How business ideas are born

Making changes, as a precursor to moving on to better things is something that most evolving businesses should do intuitively. But waiting for the push comes to shove moment is not the right time to experiment with change but should rather come as a gradual phase and at a steady pace but these early signals should be picked up quickly.

Professor of marketing at Wharton School, Yoram Jerry Wind agrees, "You basically should have a system in place that allows you to continuously challenge your assumptions, challenge your mental models, look for early signals of change in the environment." He explained that's how Starbucks took off because some clever businessmen had the foresight to provide a service that was not there in the US.

Wind told CNBC-TV18, "Howard Schultz went on a trip to Italy and was sitting in a café and it suddenly dawned on him 'Why not create the American equivalent of the café' and that's what led to the creation of the Starbucks experience and the whole phenomenon of success of Starbucks."

He added, "You obviously need a visionary, a person with insight, instinct and the intuition, who says 'Wow this can be a great idea and push it'. At the same time you also want to have companies develop some processes and approaches that allows them to identify when their current model is no longer appropriate."

But all said and done, this kind of decision has to be informed and should not be made in haste. Wind elaborated, "First of all you mentioned competition and it is very important for us to realise that we have to look at competition from outside the industry. If we go back to the Starbucks example, then Maxwell House was a dominant brain at that time. They probably looked at other coffee manufacturers at that time. They never expected competition from a startup like Starbucks and look at the phenomenal success of Starbucks. So looking at the competition is definitely important but broaden your scope."

"There is no substitute for really understanding consumer behaviour. It's funny how consumers behave, even in small segments. That is where I mentioned the weak signals. Because if you look at the average or the big responses, you are missing the little trends and all new trends start with small things.

"In the US, we look at California. Californian consumers are different and very often they are indicative but you need to monitor this and not to discard this type of information. Then there are processes that you can use effectively to try to help you. For example, the process of trying to challenge your assumptions. Do something very simple, ask your manager to indicate what are the assumptions you make in your strategy and lets challenge each one of them."

Country manager, WPP, Ranjan Kapur gives by way of example what Unilever did when faced with competition from Nirma. He said, "I think Unilever has been reactive in the past. I mean what really happened was that they grew up in an era of shortages and brands are never built in era of shortages and their business model was really a distribution business model.

"When competition came up and the markets opened up and lots of people came in, I think they tried to expand their distribution, get into the rural market and cut costs. That was their model."

"It was only in 2001-02, I think, that they realised the power of branding. That's when they went into the power brand thing and in India I think they have 30 brands. And that's really - it was a reaction, the way they were chipped away by local players. I think they didn't even wake up the first time when the signal came from Nirma.

"Nirma produced the detergent in little pits and men and women used to sit there and stir the detergent with caustic soda. They put them in plastic bags, stapled them and sent it out.

"What he (Nirma) realised was that people were looking for cheap products rather than pay for packaging. Anyway, Nirma didn't distribute the product, distributors used to come to them. Nobody recognised that."

Apart from being able to spot the trends early on and challenging assumptions, there is another approach, what Wind calls a "kind of a very powerful approach called 'bring the radicals in'. A great example would be, if you think of IBM a few years back, the major threat for IBM was open source code and the initial reaction when you mentioned that to IBM was that they would immediately bring in all the lawyers and try to sue them. What the research group at IBM did was bring the major proponent of open source to talk with the research group. The result was that they (IBM) were able to change their mental models completely and they designed or brought open source and built over it proprietary products and services that they were selling. So bringing the radical in is a very powerful approach that one can use."

"Another process is a method called idealised design. Idealised design is a process started by Ross Ackoff. A process that primarily says that opposed to the tradition of planning that you have, is where we are now and where we want to go forth, it starts with a radical assumption, which says 'lets assume that our business was destroyed last night'. Now given everything we know today, no futuristic technology, but what we know today. How do we redesign this business without all the constraints and the typical baggage that most business have?"

Kapur explained, "I think if you look at it, there are many who sort of have ridden the wave. You take consumer durable companies, you take electronics. I think if you take MIRC electronics. Take ONIDA for example. All the Indian players were dying. That is the only Indian player which is still there in the top 3."

Moving with the times entails having to adopt new technology but doing it blindly without understanding how consumers are going to use the technology may be disastrous. As Wind puts it, "There is a danger of instead of technology helping to be on the leading edge, you could be on the bleeding edge, which is not good for the company in the long term."

The GEC story was a case in point. It is a very dramatic case of timing where it comes to swapping mental models. Wind agreed, "That is true. It is a great example. In 1996, George Simpson took over General Electric, UK, which is different from the US one. He inherited basically a very stodgy but a very profitable company. His predecessor Arnold Weinstock had a great management system, he ran about 180 companies based on a very strict ratios."

"He was in a less glamorous field. He was in power, he was in defense and electronics and Lord Simpson decided to bet the future on wireless technology and changed the name of the company to Marconi to try to indicate this.

He bet the whole farm on one major change and it did not work. The environment was against him, maybe it was the timing, but he basically went all out after a single vision and the results were disastrous.

And he did not have a portfolio of business protecting him in case the bet was not right, nor did he realise some of the early warning signals that were ready at that time with respect to this industry."

"The result was that a company having a share price of over 12 pounds went to 4 pence a few years later and from a huge cash surplus, when he took over to a huge debt. That is one of the sad stories in terms of an unsuccessful one and the lesson for companies is this - if you really have a bold new vision, first of all have enough safeguards around it and second, don't put all your eggs in one basket and experiment."

At the end of the day, though, it's not organisations but individuals who matter. Wind elaborated, "First of all you have to remember that corporations are made up of individuals and the reality is between 9 & 5 when you are a corporate person, you are still the same person before 9 and after 5, where now you are not a corporate person but an individual. So obviously we are dealing with individuals here. The idea is to try this type of collision and try to see how can we get a better balance between the two and how we can learn from one another."

Written for www.moneycontrol.com

Stylish & individualistic homes

Homes are an extension of your personality - believe it or not - which is why people do chose the best possible decor, art, furniture for their homes. So, whatever is your poison, the idea is to do it with some kind of restraint and taste.

This can be tricky especially of you have decided on your home should sport the 'kitchsy' look. That's what restaurateur AD Singh and his wife Sabina Singh seem to have chosen for themselves. This couple have a extremely colourful gola-gaadi in their living which doubles up as a table. Well, they also have revamped an autorickshaw - dumped the front half and the wheels to double up as a loveseat!


Sabina Singh told CNBC-TV18, "Kitsch has to be transcended from the gaudy and basic to something made interesting. So, that has always been my endeavour." She's been inspired by the biggest, kitchsy industry of them all - Bollywood. She's got coasters with Hindi film posters imprinted on them. She's got film posters blown up and decorated with sequins, which she purchased from an arist called Baba Anand.

Their home also has a lot of religious art, which AD Singh confesses he's not a big fan of but all the same, he's got his favourites as well. One is an Imitiaz Dharker painting and another is a bust of Tenzing Norgay (the mountaineer who climbed Everest with Edmund Hillary, which was made by his grandfather.

What's more, the kitchsy look is getting expensive as everyone seems to have cottoned onto the trend. Well, Sabina Singh was among the first, so her instincts may just prove to be right and very lucrative as well.

Italian Inspiration
If homes are meant to make style statements, then the Consulate General of Italy in India, Giuseppe Zaccagnino's home certainly does. This man's walls are covered with art and of the really top class variety. He has been collecting art going back 50 years and in just his living room, he has over 300 paintings!

He says, "This (art of collecting) is acquired by feel. You can not mix up all kind of art becuae then it looks like a gallery. So, this (living) room and the corridor has a theme of Italian brigands. Italian brigands were a kind of social phenomenon in Southern Italy in the beginning of the 19th century. What you see in my home is the traditional Italian iconography - they look like romantic heroes who are goodlooking, wear good costumes - but in reality they were much uglier!"

