We value a lot of intricacy!

“People decorate home with all kinds of products like marble, precious metals, crystal, et al. In fact, homes are now becoming more luxurious and the concept of luxury home is getting more and more popular by each day. Further, it’s no more a concept limited to super riches in India as middle and upper middle class are also adopting it quickly. People are now spending more in making their home look beautiful. But, the main idea is that we do a lot of research before, like in the case of Lakshmi we did research for three years on ornaments, colour of sari, et al. For Radha Krishna our Italian guys lived in Vrindavan for almost a year to get the perfect thing. We value a lot of intricacy and when we finally announce the piece it is consulted with the people for whom it matters or from the people who has the knowledge about it. Moreover, before we launch an Indian piece we take care that nobody’s emotions are hurt and create a piece that is loved and liked by all. Moreover, whenever Lladro family (the brand Lladro is a family name and there are four members who are running it) is in India we organise our signature event. In fact, whichever product you buy that day, it can be personalised for you and the family member signs it for you as well. No doubt, luxury market for home is expanding in India as today luxury is not just restricted to rich individuals, but it’s also for the middle class. There is certainly a huge potential in that class.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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CZARS FROM THE WEST...

Foreign banks making their presence felt in India is no news. They started doing that more than a century ago. Policy hurdles, however, have kept their ambitions at bay. But of late, they are managing to give nightmares to their desi counterparts...

They came, and they conquered. This has been the case of all invaders, be it Alexander the Great, Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babar or for that matter the British East Indian Company, who had come from the west to this land of golden opportunities. But certainly, that’s not the case with the banking giants from the west, who thought that they can have a fair share of the abundant opportunities present in Indian banking arena. So far the journey has been a bumpy ride for them, considering the government protection to the domestic banks for long and denial of a level playing field. However, since liberalisation in the early 1990s, a few of them have managed to put up a show worth taking a note.

Bearing in mind their restricted operational freedom, here in our survey we have evaluated them separately from the domestic banks. Furthermore, as availability of data of the India operations of the foreign banks are a constraint, we have considered their financial performance for the financial year 2007-08. This also provides for an allowance to these banks’ India operations, which might have suffered from a spill over effect of the banks’ miseries during FY 2008-09 due to the financial meltdown in the west.

Talking about the foreign banks, which have succeeded in making a mark in India, there are two names which just can’t be ignored, Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank. While Citibank is way ahead of Standard Chartered Bank in terms of financial performance, the latter certainly has an edge over the global prodigy when it comes to the Indian consumers’ perception; may be it has something to do with a century and half presence of the bank in the country or the country’s nexus with the incorporation of the bank (Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China opened its branches in Bombay and Calcutta in1958 and later merged with Standard Bank of British South Africa to create Standard Chartered Bank). But going by the scale and operations, Citibank has certainly created a magic by surpassing not only Standard Chartered Bank, but also few other banks, which has been in India for around a century or more like HSBC Bank and ABN AMRO Bank. As per the survey, HSBC Bank India stands second among the foreign banks in India in terms of profitability, growth, strength and size and quality of earnings.

In the league of new entrants, it seems as if the one that is fast catching up with the veterans is Barclays Bank. One may consider that its growth looks big on account of its low base, but then one must not ignore the fact that earning the first million is the toughest task. Moreover, in terms of consumer perception this bank is comfortably ahead of its competitors like Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and BNP Paribas. But then, it’s just the beginning, not only for Barclays Bank, but also for all the foreign banks present in India. With the regulators gradually relaxing their restrictions, these foreign banks must get prepared to prove their worth rather than just blaming lack of a level playing field for everything.

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.
1 lakh copies sold in less than 10 days of Arindam Chaudhuri’s “Discover The Diamond In you”
IIPM fights meltdown, places 2300 students By Education Mail Bureau
Delhi/ NCR B- Schools get better By Swati Sharma
Events at IIPM
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM set to beat economic slowdown
IIPM - Admission Procedure
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