Thought of the Day:
“The older I got, the smarter my teachers became”
-Ally Carter
Today in History:
1953 - 1st privately operated atomic reactor-Raleigh, NC
Following made the Headlines:
India:
- Employees Rejoice as HNIs Tank up on Unlisted Shares: Big bucks from share sales are not just made in the stock market. Employees, especially those working for financial services and ecommerce companies, have started making a killing though their companies are not yet listed. In the past few months, shares of some of India Inc's biggest financial services firms have changed hands in off-market deals as high net worth individuals and brokers chase investment opportunities in companies with a high probability of listing within the next three years. Traditionally, an employee or a small shareholder of an unlisted company had limited options in case of an exit. They could wait for an IPO or sell it back to the management in case there was a buyback arrangement. With the emergence of wealth management firms and the rise in the number of high net worth individuals, these options have increased. The trend, which began with financial services companies, is now extending to ecommerce firms such as Snapdeal. “In the unlisted space, there's a huge appetite among HNIs to own firms that are not represented in the listed space,“ says Rajesh Cheruvu, chief investment officer, RBS Private Banking. Anshu Kapoor, head of private wealth management at Edelweiss Capital, says many HNI family offices are scouting for opportunities in sunrise sectors such as mobile applications, healthcare and telecom. A look at some recent deals shows employees and other residual shareholders of financial services companies to be among the big beneficiaries. For instance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance had offered Esops in various tranches of Rs 30, Rs 42, Rs 70 and Rs 130 in 2005-09. These shares have now changed hands at Rs 210-225 giving a 300% return to the selling employees. Shares of Kolhapur-based Ratnakar Bank were recently sold at Rs 170, a 209% gain for employees who bought at Rs 52-55. In March, private equity fund CDC acquired a 4.8% stake in the lender at Rs 128.1 a share, valuing the bank at Rs 3,500 crore. That’s risen to Rs 4,625 crore based on the latest transactions. Employees of HDFC Standard Life exercised their Esops at Rs 28.36 apiece in March 2012 and Rs 27.37 in March 2014.
- USL Logs Rs5kcr Loss on W&M Sale Writeoffs: After postponing its results thrice, United Spirits on Thursday posted a loss of Rs 5,380 crore for the March quarter, largely because of write-downs related to the sale of its Whyte & Mackay whisky business. Net sales for the quarter rose 2.7% to Rs.1,917 crore, W&M covered significant markets accounting for nearly 18% of the group's income that is now qualified as discontinuing operations. United Spirits, which is now controlled by Diageo Plc, said it took a write-down of Rs. 4,321.6 crore in the quarter. Declared a willful defaulter by United Bank of India, UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya, who is also the chairman of USL, on Thursday threatened legal action against the lender. “We were not given a hearing, we have not appeared before them, we disagree with their action and we shall pursue legal action,“ Mallya told reporters after the annual general meeting of United Breweries. “I have great faith in the judicial system of our country and as I have said, I will pursue the legal remedies that are available to me,“ he added. Reacting to the result, USL shares closed at Rs. 2,390 on Thursday, down 0.37%. The stock has been an underperformer this year, falling 8.3% against the BSE FMCG Index's gain of 13.86%. “USL Q4FY14 results are below expectations after adjusting for the exceptional item also. The earnings miss was more on the margins front, the staff cost has been a big negative which increased by 83% year-on-year,“ global brokerage house UBS said in a note. United Spirits, the country's largest liquor company and the maker of McDowell's No 1 and Royal Challenge whisky, took a hit of 3,690 crore to its net worth as the funds it earned from the sale of W&M business fell short of the loan it had taken for its acquisition during 2007. In June this year, USL had warned that Rs 4,042 crore from the sale of Whyte & Mackay will be insufficient to repay the Intra-USL loan of Rs 4,793 crore. In an over-leveraged deal, USL had acquired W&M for $1.2 billion and sold it to a unit of Philippine's Emperador Inc for $729 million.