His collection of paintings have found their way into a coffee-table book, which includes some of his earlier acquisitions as well. But he's been able to bring only a part of his collection to India because as a diplomat, he's keeps moving around and is only able to carry a bit of his collection around the world. But he confesses that he's looking for buyers because this hobby of his is turning out to be quite a burden!

He explains more about his paintings and says, "There were lady brigands who were tough and terrible. Then I have a Middle East collection which I developed when I was posted in Morocco."

His dining room is huge and Giuseppe has made the most of it because he's got even more paintings on the wall here as well. The theme here is 'Fortune Teller'. Then he even has a table made in Morocco, from just the root of a tree called tuya. This is where he has placed his collection of Fatima's hands, most of which were made by the Berbers, who are local Moroccon artisans. Some of these Berbers are Jewish (not all are Muslim) and so they incorporate Jewish symbols like the Star of David, in their work.

If that's not all, Giuseppe has a collection of porcelain, 1970s Italian furniture, and silverware, which includes statues of Lord Krishna and Goddess Saraswati (his favourite) which have been painted over with....nail polish! He's not letting us know all of his secrets because he does use nail polish along with some other things and as he puts it, he's becoming sophisticated about it. But yes, it looks great and what a nice idea!

The Consul General is a collector of everything else as well. He's got thousands of CDs (he's a fan of Indian music like sitar music and not necessarily Bollywood!). He's also got over 600 ties and as many suits! Now this is one man, who knows that quantity is fine, if you have an eye for quality.

Written for moneycontrol.com

Shopping Catalogues: Just eyecandy?

Shopping can be therapeutic for some. So if there is some way to do this not only at your leisure but also by just scanning some beautifully designed catalogues and ordering through the phone, then that’s even better…right? Keeping this in mind, Hypercity had introduced a catalogue called Argos, which had a range of products lined up. The catalogue was printed and designed well and after all the money invested in starting this initiative, it still went belly-up.

When I contacted Hypercity, they didn’t divulge anything about what had gone wrong but I heard talk about how they just weren’t able to manage inventory well at all. Besides this, the India Consumer Complaints Forum has a complaint listed on their website regarding the poor quality of their service.

When it had just started, yet another site had an overall good review of Argos but the reviewer questioned Hypercity’s decision to sell their catalogues instead of handing it out free of cost. So, are malls and stores (or anyone else) looking to bring in customers through shopping catalogues paying attention to these reviews? My guess is, they are looking at only what they want to see.

Giving away catalogues for people to browse through, which cost them money to print, will be a great gesture on their part, if they do it cleverly. For instance, they could allow people to scan catalogues at a separate counter, where they can be served coffee and can put up their feet and take a look at what’s in between the pages. They pay for the coffee but still can walk away without buying the catalogue and if they have seen anything they would like to order, they can do it right there, while paying their bill. All they have to do is make a note of the merchandise code and tell the cashier. They can pay for it there itself and walk home with a receipt with the product being delivered to their doorstep.

If this was allowed, then you don’t have to print so many catalogues and only send them out on request (and then charge for it, if possible). Another Indian shopping catalogue is Elvy - a lifestyle catalogue - based in Delhi. You have to e-mail them a request for their catalogue and then they send it to you. Their catalogue is of excellent quality and they have products priced from Rs 395 to Rs 89,995 across 11 categories.

They have done some catalogues for ICICI, Bombay City Guide, Citibank and American Express in the past. Currently, if you fly Jet Airways, you’ll find they have done the JetMall catalogue. A quick glance shows you that they do have some gorgeous filigree-work candle-holders and good quality leather products. Even the outdoor Cheers tub drinks stand looks like a good conversation piece. When contacted, the Elvy spokesperson wouldn’t reveal how much business they are getting via their catalogue.

The reality is that in India, catalogues are picked up and junked because people still like to do their shopping by touch and feel. On a certain level, there is also distrust that they will not get exactly what is shown in the catalogue. Besides this, there is also quality-of-service issues which Argos faced.

Another big brand which came to India 15 years ago and which was an established name abroad, was Otto Burlington. Any guesses what happened to them? These were people who claimed to have made money in the West but if Indians were not ready to shop through catalogues back then, when it was an exciting new concept, are they ready to do so now? I remember my parents poring over the Otto Burlington catalogue and then I got my chance and I suggested to them that we get a huge set of silver cutlery, which came in a velvet lined box. We ordered that and a curd-maker. The cutlery is still going strong and is still being used but the curd-maker was a damp squib. The end result was that my parents wrote off ever shopping from a catalogue and most other people do exactly this.

Other stores who put out brochures from time-to-time, especially during the festive season are Vijay Sales and Croma. But these two don’t seem to concentrate too much of their marketing effort into their catalogues and it shows. The catalogues are designed to be handed out with newspapers, which is smart of them. It’s also something that people may overlook completely if it falls down behind a sofa, while you are reading your newspaper. What’s more, these brochures are merely to catch the eye about what’s new in their stores, so you can step in and see the things for yourself. It’s not as much about sitting back and ordering your Plasma TV on the phone.

There is an ‘all or nothing’ approach to shopping via catalogues that somehow doesn’t exist with physically shopping for something. I think the reason is very simple. If you see and touch something and then buy it and if it turns out to be a bad decision or a faulty item, then you know the shop’s not going to turn you away when you show up for a replacement. With a shopping catalogue, no matter how much they reassure you, you always remember somebody else’s awful experience of having lost their money completely.

Another reason is an unspoken one. People feel like they have been made a fool of by unseen ‘fraudsters’ where shopping catalogues are concerned. Whereas with a shop, you can always go there and create a scene and demand a refund or a replacement.

Abroad, catalogues might be minting money because the trust factor is high which is not the case in India. Their services are much better and is not as much of a hassle as it is here. So, catalogues that absolutely ape the Western model, might just make it here. Winning over trust is the big deal and if that occurs, the rest will follow. When I wrote to Elvy asking them to share any customer testimonials with me, their representative Anuradha Mishra did not get back to me.

In the West, it’s not only malls which print catalogues. I have a beautiful Christmas catalogue showcasing the collections of 5-6 British museums in the most innovative manner, where they have very cleverly printed say, paintings by Monet onto playing cards or superimposed Van Gogh’s works onto vases or Cezanne’s paintings onto dividing panels that can make for such a stunning and at the same time practical piece of furniture.

When will our museums wake up to such incredible possibilities? Let’s get inspired by the good deeds of the West, especially when you can land up making so much money in the bargain!

PS - Since writing this article, I've received a brochure showcasing 25 historic stamps from the archives of the National Philatelic Museum, New Delhi. The London-based Hallmark Group and the Authority of India Post are issuing a limited edition of these stamps in a uniquely memorable manner. They are engraved on solid silver ingots which are the same size as the stamps and will be layered with 24 carat gold to create a wonderful collectors showpiece. Only 7,500 sets will be produced worldwide.

This glittering collection will be sent to buyers along with a velvet-lined lacquered wood case, a special edition of the book 'Enchanting India, an album of educational Fact Cards, a Jeweller's Cloth and Gloves and an official Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the Swiss manufacturer guaranteeing the purity of the gold.

Fittingly, since this is the first time something of this magnitude has been produced for India and in the honour of famous Indians and their achievements which these stamps epitomise - this collection is called 'The Pride of India Collection'. Each gold plated stamp costs Rs 6,700 inclusive of all duties and taxes.

Go online to order at www.prideofindiacollection.com or call 011-26207151/52/53 or 011-41207151/52/53

Shopping Etiquette: A Code of Conduct

With so much shopping activity going on, there should be some kind of unspoken and unsaid but clearly understood Code of Conduct kind of thing in place for shoppers – especially the chronic and the cranky kind.

I mean who wants to grow old while waiting in a queue, for the people ahead of you to get done making their payment. It’s usually at this crucial moment that crisis hits and a lot of people realize that they don’t really have that much cash on them. So, then out comes the plastic. In one instance I know of (because I was right behind the woman), she was holding up a queue at the cashier's to argue with her husband because he had blocked her credit card. Well, this situation was humiliating for her and embarrassing for the rest of us who were forced to listen to the conversation.

