LOOKING AHEAD...

Who says an old horse can’t learn new tricks? Godrej, the business house that has been around for over 112 years, is learning them fast... indeed, very fast!

Last year, when we first visited the sprawling 20,000 acre Godrej campus in Mumbai, it looked like a sylvan oasis of tranquility, untouched amidst the bustling madness of Mumbai. However, only few knew that behind this serenity lay a turbulent sea, where this 112-yearold business house was fighting a high tide of calculated metamorphosis.

In fact, it was in 2007 that Adi Godrej and his senior management team realised that the brand pedigree of Godrej was not enough to tackle aggressive rivals and newcomers. The top management of this $2.8 billion conglomerate knew that the time had come to drill into the collective psyche of the 23,000 strong Godrej ‘family’, that it requires change. The ubiquitous result was the corporate logo change in 2008, followed by a slew of other marketing and organisational changes that promised to take brand Godrej to a much wider, urban and younger audience. Nobody is saying whether the slowdown precipitated matters or whether the sweeping brand repositioning is Godrej’s way of preparing itself for the future? Chairman Adi Godrej told this magazine, “Our survey showed that the perception about Godrej products required change. They needed to be connected more with today’s young Indians.” Leading from the front is Tanya Dubash, the 30-year-old daughter of Adi Godrej and Director & President – Marketing at Godrej. Starting from 360-degree advertising to changes in HR strategies, she is using all tactics to bring about a change in the positioning of the brand Godrej. Not only Tanya, even the other three young members of the family (Nisa Godrej, Navroze Godrej & Pirojsha Godrej) are seriously lending a helping hand.

No doubt, with FMCG products contributing most to the group’s profit, Godrej has all reasons to re-structure these cash-cows to maintain a steady flow of revenues in the future. But here’s why market watchers point towards the slowdown as the big catalyst. Though FMCG might be recession proof, Godrej’s other ventures like durables, appliances and furniture, et al (target audience for which are young couples in metros), have perhaps been affected by the slowdown and surely require an image makeover. “We are creating a platform that will enable synergy in distribution and supply chain management for various business,” elaborates Kamal Nandi, VP, Sales & Marketing, Godrej Appliances. After all, the times, they say, are changing... even for the Godrej Group!

Angshuman Paul

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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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A 20-year itch?

The recent bbdo and pizza hut split has left many in the global ad-frat bewildered, given that the parting of ways came after 20 long years. But this has not been the first such occurrence and if anything client-agency relations have become more fractious with time. In fact, the last few years have really been harsh on them. While the account of Magnum Ice creams (handled by McCann Erickson) moved to Lowe Lintas, Cornetto (under Heart brand) was shifted to DDB. Similarly, Unilever’s popular deo brand Axe, which was earlier handled by Lowe, finally fell into BBH’s palette. So what is it that makes clients to shop for a step agency? Notably, it’s not always a wrecked relationship between the two (as perceived by many!), instead there are a number of factors that are responsible for this habitude. “Pizza Hut always has had multiple agencies on its board, which include O&M, JWT, et al. So it’s not exactly an account shift,” avers Ajay Jhala, CEO, BBDO India. Moreover, even a change in management at client’s organisation (or even the agency!) can lead to an account movement. As Jhala further adds, “Sometimes a sudden upheaval in the market can also prove to be major reason for the break up between the two”. It’s time that agencies catch up with the clients’ changing needs or else one could see some more break-ups, for sure!

Neha Saraiya

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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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Biding adieu to the good ol’ Devil!

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It’s been turning many eyes green for more than two decades now. But, the electronics & home appliances maker Onida has finally bid adieu to the Devil. Sriram Krishnamurthy, Vice President, Marketing & Services, Onida, reasons the sad demise...

4Ps B&M: Although Onida wanted to adopt a renewed positioning, but was it really important to drop the Devil considering that it had high recall and was instrumental in the growth of Onida, especially in the television category?
SK: Envy has lost relevance as an emotional driver of durables purchase, which has become a necessity and is no more a luxury. And, consequently the Devil loses its meaning as a representation of Envy. Therefore, we decided to move away from using the Devil as our mascot.

