Airtel- Vodafone Deal

This strategic partnership caught my eyes today. India is well connotated as fastest developing telecommunication market. Vodafone interests in Bharti will be a symbiotic one. while bharti can establish 3G space with the help of vodafone, the latter got a sizable pie in India's telecom share. Sunil Mittal's turnaround story is an impressive one. (Will blog about his rags to riches story soon). He is great role model for all first generation entrepreuners. His business moves are closely watched by world Telcos. Bharti is first co to outsource the core teleco activities like switches maintanence and billing. Sunil always says about exiting Telecom field in his age of 50. Bharti is venturing to fresh vegetables market, infrastructure field. Its on diversifying spree. P/E of Bharti Televentures is around 150+, while rest of sensex shares are on industry average (17-20). Yesterday when Airtel-Vodafone deal was announced in the market, BTV's share rose among the free fall in prices of other sensex shares. (Sensex is in corrective mode now, due to "Foreign funds exodus" -courtesy ET).

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Retailer Watch - 1 : Casas Bahia

        World's top revenue earning company is a retailing firm (Wal-Mart). The revenue and growth potential even beats the petrochemicals industry. Last year, I read Sam Walton's "Made in America". The inspiration and management philosphies followed in retailing firm are very attractive. Growth potential is limitless;Your thoughts are your only limit. In Indian scenario, FoodWorld and Pantaloon's success shows the hidden potential of retailer market. In India, regional players and local players dominate the scene in their market. I wish to write a series of blogs on top world retail leaders' business strategy. This is about CASAS BAHIA, Brazilian.

        Heard about Casas Bahia from "Fortunes at BOP" book by CK Prahalad. Casa Bahia's business model revolves around easy financing. They are market leaders in Brazilian retailer market. Its finance arm extends credits to all commoners, not based on their earning potential. BOP customers see casas bahia as way to achieve their aim and not as a capitalist icon. (Lucky!). Passbook and EMI schemes are used extensively. The credit history decides their buying limit. Cross-selling for existing customers when they checkin for EMI payment also adds up revenue. Same kind of business plan is emplyed by retailers in Indian local market too with lesser scale. Wal-mart style discount shops with Casas Bahia style easy financing will be sur-shot business model for retailer in India.

 

   

 

 

 

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Humanity will NEVER die!

This happened when I was commuting to office today morning. In busy traffic signal, a school boy in bike hit the lady in bike before him. Accident happened in the busy office hours. Luckily none got seriously hurt. Before clock tick even few seconds, 3-4 people came to their rescue. Impulse with which people reacted and came to rescue is commendable. Showing compassion to fellow human beings only can nourish the Human spirit in world. Thanks chennaites for proving the " Humanity will NEVER die! ".

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AutoGiants Restructuring Strategy!

"Our industry is beginning a dramatic restructuring which is sorely needed." - Bill Ford

GM shown $1.5B losses in third Quarter 2005. Ford comes up with $284M losses.

GM The top line growth fall added up wih unavoidable bottom line economic crisis added to the woes. This year GM payed $2B to Fiat Auto to extricate itself from the deal to buy Fiat. Delphi, car-parts biz of GM, filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. GM is faced with high labour costs, it says $1500 in price of every new vehicle goes towards health care for past and present employees. Leading credit agencies downgrade its debts to "Junk" status.

Ford Motors Ford is also facing problems with intransigent unions. Ford plans to shutdown NorthAmerican factories in the January restructuring plan. Bill Ford has to tackle labour union leaders to go ahead with the restructuring plans.

However the detroit carmakers are circumventing the main problem: American market tilt towards japense automakers. In past, GM's sale has fall down by 25% and Gord by 20%

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This is how stock markets work!!!

It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was Going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared. But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He Went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is Going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service Responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more Wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it Going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's definitely going to be a very cold winter." The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect Every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you Absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely," The Man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever." "How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting wood like Crazy." This is how stock markets work!!!

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W. Chan Kim and Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy

Eagerly waiting to read this book on corporate strategy Here’s the editorial review from Publisher’s Weekly, which I grabbed from Amazon.com: “Kim and Mauborgne's blue ocean metaphor elegantly summarizes their vision of the kind of expanding, competitor-free markets that innovative companies can navigate. Unlike ‘red oceans,’ which are well explored and crowded with competitors, ‘blue oceans’ represent ‘untapped market space’ and the ‘opportunity for highly profitable growth.’ The only reason more big companies don't set sail for them, they suggest, is that ‘the dominant focus of strategy work over the past twenty-five years has been on competition-based red ocean strategies’ - i.e., finding new ways to cut costs and grow revenue by taking away market share from the competition. With this groundbreaking book, Kim and Mauborgne-both professors at France's Insead, the second largest business school in the world, aim to repair that bias. Using dozens of examples-from Southwest Airlines and the Cirque du Soleil to Curves and Starbucks-they present the tools and frameworks they've developed specifically for the task of analyzing blue oceans. They urge companies to ‘value innovation’ that focuses on ‘utility, price, and cost positions,’ to ‘create and capture new demand’ and to ‘focus on the big picture, not the numbers.’ And while their heavyweight analytical tools may be of real use only to serious strategy planners, their overall vision will inspire entrepreneurs of all stripes, and most of their ideas are presented in a direct, jargon-free manner. Theirs is not the typical business management book's vague call to action; it is a precise, actionable plan for changing the way companies do business with one resounding piece of advice: swim for open waters.”

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A FRIEND IN ME

Here is one classic poem from my cousin. Tht it to be a good one to publish in my blog. A FRIEND IN ME - By Prassana As yet another day of life shall dawn I am fuelled up and gather my brawn All alone at work with no one to blend So in me, I call upon a very old friend! Hours pass us by as we work and sweat In each other’s presence time is unfelt I share with you things under my mask It is the light of truth in which we bask! Our scape of the world is very colorful Yet, the integrity of ethos is beautiful My perception is illusive and aritificial Your divinity penetrates the superficial! I lose control in the clutches of impulse You strengthen me as all ill you repulse In state of perplexity my path becomes hazy But you are my sunlight and I am your daisy! One morning I set to bring you into my life Because the reasons I need you are rife And my exploration unraveled the mystery That you my dear friend is GOD in me !!!

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Contact Lens Industry - overivew

OptiStock MarketWatch - Contact Lens Report - November 2002: "Robert Baird & Co" Nice article to read about optical lens industry and its market!

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Fortune 500 in 2004

List of Fortune 500 companies in 2004. 1. Ofocurse WALMART with US $ 260B. .... 14. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, 28, $63.859 ... 46. Microsoft, US $46B ... 425.Starbucks Corp., Seattle, $4.0755

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About Lenovo - India

About Lenovo - India Lenova- IBM's PC Merger partner! One more rags to riches story and first generation entrepreuners to get world market with surprise!! Kudos!

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