Huzefa Tapia of Grids & Words Design, an advertising and event management firm says, “Talking of etiquette, some people really don't have it. They think that if they are carrying 4-5 pieces of plastic with them, they can hold anything up. The thing missing here is the common sense in them.”

He adds, “Well.. talking neutrally, one can make a mistake once about getting their credit card block limit wrong, but all the time... it seems weird. Yet, if you are a compulsive shopper, the smart thing is to carry cash on hand or very politely letting some stuff go and coming back another day for it. This surely will help you not create a scene at the cash counter, eventually helping the line to move faster.”

“Smart people also do not buy everything with one credit card. They would spread it out evenly with 2-3 cards depending on the buy. The simple conclusion is be smart and carry some on-hand cash.”

At yet another store, where I had stopped by their coffee shop for some downtime and good coffee, I found this woman shrieking for the manager because she had spotted a rat there. It’s not the kind of thing that anyone wants to see in any place that sells food but in this case, the staff were trying to keep her under control and pacify her but she worked herself up to such a pitch that she added to the headache I already had!

In this case, I don’t know what led to the matter to become such a big deal because I got there midway during her screaming session but I know that rats are not going to flee because they hear a woman yelling at the top of her voice!

True, the woman was calling attention to a serious hygiene deficiency but at what point, the discussion turned ugly is anyone’s guess. So, when the store management is trying to soothe ruffled feathers and say they will look into it and address the issue right away, they are in damage control mode and doing their best. How is humiliating the staff going to help?

What is one to do but be a mute spectator and enjoy the show? Or walk out because it’s just a waste of your time? I did the latter. Besides, I was there for the coffee and it didn’t seem to be the right place to have it just then!


Since shopping is by nature such a communal and social activity, I think a shopping code of conduct has now become a necessity or else like road rage, we have already started to see many displays of shopping schizophrenia – where perfectly respectable and normally well mannered people behave like hooligans.

So here is my Top 10 Commandments list for shoppers and anyone reading this article can feel free to contribute as well.

1. Don’t hold up the line at the cash counter to argue with spouses over the cellphone about a blocked credit card. Use another card or pay cash and then discretely deal with your problem.
2. Don’t hold up the line to argue with staff about issues unrelated to your bill. I think there are enough people scattered around a store to give you a patient hearing if you have complaints about service, merchandise, store décor or whatever. The person to see should be the store manager.
3. Don’t stand over people while they are eating, so that they swallow their food in a hurry to make way for you. It’s impolite and if you wanted that table so badly, you should have got there earlier. This is especially for the people who throng food courts with a vengeance on weekends despite knowing that there is going to be a large crowd.
4. Don’t park your shopping bags in all the free chairs for miles around you in the lounge area of malls and also don't block an aisle with your shopping cart.
5. Don’t jump the queue at any cost. You are not that important - either to the store per se and certainly not to the people who were waiting there before you showed up.
6. Don’t indulge your kids’ bad manners at the expense of other shoppers. Putting your foot down and saying ‘no’ will make them value the money you are spending on them. If they refuse to behave, then next time please leave them at home, so the rest of us can have an enjoyable and peaceful shopping experience.
7. Don’t go berserk at a sale and grab things out of people’s hands and step on their toes while doing it. You are asking for a black eye or verbal abuse and you just might get it…free of cost!
8. Don’t shoplift. Celebrities with money do it …and get caught. They can manage to convert kleptomania into a PR spectacle but can you?
9. Don’t be rude to the elderly, the handicapped and obese people. It reflects on your upbringing when you snigger at them. Not everyone has the body type of an anorexic teenager…or wants to have one in the first place. Some women still do value their curves.
10. Don’t treat staff at the stores like they are your servants. They are there to help and guide and get paid to do it. They don’t get paid to take abuse and condescension. If you feel you are not getting their attention, then bring it up firmly and politely.

At the same time, if you feel that someone has made shopping a pleasant experience for you, then take that staff personnel’s name and give him/her some credit in the visitor’s book - if the store maintains one. You never know - you might be unknowingly responsible for that person getting a raise. But that person will remember you and give you a warmer reception the next time you visit the store.

Write in to me at promos@seconddealnsteal.com with your own stories or add more rules of conduct to this list. I'll post it here as well as on my ezine called 'Website for Seconds' on Zimbio.com. You can view that e-magazine here: http://www.zimbio.com/Website+for+seconds+in+India

Discount the Talk

The pinnacle of the festival season – Diwali – is just a week away and there is a lot of discounts, exchange schemes out there trying to entice shoppers. It goes without saying that if they have managed to discount a washing machine (and pretty much everything else) for you, then the usual maximum retail price (MRP) is really about making money at a bigger margin, all at your expense.

The smart shoppers always come out in hordes around major festive seasons. In India, it roughly starts from the month of August and lasts until October. Abroad, the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping binges are when the major sales happen. This period should be labeled the smart shopping season.

Ever wondered though, how some retailers in India might be undercutting brands? Let’s take the example of clothing brands like Barbie and Lilliput, which have dedicated stores in upscale malls like Atria (in Mumbai) and possibly elsewhere in India. I’ve noticed that some large supermarkets and hypermarkets that retail these brands will offer a discount to coincide with the single format stores and actually plug their sales as if it were something unique.

Seen those advertisements enticing you with ‘Up to 50% off on Barbie clothing’? Well, around the same time, the brand itself is having an up to 75% sale at their in-house store. But in the shopping frenzy of buying everything from groceries, toiletries, stationery and food, people tend to do their clothes shopping in the very same place for convenience sake. So, the bigger sale discount offer on at the other branded store is hardly ever noticed.

I’ve actually visited a supermarket chain and a single format brand store in the same week, during a sale period and witnessed the stark difference. One is empty with sales staff trying to summon up enthusiasm to work through the day and the other is doing roaring business with people stepping on each other’s toes, trying to grab at stuff. Guess which is the successful one and which just got stiffed?

After observing this for a while, I’ve often wondered if I could walk into the supermarket and buy a pair of Barbie jeans for my neighbour’s cute little girl and ask them to give me the original brand discount of “up to 75%” and then tack on what they are offering of “up to 50%” and walk off with a whopping 125% discount on those jeans?

Realistically, depending on what I buy, let’s say I get 50% off from the brand (instead of the entire mythical 75%) and an additional say 30% off (instead of the entire 50% that’s being touted by the supermarket), then I still should get 80% off right? Well, it’s elementary math but not cool marketing from the supermarket management’s perspective and they never pass on this discount that the brand is anyway offering in the first place.

Otherwise, I would pick up those jeans, if priced at Rs 2,000 MRP prior to the sale, with the cool 80% off (if given) I would pay only Rs 400! Without this grand discount, at the supermarket chain, I’m paying (at 30% off) Rs 1,400. Meanwhile, I stand to pay less at the luxury store selling this brand exclusively during the sale period because it works out to Rs 1,000 at the 50% discounted rate value.

Not many people realize this and if they do, they are not questioning the wisdom of the great discount talk that is happening in these places. I wonder why? It’s your money and your right to ask pertinent and relevant questions, especially if your kids insist on using only branded merchandise. Without knowing it, you might be actually helping in undercutting the brand’s snob value, for the very things you buy with so much pride…and at such expense.

Consumers & Products: Who failed whom?

 

Have products always failed consumers or have consumers sometimes failed products? How one super successful sitcom almost didn’t make it because of faulty feedback.

As consumers, we use so many products through our lifetime. There are some which just remain etched in our memory since childhood. For instance, I don’t think anyone has forgotten the Parle G Glucose biscuits with that cute chubby kid on the wrapper and she’s still very much around. Another brand which had a similar cute kid on its packaging was Amul’s Nutramul chocolate milk powder. Now they have a cartoon of a kid trying a karate kick, on it!

