NEW DELHI: Japanese car maker Honda on Wednesday launched a new entry-level variant of its flagship sedan City in India, slashing the price by Rs 50,000 compared to that of the existing model.
The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Siel Group, had cut the price of the City by up to Rs 66,000 in June also, after implementing various cost reduction measures.
Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) today launched a refreshed version of the new City at prices ranging from Rs 6.99 lakh to Rs 10.22 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The old City was priced between Rs 7.49 lakh and Rs 9.89 lakh.
"Our target is to offer a product as affordable as possible to customers. So we have launched a new Corporate Edition of the City that do not have some features, and we have cut the prices from the earlier entry-level version," HSCI Director (Marketing) Seki Inaba told reporters here.
The company's R&D division is also working on to increase the localisation of components and implement cost reduction activities, he added.
HSCI will start taking booking orders for the new City immediately and delivery will start from January. The company had introduced the current third generation City in 2008 and has sold 1.36 lakh units so far.
The City sales have been facing stiff resistance from other models in the segment such as Hyundai Verna, Maruti SX4 and Volkswagen Vento. While Verna, SX4 and Vento offer both diesel and petrol options, City comes only in petrol variant.
In August, HSCI had launched a new version of its premium hatchback Jazz, cutting the price by over Rs 1.5 lakh from the existing model as it looked to increase sales in a fiercely competitive compact car market.
Talking about the impact on sourcing of components from Thailand due the flood, Inaba said: "Our production was curtailed due to component shortage. However, we have been successful in ensuring components for the new City."
The production of its hatchbacks Jazz and Brio is likely to be normalised from February next year, he added. "After the impact, we are now seeking alternate locations like China and Japan to source various parts. We are hoping that we will attain normal production level from February," Inaba said.
During 2011, HSCI has lost about half of its production than its initial plans for the year due to tsunami in Japan and flood in Thailand, he said without giving details.
Asked about the impact of depreciating rupee, Inaba said: "We are trying to increase the amount of export of components like body panels from India to reduce the affect... We do not have any plans to raise the prices of our products."
Success in my Habit
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Reliance Industries to enter fast-food business with its own brand next year
BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries, a $50-billion-plus oil and gas giant, will enter the fast-food business with its own brand next year, opening yet another front to do business directly with India's growing young population after retail and 4G wireless services.
Mukesh Ambani has roped in Rishi Negi, COO of multiplex operator Fame India, which is partly owned by his younger brother Anil Ambani, to develop a quick service restaurant (QSR) concept within 3-4 months, two senior Reliance executives said.
Negi will spearhead Reliance's entry into a segment that is growing at least 25% a year and where international brands such as McDonald's and Domino's jostle to introduce Indianised cuisines to take on popular local chains such as Jumbo King and Saravana Bhavan.
Reliance is exploring a scaleable model like McDonald's and Domino's, complete with a standardised menu and express delivery, the executives said. It plans both independent outlets and presence in food courts.
"The company is looking at anything suitable for Indian palate, be it Chinese, Italian or Indian cuisine," one of them said. The Reliance Industries spokesman declined to comment. The executives said the company has zoomed in on Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore as the tentative locations to launch the business.
"With a hypermarket format already attracting a large number of consumers, it makes sense to bundle in food as well," one of the executives said. The company has already experimented with a fresh bakery at its hypermarkets, Reliance Mart.
The move is in line with Mukesh Ambani's aggressive moves to build businesses for the country's consumer class, dominated by demanding and aspirational youngsters. His retail arm, Reliance Retail, operates around 1,146 multi-brand outlets across the country through chains such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart.
Also, Reliance Industries is the only pan-India licence holder to offer 4G services, which can provide internet connection at more than 100 mbps.
The company, which paidRs13,000 crore for the licence, is expected to launch 4G data services within a couple of months at justRs10 per GB, or almost one-tenth of current 3G charges-an offer the Facebook generation may find hard to resist.
Negi is coming in with some experience in the restaurant business. He was the COO of Pizzeria Restaurants, which operated Pizza Hut a few years ago, and was food & beverage manager at Taj Coromandel, the Taj Group's 5-star hotel in Chennai.
