Thought of the Day:
“When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.”
Victor Hugo
Did you know?
Adolf Hitler was chosen Time Magazine’s 1938 ‘Man of the Year’.
India:
International:
“When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.”
Victor Hugo
Did you know?
Adolf Hitler was chosen Time Magazine’s 1938 ‘Man of the Year’.
India:
- Pantaloons Fashion to add 18 stores in 2014-15 fiscal: Pantaloons Fashion & Retail is pushing for an aggressive expansion of its network across the country by opening 18 new stores in 2014-15 fiscal. The company, which has now become part of Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL), plans to add a new store every three weeks in the next financial year. "In financial year 2014-15, we would accelerate the expansion and add a new store every three week. We have a target of opening up to 18 new stores," Pantaloons Fashion and Retail CEO Shital Mehta told PTI. In 2013-14 fiscal, the company had opened 12 new stores across the country. Pantaloons is planning to expand in the tier-II and tier-III cities of the country and to set up a nation wide network, he added. "We would be opening at tier-II and tier-III places like Hubli, Kalyan, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Jammu, Vijayawada, Jamshedpur and Gangtok in the next financial year. Moreover, we would also add multiple stores in existing cities," said Mehta. It spends up to 5 crore to open a new store, he said. Moreover, the company would also spend between 30-40 crore on upgrading and renovating its old existing stores. "We would be investing about 120 crore for stores in 2014-15 fiscal," he said.
- Costa Coffee may end franchisee arrangement with Indian partner Devyani International: British coffee retail chain Costa Coffee may end its 'exclusive' franchisee arrangement with Devyani International after the Indian partner refused to commit more investments in a slowing economy to a business that has not yet turned in net profits. Costa Coffee, which entered India in 2005 through an exclusive deal with the Ravi Jaipuria Group firm, is likely to appoint other franchisees as well to grow the business rapidly. Global brands that run businesses through franchisee operations earn 3-6% of revenues as royalty for using the brand, and hence push for higher revenues. An official close to the firm also said Santhosh Unni, CEO at Costa Coffee India, has put in his papers, but the resignation has not yet been accepted. Saurabh Swarup, the UK company's marketing head for Middle East & North Africa (MENA), Southeast Asia and India, too has exited as his contract had ended, the person said. A detailed email query to Costa Coffee UK sent on Friday elicited no response till late on Sunday. RP Gandhi, president and group CFO at RJ Corp, which owns Devyani International (DIL), said the two partners will meet soon to decide whether DIL will remain Costa Coffee's exclusive franchisee. "Costa Coffee UK wants to discuss the same, for which a meeting has been fixed," he said. Andy Marshall, Costa Coffee's managing director for international franchise, is flying into India in April to discuss the matter with DIL officials, said an official close to the company.
- India Ranked Fifth in Global Rich List: India is home to the fifth largest group of billionaires in the world and Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is the country’s richest man with a personal fortune of $18 billion, says a report. According to China-based research firm Hurun’s 2014 global rich list, Mukesh Ambani was ranked 41st in the list that was topped by Bill Gates, whose personal networth stood at a whopping $68 billion. Other noted Indians in the list include Lakshmi N Mittal ranked 49th with a personal net worth of $17 billion. Dilip Sanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Wipro’s Azim Premji both ranked 77th with a personal wealth of $13.5 billion each. Tata Sons’ Pallonji Mistry ranked 93rd with a personal wealth of $12 billion. SP Hinduja & family was ranked 93rd on the list, with a net worth of $12 billion. In the global rich list, Gates was followed by Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett (2nd) with a personal wealth of $64 billion and Amancio Ortega of Inditex was ranked 3rd with $62 billion fortune. The fourth position was claimed by Carlos Slim Helu & family ($ 60 billion) while Oracle’s Larry Ellison with $60 billion was ranked fifth.