I decided to make a list of products and services that have failed to sustain the advantages they had enjoyed with consumers. Some of them have actually gone and ruined what was a winner in the name of making improvements and no amount of customer feedback forms that I’ve filled out, seems to wake up their woolly-headed back-office staff! So, these I have definitely rated as products having failed me. I’m wondering if this is some really bizarre strategy of getting people to notice them anyway?

It does give stores some talk-time. I came across this video where two citizen journalists (I think) in the US, called Gary and Crystal, talked about how they had gone to some mall in Chicago to be in time for a free coupon that was being given out to the first 400 shoppers who walked in. They walked in at 9.00 am and found the store empty and the store employees pretending they didn’t know some such offer was on! One guy told them, the coupons were all sold out. Another lady told them, the store had only seen about 80 people or so. Both Gary and Crystal then go on to talk about how badly the store is managed and how even the clothes are not displayed well. Crystal finds a top-end designer dress marked down but hidden – if you didn’t look hard enough, you would never find it. She actually says that, may be someone in the store was hoping that she didn’t find it! So, you see, ultimately the store does get talked about.

Meanwhile, there are some products/services which were good and have still disappeared from circulation. I’m wondering if I should have hoarded some of them since I can’t seem to find them anymore and maybe the big bosses who run these companies, will finally get the message? Have I failed these products in some way?

The fact is that sometimes, some products are only released to test market reactions and then withdrawn. But how many positive responses do these firms need for a product to get a green signal and then a more mass scale launch? Go to the ITC website and you’ll see a range called Superia which is not launched on a big scale – either the shampoos or the soaps. I think this range is meant for tier 2 cities and towns but why not the bigger cities? They do have a very good shampoo made of hibiscus extracts and when I tried it, it felt good on my hair. Ironically, it’s available in sachets at kiranas (mom-n-pop grocery stores) across Mumbai but not in the bigger shops. Lately, I’ve not even seen this hibiscus one even at those small stores.

A few who reached out to many

Making online buying and selling as common as talking on the phone or stepping out for groceries was something that Avnish Bajaj CEO of Baazee.com did well. His is a story dreams are made of. An Indian Institute of Technology-Harvard graduate with a stint at Goldman Sachs, a dotcom survivor with a $50 million deal under his belt. He is the man behind one of India's biggest online success stories -baazee.com.

The baazee.com story began in 2000, when Bajaj along with his Harvard mate Suvir Sujan set up India's largest online auction portal. Along the way they bought out competitor bidorbuyindia.com and in 2004 global giant eBay came calling.

But the dream run suddenly turned into a nightmare, when Bajaj found himself caught in the middle of the infamous MMS scandal and ended up in Tihar jail. The MMS clip brought notoriety to the site for allowing it to be put online for sale. But Bajaj had support coming from various quarters, including high profile Condoleezza Rice weighing in on his behalf. After all the noise and show, Bajaj was released on bail and is trying to move on and put this episode behind him.

Now, being part of the global Internet giant - ebay's family, baazee.com is being used as a platform to drive growth in a market with immense potential. With a subscriber base of 1 crore (10 million) users, baazee is betting on what it sees as the second Internet wave in the Indian market. With competitors jumping into the online auction space, this market leader is constantly innovating to stay ahead

He is a perfect power-dressing corporate honcho and that may give the impression that he doesn't seem the adventure sports type. But bungee jumping, scuba diving and river rafting are what he indulges in when he's not warming up with a good book, which is his first love. When he gets tired of driving baazee.com to greater heights, he hopes to move on to direct public policy.

Another career that's hot right now with a lot of outgoing, peppy youngsters who want to groove to good music at work and snap out some great lines over a microphone and get paid for it! Well, there VJs and DJs but RJs are having fun too.

Radio jockeys at 92.5 FM Tarana Raj Kapoor and Ashish Jagtiani have Mumbai eating out of their hands. Well not literally, but they are burning up Mumbai's airwaves and winning quite a fan base for themselves.

With completely contrasting styles, the one thing that Ashish and Tarana have in common is their ability to talk, unscripted, unrehearsed and unleashed on the city of Mumbai, every weekday morning.

It isn't only her voice that's her fortune. Tarana has an equally successful TV career in serials like Kasauti Zindagi Ki and Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa and also hosts live events and TV shows.

Ashish does more than mesmerise on air and also works in the family's machine tools business. The money he's making now with his two different careers is being used to fuel his other passion - to be a serious art collector.

Both are good friends even off air and one of their common interests is their love for reading. But while Tarana may pick up a Shashi Tharoor, Ashish would head towards the management books section. But that's just what makes for great chemistry on air.

Written for moneycontrol.com

Beat the Recession with some Smart Shopping Do's

Are you the kind who shops till you drop? Then this recent recession must have dampened your spirits quite a bit. But don't worry, hope is around the corner and the economy is picking up steam. Read on to find some practical do's and don'ts of spending.

Shopping is what fuels the economies of the world but the current recession is not a good time to be a spendthrift. So, what does one do? No...shoplifting is illegal:) Instead shop and spend wisely. Almost everyone has probably begun to carpool and learnt to take the bus instead of cabs but that’s not all. Spending on essentials is where the money is now disappearing and here’s how to do that smartly.

# Check soap packaging. A snazzier new package always means an additional Rs 3 – Rs 5 to your wallet. So if you buy a dozen of these soaps, one lands up paying anywhere between Rs 36 to Rs 60 more. All for the fact that Katrina Kaif might just be wearing a different coloured gown on the new soap wrapper! Take the slightly older stock if available. .after all, it isn’t a perishable item.

# Similarly with shampoos. Reach for the stock at the back of the shelf because often that is where the older stock gets pushed and which also has the lower price tag, A Dabur Black Olive Shine shampoo costs Rs 89 for a 200 ml bottle but there was a time when it did cost Rs 82 and that bottle might just be within your reach right now! Bend over and grab it. Chances are that it will be still within an expiry limit.

Even better, go for those dinky sachets. For an entire month, even if you need to wash your hair every day, at Rs 2 a sachet, even the best brands work out to a reasonable Rs 60 (30×2). At 5 ml a sachet…for 30 days, it still works out to 150 ml for Rs 60. Let’s take this math a little further: to make it an even 200 ml..another 10 sachets of 5 ml will cost Rs 20. So, add Rs 60 + Rs 20 = Rs 80. It still works out cheaper than Rs 89..doesn’t it?

Here again brands differ…most of them have introduced sachets ranging from 5 ml, 7.5 ml, 8 ml and 10 ml, so these work out as even more economical, at the usual price of Rs 2 a sachet.

Let’s do the math with Vivel. The 200 ml and 100 ml bottles and 8 ml sachets are priced at Rs 89, Rs 49 and Rs 2, respectively. So, for an entire month, 30 sachets works out to 240 ml at Rs 60 only.

# This is where a woman’s expenses just can not be cut back on. So, make the most of freebies. Kaya and VLCC are forever offering packages to make one look gorgeous. So, go for the free patch tests and sessions wherever possible. I went to two different Kaya clinics for their free underarm laser sessions. So, it saved my waxing bill by a bit for more than a month! I wish they start offering freebies for the legs as well!

# Food products also have variable price tags. Brands cost more while the lesser known variety can be just as good and cheaper as well. For instance: the Garden brand of chips may cost Rs 25 for 150-200 gms but a brand called Mari chips will sell its chips for Rs 32 for 250 gms. So, in this case paying a little extra works because do a little a math and see that for the same 250 gms of Garden chips, one would land up paying Rs 40 for it.

Here's another eg: Take another much consumed item like cheese and there are three major brands available - Amul, Britannia and now Govardhan (Go). These come in packets of 5 and 10 slices and Amul has introduced super saver packs of 20 slices (Rs 130) and mega saver packs of 50 slices (Rs 186).

Let's do the math now:

Brand Price
Amul (10 slices) Rs 73

Britannia (10 slices) Rs 88

Govardhan (12 slices)* Rs 100

*(This has been introduced in 1 packet with 6 slices costing Rs 50 as of now and for convenience I've added two packets and 12 slices to fit with the other two in this comparison).

