Thought of the Day:
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Napoleon Hill
Did you know?
Over 900 workers have already died preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
India:
Did you know?
Over 900 workers have already died preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
India:
- Vinita Bali Steps Down as Britannia MD: Vinita Bali has stepped down as the managing director of Britannia Industries after nine years at the helm. Varun Berry, current chief operating officer of the Nusli Wadiacontrolled biscuit company, will succeed her. “I chose to retire because I was clear that I wanted to do something different for the next 20 years. I am moving from one full-time role to fulltime many roles,” said Bali who was the first woman to head a major consumer goods company in India, back in 2005. A company statement said Bali, 58, will retire at the end of this fiscal year to pursue a variety of roles in the corporate and development sectors. She will continue to serve on the boards of the other Wadia Group firms such as Bombay Dyeing, Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation and Go Airlines. The announcement was made after market hours. Earlier in the day, Britannia share price dropped 0.47% to close at . 841.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange while the benchmark Sensex index closed 0.27% lower. ET was the first to report Bali’s plans to move on, in January. Britannia’s change at the helm comes at a time when the company prepares to chart a new growth strategy, with focus on high-margin products and innovations amid stiff competition from ITC, Parle and Danone.
- Marico elevates Saugata Gupta as Managing Director and CEO: FMCG firm Marico on Tuesday announced a top level management change with Saugata Gupta being elevated as Managing Director. Gupta, the current CEO will assume the role of MD and CEO from April 1, while Harsh Mariwala who has been the Chairman and MD will continue as the chairman of the company. "Gupta will be inducted into the company's board of directors effective April 1, 2014. Harsh Mariwala will continue as Chairman," , Marico Ltd said in a filing to the BSE. The above changes are subject to approval by the shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting of the company, the company said. "This announcement reflects the next phase of Marico's growth journey. Under Gupta's leadership, Marico has had a track record of sustainable profitable growth...I am confident that we will achieve new heights under the leadership of Saugata and his team," Mariwala said. Gupta joined Marico in January 2004 as head of Marketing, and in 2007 was elevated as CEO of the company's India business.
- One-third of mall tenants shift focus to tier II, tier III towns as vacancy levels hit roof due to high rentals in metros: ASSOCHAM: Under the pressure of high rentals and low footfalls, one-third of retail tenants at Indian shopping malls in large cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata are shifting in tier-II & III cities, according to a report by ASSOCHAM released today. As per the estimates by ASSOCHAM, roughly 300-350 malls came up in the country over the last two years but 75-80% of the spaces in these malls lie vacant. Around the same time, as many as 95 malls have shut shop, according to the ASSOCHAM latest paper: "Shopping malls increasingly loosing shine in big cities". Lower operational costs, lesser competition, and novelty values still left in these cities are the major motivating factors for the malls to shift focus to these cities according to Rana Kapoor, President of ASSOCHAM. Other cities on the radar are Goa, Kochi, Vijayawada, Visakha-patnam, Mysore, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Surat according to the ASSOCHAM paper. The shopping trends in metro cities have influenced consumer behaviour in tier- II and tier-III cities that are now witnessing major shift from conventional trader-run standalone shops to larger format retail malls. This trend is also influenced by the fact that these towns lie in close vicinity to cash-rich rural population which frequents the malls for urban amenities (air-conditioned ambience etc) and shopping as well as entertainment.
- Realty Cos Take Legal Route to Challenge Brand Infringement: Real estate developers in India have started challenging possible infringement of their brand names established over the years, joining their counterparts in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and consumer goods that are known to make serious efforts to promote and protect their distinctive identities. Developers including Hiranandani, Orbit, Kalpataru and HCC have reacted swiftly in recent days to protect their brands. Real estate tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani moved the court to prevent his daughter Priya Hiranandani Vandrevala from using the name 'Hiranandani' in her business. The developer has also sought 50 crore as compensation for damage caused by alleged infringement of copyright and trademark by Hiranandani Living (HLPL). In another such instance, Mumbai-based Orbit Corp managed an out-of-court settlement after filing a 500-crore infringement suit against its namesake company. "How could we allow someone to dilute our brand? We are a listed company on stock exchange. We have the registered trademark for our brand and have been using the name since 1973," said Pujit Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive of Orbit Corp.
- Gurgaon gets its very own Fashion Week; to see its edition from April 17-20: The Millenium City of Gurgaon will see its edition of the Gurgaon Fashion Week take place from April 17-20, this year. Spread over four days, the first of its kind mega event will see names like Ritu Kumar, Surveen Chawla, Panache By Aarja and many more showcase their collections. The event also promises surplus opportunity to accelerate trade through the presence of buyers as well as throw the limelight on the hottest trends this season. With about 14-16 fashion shows on the anvil, the designer labels on the list also include Pooja and Urvika, 09 by Janhavi Gupta, Reet/Homesaaz by Kaveri Batla, Kavita Tulsiani, Umaarth by Shagun, Shaa by Shweta and Red Paws Rescue, an NGO that will be making their presence felt through booths, fashion shows or both. Besides, BMW, Elle, Kanishq Bhardwaj, Har-yarn, Rivayat bu Meera & Rohit, Budweiser, Bar-Devils, Juvalia & You, Wess (NGO) and Biba are the brands lending their names to the event. The GFW will also create a window of exposure for not only designers and retailers but even models, make-up artists, hair stylists, choreographers and manufacturers in raising professional standards as well as facilitating mutually beneficial tie ups with similar councils in fashion hubs and businesses.