4Ps B&M: From ‘Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride’ to ‘Tumko Dekha To Yeh Design Aaya,” how has Onida’s communication strategy evolved?
SK: “Neighbour’s Envy” was a breakthrough campaign in the 80s and 90s and it really boosted our share in the television market. Our new campaign, “Tumko Dekha To Yeh Design Aaya” is not just a tagline or a communication strategy, but our intention to make it a reflection of our organisational culture – one of continuous customer-centered innovations.

4Ps B&M: Going forward, what is your advertising and marketing plan?
SK: We intend to re-establish ourselves as a multi-category durables brand with a strong customer-centered promise of thoughtfulness. Towards this, we plan to double our current spending of about Rs.500 million on advertising and promotions outlay to Rs.1 billion in this financial year. The ratio between various media/months is not fixed and will be re-allocated on a dynamic basis.

4Ps B&M: What does your media mix look like?
SK: Our campaign will run extensively over television. Apart from that, we are also devising a comprehensive 360-degree campaign covering all media verticals – radio, cinema, print, outdoor and digital media. We will also launche point-of-sale merchandise.


4Ps B&M: So, Onida is all set on the ‘Promotion’ front. But, what new is happening with the product considering that Onida KY Thunder Series was the last blockbuster product from the stable?
SK: All our four campaign ads – across categories – today reflect strong new innovative product propositions. However, technology is a commodity nowadays and therefore we will need continuous innovativeness to stay ahead in the consumers’ minds.

4Ps B&M: And what’s Onida’s exact positioning?
SK: Our positioning is not based on price but on ‘Thoughtful Innovations’. All Onida products represent exceptional value to customers – great quality at the right price points.

4Ps B&M: Can you elaborate on your retail strategy?
SK: We are currently working through multi-brand retail outlets. We are working on a plan for some exclusive Onida retail outlets so that customers can get to experience the entire Onida product range which is difficult to achieve in multi-brand outlet formats.

Savreen Gadhoke

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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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FROM 2-MINUTES TO 25 YEARS…

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...the journey has been quite delicious for a phenomenon that has entangled young and old alike in its twirling noodles, says Savreen Gadhoke

“Mummy bhook lagi hai… Bas beta 2 minute!” The popular jingle coined in 1984 seems as relevant today as it was 25 years back. In fact, it starts resonating in our head once we hear the word – Maggi. But then, the start of this journey wasn’t all that smooth. When Maggi was launched in 1984 (first convenience food to be launched in India), the foremost concern among Nestlé honchos was with regards to the promotion and positioning of this instant noodle product in the Indian market – a category which hitherto had no strong footing on the desi soil and a market that never believed in packaged food. But, charged with the challenge to create a new food habit across age groups, the ‘2-minute’ jingle was composed and well, the rest is history. In fact, it has quietly slipped into the lives of millions of consumers with unique associations and fond memories – a favourite tiffin, a treat for hostelers or delight for the newly weds. Reckoned as a convenience food with ‘Taste bhi, health bhi,’ Maggi has indeed come a long way since its foray.

And in 2009, when Maggi initiated the celebrations to mark the completion of its 25 years in India by launching the “Me & meri Maggi” campaign, there were many who even went nostalgic. The campaign, created and conceptualised by Publicis India, traverses down the memory lane and captures real memories of consumers attached with Maggi. Even the packaging of Maggi carries pictures of commoners showcasing their bond with Maggi, for instance, “Meri hamesha hamesha ka saath Maggi.” The campaign is certainly based on the strength of this unique emotional bond that consumers have developed and continue to associate with Maggi. Says Emmanuel Upputuru (who worked on the commercial), “Indians have grown up having Maggi. Such is its popularity that even elders enjoy it as much as youngster. Through this commercial, we wanted to capture the moments shared by all with Maggi.”

With the insight that today’s young generation is continuously on-the-go and copes with a busy lifestyle, and need products that offer taste, nutrition and convenience, Maggi introduced ‘Maggi Cuppa Mania’ as a trendy ally of the multitasking generation. It also launched – Maggi Bhuna Masala – a ready-made cooking paste of Tomato and Onion (with and without Garlic). Says Shivani Hegde, GM Foods “…We worked closely with the Nestle R&D Centre in Singapore, who have used their technological know-how and our knowledge of culinary art in India to develop an innovative product that does not have any added preservatives and contains low levels of oil.” The launch of this product has further made inroads for Maggi to become an integral part of everyday cooking in India.

