IIPM ARTICLE

IIPM-The Best B-School In India.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Too good to get ‘Merrill’y ‘Lynch’ed!

Thain has decided to give up a peaceful life in search of adventure; with some sense of purpose. Read his lips...

History books are filled with instances of warriors who’ve chosen the noisy warfronts over their peaceful homes. But how about a CEO abdicating his well-cushioned throne in a smoothly running company for a disaster-struck company?! Well, we have found exactly that in John Thain, the current CEO of NYSE-Euronext, who is all set to take charge as the Chairman & CEO, Merrill Lynch & Co. on December 1, 2007.

So the question really is: Can Thain steer the $47 billion grief-stricken financial behemoth Merrill Lynch to shore? Well, the turnaround duty of restoring honour & pride in the face of the recent Q3 2007 financial setback of net losses amounting to $2.41 billion (the biggest loss ever in its long history of 93 years), a write-down of $8.4 billion and the drop in quarterly revenues by 35.2% to just $14.9 billion in the background of the $900 billion subprime meltdown, appears no less than a Herculean task. Answering this question, however, Alberto Cribiore, interim non-executive Chairman, Merrill Lynch, confidently replies, “John Thain is the right person as he brings unparalleled leadership experience & knowledge of the complexities of global capital markets as well as the skills required to operate a large financial services company. He will be adept at balancing the focus on risk management and controls while taking the steps necessary to ensure the company evolves and grows.”

Born on May 26, 1955, in Antoich, Illinois, Thain is married to Carmen and is blessed with a son, Alex. He graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1977 and then completed his MBA from Harvard. John was associated with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for 22 years, serving as the President & COO, when he left. He also held the position of co-CEO for European operations for Goldman. In 2004, with the disgraced departure of Richard Grasso, Thain joined NYSE as its CEO to breathe some life into the company & successfully implemented the system of electronic trading at NYSE through the acquisition of electronic trading platform Archipelago Holdings Inc..

With a track record of transforming NYSE into the world’s first truly global exchange via the purchase of $14.4 billion of Paris-based Euronext, Thain brought about the first trans-atlantic stock exchange – some achievement during a short tenure of under half-a-decade, and enough to prove what this seasoned commander is capable of achieving. With Merrill Lynch expected to take upto a further $10 billion in losses for the ongoing quarter (Q4 2007), he has to reassess Merrill’s risk management procedures, which miserably failed in assessing the bank’s exposure to risky lendings in the past. He also has to steer clear of putting his foot into the well of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which stood devalued due to the crippling sub-prime mortgage disaster. And surely, Thain’s toughest task is to reassure investors and his employees that Merrill’s remaining CDO portfolio will be handled expertly & that the recent mistakes will not be repeated as long he remains. Undoubtedly, Thain will have to use his magic wand to fix the company’s fixed income division, a department he was well acquainted with while at Goldman in the 1990s.

He is a modest man who is not ashamed in revealing his not-so-glossy background as he asserts, “I did not grow up in an upper-crust, aristocratic background.” So on the brighter side, this man needs no reminder that these are literally non-aristocratic & humble times for the giant named Merrill Lynch, and he is precisely the leader it needs. This turnaround artist has to curb all natural forces to restore lost pride and glory to Merrill. In this mission, his undying passion for wrestling might come in very handy.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Monday, August 18, 2008

From low birth rate to depression

Albeit the economic one, is waiting for Europe today....

The world population never before had a paradox like this. While the population of the world is increasing a fast pace, Europe is experiencing a major reduction in its population growth rate. Birth control or the lack of offsprings is no more a family issue, as it has emerged as threat to future of European economy.

While greater professional opportunities for women have substituted motherhood, reports state that even young men are reluctant to have their own family. This is not an isolated incident but is a phenomenon which has spread like wildfire in Europe leading to one of the lowest birth rates in the world over decades in history; the birth rate is 1.2 per women in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia and Poland, far below the requisite 2.1, while Greece, Italy and Spain have below 1.3 birth rate for a decade.