- Being Human: Salman Khan’s apparel brand raked up sales of Rs 179 crore in its first year: After delivering a series of Rs100-crore blockbuster films, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has come up with yet another Rs150-crore-plus super hit. And this time, it's not a film, but his apparel brand Being Human. The brand , born out of Khan's philanthropic initiative, achieved retail sales of over Rs179 crore in 2013, its first calendar year after launch. "Brand Salman is a major factor that defines the success story of Being Human clothing. It is his huge following that has driven the sales to such a level in just one year of its launch in India," said Manish Mandhana, joint managing director at Mandhana Industries, which holds exclusive worldwide licence to design, manufacture, retail and distribute the brand. The royalties received on the sale of this fashion line go to support the education and healthcare initiatives of the Being Human The Salman Khan Foundation. While annual sales of Being Human have surpassed box office collections of all Salman Khan films except Ek Tha Tiger, which grossed Rs198 crore, some experts feel the performance of this clothing line is closely aligned to the commercial success of Salman Khan, who has incidentally broken several box-office records in the last three years. "The brand has to outlive Salman Khan in the long run. It will also depend on how Salman Khan's films fare in the next five years," film critic Komal Nahta said.
- Delhi hotels one of the worst-rated in world: Hotels in Delhi are considered as one of the worst in the world as per the trivago Reputation Ranking of 100 destinations which places them in the 90th position, while those in Mumbai have fared better. The ranking is based on over 82 million reviews compiled by trivago from over 200 online booking websites. Trivago is the world's largest online hotel search site which compares rates at over 700,000 hotels on over 200 booking sites worldwide. "The national capital lands on the bottom of the list of 100 destinations...Mumbai took the 65th position with a score of 78.90 per cent, whereas Delhi was placed on the 90th position in the list with a score of 77.70 per cent," a recent trivago Reputation Ranking report said. It considers hotels with over 60 reviews and cities with over 130 hotels. Many other Asian destinations, including Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Pattaya (Thailand) and Manila (Philippines), are at the bottom of the list. Kuala Lumpur was ranked 94, Pattaya (Thailand) 95, Singapore 97, Bandung (Indonesia) 98, Jakarta (Indonesia) 99 and Manila (Philippines) 100. The bottom list also included Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (91) which is hosting the football world cup this year, while the vaunted Paris is in the 92nd position. Hotels in Sorrento in Italy topped the list, followed by Dresden (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Siem Reap (Cambodia). Polish hotels dominate the top ten, with Gdansk at third, Krakow at sixth and Warsaw (the Polish capital) at the ninth position.
- ‘One scientific reason behind men shopping quickly is that they don’t know any better: The other day I was out on a hunt. After spending hours looking high and low, irritating more than a few souls i still returned empty-handed. I may not have got the handbag i wanted but i had the satisfaction of not being conned by those shady shopkeepers who tried palming off one that was an inch smaller or a tad shinier than what i wanted. When hubby goes shopping, he comes back with something , 'in record time' as he's fond of reminding all around. What happens to the booty later is another matter altogether. You know the anticipation a wife feels when her husband returns from a long trip? I used to be that idiot who'd unpack hubby's bag with high expectations. The first time he returned from Mumbai the land of latest trends he brought two lengths of cloth for me, his then brand-new wife. Thoughtful, you say? Hold that thought. Both the colours he bought were the only shades of rainbow that i don't wear. And the icing on the cake was that he bought them in identical design, 'Why waste time on searching another one when i liked this one?' is his irrefutable reasoning. Next time he brought two saris. Both more in accordance with his milky white sister's complexion than my dusky lustre. You see a ploy here? I did too, but decided to give both hubby and didi the benefit of doubt. But i did forbid him from buying anything for me without me by his side. There is a reason why we women tend to be fussy while our better halves are fast shoppers. Shopping for us is the pursuit of perfection, not just a chore it is for men. I guess one scientific reason behind men shopping quickly is that they don't know any better. Take hubby, for example, any smart salesman can convince him that black, navy and off-white are unique 'English' colours. Which is why all the trousers he has are in these unique colours.This eventually convinced me of his innocence, when he bought those unsuitable saris, he just didn't know his teal from his turquoise. This also somewhat explains why while wooing men always promise us the moon and the stars they're far less confusing than buying the right colour for the lady! – Madhumita Gupta.
