of an elegy.

Ideal immersion?!
While sweetmeats and gift s are synonymous with festive celebrations, there is yet another side to the fervour which is synonymous with environmental pollution. Idol immersion, a common practice in Hindu festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi & Durga Puja sees devotees escorting idols amid dances and chants, followed by its visarjanon (immersion), on the one hand mark the commensuration of celebrations and on the other, beginning of water contamination. The Plaster of Paris or POP that goes into making these sculptures, (thanks to its easy-to-mould properties and relative costs advantage over natural clay) has made it the first preference of idol makers. Sadly, the POP and paint used for crafting the idols do not dissolve easily in water and if they do, release toxic wastes, depleting the oxygen content in the water, thereby choking all life from in it.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Reduced its fiscal deficit

While emerging East Asia as a whole has reduced its fiscal deficit from almost 2.5% in 2001 to just above 1% in 2006, the other Emerging Asia as a whole has seen a significant dip in deficits by almost 5%. Moreover, towering Forex reserves of major Asian economies provide them with the much needed cushion against currency depreciation, which the Asian economies lacked during the Asian Financial Crisis years. Finally, the buoyancy of growth and robust consumer demand might off set any hardship to a large extent. As Ping Chew, Credit Analyst, Standard & Poor’s, explains, “Asian economies have improved their banking systems, reined in fiscal deficits, brought down external debts, built up foreign exchange reserves, and improved their current account balances.” The fact is that the Asia that we see today is fundamentally better armoured than the one in the late 90s. And one hopes it remains that way, unless of course, our brilliant regulators wake up! thin line wherein the liquidity injection has been in the form of overnight lending to the banks. Th is has not only re-liquefi d the market, but has ensured that the Fed and other central bankers (along with the cut in the discount rates) do not have to entail a broad based liquidity expansion.

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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Promotional activities

Eye catching promotional activities to cajole consumers are ubiquitous in every festival. But what makes it exclusive this time is the duel between Reliance Mart & RPG’s Spencer to capture the Diwali & Durga Puja markets in north & north east regions respectively. Professes J. H. Mehta, President, Spencer’s Retail Ltd., rather diplomatically to B&E, “There’ll be loads of promotional activities as it’s our first festival in many parts of the north but it’s not targeted for competition; rather it’s for consumers.” Away from the glamour and sheen of the biggies, there are players like Vishal Mega Mart & Ebony whose pasture is tier I and tier II cities. No wonder Vishal Mega Mart is chalking out massive plans to expand its arms in 5 new places by October. “We will be going to other towns also before Diwali & this is the first time we will also be introducing our own label in cosmetics,” promises Ram Chander Aggarwal, MD, Vishal Retail Ltd.

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Friday, February 15, 2008

Not a time for friends!

With rising fuel prices & congestion charges, customer delight may take a back seat...
‘Expect the unexpected’ has become the mantra for the Indian aviation sector in the recent past, and has won them a loyal customer base too. Since the Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) pioneered by Air Deccan began their aerial sojourn, they have revamped the trends in the Indian aviation industry. But with a morose scenario on the profits front, quarter after quarter, critics began to speculate that the LCC revolution seemed to be reaching its terminus, with a wave of consolidation on the cards. And news of Air Deccan selling 26% stake to Kingfisher Airlines for Rs.5.5 billion added fuel to the fire. Well, one may go with the flow and assume that LCCs would soon go down memory lane. So, are we in for a relatively morose scenario for the festive season this year? Nay, say industry insiders, for there are LCCs that seem to know what they are doing, and the sector could well pick up pace.

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

We have an active festival calendar for our consumers lined up

In the confectionary space, Cadbury has been riding high with its Cadbury Celebration’s Rich Dry Fruits Collection. Not to be left out, Cookie Man from the land of Kangaroos, is also set to bake huge profits during the Diwali extravaganza. Praveen Alexander, General Manager, Cookie Man, told B&E that nearly 40% of Cookie Man’s sales take place during the festive fiesta. In the race to grab a heft y portion of the consumer’s sweet tooth are also old traditional Indian sweet makers who rake in most of their profits in the second half of the year. Since the festive season coincides with the marriage season in India, these traditional sweets players also cash in on the considerable profits they make from exports of Indian desserts. Aft er all, NRIs do prefer a dash of the desi touch to round off their festive ardour! Says Sangeeta Goel, Marketing Manager, Bikanervala, “Th is year, we are planning to launch a box of chocolates during Diwali. During this season, we see a high growth chart in sales every year.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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Friday, February 08, 2008

There are no Concessions on PLR that can be expected for the festive season

But there is light at the end of tunnel. For southern India, festival season actually began with Onam and banks are looking very seriously at this period. Banks, which predominantly have a strong foothold in southern India, have started to market their schemes, especially towards Non Resident Indians (NRIs). For example Federal Bank, which has a strong presence in Kerala, has launched a special scheme for NRIs who could use Federal Bank’s remittance facility (FedFast). Commenting on the new offer, Venugopalan of Retail Banking division of Federal Bank told B&E, “We have about 400,000 NRI customers availing of our facilities and services on offer. Federal Bank has remittance arrangements with about 28 exchange houses throughout the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, thus making it convenient for customers to send money.” There is some reprieve for those who wish to avail loans. Many banks are aiming at waiving off documentation, services, upfront fees et al to rope in more customers. Ranjiv Walia, Business Head, Consumer Loans, ING Vysya, told B&E, “ING Vysya Bank has lined up a series of exciting campaigns at many locations during the festive season. The campaigns would be targeted for ‘Home Loan’ & ‘Personal Loan’ customers.” The bank plans to waive 50% off processing fee.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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Thursday, February 07, 2008

The diesel USP is likely to be retained for competition thrashing. Meanwhile, parent company Volkswagen is also coming up with its India strategy. The Bavarian major is ready to launch the Passat & the Jeta some time early next year. At the same time, while Maruti is said to be working on an updated version of the 1.3 litre diesel motor currently doing duty under the hood of the Maruti Swift , for its mid segment offering SX4, Hyundai is reportedly working very hard on the 1.1 litre CRDi motor for the Getz & the Santro. To get the game forward, there are more ‘luxury’ fireworks. While Daimler- Chrysler is all set to enter with the brand new version of the C-Class, Audi is ready to bring in its latest A5 series this season. Furthermore, BMW has just launched the X3 SUV to gauge the market reaction. Italian major Lamborghini is also looking at launching updated versions of its respective model range that includes the Gallardo superleggera.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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