Anyway, what looks cheaper is obviously Amul but for 10 slices it works out to Rs 7.30 per slice. So for two additional slices at Rs 7.30X2 is Rs 14.60 (round off to Rs 15). Keeping this logic in mind, you would land up paying Rs 88 (73+15). That's Britannia's current price point and it's really a good deal but the problem is Amul doesn't sell 6 slices in a pack anyway. So in this instance, it's really Go which is the wise choice.

The focus shouldn't be only on saving money, it should be on extracting maximum value out of it as well.

# Using pre-paid cards or even switching to a lower value plan will help with cellphone bills.

# Most petrol pumps have ATMs and some even have convenience stores attached to them. Do all your shopping and withdrawing of cash etc while getting your fuel tank filled. So, repeat trips in your car can be avoided.

# Some people actually go to buy vegetables and fruits later in the evening because they know that they will get them cheaper. The vendors are desperate to sell their remaining stock and are amenable to bargaining.

# Sign up to fun services like Mginger.com because for all the advertising SMSes you agree to receive, you get paid 35 paisa and over time, you could accumulate money without giving it too much thought or effort. What's more, you can actually redeem them for 10% off coupons on a variety of services - travel packages, discounts at restaurants, beauty salons, book and movie websites etc. I recently redeemed just 1 point out of my account and got 10% off at Kareem's at Carter Road, Bandra. So, when the bill came to around Rs 320, I paid only around Rs 285 for a meal for two. I didn't skimp on the meal either! I had their famous chicken biryani, shikampuri cutlets and a large Sprite. So, you can get quality and quantity for the right price, if you know how. So, hook up with me at http://mGinger.com/index.jsp?inviteId=april4 on Mginger and you could avail of their mcoupons as well.

With money being a metaphor for power and protection, it is important to know the power of a few rupees saved - or for that matter spent wisely. I live with this motto: If you don't put money to good use - then it's of no use. You can borrow it as well!

1991: When India made history

Born in the United Kingdom, growing up in Sudan, residing in Hong Kong and investing in India. His father was an Icelandic and probably the only one in Sudan, which must have made him stand out, quite a bit in the community! But what memories of Sudan that stick with Jon Thorn is the dire poverty and the famine, which left an indelible impression on him.

He went back to the UK, when he was around 9 years old and studied there. He got his doctorate from the London School of Economics. So, when he finally started working in the 1980s in the US, there were investing big-names like Michael Milken and Sir John Templeton gauging the global markets and investing in unknown markets and asset classes.

Managing Director & CIO of India Capital Fund, Jon Thorn told CNBC-TV18, "Mike Milken is somebody who invented a whole class of securities - junk bonds. He invented it as an investable class, and it's very rare - there were only 4 or 5 people in the century - who have truly claimed to invent a whole asset class."

Templeton saw potential in India but in the 1990s, it was undeserved as a lot needed to be done in the country to attract foreign investments. As Thorn describes it, it was more of an "intellectual conviction that there was potential and possibility. But none of is actuality yet."

"So in our view anyway, it could so easily have happened. So it was a very a tough decision - it was quite a difficult to sell. We had a lot of problems convincing people, that India had possibilities."

He's also had experience of writing for a food and beverage industry magazine, which also gave him a bird's eyeview of how managers managed and sold their products, and made money for their shareholders.

Thorn says that his convictions paid off and India is destined for greater things. So much so, that in 2005, his fund, India Capital Fund won the best 'Single Country Fund' award in 2005 from Asia Hedge.

His investment philosophy is "extraordinary change leads to extraordinary crises, which leads to extraordinary opportunity." And he was proved right, when in 1991, India's Reserve Bank of India ran out of gold and the World Bank came to the rescue on the condition that India liberalised its economy.

Thorn feels that when China and India decided to join the economy, that was a truly momentous moment in history, as opposed to the breakup of the Soviet Union or even the fall of the Berlin Wall.

He explains, "The thing about China is that they industrialised or re-industrialised I may say, much earlier than India. But more importantly, this has been a very single political structure to get things done and that makes things happen faster. I don't think one is certainly better than the other, but that's how it happened. The other thing is, investing capital in China has created the manufacturing base."

"In 2003, China was the largest single recipient of investment capital in the world -more than US - and there has not been any other country apart from the US since 1880 which has received so much investment capital. Now this fact alone, changes similar assumptions about what the future will be like for China and for India as well."

India being a democratic country, and with as many rules and regulations, beginning a new business or setting up a plant, was tough going for the foreigners, who came in during the first wave in 1991.

Thorn explains, "I personally always felt that the theoretical prospects were unbeatable for India. The labour force, the language, the sheer demographic profile being among the youngest population of the world, all these things I profoundly believed would pan out and would actually be successful in the end."

"But I believed that the timeframe would be much shorter but it extended. I won't say that we became desperate, but we did rather wonder and become a little impatient. I believed these things were fundamental and would ultimately come right."

Thorn says that his convictions paid off and India is destined for greater things. So much so, that in 2005, his fund, India Capital Fund won the best 'Single Country Fund' award in 2005 from Asia Hedge. But he believes more must be done on the privatisation front - to ensure that competition pushes GDP growth higher, thereby giving people higher standards of living.

Thorn concludes, "The government should govern and not manage the companies. I think it's very clear that when you get the government away from running economies, GDP increases. But it's a political decision for the citizens of India and the government of the day to make."

Written for moneycontrol.com

Pitching India to foreign funds the Quantum way

Chief Executive Officer, CEO and chief investment officer, Quantum Advisors, Ajit Dayal seems to have known what he wanted from life, very early on. Though, his father was a doctor and it was expected he would follow his footsteps, he chose to play the equities game because he didn't find the prospect of making house-calls at 3am in the morning very appealing! So he went off to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to get an MBA degree.

He did have the option to work on Wall Street but gave that up to work in India. He sure has made the most of his time here. For instance, he's written the Quantum Year Book and some lighthearted stuff as well - well, like comic books on the stock exchange!

Pre-liberalisation market scenario
He felt there was excitement in the air, of working in a nascent market like India, which in 1984, had yet to see big-ticket players like Franklin Templeton and Alliance come in.

The person who gave him his first break was Ashok Birla. Dayal told CNBC-TV18, "I met him in 1984, and he took me on. He was setting up a company then, with SG Warburg called Mercury Asset Management. The fund was called Birla Mercury Funds and I was the director of the fund. Our role was to get money from non-resident Indians, NRIs, to invest in the Indian stock markets, to help the company develop.

"That was an idea, which was way ahead of its time, maybe 10 years ahead of its time because the first foreign funds actually were launched in India in 1993-94. That's when Franklin came down to India, Alliance came down to India."

But India wasn't ready for such radical business practices then. So, between 1985-89, Dayal did the rounds in New Delhi, meeting with the finance minister and other mandarins who could move the pace of the financial market reforms along.

But, at that point India was fighting shy of allowing foreign capital into the country because the real fear was that the Birlas were gearing up to take over companies and also because of the Swraj Paul episode in 1981.

Dayal recounted, "So people were scared of the foreign flows of money and here we were, trying to sell the idea that NRIs had a lot of capital and India as a country needed capital, there was a perfect match and the bridge for the two was the mutual fund route."

The irony was, that even as early as 1985, foreign funds were eager to come in despite the 40 per cent cap that was prevalent, for any fund launched by NRIs.

He wasn't successful in getting mindsets to change about foreign inflows but he did move to Unit Trust of India, briefly to help them raise money when they ventured into the US market.

He recalled, "I actually joined at the tail-end of the marketing exercise. I helped them to choose stocks for portfolios in India and then I left UTI and went back to the stock exchange, where I was a sub-broker on the floor of the exchange."

But research reports was what he really wanted to do. He admits, "The idea was to get information flowing, to as many people as you could about India and also to begin to let people know, 'what's a share, why should you buy shares', not because it was owned by the Tatas, Birlas or Ambanis but because there is a P/E ratio, price to cash-flow ratio, dividend yield and there is earning."

