They believe in the age-old philosophy that slow and steady always wins the race. And why not?

It has worked for them in the past. But with swift mockers all around them today, will this Titan pull a rabbit out of the hat once again? Analyses Angshuman Paul...

“Slow but steady wins the race.” Consistent and effective efforts lead to success. This is the moral of one of Aesop’s fables – “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Of course, the prerequisite here (as per the fable), for the tortoise success, is that the hare must sit under a tree and relax for sometime before continuing the race. But what if the hare doesn’t want to take a chance and decides not to take a nap midway through the course, even if the tortoise is too slow for him? Well, then we don’t think we need to tell you what will be the outcome…

This alternative version of the Aesop’s fable becomes more relevant when one links it to the to the ‘dog-eat-dog’ world of business. A world where one cannot take a chance to relax, particularly if he (read hare) is running against a bunch of swift mockers that have the potential to beat him in any terrain.

No doubt, Ratan Tata’s gigantic enterprise – Tata Group – has always been known for its fast and furious expansion strategies and the momentum that almost all of its ventures have shown in the past. But wait! Perhaps, this is the only exception – a slow-moving tortoise among a score of swift mockers!

Way back in 1984, when Ratan Tata started Titan Industries, the sole objective was to conquer the wrist-watch market by cornering the then indispensable market leader, Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Ltd. Whether attribute it to the luck, the denting position of HMT in the 1990s enabled Titan to score an easy victory over this state-run enterprise without adopting any explicit business strategy. In fact, sources, then close to the Tata family, say that apart from eyeing a significant market share in the Indian watch industry, Ratan Tata really had no big plans with Titan Industries.

Perhaps, this is the reason that Titan was left out from the ambit of the time-honoured aggressive strategies that Tatas had for their other group companies. Even analysts coin it as an enterprise that has moved at a snail’s pace with abundant caution. So, it’s no surprise that the first diversification (jewellery business) for Titan happened after 11 years of its inception and it had to wait for another decade for the next (eye care business). However, Bhaskar Bhat, the deft MD of Titan Industries, coins such delays as ‘doing full homework’ before foraying into a new venture.

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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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Ashok Leyland, India’s second largest commercial vehicle maker, is running hard for a cover from the financial avalanche.

But will it be able to make it to the safe base before the deluge crushes it to pieces? Pawan Chabra analyses…

Imagine a skier who is already half way down a snow capped mountain and then suddenly he sees the bitter reality coming down on him in the form of an avalanche. Despite the freezing surroundings a drop of sweat trickles down his forehead and all he does is to push hard for his life while the monster continues to come closer to engulf him in one go!

There is no denying that the commercial vehicle segment (not only in India but also across the globe) has been suffering from a slowdown in demand for quite some time now, but it’s the sales team at the Ashok Leyland camp, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, that seems to have been stuck by a similar predicament. And why not? After all the company has witnessed a pathetic fall of over 69% in terms of total vehicles sold during the month of April 2009 (from 5,705 units during the same period last year to just 1,750 units sold in April this year).

In fact, it’s not just April, the company struggled to make a mark in the market during the last fiscal as well. For the financial year 2009, Ashok Leyland reported a whopping 22.6% and 59.5% yoy decline in its topline and bottomline respectively as compared to the previous year. The company, however, managed to stay away from the red and was able to maintain its 60-year profitability record as it clocked a turnover of Rs.5,981 crore and a net profit of Rs.189 crore last fiscal as against Rs.7,742 crore and Rs.469 crore respectively in FY 2007-08. “When the economic tsunami hit, I think medium and heavy vehicle industry was right up at the beach and as such was the worst affected. In this backdrop of very turbulent year I think next year will be most challenging,” reasons R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland.