Mukesh Ambani has roped in Rishi Negi, COO of multiplex operator Fame India, which is partly owned by his younger brother Anil Ambani, to develop a quick service restaurant (QSR) concept within 3-4 months, two senior Reliance executives said.
Negi will spearhead Reliance's entry into a segment that is growing at least 25% a year and where international brands such as McDonald's and Domino's jostle to introduce Indianised cuisines to take on popular local chains such as Jumbo King and Saravana Bhavan.
Reliance is exploring a scaleable model like McDonald's and Domino's, complete with a standardised menu and express delivery, the executives said. It plans both independent outlets and presence in food courts.
"The company is looking at anything suitable for Indian palate, be it Chinese, Italian or Indian cuisine," one of them said. The Reliance Industries spokesman declined to comment. The executives said the company has zoomed in on Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore as the tentative locations to launch the business.
"With a hypermarket format already attracting a large number of consumers, it makes sense to bundle in food as well," one of the executives said. The company has already experimented with a fresh bakery at its hypermarkets, Reliance Mart.
The move is in line with Mukesh Ambani's aggressive moves to build businesses for the country's consumer class, dominated by demanding and aspirational youngsters. His retail arm, Reliance Retail, operates around 1,146 multi-brand outlets across the country through chains such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart.
Also, Reliance Industries is the only pan-India licence holder to offer 4G services, which can provide internet connection at more than 100 mbps.
The company, which paidRs13,000 crore for the licence, is expected to launch 4G data services within a couple of months at justRs10 per GB, or almost one-tenth of current 3G charges-an offer the Facebook generation may find hard to resist.
Negi is coming in with some experience in the restaurant business. He was the COO of Pizzeria Restaurants, which operated Pizza Hut a few years ago, and was food & beverage manager at Taj Coromandel, the Taj Group's 5-star hotel in Chennai.
Apple and Google dominate smartphone space while others scramble
Google’s Android platform and Apple’s iOS dominated the U.S. smartphone space in 2011 while a number of companies that helped shape the market as we know it were forced to reboot. Market research firm The NPD Group on Tuesday issued a report on the smartphone market through October 2011, stating that Android and iOS extended their lead while companies like RIM and Microsoft scrambled to reform their respective strategies. Google’s Android platform represented 53% of the U.S. smartphone market through October in 2011 and Apple’s share grew to 29%. RIM’s market share with the BlackBerry OS dropped to 11% and Microsoft’s Windows Phone continued to struggle out of the gate with less than 2% of the market.
Offshoring: US, Europe opening opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups
The offshoring of work by foreign corporations has helped build India's showpiece $76-billion IT industry.
Now many small businesses and families in the US and Europe are doing a mini version of offshoring by engaging 'virtual assistants' from Indian firms for their personal tasks, creating lucrative business opportunities. In the process, they are calling upon these loyal aides to play matchmaker, agony aunt and consciencekeeper.
Unlike traditional outsourcing which is a business service, remote assistance is a consumer-focused service that even provides emotional support to many.
One such provider is Bangalore-headquartered GetFriday, whose name is drawn from the term Man Friday, or personal assistant. Among the requests it received recently was one from an Australian client who wanted help before she had a chat with her boss.
The woman wanted to switch to a work-from-home schedule and needed assistance and tips on how to handle objections by the boss, mock sessions that simulated the event, and loads of emotional support. The switch did not happen because some key employees were about to leave and the work-from-home option wasn't feasible at that point.
"Nonetheless, the client was happy," said Sunder Prakasham, CEO of TTK Services, which runs GetFriday. Virtual assistance is fast catching up in US and Europe, opening opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups such as Brickwork India and GetFriday.
Evalueserve, a research firm, predicts that person-to-person offshoring, both consumer services and services for small businesses, will grow to over $2 billion (Rs10,000 crore) by 2015 from the current $887 million.
At Brickwork, one of the more unusual requests it got was from Gail Dick, the owner of Millermeade Farms in the US and a passionate breeder of hedgehogs. When Dick wanted her website to be an encyclopedia of information on hedgehogs, she outsourced the work for around $12-30 an hour to a virtual assistant at the Bangalore-based knowledge process outsourcing start-up founded by former Karnataka IT secretary Vivek Kulkarni and his wife Sangeeta.