For long, it was assumed that population is nothing more than a big burden for any nation. Yet in the recent past, the resurgence of India and China driven by the power of their market economy and prospering population, has vindicated the perception that an economy is nothing, unless there is an ever increasing population of consumers. The decreasing population in Europe might not seem to be a problem for the time being, as in the age of automative production and outsourcing, it hardly would have any impact on production from Europe. But the real problem is the problem that is building up for the future. With a reduced consumer population and shrinking economy, would Europe be able to take the burden of its increasingly greying population in the future?

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Thursday, August 14, 2008

ATM BECOMES RATM

Gramateller can be installed in remote places

On the surface, it seems to be a run-of-the-mill machine spewing wrinkle-free notes. Yes, we are talking about ATMs that you use every second day to withdraw money or check your ever-dwindling balance. But imagine millions of ATMs dotting the rural landscape. Only their cost has to be much lower, they have to be hardier, should be able to handle soiled notes and, obviously, possess a different kind of authentication (maybe thumbprint) since most of the villagers are unable to read and write properly.

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Not really, for IIT Madras’ Telecommunications and Computer Networks (TeNet) Group, and a technology firm, Vortex Engineering (part of TeNet Group) have done exactly that with their rural ATM, Gramateller. Explains L. Kannan, Promoter, Vortex Engineering, “We have worked towards reducing the capital cost of an ATM to make it viable for banks to install them in remote, rural places. We have even incorporated features, which would enable such a machine to function effectively in these environments.”

Adds Ashok Jhunjhunwala, professor, IIT (Madras) and head, TeNet Group, “First, the idea was to develop a cost-effective model and later on add features like regional languages, biometrics et al. For this, everything had to be designed from scratch.” In its latest form, Gramateller is available at one-tenth the cost of a normal ATM.

Its system architecture is quite different from regular ATMs as it does away with the usage of switches and dedicated VSAT lines. Rather, the Gramteller establishes connection with the bank’s server through the internet kiosks mushrooming in several villages.

Other features that define the Gramateller, as pasted on TeNet’s website, include:
? Ability to handle used and soiled currency notes;
? Sensors to detect and correct false dispensation;
? Deposit acceptor with secure anti-fishing mechanism;
? Secure-chest with e-lock actuated only by remote bank-server;
? Smart-card based identification;
? Biometric authentication;
? Encrypted secure communication over the internet;
? Real-time online communication for ‘anywhere banking’;
? Video-conferencing facility for communication with remote bank officer.

The idea which created the concept of Gramateller was simple. “The per-transaction cost in a bank used to be as high as Rs.50, and now it has reduced to Rs.7-8. Still, it is quite high for low-value transactions. Usage of low-cost ATMs can lessen it further. Moreover, till today, banking hasn’t reached many rural areas,” avers Jhunjhunwala. Adds Kannan, “Vortex intends to enable banks and financial institutions to achieve better financial inclusion and enable them reach out to a larger segment of the populace.”

Well, amidst the haste at which technologies pass us by, and breakthroughs gape back at us in nanoseconds, the chances that a large part of the global society will not be able to keep pace with new developments, are quite high. But technologies like rural ATMs provide a ray of hope for the millions and millions of ‘have-not’ Indians. In addition, they can help translate Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s dream of ‘inclusive growth’ into reality.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

LOOK, NO WIRES!

From Intel to Wintel, Mad Max to Wimax

Think of a centralised billing mechanism for all your bills of water, electricity, gas and even broadband. Sounds weird? Huh? But in the near future, this ungainly possibility will turn out to be a perquisite. Yes, you heard it right! The ministry of telecommunications, by flagging the current year as the “year of Broadband” is looking forward to the target of achieving 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010, which just amount to 0.3 million presently.

The major telecom equipment manufacturers have plans on floor to manufacture Wimax equipments in India. Leading the way is the world’s number one computer chip manufacturing company, Intel which is in fact going the ‘Wintel’ way by introducing Wimax technology in all Intel systems by January 2008. It has recently announced the introduction of ‘MONTEVIA’ - a notebook, which supports both Wi-Fi and Wimax. Intel also plans to install Wimax in devices such as digital camera, music players and games consoles by 2009. “While static Wimax is well on the cards, we await the standards for mobile Wimax and look forward for early approval of standards by ITO,” informs Vikram Tewatia. CIO, CII.