- NRN Regains No. 1 Spot in India’s Most Powerful CEOs List: Last year, there was a chorus of disapproval when NR Narayana Murthy returned from an emeritus role to take charge as executive chairman of Infosys, with son Rohan designated as his executive assistant. As it turned out, Murthy's term ended in about a year, wrapped up neatly with the appointment of his company's first `outside' CEO. Corporate India has endorsed Murthy's performance the second time round at Infosys by voting him No. 1 in the ‘India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs' listing. Murthy displaces last year's No.1 Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, who slips to 2. Now in its 10th year, The Economic Times India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs listing is based on a survey conducted by IMRB International. For more on the list of India's Most Powerful Chief Executives, please go to economictimes.indiatimes.commagazinescorporate-dossier More than 500 corporate executives of the rank of vice-president, general manager and above are asked to evaluate CEOs on parameters such as performance, leadership, stature, social contribution and governance. Murthy topped the rankings for the first three years of the survey, then ceded the position to Ratan Tata, who held it for three years in a row. But Murthy has always remained in the top three, until he was dropped as a contender when he took a back-seat at Infosys and KV Kamath was appointed chairman of Infosys in 2011. Now designated non-executive chairman, Murthy is back to playing a handsoff role. “Infosys is like my middle child, so when the board invited me to return and add value to the company, I could not say no, though some people said there would be no upside for me in this,“ he says. “Leadership is about doing the right thing, even if it means going against a vast number of naysayers and mediocre people.“ The Most Powerful CEOs listing is based largely on the ET 500, so a large turnover, asset base and market capitalisation definitely enhance a CEO's chances of making it to the top of the class. At No. 7, ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar is the highest ranking woman. In a top10 dominated by promoters -Kumar Mangalam Birla, Azim Premji, Anil Ambani, Anand Mahindra --she is also the highest-ranked professional CEO, followed by Natarajan Chandrasekaran of TCS, who is at No. 9. “I've probably been voted in because of my job. Banks are the catalyst for the country's economic growth and have the capability to make an impact. That would be the reason why bank CEOs would be considered powerful,“ Kochhar says.
- Makaibari cuppa at Cognac's price: A special lot of handcrafted tea from the 155-year-old Makaibari Tea Estate in Kurseong sold recently for $1,850 (around Rs 1.11 lakh) a kg, thus becoming the most expensive Indian tea ever sold. Three buyers from UK, USA and Japan bought 20 kg of the Silver Tips imperial organic tea to sell to select buyers. For the end-buyers, this tea will cost nothing less than Rs 700 a cup if brewed at home. And if you fancy a cup of the Makaibari tea at a five-star hotel, it would set you back by Rs 4,500-5,000 -the same as a peg of a rare Scotch, like Blue Label Limited Edition or a Remy Martin Cognac. Rudra Chatterjee, executive director of Luxmi Tea, which bought Makaibari, said they sold the organic tea to Hampstead Tea & Coffee of UK, Eco Prima Inc of the US and Makai bari Japan. “Makaibari Japan is an independent company run by Yoko Ishi, who exclusively buys Makaibari tea. This time they have bought 5 kg of this tea. Hampstead, one of our old customers, has taken 10 kg and the rest was bought by the American company,“ he added. Makaibari chairman Rajah Banerjee said their tea estate held the earlier record as well. Makaibari tea was the record holder at Beijing Tea Auctions in 2006, where it sold for $1,800 a kg, and at Calcutta auctions in 2003 where one lot sold for $450 a kg. “This unique tea (the one sold recently) is a handmade semi-fermented light li quoring Oolong Tea that captures the essence of summer solstice. It was manufactured exclusively on June 13, nine days before summer solstice. This ensures the highest degree of flavour for any vegetation,“ said Banerjee, a fourth-genera tion owner of Makaibari before he sold it to Luxmi Tea earlier this year.