The virtual assistant helped her to format and reference the huge number of articles she had gathered over the years. The articles were based on hedgehog behaviour, including eating, bathing and sleeping habits, the diseases they suffer and patterns of hibernation they follow.
"Great! I feel like having a party as we are moving ahead on a project that has been in a stand-still for several years," said Dick. The project was stalled for several years as Dick could find neither the time nor the experts who could do this job for her in the US. She would also have had to pay nearly double the amount for a similar service in the US.
Now many small businesses and families in the US and Europe are doing a mini version of offshoring by engaging 'virtual assistants' from Indian firms for their personal tasks, creating lucrative business opportunities. In the process, they are calling upon these loyal aides to play matchmaker, agony aunt and consciencekeeper.
Unlike traditional outsourcing which is a business service, remote assistance is a consumer-focused service that even provides emotional support to many.
One such provider is Bangalore-headquartered GetFriday, whose name is drawn from the term Man Friday, or personal assistant. Among the requests it received recently was one from an Australian client who wanted help before she had a chat with her boss.
The woman wanted to switch to a work-from-home schedule and needed assistance and tips on how to handle objections by the boss, mock sessions that simulated the event, and loads of emotional support. The switch did not happen because some key employees were about to leave and the work-from-home option wasn't feasible at that point.
"Nonetheless, the client was happy," said Sunder Prakasham, CEO of TTK Services, which runs GetFriday. Virtual assistance is fast catching up in US and Europe, opening opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups such as Brickwork India and GetFriday.
Evalueserve, a research firm, predicts that person-to-person offshoring, both consumer services and services for small businesses, will grow to over $2 billion (Rs10,000 crore) by 2015 from the current $887 million.
At Brickwork, one of the more unusual requests it got was from Gail Dick, the owner of Millermeade Farms in the US and a passionate breeder of hedgehogs. When Dick wanted her website to be an encyclopedia of information on hedgehogs, she outsourced the work for around $12-30 an hour to a virtual assistant at the Bangalore-based knowledge process outsourcing start-up founded by former Karnataka IT secretary Vivek Kulkarni and his wife Sangeeta.
The virtual assistant helped her to format and reference the huge number of articles she had gathered over the years. The articles were based on hedgehog behaviour, including eating, bathing and sleeping habits, the diseases they suffer and patterns of hibernation they follow.
"Great! I feel like having a party as we are moving ahead on a project that has been in a stand-still for several years," said Dick. The project was stalled for several years as Dick could find neither the time nor the experts who could do this job for her in the US. She would also have had to pay nearly double the amount for a similar service in the US.
Govt working on special policy for roof-top solar units
Mumbai: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working on a special policy for roof-top solar units, Mr Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary, MNRE, said today.
Speaking at Intersolar India, a conference of the solar industry here, and also at a press conference later, Mr Kapoor said that the government is “working on several options”. To aid policy formulation, a “brainstorming meeting” of all the electricity distribution companies (discoms) will take place in New Delhi on the 20th of this month.
The discussion would revolve around why, even with a 30 per cent capital subsidy, the ‘roof-top solar' has not taken off in India.
“We will come up with something very special for roof-tops,” Mr Kapoor said. Today, the economics works out very well. With 30 per cent subsidy (on the cost of equipment), the cost of generation would work out to Rs 7, he said.
Net metering
He observed that ‘Net metering', where a household could both receive power from and feed into the grid and be billed only for the Net consumption, is very important for the development of roof-top solar units.
Today, legally the discoms can do it, Mr Kapoor said, observing that they are perhaps not sensitised to the issue.
He said that the industry is also not attuned to roof-top solar. “I have been telling them ‘please look at roof-tops',” he said, adding that the industry itself is not much aware of the potential.
Solar resource assessment
Mr Kapoor said that the Government was confident that the country would have the targeted 1,100 MW of installed solar power capacity by 2013. Stressing on the need for gathering of data of solar irradiance, Mr Kapoor said that the Government has installed “51 solar stations” across the country till now. A massive programme is under way to do solar resource assessment all across India.