Reliance, Sify, C-Dot, Mind Tree, VSNL, HCL Infinet are also making a beeline. Gadgets to look forward are home PC’s, PDA mobiles, landlines and even cameras. Phones are expected to work on voice-GSM and for broadband, they will be subjected to Wimax technology. A Wimax enabled Nokia N800 phone, for instance, is on the anvil. “Whenever there is data requirement, wireless technology will always be in great demand,” says Raj Yadav, Regional Sales Director, South Asia of Aperto Networks, which is laying Wimax infrastructure for BSNL.

The biggest advantage that WiMax offers is a large network range spanning up to 10 km. “Wimax is not good for corporate technology. We can consider Wimax for SME segment although,” says Nadeem Khan, Deputy Director, IT, CII. Surely this is one area to watch out for in the coming year.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Funds ka Funda

The portfolio contains a fine blend of debt, equity and money market securities as they have equal proportion of debt and equity in their portfolio. In the last 12 months hybrid funds have delivered returns to the tune of 27.58% (DBS Chola MIP). However, the average of all hybrid funds over the last one year remained at around 8.5%. Lots of negative returns too though!


Gilt funds have lived up to their reputation of being the most secured funds amid volatility as only one out of 61 schemes falling under the category have shown negative returns in terms of both one year and six months returns. While average one-year return for Gilt - Long & Medium term remained at 6.48%; short-term funds were a little behind at 5.68%.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Monday, August 11, 2008

The story of how Godrej was built... and transformed!

But interestingly, all this restructuring has not shortchanged the employees. Adi professes, “The 20,000+ ‘Godrejites’ who are an integral part of the Godrej Group’s fabric make our success a possibility. This focus on people has made us create policies and practices that help cultivate and manage talent.” Though the key critical issue, as Adi accepts, has surely been “attracting, retaining and managing talent.”

Change within Godrej has also seen this erstwhile household brand manufacturer turn enter the real estate industry. Though Godrej Properties was established in 1990, it’s only in early 2008 that the group has taken up fronting this entity. “The country is witnessing a real estate boom and Godrej Properties will definitely try to cash in on it,” opines Adi to us. But strangely, Godrej is banking big on developing official complexes and malls rather than going for residential complexes. A questionable focus surely. And now, with an IPO around the corner, the company is planning to raise around Rs.600 crores from the equity market [a 49% stake has already been sold to HDFC Ventures].

But perhaps the FMCG sector is where Godrej might finally end up making the maximum noise. “Sector wise, last year, food was driving the FMCG sector but this year there will be growth in the entire segment of FMCG and we believe that such growth will be the highest among all the other sectors,” reveals a confident Adi. Oh yes, we have already witnessed the relaunch of Cinthol in the Indian market with Hrithik as the brand ambassador and the launch of Godrej Renew with Katrina Kaif endorsing the brand.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Freakonomics?!

Their Q1 results have been depressing, but past experience says that recession means better results for Hollywood studios this summer

The final settlement (on February 12th) of the 100-day Writer’s Guild Strike may have brought smiles to the face of the striking labour unions; but the strike itself has spelt a lean period for Hollywood goliaths. Major Hollywood studios and television networks have reported bleeding balance sheets for the quarter ended March 2008 (we took into account revenues and profits from the movie and/or TV business only). Paramount Pictures received the biggest setback, witnessing a 37.58% drop in revenues (to $11.4 billion), with losses to the tune of $63 million. Other biggies of tinsel town, including Disney, NBC Universal, 21st Century Fox and Warner Bros were destined with a similar fate (see box).

Some blame the ongoing US recession for the bad results, but hold your horses. History stands testimony to the fact that during recession time, movie spends and attendance goes up. This economic anomaly was first observed during the ‘Great depression of 1929’ and has ever since repeated itself time and again. Sample this: In 1974-75, the US economy slimmed by 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, and the annual box-office spending shot-up by 25% and 11% (major hits during this time: Jaws and The Towering Inferno).
For Complete IIPM 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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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

A Bewitching Double Role

What’s common between Aamir Khan, Happydent, Coke, Parachute and Hum Tum, Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par? Prasoon Joshi smiles “I didn’t want to die frustrated, regretting what I wanted to do but couldn’t or didn’t. So I just went ahead, made time and followed my heart…” Joshi has always maintained that for him words were the ultimate aphrodisiacs.

Communication, in any form – films, poems, lyrics, ads was the key. He believes decoding passion and emotion is what words are about. “When I am listening to a client passionately talking about his products, I am thinking how best I can effectively decode it. The same is true for the Bollywood arena. Its about consuming the message sensorially and sharing it with your target group with the same passion... This is the challenge and it excites me all the time.”

Similarities and differences exist. “Both are trying to communicate through words, visual , music, films. The difference is: one is a product, while other is about selling a product.” Is there an ‘awe’ factor in the Bollywood–adland interface?

“No more. Each lends the other a special dimension. Personally, I have never licked up to the tinsel town stars. My stars are Tagore, Premchand, Shakespeare, Ghalib, Kishori Amonkar, Sarat Chandra, Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan...” offers the ad-man. Now, we are talking Prasoon!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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



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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Monday, August 04, 2008

A growing NCE powerhouse

But still a long way, before India gives the world its first new molecule

NCE research by its very nature is a long drawn out process, but Indian pharma is slowly learning to be patient for the long term, high risk drug discovery model. This will surely translate it into a NCE superpower in years to come...

A question looming large on the face of the Indian Pharma industry is, when will India give to the world its first new molecule? Well, my belief is, that while it is unlikely to happen in the immediate future, it will surely happen over a period of 8-10 years. This belief stems from the significant position carved by the Indian pharma industry in the global generics marketplace and the progress made by leading pharma companies in their drug discovery programs.

Over the years, Indian Pharma Industry has acquired expertise in low cost manufacturing while complying with the highest standards of quality and regulatory processes. Companies like DRL, Ranbaxy, Lupin, Glenmark, Cipla et al have contributed immensely in bringing down the healthcare costs by providing quality generics at affordable prices. But still, the scenario for Indian pharma companies is challenging as they have to grow their generics business, as well as continue to invest in drug discovery and maintain sustainable growth & profitability.

Selling generics in the advanced markets requires a whole culture of Intellectual Property Management to be built within the company. Few Indian companies including Lupin have successfully challenged patents of the innovators, which have opened the revenue streams through exclusive marketing rights. Moreover, a large number of Para IV filings are currently pending with the USFDA.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Friday, August 01, 2008

Mary had a little plan...

...or so it appeared. But the plan was not entirely ‘little’ we discovered

Indian eves have been enticing players from across the world to bet big on the Rs.450 billion Indian FMCG industry. That’s not-so-obvious. But then, only a woman can understand a woman better and that’s the obvious! And cashing-in on this standard rule is Hina Nagarajan, Country Manager of Mary Kay Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd., the US-based company that forayed into India late last year. The company has taken select markets in India by storm in a span of just six months. In such a short breath, through its unique direct selling model, they have roped in over 2000 women dealers. Like other now-successful multi-level-marketing companies, this one too steers clear of the retailing strategy, but with other cosmetics player growing from big to bigger, the question of Mary Kay’s continued success does arise. But, with its unique game plan, this personal care player isn’t oblivious to the threats and consequences, and is willing to play hardball with the Goliaths of the tournament. In conversation with 4Ps B&M, Hina Nagarajan shares future strategies for the Indian market.

How is Mary Kay’s positioning unique vis-á-vis competition?

We do follow the multi-level marketing (MLM) model, but we are very different from them in terms of selling. In MLM, the dealer benefits when he brings in other dealers and consumption is mainly limited for private purpose. But in case of ours, we believe more in direct selling and the dealer earns margins from a sale while adding another dealer.

What is your target segment?

We are focussing on sections of society which can afford luxurious skincare products. We are a company run by women, for women. Also, like many players, we never claim falsely – become our member & your life will change. We don’t promise a makeover in seven days too!

Some lines on your retail plans...

We won’t follow the regular retail outlets model as we believe that none except our members can sell our product. Also, if we follow the retail model, we would be killing the business of one woman. Considering that 200 women join our organisation every month, we don’t want to kill their business.


What are your offerings?