Harping over the ‘value for money’ quotient as its core strength, Maggi maintained the price point of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles at Rs.10 and Chotu Maggi at Rs.5 all year round (despite rise in prices of key input materials). In its endeavour to make Maggi Tomato Ketchup affordable to many more families, Maggi also launched Maggi Pichkoo, an easy to handle, squeezable pack of Maggi Ketchup priced at Rs.12.

Today, Maggi stands generic to its category. With continuous innovation and renovation of its product portfolio based on strong consumer insights, Maggi has become an integral part of millions of Indians. But certainly not in 2 minutes, they say!

Ambika Sharma
National Head, Jagran Solutions
“Maggi is like a pal that gives you a comfortable space. It’s a companion in odd hour. And no doubt, it carries a few characteristics of a contemporary mom too. In fact, the category of processed food would have maintained a far distance from consumers had Maggi not existed. I won’t even hesitate to say that millions of Indians can go on a hunger-strike for Maggi.”

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).

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Most Premium Brands

• BMW-7 Series • Omega • Mercedes Benz- AMG • Tag Heuer • Mont Blanc

There is always an aura of mystery surrounding premium brands. With the global economic climate seeing one of its worse times, luxury consumers have gravitated toward quality, by purchasing fewer but better things that deliver on a promise that endures over a lifetime. Be it BMW-7 Series or a Tag Heuer, consumers are going out to buy products that represent genuine value. There has been a decisive shift from conspicuous to discerning consumption as customer fatigue has set in with mass marketed premium products.

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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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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.

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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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FLANKING AWAY TO GLORY

At a time when auto majors like Tata Motors have been painted in deep red, market leader Maruti Suzuki has been pulling all stops to move ahead SWIFTly

Did you know that the design for Maruti Suzuki’s bestseller Swift was initially rejected on grounds of being far too radical? “Even months after it was launched in 2005, Swift wasn’t able to generate desired volumes for us,” avers Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager-Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India. Even Maruti’s long standing dealers doubted the potential of this car. They perceived it as ‘made for tech-freaks’ initially.

Today, honchos at Suzuki must be thanking their stars that they stuck with their plans for nurturing the Swift at that time with a carefully selected team of ‘Swift Champions’ to push Swift sales. Not only has the car delivered Maruti from the bane of being known as a small car maker, but the model also cornered about 70% of the market share in the premium A2 segment, adding significantly to the car maker’s bottomline in FY09. “You may not be the first mover in a particular category but catch that place in the consumer mind, the race is half won,” says Srivastava, referring to the fact that even though Hyundai was the first to launch a ‘premium compact’ car in India (Getz), in popular perception Suzuki Swift wears that honour. The launch of Swift DZire in March last year ensured that Suzuki created more than a splash in the sedan segment too during the last fiscal.

But this is not just about Swift. Fact is that Maruti, which sells every second car in the country, has been driving smoothly for a long time now. The key strategy is to create new segments within segments and flank its own offerings. Market watchers believe that it is this strategy that helped the company to smooth sail even during October-December quarter last year when auto sales saw a steep fall. Sure, like other auto majors, the year on year domestic sales growth for Maruti has been minimal, but the auto maker has registered mind boggling net profits of Rs.12.1 billion. While the steep profits were partly helped by its exports that registered a growth of 32% in the last fiscal, the bulk of the credit for beating the slowdown blues goes to the growth generated from clutter breaking models like Swift DZire and A-star. “DZire has eaten on to the sales of SX4 but overall it has expanded our share in the A3 category,” adds Srivastava.