- Temasek to invest Rs 400cr in KFC, Pizza Hut operator: Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is likely to make an investment of about Rs 400 crore in KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee store operator Devyani International, upping its play in the country’s fast-growing consumer sector. The four-decade-old fund, with assets worth $173 billion globally, will purchase a significant minority stake in the New Delhi-based company, owned by soft drink bottling king Ravi Jaipuria. If the transaction materializes, Temasek will be the second private equity investor in Devyani after ICICI Venture, which had invested Rs 250 crore for a 10% stake in 2011. The Temasek deal will be a combination of primary and secondary investment components, and the primary investment is intended to support Devyani’s expansion plans, said a person familiar with the situation. The fresh development will also push back Jaipuria’s plans for an initial public offering for the quick service restaurant unit. A Temasek spokesperson said the company does not comment on market speculation. Despite repeated attempts, Jaipuria couldn’t be reached for comments. Besides the international food and beverage brands, Devyani also has its own brand, Vaango, a South Indian-themed restaurant. The food services provider currently has over 300 outlets cutting across its various brands and the additional funds are to ramp up its network in the highly competitive $48-billion market. Devyani, named after Jaipuria's daughter, is one of the fast-growing units within the billionaire's business empire. With the proposed Devyani investment, Temasek will increase its exposure in consumption-driven sectors as these are seen as good proxies to economic growth and a way to profit from rising consumer spending in Asia's third largest economy .Temasek has been buying consumer-related assets in financial services, healthcare, agricultural services and e-commerce. It owns about 5% stake in Godrej Consumer Products, maker of Cinthol soaps and Good Knight mosquito repellents, and has investments in e-commerce site Snapdeal and online baby care retailer Firstcry.com. In recent years, global investors have been investing big time in India's food and beverage sector institutionalizing several niche margin businesses.
- DLF plunges 9% after HC cancels land deal; market cap falls by Rs 2,803 crore: Shares of DLF Ltd fell as much as 11.66% in intra-day trade on BSE after the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of a 350-acre land allotment to the company in Gurgaon authorized by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in 2009. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said, “DLF won this land in an international competitive bid conducted twice by the government of Haryana in 2009-10. As a copy of the order is awaited, we wish to clarify that it will have no bearing on any of our completed or ongoing projects. This land was to be developed in the future. After reading the order and taking legal advice, we will take appropriate steps.” Earlier in August, the Supreme Court ordered DLF to pay a fine of Rs.630 crore imposed on it by the anti-trust regulator for unfair business practices. DLF said it would pay the fine, pending a final decision by the apex court on an appeal filed by the realtor against the penalty. Shares of other realty companies were also under pressure. Oberoi Realty Ltd fell 5.28%, Unitech Ltd 6.25%, Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd 3.65%, DB Realty Ltd 4.98%, while lost Godrej Properties Ltd 2.69%. Shares of DLF closed 8.60% lower at Rs.167.30 on BSE, while the exchange’s benchmark Sensex index slipped 0.20% to 27,085.93. Led by sharp fall in the stock, the company’s market value tumbled by Rs.2,803 crore to Rs.29,809 crore. In terms of volume, 28.73 lakh shares of the company changed hands at the BSE, while more than 2 crore shares were traded at the NSE during the day. The BSE realty Index fell 4.42% to 1,745.33 points.
International:
- Lego is now the biggest toy company in the world: Lego has been a childhood institution for decades, but the business has been growing rapidly over the last decade — so much so that it has now surpassed Mattel as the biggest toymaker in the world in terms of both revenue and profit. That's only over the first six months of 2014, though, so Mattel has time to claw back this holiday season. The empire the company has built by licensing franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel, DC, and more has truly paid off — not to mention its recent successful foray into the movie theater.