International:
- Versace Plots Growth and Eyes IPO by 2020: So proclaimed Versace chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris in describing the brand’s growth potential during an interview on Thursday to discuss the sale of a 20 percent stake in the Milan-based fashion house to Blackstone Group that valued the company at 1 billion euros, or $1.37 billion. Through the New York-based fund’s total contribution of 210 million euros, or $287.7 million at current exchange, Versace now has the means to fully develop the brand around the world, said Ferraris, leveraging the signature label’s “hot moment” now. The ultimate goal, he noted, is to publicly list the firm in three to five years. The deal was struck between Blackstone and Gianni Versace SpA, which is entirely controlled by GiVi Holding. Blackstone will own 20 percent of Versace SpA, with GiVi Holding maintaining the balance. Following the deal, Blackstone will inject 150 million euros, or $205.8 million, of fresh capital into the company and will acquire 60 million euros, or $82.3 million, in stock from GiVi Holding SpA. Allegra Versace Beck will retain a 50 percent stake, Santo Versace a 30 percent stake and Donatella Versace 20 percent in GiVi Holding. The Versaces’ stakes will not vary, as they will continue to own 100 percent of GiVi Holding and thus 80 percent of Versace SpA, since it was GiVi Holding that sold the Versace shares to Blackstone. It is understood that Versace SpA is the company that will eventually go public.
- Retail Recon | Korea’s Tom Greyhound Lands in Paris: The Marais, the Paris neighborhood once known for its splendid hôtels particuliers, thriving Jewish population and elegant art galleries, is, today, in the final cycles of its rebirth as one of this city’s premier shopping neighborhoods. Replacing apothecaries, bookstores and boulangeries is an unabating influx of fashion and beauty brands aiming to capitalize on the quarter’s historic charm and the kind of foot traffic that makes this one of the few areas in Paris that is bustling even on a Sunday. Significantly, the shifts also point toward the city’s increasing internationalization. Indeed, not only are many of the brands opening stores in the area foreign, but they cater largely to the flows of foreign tourists who visit Paris year-round and for whom shopping for international luxury brands has become as important as traditional sightseeing. But compared to global fashion capitals like New York and London, the city’s retail landscape still feels limited, repetitive and at least a little dated. Which makes the latest addition to the Marais all the more welcome. Not surprisingly, it’s an international arrival. Tom Greyhound — the multi-brand designer concept store which runs a successful boutique in the South Korean capital of Seoul and is owned by the Hyundai Department Store Group — has chosen the Marais as the site for its first store outside of Korea, which opened yesterday.
- Jos. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse to Begin Talks: Advisers for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. and The Men’s Wearhouse Inc. are set to begin discussions regarding a possible combination of the two chains. Douglas Ewert, chief executive officer and president of Men’s Wearhouse, in a written response Friday to the letter sent by Jos. A. Bank chairman Robert Wildrick a day earlier, said he would be returning a signed confidentiality agreement, with a few minor changes, to his competitor as the first step before discussions and due diligence can begin.
- More than $1 billion worth of Apple TVs sold in 2013: CEO Tim Cook: Apple Inc sold more than $1 billion of Apple TV set-top boxes in 2013 and is investing heavily in the next generation of products, Chief Executive Tim Cook said at the company's annual meeting on Friday. Apple's ability to again transform the fast-moving technology arena is the central question in investors' and Silicon Valley executives' minds as the company's growth slows, and rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Google Inc take chunks out of its market share. Industry executives and Apple observers continue to believe that the company will come up with some sort of wearable device, like a smartwatch, and speculation persists about a long-rumored TV product of some sort to shake up the living room viewing experience. "We're working on some things that are extensions of things you can see and some that you can't see," Cook said at the annual meeting, referring to a 32 percent increase in research and development costs last year. Responding to a question about innovation, Cook said Apple preferred not to talk about new products under development so as not to tip off the competition. "You can see we're getting ripped off left, right and sideways," he said. Apple's shares fell 0.27 percent to close at $526.24 on Friday. They have clawed back substantial ground since falling below $400 in June, but remain well below the record-high $700 level of 2012, weighed by concerns about whether the company has any new hit products in the pipeline.