Answering a question, he said that one of the key learnings from the phase-I of the National Solar Mission was that it was advisable to have ‘solar parks' where several developers could put up their projects.
Solar parks makes the job of putting in place the transmission infrastructure easy, he noted. Another learning was the importance of scale.
Speaking at Intersolar India, a conference of the solar industry here, and also at a press conference later, Mr Kapoor said that the government is “working on several options”. To aid policy formulation, a “brainstorming meeting” of all the electricity distribution companies (discoms) will take place in New Delhi on the 20th of this month.
The discussion would revolve around why, even with a 30 per cent capital subsidy, the ‘roof-top solar' has not taken off in India.
“We will come up with something very special for roof-tops,” Mr Kapoor said. Today, the economics works out very well. With 30 per cent subsidy (on the cost of equipment), the cost of generation would work out to Rs 7, he said.
Net metering
He observed that ‘Net metering', where a household could both receive power from and feed into the grid and be billed only for the Net consumption, is very important for the development of roof-top solar units.
Today, legally the discoms can do it, Mr Kapoor said, observing that they are perhaps not sensitised to the issue.
He said that the industry is also not attuned to roof-top solar. “I have been telling them ‘please look at roof-tops',” he said, adding that the industry itself is not much aware of the potential.
Solar resource assessment
Mr Kapoor said that the Government was confident that the country would have the targeted 1,100 MW of installed solar power capacity by 2013. Stressing on the need for gathering of data of solar irradiance, Mr Kapoor said that the Government has installed “51 solar stations” across the country till now. A massive programme is under way to do solar resource assessment all across India.
Answering a question, he said that one of the key learnings from the phase-I of the National Solar Mission was that it was advisable to have ‘solar parks' where several developers could put up their projects.
Solar parks makes the job of putting in place the transmission infrastructure easy, he noted. Another learning was the importance of scale.
Government clears creation of new ED slot in public sector banks
Kolkata: Large state-run lenders like Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank will get a third executive director (ED) on their board from next April, while smaller banks like Dena or United Bank will get their second ED.
The government has just cleared the Khandelwal Committee's recommendation to this end, two chief executives at state-run banks said. Banks with more than Rs 3 lakh crore business are considered as large entities.
The government has created the new slot in six large banks and said the third executive directors will be responsible for human resource development and technology.
Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India and Union Bank of India are dubbed as large banks and will benefit from this move. This is in step with the director-HR position that exists in public sector undertakings like ONGC, Indian Oil, HPCL or BPCL.
"Creation of the ED position for HRD is an important step in the banking industry as this will help in bringing human resource development under board's direct attention," said AK Khandelwal, who headed the HR reform panel and submitted a series of recommendations in June 2010.
The government has also created a second executive director's position in five small banks having a business of less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, United Bank of India and Vijaya Bank fall in this category and their second ED will also be responsible for HRD and technology. All these banks have one ED at their top deck at present.
The government has just cleared the Khandelwal Committee's recommendation to this end, two chief executives at state-run banks said. Banks with more than Rs 3 lakh crore business are considered as large entities.
The government has created the new slot in six large banks and said the third executive directors will be responsible for human resource development and technology.
Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India and Union Bank of India are dubbed as large banks and will benefit from this move. This is in step with the director-HR position that exists in public sector undertakings like ONGC, Indian Oil, HPCL or BPCL.
"Creation of the ED position for HRD is an important step in the banking industry as this will help in bringing human resource development under board's direct attention," said AK Khandelwal, who headed the HR reform panel and submitted a series of recommendations in June 2010.
The government has also created a second executive director's position in five small banks having a business of less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, United Bank of India and Vijaya Bank fall in this category and their second ED will also be responsible for HRD and technology. All these banks have one ED at their top deck at present.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Infosys cuts employees' breaks to meet revenue target
Infosys is making its nearly 1.5 lakh employees work extra hard this quarter by shortening two weekend breaks, a rare step which may mean the company is huffing and puffing to meet its revenue growth target.
