Four-wheeler penetration

Yes, with the four-wheeler penetration being a pitiable 0.7% in India, many have voiced their confidence over the fact that such an offering would sell like hotcakes just as Vikram Gaur of Car India opined, “India being price-sensitive, the ultra small car segment will work, provided these cars are value for money.” Sure enough, India is a price sensitive market, but do the small cars fulfil any other promise apart from just being ‘affordable’?! Also look at the plummeting Maruti-800 sales, whose basic variant priced at $4878 is the cheapest in the country. Of late, the pedigree has slipped, giving way to other hatchback competitors priced higher. According to SIAM, sales in the A-segment have been on a constant downturn during the recent past, falling annually by 6% to 11,780 units in 2006-07, only proving why entry into a ‘lower than A segment’ looks a clear recipe for failure!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Four-wheeler penetration

Yes, with the four-wheeler penetration being a pitiable 0.7% in India, many have voiced their confidence over the fact that such an offering would sell like hotcakes just as Vikram Gaur of Car India opined, “India being price-sensitive, the ultra small car segment will work, provided these cars are value for money.” Sure enough, India is a price sensitive market, but do the small cars fulfil any other promise apart from just being ‘affordable’?! Also look at the plummeting Maruti-800 sales, whose basic variant priced at $4878 is the cheapest in the country. Of late, the pedigree has slipped, giving way to other hatchback competitors priced higher. According to SIAM, sales in the A-segment have been on a constant downturn during the recent past, falling annually by 6% to 11,780 units in 2006-07, only proving why entry into a ‘lower than A segment’ looks a clear recipe for failure!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Vodafone is under pressure

Vodafone is under pressure by ECS to shell out the 44.4% stake in US-based Verizon (they feel differences between the duo are killing shareholder value) and return the $79.4 billion in cash to shareholders. And guess the power ECS holds – a whopping... er... 0.0004% of Vodafone’s shares! Nevertheless, the group feels it has quite a few lessons to give to Sarin regarding shareholder value. Mayo is demanding to put up four motions up at its annual meeting slated for July 24. Vodafone has responded negatively to all proposals. But shares rose by 2.13% during intra-day trade to end at 158.4 pence on June 7. To Vodafone’s credit, it has bounced back a bit since it registered the biggest loss in European corporate history in FY 2005-06. Operating losses went down from $28.16 billion to $3.13 billion for FY 21.3 2006-07.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Nero‘lac’ing COLOURS

Kansai Nerolac leads remarkably in industrial paints segment. But it cannot afford to ignore its position in the decorative segment Children love to mess with it on the walls and grown ups are periodically weighing options for the right one that fits their bill... Yes, it’s the world of paints we are referring to, a world that is as bright & colourful as it is competitive. And since its inception, Nerolac has been trying to win hearts in the country, endeavouring to give to the market something more than just paint! One does get that impression if he or she visits their innovative experience centre in Mumbai (where you can touch & feel colours. Interestingly, a feature not yet available to customers!) or the ‘Visualise your Home’ feature on their website.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

The elephant can’t dance. The dragon...?!

Write back to Jack & Suzy Welch at editor@businessandeconomy.org
Q: You have written about the reasons to invest in India and China, but you haven’t said whether you think those countries pose a threat to American hegemony in the world economy. Do they? (Sahara Chhabra, Dallas.)

Ans: We’re neither economic forecasters nor political prognosticators by trade. But you don’t need to be either to see that, right now, the US certainly holds a robust lead in the race for hegemony. Our economy is about five times as large as China’s and nearly 15 times larger than India’s, yet we have about a quarter of the population of either of those nations. That can only give the United States a real advantage in providing education, health care and national security – plus all the other stuff that makes a country thrive. But “right now” doesn’t mean forever. All you need is a ruler to draw the straight-line extrapolation that shows China and India, with their faster growth rates, will eventually catch up to the United States in terms of pure economic size. For China, that would occur as early as 2045, and for India, the date would be some 20 years later.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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