Even the industry experts fully agree with Seshasayee and opine that there has been a major hit on the commercial vehicle segment due to the slowdown. But then one cannot show its back to the fact that Ashok Leyland has been at the bottom in terms of sales when compared to its counterparts in the industry. The company sold just 54,431 vehicles last fiscal, against 83,307 units sold during the FY 2007-08. “The weaker brand in the commercial vehicle market always gets a beating under the slowdown blues,” avers auto expert Murad Ali Baig. No doubt, Ashok Leyland has been taking the beating from its arch rival Tata Motors for the last few months, both in terms of product portfolio as well as its geographical presence. Many experts even consider Ashok Leyland’s diminutive presence in the light commercial vehicle segment, where the demand has been robust in the past few months, as one of the biggest reasons for its bad performance during the last fiscal. But what has been hurting it the most is the low level of sales of heavy commercial vehicles coming in from the southern region of the country, from where Ashok Leyland gets a large chunk of its domestic business. “The company has lost a lot of ground when it comes to the domestic sales mostly because of the fall in demand for heavy commercial vehicles in the southern region. But the company still stands tall when it comes to the bus segment,” adds Baig. Noticeably, the company still is the market leader in the bus segment and holds a healthy 46% market share. But then the million dollar question is whether the company will be able to survive the zooming avalanche?

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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 Axis’ Plexus

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Brand: Axis Bank
Agency: O&M

Bidding farewell to the UTI name, this campaign re-branded a quasi- government bank to a professionally run private bank. It helped the bank add new retail customers by 7-8% month on month and the bottom-line too surged by 30% in Q2’08 & 34% in Q3’08.

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Of pretty butterflies and grim germs...

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Brand: Lifebuoy
Agency: Lowe

Lifebuoy’s ‘butterfly campaign’ repositioned a brand that was losing its sheen. Used to volume increases by 100,000 tonnes since 1986, in 2002 Lifebuoy sold just 82, 000 tonnes. The campaign depicted a doctor using Lifebuoy to fight germs. The message clicked and growth escalated. The first quarter of the next year, saw sales grow at 31.2%.

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Jailed with JLR?

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An exuberant Ratan Tata and his over exuberant Jaguar and Land rover (JLR) deal, both seems to have stuck themselves. It was last year when Tata went ahead and bought the two luxury car brands in an all cash deal ($2.3 billion). But what followed next shows the blunder Ratan Tata had done. Tata Motors which raised money from a consortium of 11 banks is liable to payback $2 billion bridge loan by June this year. Moreover, “revenue synergy is limited in the medium term (2-3 years),” avers Srinivas Rao, Analyst, Deutchse Equities India Pvt. Ltd. It is also estimated that the proforma profit before tax will come down by 5-10% in FY09. Besides, due to the recession the performance of the brands which was already low is expected to only go down further.

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

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Consumer durable companies are not really having a ball at the moment. So will they ever return to the pink of their health? Neha Saraiya debates...

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If you were disappointed with no ‘freebies and discounts’ fireworks during Diwali last year, then relax; it was just the first punch at your ‘value-for-money’ sniffing nose. More punches are yet on their way! With summers hitting the weather-clock faster than ever, the consumer durable giants are not willing to leave any space for cool breeze to gush into. And you can’t afford to blame the suppliers too, for even if we just go by numbers, the period between April to December 2008 have been the worst for the durable lot in the past three years. The sales reported by the sector fell down by 30% in November and 3% in December as compared to the same period, the previous year. So which products have actually taken the maximum hit? Oh! Unfortunately, it’s the super-cool Air-conditioner and the ultra-clean washing machine. Sales for ACs during December 2008 grew at just 9% y-o-y (as compared to 65% during last year) and for washing machines, it grew at a measly 8%. So, the pertinent question here is not whether discounts will flow in thick, it’s whether the companies can emerge from the crisis in the coming summer? And if yes, then what are the plans for the same?

Well, after witnessing sluggish sales last year, the companies are looking at offering combo-products and gift vouchers instead of discounts to woo customers this season. As Ramesh Srinivas, Head of Consumer Markets, KPMG India explains the rationale behind it, “This shift from discounts is driven largely by the adverse impact on the margins. Design and delivery will also be in focus, with customers looking to get value for money in these trying times.” Then there are also others who look forward to the season ahead, hinging hopes on certain product categories, one like Masaru Tamagawa, Managing Director, Sony India who explains why it is the right time for Sony to widen the gap from competitors, with the advantage of capability and quality through the new products. He avers, “Broadly the categories which are strategic growth categories for Sony are LCDs, Laptops, Digital Still Cameras, Home theatres, MP3 Walkman and PlayStation. But Consumer Audio Visual (CAV) market is the one which we are betting heavily on, as the company estimates the CAV market size to be Rs. 125 bilion out of which Sony had a market share of 18% in FY08...” The preference shifts where Samsung India is concerned. It launched 18 new split and 7 new window AC models, and is eyeing around 50% growth in AC volumes this year. Now that’s a start!