Staff at India's second-largest software exporter worked on November 19 and December 10 (both Saturdays), giving the company a revenue boost of 1-1.3% for the October-December quarter, J P Morgan analyst Viju K George wrote in a report.
While all top-tier IT services providers have cited the weak global economic situation in their prognosis, Infosys has been particularly pessimistic in recent weeks. Its chief financial officer, V Balakrishnan, said recently that the company may not reach the upper end of its sales growth forecast of 3-5% for the December quarter and 17.1-19.1% for the financial year, or $7.08-7.2 billion.
Infosys has traditionally been cautious in its forecasts and more often than not it promises less and delivers more. Even so, the downbeat noises emanating from the company as well as the decision to truncate the weekend breaks are causing many to sit up and take notice.
"We believe that this move is unconventional and unusual," George wrote, adding that it has positive implications in the near term but adverse consequences in the medium term. Immediately, working extra days will give revenues a leg up and indicate that capacity is the constraint, not demand.
On the other hand, Infosys may be borrowing revenues from the next quarter to feed the current one. But Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-chairman of Infosys, said the decision to shorten two weekends represents nothing out of the ordinary. It has been done in the past too and is based on client requirements.
"There is nothing unusual as far as I am concerned and I cannot comment about what others are saying," he said. In the short term, the global uncertainty is affecting all software services companies but prospects are very good in the long term, Gopalakrishnan said.
Wipro and Cognizant, ranked just behind Infosys, said they are not burning the midnight oil by asking all their employees to work extra days. J P Morgan's George was of the view that Infosys risks annoying employees by asking them to sacrifice some Saturdays.
"There is also the aspect of staff humor and mood that needs managing. Infosys' quarterly annualised attrition should be a keenly-watched indicator in current and coming quarters," he wrote.
Sudin Apte from advisory firm Offshore Insights said the move may be intended to improve capacity utilisation in a tough environment. His organisation met nearly 300 clients of software services firms and came away with the impression that IT budgets in 2012-13 would shrink.
Staff at India's second-largest software exporter worked on November 19 and December 10 (both Saturdays), giving the company a revenue boost of 1-1.3% for the October-December quarter, J P Morgan analyst Viju K George wrote in a report.
While all top-tier IT services providers have cited the weak global economic situation in their prognosis, Infosys has been particularly pessimistic in recent weeks. Its chief financial officer, V Balakrishnan, said recently that the company may not reach the upper end of its sales growth forecast of 3-5% for the December quarter and 17.1-19.1% for the financial year, or $7.08-7.2 billion.
Infosys has traditionally been cautious in its forecasts and more often than not it promises less and delivers more. Even so, the downbeat noises emanating from the company as well as the decision to truncate the weekend breaks are causing many to sit up and take notice.
"We believe that this move is unconventional and unusual," George wrote, adding that it has positive implications in the near term but adverse consequences in the medium term. Immediately, working extra days will give revenues a leg up and indicate that capacity is the constraint, not demand.
On the other hand, Infosys may be borrowing revenues from the next quarter to feed the current one. But Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-chairman of Infosys, said the decision to shorten two weekends represents nothing out of the ordinary. It has been done in the past too and is based on client requirements.
"There is nothing unusual as far as I am concerned and I cannot comment about what others are saying," he said. In the short term, the global uncertainty is affecting all software services companies but prospects are very good in the long term, Gopalakrishnan said.
Wipro and Cognizant, ranked just behind Infosys, said they are not burning the midnight oil by asking all their employees to work extra days. J P Morgan's George was of the view that Infosys risks annoying employees by asking them to sacrifice some Saturdays.
"There is also the aspect of staff humor and mood that needs managing. Infosys' quarterly annualised attrition should be a keenly-watched indicator in current and coming quarters," he wrote.
Sudin Apte from advisory firm Offshore Insights said the move may be intended to improve capacity utilisation in a tough environment. His organisation met nearly 300 clients of software services firms and came away with the impression that IT budgets in 2012-13 would shrink.