A time of change...
When the 1991 balance of payments crisis forced the then Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh to throw open the economy, he was ready with his homework. He explained, "That was a day that we were actually waiting for, we started the Quantum Year Book in January 1990 - a year and half before the rules were announced for foreigners to buy shares - so on July 2, 1991 when the rules were announced for foreigners to buy shares, we were just waiting. Every single foreign group came down to India and they met us and we finally did a joint venture with Jardine Fleming."

Working with Jardine Fleming "was fantastic in many ways because they helped me to make Quantum from a 12 person team of research analysts to Jardine Fleming Quantum Enterprise with 180 people, in the course of a year. It was a JV and when I first met with them, they asked me, 'what's your dream for India and what's it going to cost?' when I told them what I had dreamt up and said it would cost $3 million, they gave me a cheque with no questions asked."

This proved a boon for his team's research purposes because now he had access to data flow from across the world. He elaborated, "We could, sort of, position ACC and Ambuja with respect to Holcim of Switzerland and in relation to Lafarge of France. So the data-flows were great. It's not that we actually went and wrote research reports on those companies but we read a lot of stuff on these companies."

There was a lot of action happening on the stock market, around the time, he inked his deal with Jarding Fleming - it was witnessing the Harshad Mehta led spike, so he cautioned Jardine Fleming, telling them. "There will be a collapse but don't worry, the fundamentals of the economy are still solid and they believed it."

Selling India to foreign funds
After his Jardine Fleming stint, he became a local advisor to funds looking to come into India. One of them was a UK fund called Prolific Asset Management and the other one was the California-based Walden Group. He and the Walden Group established the second venture capital fund for India. It was around this time, he had the opportunity to meet his guru and someone who inspired him.

Sir John Templeton
He reminisced, "I met Tom Hansberger in July 1998. He's an absolute genius, he was the co-founder of Templeton, Galbraith, and Hansberger. The first thing Tom told me is that I am going to make you unlearn all the nonsense you have learnt and I am going to teach you real long-term investing and real long-term research and he just changed the time horizon - the way we look at companies, the way we studied managements, the way we look at anything in the market - is really born out of what is happening with, what Sir John (Templeton) and Tom had done in their own enterprise, right from 1979.

"I actually moved to Florida in 1998 and then I was shuttling between Florida and India for the last six years, but I had my team in India. So my team and I, would chose Indian stocks for the portfolios that we ran on Tom's behalf."

Tom Hansberger
"In fact, when I went to Hansberger, Tom liked my work a lot and he actually made me the deputy CIO of the company in March 2000 and I know that he was running a fund valued at about $5.4 billion, till I left last year. Included in that, was the fact that I ran a large fund for one of the largest money managements groups in the world called Vanguard International Value Fund."

Personal investment fundas
His personal investing philosophy is to look at long-term five-year plans and how the management plans to achieve it. He's also a stock picker and does not believe in playing by the index approach. He explained, "When I say value, it means that I must buy a stock which has got profit power or the EPS power more than the market at a P/E ratio, that is equal to the market."

His future goals include running money for large institutions and becoming a wealthy individual! He reiterated, "It is about getting long-term money into India. It's what I always wanted to do - to get equity capital from the hands of big institutions and big pensions in the US to India, not short-term momentum money."

There are some things he cautions about. He stresses on being disciplined about when you plan to get into the market and how long you plan to hold onto the stock. Otherwise, it just hints at the fact that you don't believe in the numbers yourself.

He elaborated, "We are value guys, so by definition we buy shares that no one else wants, and we tend to buy them when they are going down. So it's like catching a falling knife, which is always dangerous. And at the other end when shares go up, we are disciplined. We are not willing to pay what the growth momentum guys are willing to pay."

And what's his advice to upcoming market analysts? "I would tell them that irrespective of nationalities, you can find good and bad people anywhere in the world and don't get fooled by the fact that foreign money, per se, is sort of, angelic in nature because it's not", he concluded.

Written for moneycontrol.com

Trendy & earthy handicrafts for your home

Your home deserves the best and almost everyone does go around hunting for that perfect hand-knotted carpet, or intricately woven wall tapestries in vivid colours. Want wrought iron candle sconces or lovely Warli or Madhubani artwork - anything that shouts India and flaunts its rich heritage?

Then head to Nirmitee in Mumbai. Your search for that perfect artifact should end here. This store was set up in 1997 and products are sourced from all corners of the country, which find their way to this store and then into many of the superbly done up Mumbai homes.

Many artists get a chance to showcase their talent and in diverse mediums like wood, clay, metal and other materials here. One will find Odissi brass statues, copper handicrafts from Maharashtra, wrought iron statues from Madhya Pradesh and many other artifacts from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

You can browse and take your pick - so do leave home with plenty of time to kill - as you wouldn't want to rush this shopping experience. All of these handicrafts are lovingly created masterpieces - one gets a hint of tradition being maintained with a family working to keep their skills alive.

At the store, handicrafts are not priced beyond a maximum of Rs 25,000. Apart from metal work, there are palm leaf paintings, Warli art and Madhubani art. If art doesn't excite you, you could just buy the handcrafted chess pieces from Rajasthan - to get some practice for those boardroom battles.

Nirmitee
4/5 Khosravi Estate, SK Bole Road, Dadar (W)
Tel no: 24229139
Open: 11.00 am - 8.00 pm

Written for moneycontrol.com

Global Giants Wade Through Middle East Franchise Deals

The Middle East is a cesspool of political turmoil and missed opportunities.

Every political manoeuvre is equalled by a reaction having huge economic repercussions. For instance: Oil-rich Iraq continues to have sanctions imposed 11 years after it invaded Kuwait. Formerly one of the more highly developed countries in the region, it is now dependent on economic handouts. But the obstacles apart, some Middle East countries have opened their markets to western transnationals. So how did these global giants adapt to the business climate and work around bureaucratic red-tape? The answer is they have involved local businesses - i.e., franchising.

Understanding the nuances is a different ball-game altogether.

Says Reema Ali, managing partner in a Washington DC firm Ali & Partners, which handles commercial law via affiliates around the Middle East: “A franchise deal in the Middle East is a marriage with very high alimony. If the franchiser and franchisee disagree, it is very difficult to come out of the relationship without having to pay compensation.”

But that doesn’t mean franchise operations are not opening in that region. According to Ms Ali, the most lucrative markets are Egypt and Saudi Arabia. She adds, “For the franchiser, the overriding strategy is to build the cost of a potential disagreement into the business plan.” But she and other lawyers who handle franchise deals in the region suggest that some additional general legal strategies are beneficial.

Opening franchises in the Middle East have gained popularity because many Middle Easterners perceive this business as ‘prestigious and lucrative’ says John E Xefos, managing partner of the Baker & McKenzie office in Riyadh. “The franchisee, especially the smaller operator, has probably been hearing get-rich stories for years. He is primed for disappointment.” Many aspects of running a franchise operation in the Middle East is more difficult than in Europe or the US. For eg: more of the component product may need to be imported and - at least in Saudi Arabia construction costs could be higher.

Another setback that a franchisee overlooks is that the franchiser expects to pocket his royalty under any circumstances. Mr Xefos recommends “that the franchisee understand upfront that there are no guaranteed profits and the franchiser expects the royalty will be paid regardless of what happens to the bottomline.” This kind of disclosure tends to keep misunderstandings at bay. He also suggests that franchise agreements be adhered to because it is not possible to apply the franchise’ parent country’s laws in the Middle East. Problems too could arise if the franchiser comes out with a new logo or marketing campaign and expects his Middle East partners to tote the line. If they don’t, then shutting down the operations or removing the sign may not be an available option.

Among Middle Eastern jurisdiction, Israel is a case unto himself. Its legal system is similar to the United States and is based on British rather that French, Turkish and Islamic law.

Andrew P Loewinger of Buchanan Ingersoll in Washington DC says: “Israel does have antitrust laws, although my experience is they don’t create problems for franchisers.” He adds, “ There are no laws specifically circumscribing the franchise relationship, its pretty much contractual.”