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A Billionaire’s Crystal Gazing...

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As a seventeen year old lad, with Rs.300 in his pocket, he got into the business of trading rice. From there on, its always been his ability to identify a need gap and act upon it even before the consumer realises the need. As Ashish Kaul, Executive Director & Business Head of UAE based Credence International puts it, “His sense of spotting a business opportunity is incredible and that gives him an extra edge over any other entrepreneur.” (Ashish worked with Zee for ten years & played a key role in the launch of Dish TV and the Indian Cricket League). The launch of Dish TV in 2003 (the second private DTH player Tata Sky came in only in 2006) is a case in point. His timing was perfect, when even buying a DTH connection was considered stupid by consumers. But Chandra realised the digital potential and started early, which eventually helped him to not only grab a significant share of the market, but also add subscription revenues to his broadcast business model. So by the time, Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal and their ilk even caught on, Chandra had already captured 60% of the DTH market with about 5 million subscribers. It’s simple. Start walking before the race starts and by the time others start running, you’re halfway through!

Same is the case with regional news channels. When most broadcasters are fighting for a share of the Hindi, English and business news space; Chandra has forayed into the regional TV news with channels like Zee 24 Taas (Marathi) and Zee 24 Ghanta (Bangla), with plans to launch more regional TV news channel in markets like UP and Andhra Pradesh (Zee 24 Ghantalu). Star India too has begun following a similar line of thought. The logic is again simple: give advertisers a wider viewer base and a better channel bouquet to reach out consumers. Chandra deployed a similar strategy for regional entertainment channels way back in 1999. Others started making their forays in this space only a couple of years ago. “I think he (Chandra) makes much more money out of these regional channels than he makes out of the Hindi one,” says Naresh Gupta, Head, Strategic Planning, Publicis India.

And then there are businesses like Playwin, Intrex Trade Exchange, ItzCash et al. Clearly, the man has a clairvoyant ability to crystal gaze, spot new business opportunities and turn them into real businesses churning profits. Take ItzCash: it was started to support Dish TV’s payment collections in rural areas and is based on selling cards worth various denominations to consumers enabling them to recharge their set top box through their mobile phones. Chandra saw the opportunity. He re-launched ItzCash as a ‘Multi Purpose Prepaid Cash Card’ to provide cash management & control solutions in the manufacturer-distributor-retailer dynamics for efficient payment collection and dynamic inventory management. The company now boasts clients like Reliance Energy, BSES Rajdhani and Indian Railways. Says Rajiv Tiwari, Director, True Wealth Creators (and former Vice President at ZEE News), “Subhash Chandra is tough and has learnt his basics in the field. Imagine at the age of seventeen he taught Food Corporation of India how to store wheat.” More than anything else, Rajiv truly salutes Chandra’s spirit of keeping costs under control at all costs!

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Jeans for your dream home

Scientists say that jeans are ideal insulants as they are thick and also capable of holding in more heat. So out with your traditional fibreglass insulation – which contains the toxic element formaldehyde – and in with this new insulation material. The cost of the jean insulation would be 50 per cent more than the fibreglass insulation, but environmental engineers still prefer it as it’d help eradicate harmful toxins from the air. In fact, Hackensack University Medical Center is using recycled denim jeans for their hospital. Yes! Jeans could now well be a part of your newly constructed building! ....Continue

India is in a Catch-22 bind. If it responds belligerently, it plays into Pakistan's hands.

The dossier submitted by India, which says Pakistan-based terrorists were behind the mayhem, is currently being scrutinised by a three-member Pakistani team that is being directly supervised by Malik. Well placed sources said Malik asked Pal to grant his team access to Ajmal Amir Kasab – the only terrorist who survived the Indian police offensive.

"As Kasab is a Pakistani, it is very likely that the probe team will want to interrogate him," said a senior Pakistani official on condition of anonymity. The comment came soon after Malik and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed Islamabad-based foreign envoys on the current status of the probe. Qureshi also reportedly told them that while Pakistan would not hand over any of the suspects named by India, there would be complete transparency in the investigations and the trial would be "totally fair". Can he be believed?