Global investors bet $1 billion on India's internet, mobile start-ups
Global investors have placed a billion dollar bet on India's Internet and mobile start-ups during 2011, reposing confidence in the fast-growing base of digital consumers in the country. Marquee venture capital and private equity investors made aggressive investments in start-ups - most of which are less than five-year old - as they backed the story of rising disposable income and Internet penetration.
These investors have already ploughed more than $900 million between January and November, while deals worth another $250 million could be clinched by December-end, said an Avendus Capital report titled 'India Goes Digital'. The boutique investment bank, with work expertise in internet and technology, said the domestic e-commerce market would quadruple to $24 billion by 2015.
These global investors are bullish on India's Internet economy even as there's a waning appetite for the core sector investments stymied by highinterest rates and lack of policy reforms. The belief in the Indian digital consumer story has been so robust that start-up ecommerce firms managed to raise follow-on investments within six months, at significantly higher valuations.
Online retail, or e-tailing, will lead the internet consumer story catching up with online travel, classifieds and advertising which dominate the digital consumer industry in India right now. E-tailing will develop into a $12 billion-strong business, accounting for half of the total e-commerce market in the next four years.
"The e-commerce sector has reached an inflection point this year and will surely surpass the online travel industry over the next few years. India's online story currently is where China was five to six years back," said Niren Shah, MD, Norwest Venture Partners. The Silicon Valley-based-VC just announced an investment of $5 million in a soon-to-be launched shopping portal, Pepperfry.com.
The number of deals more than doubled to 66 in the first 11 months with investors rushing to board the digital consumer story. The top e-commerce firms emerged as big advertisers and employed hundreds of courier boys in the most techsavvy neighborhoods to grow their businesses.
"There seems to be a belief that you need to start working with the online players early because if they might become expensive. But next year, valuations and deal flow is likely to temper as 2011 was an exceptionally aggressive year," said Prashant Prakash, partner at Accel Partners, a US-based VC fund with investments in Flipkart.com, LetsBuy.com and Exclusively.in.
India's emerging e-tailers are burning cash - many of them incurring heavy operational losses - to emerge winners in an industry that is poised for a shake-out and consolidation. "We see the potential for online retail in India become larger than that of online travel in next five years, perhaps by a factor of 2:1.
Regular commerce will create more transactions as compared to travel since consumers need regular things on an everyday basis unlike travel which is mostly driven out of necessity," said Mahesh Murthy, founder, Pinstorm, and co-founder , Seedfund. Globally, e-tailing has cornered 6% of the US and 4% of the China retail markets.
These investors have already ploughed more than $900 million between January and November, while deals worth another $250 million could be clinched by December-end, said an Avendus Capital report titled 'India Goes Digital'. The boutique investment bank, with work expertise in internet and technology, said the domestic e-commerce market would quadruple to $24 billion by 2015.
These global investors are bullish on India's Internet economy even as there's a waning appetite for the core sector investments stymied by highinterest rates and lack of policy reforms. The belief in the Indian digital consumer story has been so robust that start-up ecommerce firms managed to raise follow-on investments within six months, at significantly higher valuations.
Online retail, or e-tailing, will lead the internet consumer story catching up with online travel, classifieds and advertising which dominate the digital consumer industry in India right now. E-tailing will develop into a $12 billion-strong business, accounting for half of the total e-commerce market in the next four years.
"The e-commerce sector has reached an inflection point this year and will surely surpass the online travel industry over the next few years. India's online story currently is where China was five to six years back," said Niren Shah, MD, Norwest Venture Partners. The Silicon Valley-based-VC just announced an investment of $5 million in a soon-to-be launched shopping portal, Pepperfry.com.
The number of deals more than doubled to 66 in the first 11 months with investors rushing to board the digital consumer story. The top e-commerce firms emerged as big advertisers and employed hundreds of courier boys in the most techsavvy neighborhoods to grow their businesses.
"There seems to be a belief that you need to start working with the online players early because if they might become expensive. But next year, valuations and deal flow is likely to temper as 2011 was an exceptionally aggressive year," said Prashant Prakash, partner at Accel Partners, a US-based VC fund with investments in Flipkart.com, LetsBuy.com and Exclusively.in.
