And th
e feeling is judiciously reciprocated by myriad brands aiming to nestle down forever in the hearts of consumers. Remember Cadbury’s – A gift for someone you love; ‘There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard’; Hutch’s ‘wherever you go our network follows’; or more recently, Citibank’s new enabling campaign that harps on the ‘Let’s Get it Done’ tagline? Once, there were just a handful of brands in India, but the tide is swinging the other way now, with the brand wave threatening to engulf and envelope everything and everyone that comes in the way. From Italian fashion to Japanese technological passion; from German engineering to American flamboyance, the brands are all there and more than a few of them are showing double-digit growth charts, in blaring testimony of their increasing acceptance within the masses and classes in the country. Even figuratively speaking, brands in India are on a roll, especially keeping in mind the startling rise and rise of the retail evolution in the country. India has topped the 2006 AT Kearney Global Retail Development Index, which indicates a sharp rise in spending across consumer durables, wireless communication, apparel, entertainment, vacations and lifestyle products.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
e feeling is judiciously reciprocated by myriad brands aiming to nestle down forever in the hearts of consumers. Remember Cadbury’s – A gift for someone you love; ‘There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard’; Hutch’s ‘wherever you go our network follows’; or more recently, Citibank’s new enabling campaign that harps on the ‘Let’s Get it Done’ tagline? Once, there were just a handful of brands in India, but the tide is swinging the other way now, with the brand wave threatening to engulf and envelope everything and everyone that comes in the way. From Italian fashion to Japanese technological passion; from German engineering to American flamboyance, the brands are all there and more than a few of them are showing double-digit growth charts, in blaring testimony of their increasing acceptance within the masses and classes in the country. Even figuratively speaking, brands in India are on a roll, especially keeping in mind the startling rise and rise of the retail evolution in the country. India has topped the 2006 AT Kearney Global Retail Development Index, which indicates a sharp rise in spending across consumer durables, wireless communication, apparel, entertainment, vacations and lifestyle products.For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
no service and there are no people that represent Hutch. I mean how many of us have ever visited a Hutch Shop? Virtually none! For a Hutch customer, there are just voices on the telephone at best. And that too, we do not always get to hear them! Hutch is a purely impersonal and intangible brand and therefore to create a brand out of that is extremely difficult, and yet Hutch has managed to do it in style. This is so because they have connected beautifully to that something that is fundamental to the human needs. Especially when it comes to technology, consumers want technology to be taught to them in a human language rather than in a technical language, and therefore Hutch has focused on that extremely stripped down form of simplicity in their communication to the consumers. And in the course of time, with the kind of advertising Hutch has done, the kind of art and graphics they have used, in the kind of messages they have chosen to deliver, in what content they have chosen to highlight as messages – all that has created a solid impact with the Hutch consumers.
e world’s No. 2 company, with a market value of $380.25 billion (behind Exxon Mobil) has transformed its business portfolio through smart disposition and investment in higher growth, higher technology businesses. It has signed a definitive agreement to sell GE Plastics, a $6.645 billion global supplier of plastic resins, to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) – one of the world’s 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers ranked by market capitalization (currently US$80 billion). The deal, which is also is the largest acquisition ever made by a Gulf investor, is expected to close in the third quarter subject to customary conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals. The transaction valued at $11.6 billion will be in all cash plus assumption of liabilities; and is bound to transform the plastic industry as it combines SABIC’s low cost material position and GE Plastic’s strong marketing and technological capabilities. The proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund the stock buyback and to strengthen GE through restructuring.
restingly, all fund houses seem to have suddenly found the strategy of having products to encourage investments abroad. Sandesh Kirkire, Chief Executive, Kotak AMC, affirms, “These are new asset class looking at different economies, so that your returns and your assets are not exposed to only one economy. You get different exposures to different economies of the world now. You can buy equity in India; you can also buy equity in Russia and also in Brazil. Returns of different markets differ. These are steps in the direction of capital account convertibility.” R. Raja, Senior Vice President, UTI AMC, holds similar views, “An Indian investor gets an opportunity to access global markets, especially equity markets by investing in these funds. He can diversify across countries thereby reducing the country risk of his investments.” Mr. Raja, it all seems so far so good. But did you not forget a sweet little point? Till now, we had to simply worry about the travails being suffered in one economy. Now, there’ll be many more, too many more!