No he cannot, says India. Pakistan is simply not serious about sharing evidence on 26/11. Just the other day Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju completely rubbished Pakistan's tall claims: "If Pakistan doesn't do enough, we will do whatever is needed to defend ourselves. It must be understood that the country's (Pakistan's) civilian government is simply not strong enough to act freely and independently. I just don't see it doing enough to nail the culprits." Raju's point is fully taken. Pakistan's civilian rulers are still far from questioning the Army's insistence that, in the ultimate count, it alone can successfully take on Islamist fundamentalists. And that every time it finds itself on shaky grounds, it cites its "vital contribution" to fighting the terrorists in the Talibanised border provinces.....Continue

Just Push Play!

So, one hears that Mr. Perfectionist, Aamir Khan is staying at the IIM Bangalore hostel to get into the character of the student he plays in his upcoming ‘3 Idiots’ based on Chetan Bhagat’s book. But that’s not all. Being the fitness fanatic that he has metamorphosed into lately (the "Ghajini" effect?) he’s been getting up as early as a lark for a game of badminton with the resident students. And his opponents testify that this man’s one heck of a player! Yeah, in more ways than one!....Continue

A politician who also cooks

Krishna teerath, Congress MP, Delhi

One cannot miss her trademark large bindi, and invariably, almost as soon as he boards the DTC vehicle, the conductor of the Delhi Transport Corporation would stand up and refuse the money for the ticket. She’d pay nonetheless, for Krishna Teerath never enjoys any free rides anywhere. And she is not one of the lowly politicos or first-timers who have to prove a point or two here and there.

As chairperson of the Central government’s women’s empowerment committee, Krishna Teerath has the rank of a minister of state, which entitles her to all the paraphermelia and strappings of power, like a red-beeacon car. Besides, she was once a minister in the Government of Delhi and even ruled over the house as Deputy Speaker. As such, she has been allotted an official residence as well as a vehicle. But she prefers the bus, travelling to Kalka Mandir from at Karol Bagh, a distance of a minimum of 30 km.

And recently, people saw her taking the metro to get her daughter’s horoscope made from an astrologer at Chandni Chowk. Says she: “I used to commute by bus when I was an MLA. Even now I prefer the bus while on personal work, And somehow they recognise me and ask, “Why, Madam, you travel by a bus?” Does she realise, though that it is her carriage and the trademark bindi that gives away who is really in the bus rubbing shoulders with the man from the street? Teerath is one grassroots level leader who has her own mass following. She scored three straight victories to become MLA and in the last Lok Sabha elections, she became an MP from the reserved constituency of Karol Bagh on a Congress ticket.....Continue

Pax Americana - Does the world need America?

Jamie F Metzl
Executive Vice President of The Asia Society
It has become popular to suggest that when the dust settles from the global financial crisis, it may become clear that the US-led post-war world has come to an end. If so, the global system that has secured peace, security, openness, and economic growth over the past six decades could be in grave danger.

Inspired by American leadership since World War II’s end, Europe, then Japan, then much of Asia and the world rose to new levels of prosperity; the world economy globalised upon the foundation of international institutions, norms, and standards; and foreign students educated in American universities returned home with new ideas about free markets, entrepreneurship, and democracy. The US military’s protective umbrella gave large swaths of the world a vacation from war, making it easier to focus on economic growth and regional integration.

America not only took the lead role in building the institutions of a globalising world – the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, NATO – it also became the model of inspiration for many other countries. After eight years of compromised American leadership, a botched war of choice in Iraq, failure to take the lead in global efforts to address climate change, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay, running up a $10 trillion debt, and igniting a global financial crisis – America’s once-glittering model has lost a good deal of its lustre and it’s leadership has been questioned by many.....Continue

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You are accessible and easy with the people, but there are questions about your capability as a tough administrator. How do you explain this?

I did not need that kind of stuff. I believe in team work. Everyone – from a political leader to an official – has worked together in dispensing of their responsibilities in complete cooperation. And you can see the results.

Any dream of achieving something that you had not in the first tenure?