India's emerging e-tailers are burning cash - many of them incurring heavy operational losses - to emerge winners in an industry that is poised for a shake-out and consolidation. "We see the potential for online retail in India become larger than that of online travel in next five years, perhaps by a factor of 2:1.
Regular commerce will create more transactions as compared to travel since consumers need regular things on an everyday basis unlike travel which is mostly driven out of necessity," said Mahesh Murthy, founder, Pinstorm, and co-founder , Seedfund. Globally, e-tailing has cornered 6% of the US and 4% of the China retail markets.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Scooters India plans new launches
NEW DELHI: Aiming for a bigger market share, public sector auto maker Scooters India is exploring options to launch new products.
"Your company is evaluating various new product development options to cater to various market segments with a view to higher production and sales," Scooters India Ltd (SIL) said in its Annual Report for 2010-11.
It, however, did not share further details such as whether the products will be a three-wheeler or two-wheeler and when it is likely to be introduced in the market.
The company is planning new launches even as it has incurred losses for over nine years. It is also scouting for a buyer.
In the report, the company said it has not paid salaries to the tune of Rs 4.62 crore to its employees during the last financial year. It also defaulted in paying back Rs 14.42 crore of loans and interests to the government as on March 31 this year.
Talking about workers and its salaries, the auditors said in the report, "The company has made statutory contravention by defaulting on salary and wages amounting to Rs 294.45 lakh and therefore not depositing Rs 167.53 lakh of PF/pension to the trust/PF authorities."
The company accepted that its relationship with workers were not cordial during 2010-11 as it "continued to be under stress" due to non-fulfilment of employees' aspirations.
"The aspiration of employees regarding wage revision and retirement age could not be fulfilled due to company's poor financial health," it added.
The retirement age has been increased to 60 years now from 58 years earlier, it said.
Besides, the company has also defaulted in repayment of debt that was taken from the Central government.
"Due to continuing losses, the company has not repaid principal amount of Rs 787.20 lakh and interest of Rs 658.58 lakh as on March 31, 2011," SIL said.
It also defaulted in repaying the instalment of term loan of Rs 37.32 crore and interests of Rs 9.42 crore, payable to Government of India.
Earlier in May this year, the Cabinet had approved divestment of the government's entire 95.38 per cent stake in SIL, which has been suffering losses since 2002-03 and its entire networth completely eroded by 2008-09.
In March 2009, the company was declared sick and went to the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises ( BRPSE). As on 2010-11, it had a net loss of Rs 17.11 crore.
Incorporated in 1972, SIL started commercial production of scooters under the brand name of 'Vijai Super' for domestic market and 'Lambretta' for overseas market.
Later, it ventured into three-wheelers with the 'Vikram' brand. However, in 1997 the firm stopped two-wheeler production and has since been into manufacturing and marketing 3-wheelers only.
"Your company is evaluating various new product development options to cater to various market segments with a view to higher production and sales," Scooters India Ltd (SIL) said in its Annual Report for 2010-11.
It, however, did not share further details such as whether the products will be a three-wheeler or two-wheeler and when it is likely to be introduced in the market.
The company is planning new launches even as it has incurred losses for over nine years. It is also scouting for a buyer.
In the report, the company said it has not paid salaries to the tune of Rs 4.62 crore to its employees during the last financial year. It also defaulted in paying back Rs 14.42 crore of loans and interests to the government as on March 31 this year.
Talking about workers and its salaries, the auditors said in the report, "The company has made statutory contravention by defaulting on salary and wages amounting to Rs 294.45 lakh and therefore not depositing Rs 167.53 lakh of PF/pension to the trust/PF authorities."
The company accepted that its relationship with workers were not cordial during 2010-11 as it "continued to be under stress" due to non-fulfilment of employees' aspirations.
"The aspiration of employees regarding wage revision and retirement age could not be fulfilled due to company's poor financial health," it added.
The retirement age has been increased to 60 years now from 58 years earlier, it said.
Besides, the company has also defaulted in repayment of debt that was taken from the Central government.
"Due to continuing losses, the company has not repaid principal amount of Rs 787.20 lakh and interest of Rs 658.58 lakh as on March 31, 2011," SIL said.