International:
- E-commerce to drive German retail sales growth in 2014- GfK: A 25 percent surge in online sales will more than compensate for a one percent drop in trade at German shops this year, according to researchers at GfK, underscoring the shift to e-commerce in Europe's largest economy. Retail sales are likely to rise 1.2 percent overall in nominal terms, which will yield a lower growth rate after discounting for inflation, the GfK said in a release on Monday. Despite the drop in shop sales, turnover at conventional retailers is still likely to provide around 10 times more business than e-commerce, generating 408 billion euros compared with 47.5 billion. "The forecasted retail turnover reflects changing consumer behaviour," GfK market data expert Simone Baecker-Neuchl said. "The online boom also offers opportunities to stationary retail. But small retailers in particular face significant challenges."
- Marks & Spencer to lose two experienced executives: Marks and Spencer said on Tuesday that two of its most experienced directors would leave the business this summer. Both Darrell Stein and Clem Constantine, directors of IT and property respectively, have been with M&S since 2006, according to the company's website. "Their roles have significantly changed recently; Darrell developed our new e-commerce platform, which has now been delivered and, as announced at our interims, we will be putting on less GM space, which changes our property focus," an M&S spokeswoman said. Industry data showed last week that M&S had lost share in the British fashion market over the last three months, piling pressure on Chief Executive Marc Bolland, who has presided over 10 straight quarters of declining underlying sales in M&S's general merchandise division.
- Tom Ford Launches E-Commerce: Tom Ford, a man once suspicious of people’s need for instant fashion on the Internet, has unveiled phase one of his first e-commerce site, a slick, user-friendly operation that, for the moment, stocks beauty and accessories only. The site, which launched Tuesday, puts arresting imagery front and center: The landing page spotlights a tastefully nude model wearing only black leather sandals and a leather messenger bag, while a Pinterestlike series of images allows visitors to navigate their way to news and the collections. The shopping areas themselves are also led by bold photography. Those browsing lipstick shades can look at a grid of images featuring a model’s mouth painted in Ford’s myriad lip colors. Some of the mouths even come to life, as the model pouts, blows a kiss or bites her lip.
- Retail Sales Slipped Last Week: The pace of retail sales softened last week, producing inconsistent results by channel and the first sequential decline in four weeks. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs’ weekly chain store sales index, retail sales for the week ended Saturday declined 1.5 percent from the prior week while rising 1.7 percent against the comparable week of 2013. “Sales on a year-over-year basis were a tad stronger, though segment demand was mixed across retail categories,” said Michael Niemira, vice president of research and chief economist for ICSC. He added that dollar and electronics stores experienced “strong improvement” last week, while apparel stores and discounters showed improvement when measured on a year-over-year basis. “However, business was softer than the same week of the prior year for grocery, drug, department and furniture stores and wholesale clubs,” he added. Demand in the Northeast was softer than in other regions, he noted. The weekly report cited a pickup in promotional activity through the SaleTally-ICSC Promotions Index, with discounts running about 2 percentage points higher than in the prior week at department and specialty stores.
- Study Details Chinese Taste in Luxury: For the most affluent Chinese luxury consumers, it’s the idea of craftsmanship that most defines luxury, ahead of the concepts of high price and status. That’s according to a report by the market research company Mintel will release Wednesday. The firm said that of the Chinese luxury consumers it interviewed, 71 percent of those with a household income of over 25,000 renminbi, or $4,064 a month, defined luxury as “craftsmanship,” a ten percent increase on those luxury consumers earning between 20,000 and 25,000 renminbi, or between $3,251 and $4,064, a month. The lower the luxury consumers’ income, the more they associated luxury with the ideas of “status” and “extravagance,” Mintel said. 53 percent of those luxury consumers with incomes between 20,000 and 25,000 renminbi a month said status was a consideration when making luxury purchases, compared to 48 percent of those earning over 25,000 renminbi a month. And when Mintel asked if consumers saw “extravagance” as being central to a luxury good’s definition, the proportion who agreed was greatest — at 53 percent — in those consumers who had a monthly household income of between 12,000 and 18,000 renminbi, or between $1,950 and $2,926.
- Consumer Confidence Improved in March: Consumers were feeling a little more upbeat in the last few weeks. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose in March, after a decrease in February. The Index is now at 82.3, up from 78.3 last month. The Present Situation portion dipped to 80.4 from 81, while the Expectations component rose to 83.5 from 76.5. Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said, "Consumer confidence improved in March, as expectations for the short-term outlook bounced back from February’s decline."
Currency:
· 1 USD= ₹ 60.281
· 1 EUR= ₹ 83.274
· 1 GBP= ₹ 99.668
· 1 AUD= ₹ 55.199
Glitter Meter: India
Gold (INR/10g) | Silver (INR/kg) | |||
City | Current | Change | Current | Change |
Chennai | 29400.00 | -350 | 44020.00 | -285 |
Mumbai | 28930.00 | -350 | 44020.00 | -285 |
Delhi | 28700.00 | -340 | 44020.00 | -285 |
Kolkata | 28820.00 | -340 | 44020.00 | -285 |
World Indices:
Exchange | Last | Change |
DJIA | 16367.88 | +91.19 |
FTSE 100 | 6604.89 | +84.50 |
CAC 40 | 4344.12 | +67.78 |
DAX | 9338.40 | +149.63 |
Nikkei | 14456.83 | +33.64 |
Hang Seng | 21931.39 | +199.07 |
Sensex | 22055.21 | -0.27 |
NASDAQ | 4234.27 | +7.88 |
*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.