In fact, experts believe that the A-star can be the next iconic product for Maruti Suzuki as the car is successfully positioned as one for the cool young urban consumer. Apart from creating new segments, the company’s expanded reach in India’s hinterlands has also helped it to maintain its profitability. Going forward, Maruti expects the rural contribution to its total sales to go up from the present 11-12% to 19-20% in the current fiscal. And then there is the high level of consumer trust and reliability that has been working in brand Maruti Suzuki’s favour even in times of slowdown. Just one worry though. Maruti is continuing to ride high on models made on the Swift Platform (DZire and Ritz), which can surely upset the company’s apple cart when a more innovative competitor saunters in. For now, Srivastava is also predicting a robust FY10 for India’s auto czar!

Pawan Chabra

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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BSNL resurrects…

Mahindra holidays’ initial public offer (IPO) seems to have revived the moods of many. So much so that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) is once again planning to bring its $10 billion IPO to floor. BSNL had announced last year to come out with its IPO. However, BSNL’s ambitious plans were sidelined due to opposition from Left and worker and employee unions. The stock market meltdown also crashed BSNL’s hopes to go public. Following the victory of the UPA regime with an overwhelming majority has once again revived BSNL’s reveries as the state run telecom operator now hopes to get a nod from the newly formed government. And it is also hoping to negotiate with the employee unions to a good effect. As per Kuldeep Goyal, Chairman, BSNL, the company will start with the (employee) unions once it gets the green signal from the government. Sources close to developments suggest that the government is planning to sell 10% stake in BSNL to raise around $10 billion with a paid-up capital of Rs.50 billion. BSNL, which garnered revenues to the tune of Rs.450 billion in FY 2008-09, is preparing itself to step on the gas and go on a mega expansion spree. Goyal has confirmed that BSNL is not only looking for telecom licenses in African countries, but eyeing probable acquisition opportunities. Though BSNL already has cash balance of Rs.300 billion in its books for the expansion projects, materialisation of the IPO will definitely be very timely and help in raising funds for expansion. Also, with declining average revenue per user (ARPUs), BSNL is also contemplating to join hands with a strategic foreign partner. Not only will it improve the company’s valuations (pegged at $100 billion), but will also enahnce BSNL’s brand equity. BSNL today is a laggard in the burgeoning Indian telecom sphere and is in talks with foregin players like AT&T, who are waiting to enter the Indian market. BSNL, like any other PSU, has a conventional management with a traditional working style. Joining hands with a strategic foreign partner will change that perception and turn around its fortunes.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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‘Effective’ distinction among ‘creative’ guys

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Top advertising campaigns as per 4Ps B&M-ICMR survey 2009

Rank Advertising campaigns
1. Vodafone - Pug
2. The Times of India - Lead India
3. Happydent - Kingdom
4. Idea - An idea can change your life
5. Fevikwick - Chutki Mein Chipkaye
6. Tata Sky - Isko Laga Dala Toh Life Jhingalala
7. Airtel - Barriers Break When People Talk
8. Cadbury - Kya Swad Hai Zindagi Mein
9. Bajaj - Humara Bajaj
10. Liril - Girl bathing under waterfall
11. Tata Tea - Vote Do
12. Fevicol - Poochengein Nahin...
13. Kerala tourism - God’s Own Country
14. Incredible India
15. Pepsi - Yeh Hai Youngistan Meri Jaan

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


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CAN nanomania revive Tata Motors?

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So the core team at Tata Motors is working over time to deliver on the Ratan Tata promise. Never mind that the company can produce only about 3,000-4,000 units of Nano per month for now (from the Patnagar and Pune plants, say sources), as the Gujarat plant is not yet ready. Given the few thousand units of Nano, which will be ostensibly ready by the launch date, sources opine that it will be a mere farcical launch, with the waiting period for deliveries stretching to even 6-9 months! The company, on its part, has issued a virtual whip on its vendors, dealers and other partners to not say a word about the launch strategy. Mahesh Chauhan, CEO, Rediffusion DY&R, which won the creative duties for Nano, is upbeat on the ‘rewards’ for the agency, but mum’s the word on strategy. “It’s work in progress,” is all he says.

In the meantime, the buzz about the Nano is reaching a crescendo amidst the junta, ahead of its official launch. PR and publicity stunts are at their peak, if you take into account the ‘pilgrimage’ that Nano is being taken for across India – Golden Temple, Amritsar; Ajmer Sharif, Rajasthan – to invoke divine blessings and also contributing to the hype among curious onlookers. But will this NanoMania be able to stem the mounting losses at Tata Motors?

Before answering that however, it may be advisable to look into the company’s plummeting profitability. From earning a Rs.500 crore profit in the same quarter last year, in the third quarter of FY09, Tata Motors recorded a loss of Rs.263 crore – a steep dip of 152%, its first in seven years! Worse, the fall would have been steeper, if not for the fact that the group sold off its investment in Tata TeleServices at a profit of Rs.478 million in the same quarter and attracted another Rs.1,740 million via a new FD scheme for the public.

For those wondering why we are singling out Tata Motors when the entire automotive sector is gasping under the slowdown winds, the answer is elementary. While every automaker has taken a hit in numbers, Tata Motors has by far seen the worst casualty (see chart). This is because a major chunk of Tata Motors’ domestic sales come from the commercial vehicle segment, which has been badly hit due to the economic slump. A tightening of credit supply from commercial banks for auto loans is the other spoilsport, which is also playing havoc with passenger vehicle sales. The fact that Tata Motors does not have latest variants of its cars in the market (perhaps because the Nano obsession has taken all their mindspace) is another dampner. So after months of decline, when Tata Motors passenger car sales rose (albeit incrementally) in February, it was on the back of their only launch in recent months – the Indica Vista!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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The most-hyped President of the United States

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Changing for deep-pocked corporates however is one thing and quite another for the average retail customer. Can it be done merely by brandishing a new logo and hiring expensive ad agencies and image consultants? The most-hyped President of the United States, Barack Obama is already finding out that selling ‘hope’ and ‘change’ on his campaign trail was one thing, but actually selling a 1,100 page stimulus package is quite another uphill task. Points out Anand Halve of Chlorophyll: “Logo change is just a part of the story and not the most important part either. For a PSB with 8,000-10,000 branches for example – it’s not so easy to communicate and monitor the huge change.”

State-run banks are quick to counter such assumptions. M.V. Nair, CMD of of Union Bank of India (which went for a logo change and re-branding exercise – Good People to Bank With – a few months ago) argues that the ‘change’ being communicated is actually the culmination of a back-breaking, 18-month process change that the bank underwent. “The real expenditure was in the area of process change in terms of investment of technology and training of our 27000 workforce,” he says. The supposedly fuddy-duddy bank smartly teamed up with Infosys Technologies to roll out its Core Banking Solution across its 1000 branches within a record time of 4 months; Boston Consulting Group developed their game plan for transforming employee mindset, while Mudra Communications was handed the task to study, assess and change the market perception of the bank! Nair finds it difficult to hide his delight. “The customer response has been overwhelming,” he says. While it is tough to say whether retail consumers are going to Union Bank out of sheer desperation (thanks to the global financial strain) or due to their makeover gambit, fact is it’s tough to ignore the state-run bank’s brand messages that fill up television sets across the nation’s living rooms every evening. Coupled with their Internet banking services, ATM proliferation, personalised cheque books and focus on customer service, the icing on the cake is all but complete.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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A myth called ‘long-term’ and a view called non-Warren’ted!

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Going against Buffett’s mantras, A. Jainani claims that active trading, instead of taking long-term positions, is the right strategy in a volatile capital market...

Equities always outperform all other asset classes over the long term. Market experts do not tire in telling that to an investor day in and day out. They go on endlessly describing the virtues of long-term investing. Our analysis of the returns over the last twenty years of the two most important equity indices of the world – the Sensex and the Dow Jones Industrial Average – shockingly reveal that there is nothing which can universally be called as long-term and the returns during different long-term intervals within long term are anything but predictable.

Different set of investors have differing notions about the concept. For a savvy trader, one month is a very long term; for institutional investors and taxmen for the purpose of computation of capital gains tax, even one day more than one year is long term; and for insurance companies, five years is fairly long enough to be called as long term. But no one tells you how long should the long term be and that is applicable to all investors across stages in life and whether the time horizon of investment has anything to do with one’s risk appetite. Worse, they do not even say that you have to carry that much risk on your head, and also on your finances, for an inordinately long period since equities are commonly perceived to be riskiest assets of them all.

Our analysis of the Sensex returns during various time intervals of five, ten and entire period of last twenty years show that there are pretty long periods within which the equities actually do nothing. In fact, the interest accumulated on term deposits, 23.8% is higher than cumulative returns from the Sensex, which were negative 35% over three years from 2000 to 2002. The critics may also consider the 20-year trend witnessed in returns by the DJIA, which is considered to be the most developed market in the world. During the last decade (1999 to 2008), the returns from DJIA were -4.4% whereas the 10-year American treasuries gave cumulative returns of 46.8%.

The horrific results of the long-term investing can not be forgotten by the one who invested at the peak of the dot-com bubble in January 2000. More often, even though the Sensex is able to go back to previous levels witnessed in the bull market, many stocks, even blue chips, find it hard to climb back to those levels even after a very long term. It took full four years for the Sensex to retrace the fall and come back to the level seen in early 2000. Whereas, blue-chips such as Dr Reddy’s Lab, Hindalco, Wipro, Ranbaxy, Ashok Leyland, Indian Hotels, MTNL and many other stocks have given poor to negligible returns if one held them for these nine years. Currently, after nine long years, the Sensex is trading at 8,900 yielding an appreciation of just 65% over January 2000 levels.

The advocates of long-term investing say you can win without taking risk of repeated entry and exit. Their advice is simply to buy and forget it. Few, however, take the opposite route, and take the risk of riding the waves by timely entry and exit – in other words, actively trade. Though, it is possible to cut one’s personal risks to a minimum by being passive long-term investor, and in the process abandon all hope of becoming anything but a face in the crowd. To make any kind of gain from the stocks one must place some of the material and emotional capital at risk and resist the passive philosophy of long-term investing.

Going through the above arguments, one can conclude that the sensible way to manage one’s hard-earned savings and investments is not to shun the risk of trading but to expose oneself to it deliberately. Join the game, with care and thought. To trade in such a way that large gains are more likely than large losses.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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From sports mavericks to luxury on wheels

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“The demand for Porsche vehicles, even in cities where we do not have showrooms currently, is growing and we intend to capitalise on the brand pull.”


4Ps B&M: With the Panamera, Porsche enters the main stream luxury car market in India. How will Porsche position itself in a market with well established players like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, et al?

RW: Through its design language alone, the Panamera will establish a new segment versus the competition. The four-door Panamera combines a wide range of features seemingly contradictory at first sight, and offering a unique synthesis quite unparalleled in the premium segment. Panamera comes with all the sporting and dynamic characteristics of a genuine Porsche combined with a high standard of motoring comfort. The symbiosis of sports car DNA derived from the looks of a coupé, the unique interpretation of the classical sedan body and the benefits of a variable space concept give the new Porsche Panamera its truly unmistakable appearance.

Like all Porsche models, the Panamera is oriented in every respect to the needs and wishes of the driver. But now, thanks to the new concept of space and the sporting architecture of the interior, the car’s occupants are also able to experience this special “pilot feeling” on all four seats. All four occupants enjoy supreme ergonomic comfort on both the front seats and the two firmly contoured single seats at the rear. We are confident of good response from Porsche fans in India.

4Ps B&M: How has Porsche managed to do well in the SUV market in India, when the company was known more for its sports cars globally?
RW: The Cayenne is suited to Indian driving conditions and from the day it entered our showrooms, the Cayenne has been a great success, thrilling Porsche aficionados in the country. Never before has there been a car so capable of performing as both a race-bred sports car and a truly specialised 4x4, like the new Cayenne. All of Porsche’s engineering talent has been employed in the development of this car to ensure it successfully captures the essence of two contradictory personalities shared in a single package.

Despite the size, the Cayenne is as spirited as the sports cars from Porsche. The Cayenne Turbo, for example, generates 700 Nm of torque and 500 bhp which is higher than even the 911 Turbo.

4Ps B&M: How has been the India experience so far?
RW: The India experience has definitely been good. We have received excellent customer response to both the sports cars and the Cayenne model range. The Cayenne is Porsche’s best selling model in India with a major share of the overall luxury petrol-engined SUV market and we are encouraged as the sports cars continue to grow in sales and popularity. We sold 101 cars in 2007. Figures for 2008 came close to the 200 mark, making for good year-on-year growth in sales.

4Ps B&M: How have you positioned Porsche in India?
RW: Porsche, globally, has a strong following as a brand and we are fortunate with a strong presence of Porsche enthusiasts in India too. Most of our communications, including advertisements, are subtle and at all times catch the eye of the successful and the discerning. Direct communication with customers and prospects has always been the preferred mode of contact. A highlight of 2008 was the Porsche World Roadshow held at Aamby Valley in November where prospective customers got to experience Porsche in the best possible way – by driving the cars. We had 18 cars from the Boxster, Cayman, 911 and Cayenne ranges with four German Porsche certified instructors who took our guests through courses specially designed to highlight just how enjoyable driving a Porsche can be. Our experience says once our prospects drive a Porsche, the outstanding performance and product substance along with a unique design convinces them easily. We recently sent to selected prospects, a product introduction brochure on the soon-to-be-launched Panamera – the first four door luxury sedan from Porsche - and the response has been encouraging.

4Ps B&M: Does Porsche intend to expand its number of dealerships in India?
RW: The demand for Porsche vehicles, even in cities where we do not have showrooms currently, is growing and we intend to capitalise on the brand pull. We are hopeful of having Porsche Centres in nine more cities by 2010, with carefully selected local partners and customer service facilities that meet all the Porsche criteria and with fully trained staff.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Entertainment

1500-plus IIPM students placed across the country with 44 bagging international offers

What rocked?

Besides cricket, they also do the bhangra, rock n’ roll and salsa. The year not just saw Bhajji slap Sreesanth on field, but the duo showed up as rivals in a TV reality show. Bhajji won the ‘Ek Khiladi...’ contest (thanks to his partner Mona Singh), but he still ‘really’ can’t dance saala!

What didn’t?

He may be King of tinsel town, but SRK did not pass muster in the much-hyped game show ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas...’ Star honchos tried every tool in the trade, created a mad buzz, but audiences gave a thumbs down.


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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Six Sixes of India Inc.

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Strange visitors from the same nation!

Amidst the scare, amidst the fear, there have been a few superheroes with their superacts that made 2008 worth remembering for India Inc. steven philip warner gives an account of what and who went right...

What a year bygone, was 2008! During the year bygone, we stood ‘not-so-mute’ spectators to the Sensex resonating at 21,000-plus (in January) and then crashing to levels seen three long years back at sub-8000 points, eroding close to a pythonic Rs.70 trillion in the process (as on December 16, 2008). During the year bygone, we saw, and for the first time ever, an Indian donning the title hat of ‘the world’s richest man’, and shortly thereafter, we mourned the loss of a mighty Rs.7 trillion by just the four richest of Indian tycoons (and that includes the aforementioned ‘world’s richest man’)! Such has been the year, when, almost out of compulsion, we had inculcated the habit of waiting for a bomb to be dropped on our heads, after every glorious fest. In this chessboard of a year, there have been goods, and India luckily, has stood witness to some superhero acts too (we call them the ‘Six Sixes of India Inc.’). Yes, they emerged at regular intervals, from the same tribe of corporate India, making memories not ‘all that pungent’ for India Inc. to remember the year 2008 as the year that ‘was’!

And for once, these ‘six’ superheroes (allow us to call them Supermen), proved thumpingly that this tribe had found no sadistic reason to degenerate from within… Pray, allow us to prove their superacts. Hyman Rickover once famously quoted, ‘Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss people;’ immodestly accepting our average-minded smallness today, allow us to discuss these supermen and the events that makes us repeat the first statement, in a more realistic fashion: ‘What a ‘great’ year bygone, was 2008!’

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Monojit Lahiri attempts a checkout on a time-tested ‘war’ that frequently invades the ‘creative’ space of most ad agencies!