It also defaulted in repaying the instalment of term loan of Rs 37.32 crore and interests of Rs 9.42 crore, payable to Government of India.
Earlier in May this year, the Cabinet had approved divestment of the government's entire 95.38 per cent stake in SIL, which has been suffering losses since 2002-03 and its entire networth completely eroded by 2008-09.
In March 2009, the company was declared sick and went to the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises ( BRPSE). As on 2010-11, it had a net loss of Rs 17.11 crore.
Incorporated in 1972, SIL started commercial production of scooters under the brand name of 'Vijai Super' for domestic market and 'Lambretta' for overseas market.
Later, it ventured into three-wheelers with the 'Vikram' brand. However, in 1997 the firm stopped two-wheeler production and has since been into manufacturing and marketing 3-wheelers only.
Ozone Pharmaceuticals signs marketing pact with Japanese firm Koboyashi
NEW DELHI: Ozone Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday said it has entered into a marketing pact with Japan-based Koboyashi Pharmaceuticals to strengthen its presence in the pain management segment in the country.
As part of the agreement, Ozone will launch Koboyashi's air activated heat packs under the brand name "DFO Care" in the Indian market.
"We have entered into an original exclusive manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Koboyashi under which we will get the product from Japan and market it in India," Ozone Group Chairman and Managing Director SC Sehgal told PTI.
Currently the company sells pharmaceutical products such as DFO gel and Axbex.
Commenting on the pact, Ozone Pharmaceuticals CEO A K Sahoo said: "In the initial phase the agreement is for two years in which we will market the brand on import license. The product will be called DFO Care as it will complement our brand equity".
The launch will augment our pain management segment in which we are the second largest brand in the country, he added.
The company, however, subsequently plans to manufacture and market the product within the country and in non-regulated markets outside.
"Subsequently a Joint Venture (JV) will be formed between the two companies. We intend having the complete management rights in India. We plan to have stake of up to 60 per cent in the joint venture. It is wiser for them and wiser for us," Sehgal said.
Under the JV, Ozone will get technology transfer from Japan to India and will manufacture and market the heat packs in the country.
"Koboyashi will retain the intellectual property rights (IPR) for the product and Ozone will have the manufacturing and marketing rights for India," Sahoo said.
The company is looking for annual revenue of up to Rs 10 crore from the product, he added.
The company claims the air active heat packs provide heat up to 12 hours to relieve aches and are easy and convenient to use as they can be used even under clothing.
The company's 'No Marks' brand has been in the market since 2001. It is also present in various therapeutic areas, including cardiology, diabetes and gynaecology.
As part of the agreement, Ozone will launch Koboyashi's air activated heat packs under the brand name "DFO Care" in the Indian market.
"We have entered into an original exclusive manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Koboyashi under which we will get the product from Japan and market it in India," Ozone Group Chairman and Managing Director SC Sehgal told PTI.
Currently the company sells pharmaceutical products such as DFO gel and Axbex.
Commenting on the pact, Ozone Pharmaceuticals CEO A K Sahoo said: "In the initial phase the agreement is for two years in which we will market the brand on import license. The product will be called DFO Care as it will complement our brand equity".
The launch will augment our pain management segment in which we are the second largest brand in the country, he added.
The company, however, subsequently plans to manufacture and market the product within the country and in non-regulated markets outside.
"Subsequently a Joint Venture (JV) will be formed between the two companies. We intend having the complete management rights in India. We plan to have stake of up to 60 per cent in the joint venture. It is wiser for them and wiser for us," Sehgal said.
Under the JV, Ozone will get technology transfer from Japan to India and will manufacture and market the heat packs in the country.
"Koboyashi will retain the intellectual property rights (IPR) for the product and Ozone will have the manufacturing and marketing rights for India," Sahoo said.
The company is looking for annual revenue of up to Rs 10 crore from the product, he added.
The company claims the air active heat packs provide heat up to 12 hours to relieve aches and are easy and convenient to use as they can be used even under clothing.
The company's 'No Marks' brand has been in the market since 2001. It is also present in various therapeutic areas, including cardiology, diabetes and gynaecology.
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