Not really. We had tried to work for the welfare of all classes and communities. However, this time around the priorities would be slightly different, like reaching potable water to some towns, which is a challenge. We have plans for agricultural projects like making available interest free loans for farmers. We need to make better use of the youth force in the state, hence the need for technical and technological training for them. Young girls will be trained into nursing, and so forth. And especially, we will extend the rice for Rs three per kg needs under the Chief Minister’s Food Programme.

You had announced a metro rail project in the election manifesto, so will that fructify? Do you need funds for that?

The pressure on communication in the Raipur-Durg-Bilaspur corridor is immense, and a metro rail system could be the best way out. And this can be done. We need a proper plan and strategy for this. Money for the heavy investments can be raised from other resources. In fact, this is not the first time that we have started a large project. We are going to lay the longest power transmission line in the country and you shall soon see that happen.

Naxalism is a major headache, with at least one person being killed every day. Why is that we rarely talk of this issue, unlike the way terrorism is a major talking point?

Naxalism is a challenge for the entire country. So far as Chhattisgarh is concerned, the results of giving the menace a good fight has fetched results. For the last five years, we have consistently raised this issue at the Centre, and the tribal communities here have given us the seal of their support for this. True, some critics have questiond the Salwa Judum movement of arming villagers to fight naxalites, but the people of the tribal belt of Bastar have massively supported us by giving us 12 of the 13 seats there, which will help us further in fighting Naxalism.....Continue

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The canine commandos

Even as the nation was mourning its martyrs in the dastardly Mumbai attacks of 26/11, dogs found themselves, willy-nilly, the subject of hospitality debates – houses to visit and not to visit. And this, when a little over a month back, the Kerala Police Academy had demonstrated a better way to avail the services of canines in terror situations.

On October 19, twelve dogs in coloured attire marched through the amphitheatre of the Police Academy at Thrissur, Kerala, for their Passing Out Parade. The new battalion saluted the guest of honour, Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Annie, the Labrador, proved her obedience and training by welcoming the minister with a bouquet of flowers. Canines can be made to play a key role in detecting and thwarting the evil designs of criminals, by sniffing and tracking. They warn about and expose planted explosives, IEDs and weapon caches, espy drugs, and also track down victims trapped under debris in natural calamities. With such abilities, they are best utilised by the Police, Railways Protection Force, airports and Defence Forces.

In the early days, there was no systematic training for canines in crime detection. The success of crime detection with the help of canines depended on the breed of the dogs. Later, the dogs and their handlers were trained at the BSF Academy at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh, the first dog training school in India. But owing to the high costs involved, apart from the language and climate impediments to training, the Kerala Police Academy at Thrissur took it as a challenge to train dogs to give more teeth to counter crime and terror in the state.....Continue

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Politics with martyr's blood

It looks like Indian politicians and political parties will never rise from the political mire they love to indulge in. The opprobrious manner in which our political fraternity behaved during the action on the roads and iconic buildings of the 'city of dreams' is a standing example of the unethical – and true – face of Indian politicians.

When the entire nation was mourning on the last day of the gruesome terror attack in Mumbai on November 29, the two major political parties Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were busy sledging. Eying the Delhi and Rajasthan assembly elections, the BJP issued huge newspapers advertisements, accusing Congress of being “soft on terror”. Congress retaliated by saying BJP is trying to “milk a national tragedy”. For Congress, strengthening its hold on the traditional minority and backward community vote banks is crucial. And the BJP is trying to woo the backward communities and even a part of the minority vote bank using the national tragedy as a powerful tool.

The point both lost is simple: the people of India hated this sledging. They were disgusted with the politicians, one and all, and this provoked the mass protests, silent but explosive at the same time. SMSes ran thick and fast: “Tell Raj Thakrey that the 200 NSGs were not Marathi manoos, but south and north Indian bhaiyyas, sent to ensure that he sleeps well,” was perhaps the most poignant one.

And it was Raj who (it seems) first realised the mass disgust and chided the BJP for playing politics with the blood of martyrs. He had a word of praise too for Congress boss Sonia Gandhi in this context. But she herself stooped as low as she could: insiders say she was furious when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly asked leader of the Opposition LK Advani to visit Mumbai jointly. That would be the perfect gesture in a democracy facing a national crisis. But Gandhi wanted nothing of that… may be Advani would hijack the prime ministerial platform to denounce Congress? In a glaring show of partisanism, she decided that she would accompany Singh.....Continue

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