- Old Navy Taps Sarah Holme for Women's Design: Old Navy has brought on Sarah Holme as vice president of women’s design, a key role of heightened significance in light of the brand’s accelerating overseas expansion and development of “a global collection.” “Essentially, it’s one broad line that each of the countries selects from,” said Jill Stanton, the chain’s executive vice president of global product design and development, describing the global collection. Old Navy’s first store in China opened Saturday on Shanghai’s Nanjing West Road. Simultaneous with the opening, Old Navy, which is a 1,000-unit division of Gap Inc., launched a dedicated e-commerce site for China. The plan is to open a total of five stores in China in fiscal 2014. Inclement weather didn’t stop a crowd of umbrella-wielding shoppers from descending on the Shanghai flagship opening. “This is it! China is where the apparel growth is and bringing Old Navy here is a central part of our global strategy,” Robert Frank, Old Navy’s executive vice president of international, said. “This is the hopping off point to make it work for the rest of Asia.”
- Retail Stocks Gain 0.3: The S&P 500 Retailing Industry Group gained 0.3 percent to 936.82 today, rising in lockstep with the market despite a report showing slower economic growth in the fourth quarter than previously projected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3 percent to 16,323.38. Among the fashion-industry gainers were Tumi Holdings Inc., up 10.3 percent to $22.16, The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., 3.1 percent to $10.86, and Target Corp., 3.1 percent to $62.54. Sears Holdings Corp. also rose, gaining 4.1 percent to $44.75 despite a report that the company had possibly had a data breach. And The Men's Wearhouse Inc. increased 6.7 percent to $53.79 while Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. gained 3 percent to $62.08. After months of back and forth, the two companies are set to finally begin talks about a possible combination. The overall gains were a sign that investors are more interested in looking forward more than back. The Commerce Department said fourth-quarter gross domestic produce rose at an annual rate of 2.4 percent, versus the third quarter, which marks a slow down from the 4.1 percent growth seen for the quarter last month. In Europe, markets were mostly in positive territory at the close of trading. The DAX in Frankfurt climbed 1.1 percent to 9,692.08, followed by the FTSE MIB in Milan, up 0.6 percent to 20,442.41, and the CAC 40 in Paris, which rose 0.3 percent to 4,408.08. TheFTSE 100 in London, however, ended flat at 6,809.70. Those on the rise in the fashion set included Debenhams, up 2.7 percent to 0.75 pounds; Burberry, 1.3 percent to 15.41 pounds, and Next, 1.4 percent to 67.35 pounds. The decliners included Asos.com, down 0.3 percent to 69.60 pounds; French Connection, 0.9 percent to 53 pence; Moncler, 0.7 percent to 13.27 euros, and Safilo Group, 2.7 percent to 16.05 euros. The pound traded for $1.67 against the U.S. dollar, while the euro went for $1.37 and the Hong Kong dollar changed hands for 13 cents.
Currency:
· 1 USD= ₹ 61.854
· 1 EUR= ₹ 85.212
· 1 GBP= ₹ 103.568
· 1 AUD= ₹ 55.166
Glitter Meter: India
Gold (INR/10g) | Silver (INR/kg) | |||
City | Current | Change | Current | Change |
Chennai | 30670.00 | -130 | 47160.00 | -265 |
Mumbai | 30190.00 | -120 | 47160.00 | -265 |
Delhi | 29940.00 | -130 | 47160.00 | -265 |
Kolkata | 30070.00 | -120 | 47160.00 | -265 |
World Indices:
Exchange | Last | Change |
DJIA | 16321.71 | +49.06 |
FTSE 100 | 6809.70 | -0.57 |
CAC 40 | 4408.08 | +11.69 |
DAX | 9692.08 | +103.75 |
Nikkei | 14581.83 | -259.24 |
Hang Seng | 22675.89 | -161.07 |
Sensex | 21086.80 | -33.32 |
NASDAQ | 4308.12 | -10.81 |
*Disclaimer:
World One Consulting Pvt Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this newsletter including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals.
World One Consulting Pvt Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this newsletter including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals.