Uber-Cool Abhishek

Though the last commercial evoked a somewhat- mixed reaction for not displaying the features of the car itself, instead simply creating an aura of ‘refined excitement’ around the brand, it nonetheless was highly appreciated for its slick storyboard! In the latest commercial from the Fiesta stable, the mood is decadent, with uber-cool Abhishek in typical holiday spirit, as he spins the car keys over the Indian map to finalise a destination where he and his coterie of friends will head. The destination they finally hit upon is Goa, and while his pals fancy the aerial route to get there, the Bollywood dude announces it’s going be the train, to everyone’s amazement.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Initiative:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

THE MERCHANDISE

While profits of stores like GAP and Marks & Spencer fell, things seemed to be going great for the Spanish retailer Zara. Today, its founder has become one of the richest men in Spain. His policy was straight and simple. People were looking for fashionable things – not necessarily things that would last for ages. So he gave them clothes that were different and fashionable without the hefty price tag, and kept changing the range constantly. The word-of-mouth about Zara’s excellent merchandise kept customers pouring in. In short, select your merchandise carefully. It should be insync with the image. Have an assortment of things to meet the needs of the people. Knowing what to keep & what to discard is the key to an expanding customer base. Retailing is definitely an art. It’s the art of charming your customers. You need to be creative, you have to make them want to own what you have to sell. So put on your thinking hats and rework your retailing strategies. If you want to survive – make them shop till they drop.


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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Initiative:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

Dr. Reddy

Product promotions have also been barred. Nimish Mehta from Edelweiss confirms that “this could severely impact both sales and margins of Betapharm.” Prasad did admit that the expectations of the company from Deutschland could be fulfilled only in the long run. With several drugs going off patent in the next few years, governments across the world are expected to adopt stringent measures to control the prices of generics. France and Spain have already done it earlier this year. In the light of these latest developments, Dr. Reddy’s will increasingly feel the need to exercise extra caution with respect to all their future acquisitions overseas. They would certainly not want to get caught on the backfoot by policy changes on drug pricing the way they are facing in the land of the black forest.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

Legal Tussle in Ranbaxy

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In 1987, Mohan Singh had turned down the proposal of Parvinder Singh, of setting up a similar plant as that of Max India (built by Mohan Singh for his younger son Analjit) for making the 6APA compound. That was the beginning of the end of the father-son relationship! The milieu became worse in the early 1990s, when Parvinder differed from Mohan in his attempts to make Ranbaxy a global corporation. The saga of Parvinder Singh becoming the patriarch and his split with the founder became more lucid in the boardroom battle of 1993, and Mohan Singh was ousted from Ranbaxy, thereby appointing younger son Analjit as the sole legal representative for his 2.4 million shares in the company. With Mohan Singh’s death, a legal tussle started between Analjit and his nephews Malvinder and Shivender – sons of Parvinder Singh – the latter duo claiming that their late father had owned the shares directly.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

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Santa Claus Economics

Indeed, electricity is another example of how Santa Claus economics is completely derailing reforms and threatening to scuttle growth prospects. The crucial amendments included in the Electricity Act, 2003, to reform the state electricity boards are lying in a limbo because many state governments are refusing to honour their commitments to reform their power sectors. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is a classic example of continuing populism, even while staring at fiscal disaster. He has consistently refused to stop supplying free electricity to ‘farmers’ despite the state government hovering on the edge of bankruptcy. All this attention to doling out largesse comes at a time when the Planning Commission is talking about dramatic reform steps required to sustain a GDP growth rate of 8% to 10% that is required to eliminate poverty in the long run.


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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

IIPM-B&E Article:- MY TECHNOLOGY NIGHTMARE

Three weeks ago, the hard drive on my computer began dying. Its death was characterized by extreme slowness and unpredictable errors, errors which could be characteristic of a number of computer maladies. And although it was a SMART drive (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology), one which should describe its health to the operating system and to me, neither it, nor the operating system, reported the drive as moribund. One expects mechanical systems to eventually fail; one does not expect the soft ware systems designed to communicate failure, to fail. The reporting fiasco is analogous to the engine failing on one’s car because the temperature gauge showed that the engine was operating in normal ranges, when in fact, it was overheating.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

IIPM:- Urban Reforms

This scenario warrants urgent reforms including a change in archaic laws for revamping the cities. In this backdrop, the unwillingness of state governments to initiate changes for gaining access to central funds under Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission defies logic. As mandated, state governments are required to bring down stamp duties to 5% in 7 years, annul the Urban Land Ceiling Act and modify the Rent Control Act. But as most of them are politically contentious, the delay gets a political colour. To make urban India habitable, not only are these initiatives required, but even effective core reforms need urgent implementation to invigorate the Urban Local Bodies created by the 74th amendment.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006