But the biggest difference between Israel and many Arab countries is that Israel has no commercial agency laws. Mr Loewinger says,”The main purpose of these laws was to protect the agent through a compensation arrangement. If the agreement is terminated by the foreign party, the agent is entitled to some compensation by statute or regulation - that is separate form the contract.” The compensation varies from country to country. It could be more than a year’s net profit or payment for unused inventory. But in any form, it can have a major effect on the franchise deal and should be incorporated as cost of doing business.

Of course there are ways to sidestep this as well. Some franchisers don’t register the transaction. A relationship that is not registered is not enforceable. But more common is adding a “foreign choice-of-law “ clause. This means one could set up a franchise in Turkey and specify in the contract that New York law will apply. This is by no means fool-proof because “ for certain kinds of issues that come up, no matter what you say, Turkish law will apply.”

Mr Loewinger added, “There is a tendency in Middle Eastern countries for courts to either assume jurisdiction, or as a matter of policy not to recognise the awards of foreign bodies.” So to sort out problematic issues in such situations, agree to local arbitration but select an impartial arbitral authority and specify the arbitration venue in the initial agreement itself.

In countries such as Bahrain and the UAE, there is more willingness to accept and enforce foreign awards. But pushing the envelope too far may not be a good idea. So if the franchiser is US-based, then it might be better to specifically request a European arbitral authority, rather than a home-based one.

Written for The Financial Express

Shining Silver...and its many charms

When image promotion is the name of the game, as it is evidently these days, silver is putting a high gloss on its aura, with a little bit of help from its producers.

According to silver producers, the white metal has something for everyone: jewellery for the wife, artefacts for the home, medical bandages for the kids and futuristically designed, germ resistant homes for the environment buff.

Your chemist around the corner may soon be selling silver coated, quick healing medical bandages imported from the US. Aiming to increase consumer use of these medical adhesives, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) recently approved over-the-counter sales of silver based, antimicrobial bandages, manufactured by Westaim Biomedical Corp., which will be a lower dose version of the company’s successful ‘Acticoat’ burn and wound dressings.

Scott Gillis, president of Westaim Biomedical Corp., says: “Consumers will be able to use a lower dosage form of the same powerful technology employed in burn units to treat the most severe, life-threatening infections humans can face.”

Westaim’s clinical tests have shown that the proprietary silver coating has proved to be effective against more than 150 pathogens, including antibiotic resistant pathogens such as the methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

Westaim is in talks with over-the-counter bandage producers and hopes to introduce the product in the market by 2003. “We believe there is a significant market opportunity for a proven antimicrobial consumer bandage,” adds Mr Gillis.

Well, that’s one use. Now for those who want to remove a permanent tattoo. The commonly used infra-red rays leave scars that may turn infectious. But silver enhanced bandages will promote healing and fend off infection after a tattoo has been removed.

Speaking last month at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Los Angeles, Dr Tolbert Wilkinson stated that a modified infrared coagulator—a device similar to a laser beam—is a cost effective way to permanently remove colour tattoos. Mr Wilkinson noted that this method was more affordable, but needed more intensive post-operative care. The use of an infra-red light source for tattoo removal has been in use since 1991, but it causes severe burns. By using lower settings in combination with the silver impregnated bandages, however, it produces excellent results. The silver ion bandages also help to shorten healing time and reduce the risk of blister breakage, infection and scarring.

Now for the germ resistant home, which uses silver in high contact areas. The plans for this home have earned designer David Martin an award from the American Institute of Architects for design excellence. “This ground breaking project sets the stage for the home of the future,” says Richard Wardrop, chairman and CEO of AK Steel, which will build the 11,000 square foot home, ‘Camino de Robles’ (‘Path of Oaks’) in California, in collaboration with upcoming biotech company AgION Technologies. The home will be an amalgamation of AK Steel’s carbon and stainless steel, coated with AgION’s proprietary silver based anti-bacteria compound.

AK Steel’s Mr Wardrop says: “The AK Steel concept home will be striking in appearance, while offering the benefits of steel construction. Using our steels coated with AgION’s antimicrobial compound, this project also introduces a new way to help combat germs on key surfaces in the home.”

The home’s skeletal framework will be constructed of steel, which should make it fire and earthquake proof. The silver embedded areas will include those that are considered “high touch”, such as handrails, faucets, kitchen areas and door knobs. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning duct work will also be made of AgION-coated steel, as will some non-steel products, such as refrigerator trays and counter tops. This endeavour is part of a recent trend towards replacing wood with steel in home building because of environmental concerns.

Meanwhile, the Japanese, reeling under the burden of the recession and the shaky yen, are aiming to attract jewellery connoisseurs by producing ‘Art Clay Silver’. Aida Chemicals Industries of Japan plans to market its Art Clay Silver, which is already a rage with Japanese consumers, in the US soon.

Art Clay Silver is a pliable, liquid clay, which you can mould into jewellery of any kind and then fire in a kiln at a high temperature. Professional jewellery makers and skilled amateurs are already using this clay, but the company plans to broaden its appeal to end-consumers.

Company officials claim that intricate designs that would be difficult to make using traditional silver working techniques, are quite simple with Art Clay Silver. And the clay displays minimal shrinkage, so, Art Clay Silver retains the finer details of a design. Even rubber stamp impressions are retained after the firing.
The jewellery can then be given an “antique” finish with a dash of sulphur.

How’s that for a personal touch? So the next time you think of buying jewellery, try an Art Silver Clay kit from your friendly jeweller. Anything for exclusivity.

Written for The Financial Express

Tips from gurus to succeed in your career

Being good at anything takes effort but when one wants to master the world and come out on top in competitive sports or a chosen career it becomes a whole new ballgame.

So what has been former World Billiards Champion, Geet Sethi secret to success? He told CNBC-TV18, "You can't start in a game and say that I am going to be a world champion in seven years, you may not have the talent, you may not have the dedication to pursue the whole thing, you may get distracted in between.

"So you've just got to take it one day at a time, one week at a time and just keep improving your benchmark, I think it's very important to keep raising your own standard, till you reach a point where you are just below a world championship standard, and then you just kind of step into it."

So where does this inflection point come for companies, when they feel the need for change that is more in keeping with the times. Chief executive officer, CEO, & MD of Aptech, Pramod Khera explained, "Definitely, there is a right time for these sort of things. But I think in addition to that, one needs to have the conviction and the passion that yes one wants to do something, one wants to really take on the world and if that sort of conviction exists, then there is no reason as to why one can't do this."

He added, "You definitely do need to do some sort of planning, you do need to set out a goal, the only thing is that you have to do it stage-wise right through. When you are successful in the Indian market, then you start looking at the international market and you see which are the markets, where your product or your company can succeed and then you plan it out in such a way that you become a global player."

It does help that Aptech had a business that had proved successful in the domestic market. So when it began its international operations in 1993, it found a lot of takers in the expat market. Khera elaborated, "Indians living in the Middle East were interested and said that if you start something in the Middle East, we would be interested in taking such courses and that's how we really started off and we did well in the Middle East and then we started looking at the rest of the world."

That's the story of India, where the country has suddenly embraced the latest technology and built globally successful businesses - Infosys, Wipro instantly comes to mind. In sports too, it's not just cricket, which can claim its fair share of champions but chess, tennis and even billiards has its own share of heroes. So how come India is producing champions in non-core sports and business?

Sethi has a theory about this phenomenon. He said, "I believe it's got to do with tradition. And when I say tradition, I mean that when I was playing billiards, I had a Michael Ferreira to look up to, and when Michael Ferreira was playing, he had Wilson Jones to look up to.

"There is always one pioneer, one revolutionary person or a company, who comes on the scene, breaks all the rules and wins and becomes a world leader. I think that one pioneer has great inspirational value, he inspires the whole generation, which is following him and inspires the generation, not only to be world class but he, kind of, gives a subconscious belief to the youngsters and he is interacting with the youngsters, so the youngsters say that 'hey he is a world champion and I am playing with him and I almost beat him the other day, so maybe I can be a world champion too.' I think that is very important."

Sethi added, "I don't think I ever had a goal to be a world champion when I started in the game. This was way back in 1974-75, but I think, I just progressed from one step to the other and from the district level to state level and one day I just won the national title and winning the national title meant that I had an opportunity to represent my country at the world championship.

"And really at that time, the thought of even winning the world title never came up. So it was only after 1980-83, when I had defeated Michael Ferreira in the national championship, that thought came up. Otherwise, it was just work all the time."

Khera agrees, "Well to some extent, what Geet is saying is true but in a business, it's slightly different because today the world is becoming highly globalised and if, for example, Aptech has to succeed in India, it has to be globally competitive in India itself because there is global competition over here and the best way to prove that you are globally competitive, is to succeed outside the India.

"It makes a lot of sense for Indian companies, which are doing well to start looking at the international markets, and that's what Ranbaxy is doing. That's what large organisations, which are succeessful in India, apart from IT, are doing."

"While, there will always will be somebody who is a pioneer and that definitely motivates others to follow suit and excel. I think as far as IT is concerned, in India, people had the inherent skills. TCS was there much before Infosys, Satyam or Wipro came up and they were doing a lot of projects in India for the Indian government and also outside India and they also realized that if they have to do well, they have to succeed globally and that's how really the Indian IT industry has grown up today."

Another concern is allocating resources or even raising enough finances to venture abroad. Both corporates and sportspeople have to worry about it but that's where the similarities end.

Businesses go to the capital market while sportsman don't have the same luxury. They have to literally scrounge for sponsors, since they don't play the nation's favourite sport - cricket.

Sethi knows the feeling. He reiterates, "Absolutely, I think for every sportsperson from India specifically in individual sport, it's a big hindrance if I can call it that. Professionalism in sport has still not come into India in the same manner as it has in the more developed countries and today I think with media and globalization coming in, I find that resource crunch slowly easing away.

"So today, you have Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Narain Karthikeyan whose is getting millions of dollars to show his skills at Monte Carlo and at all the other races, but 10 years ago, he wouldn't have been able to do this, so he is at the right time at the right place."

Khera said that setting up Aptech abroad was as much of challenge because when they set up their training centre in the US, they were paying salaries in dollars and earning in rupees. But money questions apart, he says that learning about the local customs also pays, so you can customise your products.

He elaborated, "For example, our course material is translated into Chinese for the China market. But the examples that we are giving in those books also have to be changed into Chinese names, Chinese cities, Chinese customs etc. In the Middle East, we need to have a prayer room for the people, where they can go and pray, so these types of local sensitivities also need to be kept in mind."

Some sports are treated like stepchildren but not the IT industry, which has a strong industry body and the least amount of government interference. Khera has his tongue firmly in his cheek when he says, "In fact, we say that the greater service that the government has done, is stayed away from the IT industry!"

At the end of the day, it's one's convictions that the right thing is being done, that carries people on to greater heights. Khera explained, "One has to strike the balance and one has to look at the interest of the shareholder, stakeholder as well as the customers and the employees, who are working in your organisation, and not lose sight of the vision and the direction that you have set for yourself, that's a challenge."

Written for moneycontrol.com

Her sweets business is a big hit

Vrinda Rajgarhia is a young woman from a conservative community who knew what she wanted since she was a young girl. She's now achieving her goals and has not confined herself to the restrictions on the fairer sex, perceived or otherwise, that she may have encountered.

Vrinda Rajgarhia, Director, Sweet World, brought a bewildering range of imported candies to India that has enticed adults and children alike. "Ever since I was little, I always wanted to do my own things and I always thought of having my own business. I guess coming from a business family, it was just business in the blood," Vrinda told CNBC-TV18.

She added, "I think that's what most Marwari women do. They just take over the family business. I think doing my own things give me a lot of satisfaction than just joining the existing family business because the value-addition in the existing business is much less. Here you started something right from scratch. . . it's like your baby and when your baby starts crawling and running, it gives you immense satisfaction."

Although she did see herself as a budding entrepreneur from a young age, she didn't know what she wanted to do. She had her share of looking for the right business to be involved in. She said, "I won't say that ever since I was a kid I wanted to open a candy store or something like that. That's not true. But I am doing something completely different from what I studied. Actually, I should have been number crunching in a bank probably. But I think that I somehow didn't see myself doing that."

So she began with garments, as she puts it. "It was not really garments. It was more like a hosiery manufacturing set-up, but in the manufacturing thing, it has its own share of problems. . . plus it didn't work out because Indian yarn at that time was not of the (right) quality, neither was there state-of-the-art machinery (present in India). The (existing) machine snapped. Now that was something completely beyond my control, because obviously I couldn't be spinning my own yarn."

"We also did leather planners. That again is a very unorganised market. Stationery is a pretty unorganised market and if you want to pay all your taxes and do it honestly, you can't compete with the unorganised sector."

She continues, "I wanted to do candies for about four years but the export duty at that time was 70%. So at 70%, the pricing would have been prohibitive and, of course, you have to cap the price because you want to be accessible to the mass public and didn't want to make it so elitist."

"A child is not supposed to know that he can or he can't afford it, he is supposed to preserve his innocence for sometime. So it's not fair to do that. Then luckily duties came down to 30% and that's when we started working on the project. Here we are constantly innovating, trying to do things in our store that is so much fun."

She's found an ideal audience to cater to. Children who usually get what they want and candies are right up there on their list. Adults have not been able to resist the range available and so kids are excused for feeling tempted!

But did she still have to incur a high cost to bring these goodies into the country?

She replied, "We are in the 30% basic import duty bracket, 16% Cenvat duty and we have very high sales tax, always in the highest bracket. In some states, it's like 9%, and 12% in Delhi, and in Mumbai it's 15.6% and up to 21% in Chennai. And then there is entry tax and so on. So most of the money goes in paying duties."

The fact is that there is competition from the local unorganised sector and kids may prefer domestic branded sweets. She reiterates, "But I am not looking at them as my competitors. We are giving them (children) a bunch of different items, which are not even made here, like jellybeans or gummy sweets, etc. We don't get those here at all and today kids are more exposed. We have a huge market of young adults, teenagers etc and they all know what they are buying. So people don't mind paying slightly more for something that they like."

The sheer variety of sugary treats has pulled in more crowds than she expected. She said, "I started more on a gut feel. I didn't sort of base it (the business) on any hi-tech strategy or anything. I still remember the day we were stocking up our Lokhandwala store. We were still filling the shelves and customers just started walking in, and it was very hard because we weren't geared to sell at that moment. In the first week that we opened, I had no place to enter my own store, I was actually on the street!"

She avers, "I don't want to grow very rapidly until I set up a system in place. Hygiene is a huge issue for us, in all our stores and we have to maintain hygienic standards in all our stores. None of the candies are handled by hand till it reaches the stores and even then, my staff only handles them with disposable gloves. So we try to maintain very high quality of hygiene in our stores, plus we have to maintain refrigerated storage, etc."

"So to set up all those systems, obviously takes a lot of time and effort. It's not nice to sort of expand and then have problems in your stores because it's not fair to the customers if you are not giving them the quality that you promised. Also one wants to know, if it (candy sales) was cyclic or if it was around-the-year trend. Then we realised that the sales are around-the-year. We have decided that we would go the mall route because there is a mall mania happening in India."

She added, "Candies are basically a feel-good thing. So I don't really think I am just in the business of selling candies. I am in the business of spreading and sharing happiness and joy and that's why I have inculcated that culture in my staff as well, and my sales staff has been very supportive."

Finally, she sees big things for her stores and the Sweet World concept.

"Sweet World is again a thing that can be taken across confectionary candies. So that the first goal is to make it synonymous with confectionary candies, which we hope we should achieve in the next couple of years. In the next 4-5 years, I think Sweet World would become a brand in itself, which could be used for things like an amusement park. It is a sweet world out there! So you want to sort of do things which can spread joy and bonhomie, which is what we are looking at and doing," she said.

Written for moneycontrol