The whole skin care market is worth Rs.16 billion in India and a very high growth-potential segment is the anti-aging market which is worth only Rs.500 million today. Thus, our specialty will be anti-aging offerings. But we have a wide product portfolio addressing all the needs of women. Besides, we will also launch our own salons alongwith men’s products.

Isn’t pricing a ‘bottleneck’ when you want fat-growth in India?

Though our prices are premium, they lie at the bottom of premium skin-care prices. Then again there is the fact that we are telling consumers that a small bottle of ours lasts longer then any other product available. Our sales team are also being educated to change consumer behavior. Its all about addressing it from the consumer point of view and then price can act as a barrier.

What are Mary Kay’s future plans for the Indian market?

Right now, we have a presence in Northern India but we will have a pan-India presence by the end of this year. We plan to invest more on beauty salons and for funds to do so, we have full support of our parent company.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Investee: SREI Infrastructure

Investor: BNP Paribas

Investment Value: $180 mn


Subhash Mohanti, Vice President, Communications & Brand Development, SREI Infrastructure Finance, comments to 4Ps B&M, “The infrastructure sector in India is growing at a phenomenal pace and will require huge financial resources to maintain the tempo. With the government’s focus increasingly switching to the PPP mode, where more and more funding of projects will have to come from private routes, the obvious need is to increase the avenues of funds, and that too at competitive rates. Our association with BNP Paribas will help us access more funds at relatively cheaper rates, which will not only improve our strike rate in the infrastructure sector, but improve working margins as well. Also, the association will give us access to better systems.”

SREI Infrastructure was formed through a JV with BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French bank. The deal envisages a 50:50 partnership in a new JV, whereby BPLG will bring in Rs.775 crore, of which Rs.375 crores will be utilised towards acquisition of a 50% equity in the new JV. The remaining Rs.400 crores will form the value of the businesses that will be transferred from SREI Infrastructure Finance to the new JV. Also, the entire asset finance division of SREI will get transferred to the new company, which will be held jointly by SREI. The new joint venture will merge the existing insurance businesses of SREI, currently operated under SREI Insurance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of SREI. The parent SREI will continue to engage in equipment finance. Assets of Rs.15 crores and more will be done by SREI, while those below the Rs.15 crores mark will be done by the new JV with BNP Paribas. This apart, SREI has and will continue its foray strongly in infrastructure project advisory.

For Complete IIPM 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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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Why Sony won the format war

Blu-ray has out-marketed, out-punched and over-matched the HD DVD format

Earlier, Sony’s marketing was a bit more rope-a-dope than aggressive sell. Then, late last year, Sony rolled out a series of aggressive television ads that elegantly tied together Sony Blu-ray content with the players - Lance Ulanoff

I finally figured out why I was so dead wrong about the HD DVD versus Blu-ray format war. I should have analyzed the sides—Sony and Toshiba—not as two countries going to war, but as opponents in a close-quarters boxing match. Had I done so, I would have assessed each of the technology’s assets and deficits.

Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s when former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was winning all his bouts, commentators extolled Ali’s “reach.” His arms and fists extended a good 2 or 3 inches beyond his opponent’s. This allowed him to inflict stinging jabs to the face and head of his over-matched opponents, including Ken Norton and Leon Spinks. Sony, it turns out, has this advantage, too.

For Complete IIPM 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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Rashmi Bansal Publisher Of JAMMAG Magazine Caught Red-Handed, for details click on the following links:-

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Become global companies

So what differentiates GT from the once big eight, to now the big four global accounting and consulting firms (PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG). “We have no ambitions of wanting to be a part of that group. Our focus is quite different from the focus of those firms, which is to be the auditors of the top 1000 companies. Our focus is to concentrate on the mid-market segment,” explains Chandiok. Besides, GT’s focus clearly remains on privately-held businesses or promoter driven companies, where the promoters require solutions; it could be listed, it could be unlisted, very large firms, generally where promoters are actively involved in the management and where the requirement stems beyond merely the compliance requirement of audit. This is in stark contrast to other accounting firms that are present through the length and breadth of the industry. “Whatever market we specialise in, we remain the leading firm. So, if in India our key focus areas are technology, real estate and healthcare, we are the clear leader in real estate,” Chandiok points out.

As Indian businesses continue to realise their ambition to become global companies by scaling their operations, advisors too are raking in big