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As every moron knows, an ad comprises of words and pictures. The word component is the domain of the Copywriter and the visuals, the Art person. Interestingly, although their combined creativity, skills and craft went into the making/creation of the ad, they functioned separately. This meant that the Copywriter wrote his stuff and handed it over to the Art person – usually with some guidelines – who then proceeded to visualise it in an appropriately meaningful manner. The duo also (frequently) came from different ‘social’ stratospheres. The Copywriter, usually, came from a Convent/Public School background, was fluent in English and totally comfortable with both the command and nuances of the language. He was also heavily into what this world offered – theatre, poetry, literature, cinema, cocktail parties… this invariably made him the ‘spokesperson’ of the creative team and the front guy during briefing, interaction and presentations. The Art guy, a hugely gifted person, normally was an Art School/College product, not terribly comfortable either with the English language or its fancy manifestations. He/she was happy to do the work assigned to the best of his/her ability and go home, quite content to live in the shadows…

In the year 2008, does the Art-Copy divide still exist – in any form? Does the subliminal khunnas in the Art guys still remain with the Copy brats for constantly stealing their thunder, unfairly? Do the Copy-hotties still luxuriate in the old smugness… or in this new world-order, is all that a thing of the past with convergence finally replacing conflict?

Ogilvy’s talented Delhi-based Creative Director, Titus Upputuru takes first strike. “Weird as it may sound today, this kind of crazy division of labour did exist, once! Three things slammed it out. One, the concept of ideation [replacing the earlier juvenile words and pictures ying-yang] that demanded collaboration, shared thinking and brainstorming. Two, the tacit recognition by the Art guys that there is a world of difference between Art [aesthetics and design by-the-book] and Art Direction [creating powerful seductive communication that will sell in the market place] putting an end to the dreaded, old-fashioned Art College syndrome! Lastly, the entry and popularity of Design Yatra – an art-specific fest held every year, where hot-shot globally acclaimed Art and Design Gurus come down to India [Goa?] every year to conduct workshops with our art guys.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Hello Moto... watch your back!

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Nokia rules indisputably; but every other player is trying to snatch the No.2 slot!

Who had thought that voodoo inspiring numbers (1100 or a 6300) would become brands in their own right. But, Finnish handset manufacturer, Nokia, through its irresistible prices and marketing blitzkrieg ensured that it is numbers that matter more in the ‘dialled numbers’ game! And Nokia continues to rule hearts in the Indian terrain, still controlling nearly two thirds of the market. What’s more, this is despite other players – Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG – eroding away some market share from the leader in recent times. Considering that Nokia (still!) corners a large chunk of the market and remains the unbeatable No.1, all other players in the segment are engaged in a similar (agonising?) struggle, to snatch away market share from Nokia. Since the 2nd slot is occupied by Motorola (with a much smaller market share by comparison - 12%), all players in the segment are vying for a larger share to dominate the number two slot, with a respectable margin that is.

Nevertheless, in the past year, Nokia’s position has somewhat weakened, with some of its market pie being sucked up by Motorola and Sony Ericsson. With its range of stylish phones like RAZR, SLVR, KRZR and lately MotoROKRamong others, Motorola has been able to divert some attention from Nokia toward itself. What has helped Motorola sustain and retain its second position has been the aggressive marketing and great positioning that the American major continues to indulge in. With Bachchan Jr. as brand ambassador, Motorola is indeed finding it easy to attract attention. The American major is also consolidating its position in the burgeoning PDA segment, with the latest addition to the portfolio being the MotoQ.

The actual number three slot among handset makers in India is with Sony Ericsson, which despite witnessing bouts of success (both in the country and globally); remains stuck as an also-ran in the Indian market with a mere 9% market share. But Sony Ericsson has the advantage of having brands in its portfolio that are already legends the world over. Aidedwith great campaigns and attractive features, its Walkman and Cyber-shot series have become a huge hit, helping Sony Ericsson to consolidate its No.3 position in India. While it’s Q2 results show an upswing of 59% year-on-year basis on the Indian turf, they have piled up a descent market share vis-à-vis Motorola. “We expect the market to remain competitive, but with products such as Walkman, we aim to grow faster than the market,” says Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson.

Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (India) adds: “We are not bothered about being number 3, but about delivering products that are technologically superior and meet customer demand.” Better watch out Moto, this one’s on track to snatch the No. 2 slot from you, the anguish of Nokia’s lead notwithstanding...

Edit bureau: Karan Mehrishi

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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