- David Yurman Sues Sam's Club: David Yurman Enterprises and David Yurman IP LLC on Thursday sued Sam’s East Inc. and Sam’s West Inc., which operate as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club, in a federal district court in Houston. The lawsuit alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin, tortious interference with Yurman’s contractual relations and unfair competition in connection with the sale of David Yurman-branded jewelry. In the complaint, Yurman charged the membership warehouse club with “wrongful, unauthorized promotion and sale” of the infringing items in several locations in Texas, other stores throughout the U.S. and through its Web site. The legal document said a concern was that the sale of the alleged infringing jewelry “suggests” that Sam’s Club is authorized by Yurman to sell the merchandise, when “Yurman has in fact never provided Sam’s Club with permission to do so.” It also noted a concern about the customer experience, saying the “exclusive network of authorized retailers” receive specialized training regarding the products and the manner in which they are displayed. The court document also alleged that the defendant induced one or more of Yurman’s authorized retailers to sell the products to Sam’s Club in violation of their authorized retailer agreements. In the industry, the unauthorized practice is sometimes referred to as “transshipping.” The company is seeking injunctive relief to bar Sam’s Club from selling the alleged infringing product as well as unspecified damages and related legal costs, such as attorney’s fees.
- Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll to Sell Remaining Stake in Michael Kors: Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll are about to exit the Michael Kors business. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. has filed a shelf registration to sell slightly over 11.6 million shares of common stock in a secondary public offering that would have Chou and Stroll resign from the Kors board upon the closing date of the offering. Thursday’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said the selling shareholder is Sportswear Holdings Ltd., one of Kors’ principal founding shareholders. According to the filing, Sportswear is indirectly owned by Westleigh Ltd., which is privately owned by members of the Chao family, including Chou, and 50 percent owned by Flair Investment Holdings Ltd, of which Stroll has an indirect beneficial ownership interest. The Kors company will not receive any proceeds from the sale. Following the resignation of Stroll and Chou, Kors will have seven board members, five of whom are classified as independent. The designer Michael Kors began his business more than 30 years ago. After a bankruptcy in the early Nineties, Kors sold the business to Chou and Stroll in 2003 for a reported $100 million. The company grew at a fast pace, and, in December 2011, completed its initial public offering, selling 47.2 million shares and raising $944 million. Stroll and Chou sold about $519 million worth of stock combined, while Kors sold about $117 million worth of stock. Shortly before the IPO, the owners sold another $500 million stake in a private sale to mutual fund firms such as Fidelity and T. Rowe Price.
- Jason Wu Sells Majority Stake to InterLuxe: Jason Wu sold a controlling stake in his business to InterLuxe — a new investment firm that leans on the fashion expertise of Gary Wassner and Allen Questrom. The designer, who unveils his spring collection on the runway today, plans to use the new funds to open a flagship and expand his budding e-commerce and handbag businesses. InterLuxe is backed by Lee Equity and chaired by Gary Wassner, who supports much of the New York designer community as co-chief executive officer of the factoring firm Hilldun. A ceo with a fashion background is expected to be named today. Although neither Wu nor Wassner disclosed the terms of the deal, a source familiar with the transaction said the investment house bought control of the firm, which has revenues in the neighborhood of $20 million. InterLuxe is one of a growing number of investors targeting designer businesses, trying to both build up brands and catch a little of the lightning that has driven the likes of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. and Tory Burch to multibillion-dollar valuations. Clifford Moskowitz, who has a background in private equity, serves as InterLuxe’s president. Investors are largely looking for brands that have established businesses and solid name recognition, but plenty of room to grow.
- Nicolas Ghesquière's Louis Vuitton Pop-Up Bows in Paris: Nicolas Ghesquière, who created arty, otherworldly boutiques during his Balenciaga years, has conceived a pop-up space here to showcase his first Louis Vuitton women’s collection. Attached to Vuitton’s boutique in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the temporary shop opened this week in a space previously occupied by the landmark La Hune bookstore, now appointed with Seventies furnishings and fixtures. Accessories resting on chunks of marble that bobble when touched. While less futuristic than his previous retail concepts, the corner unit features signature Ghesquière touches, including small, tubular spotlights crowded on the ceiling. “I’m so happy I was able to develop a first pop-up store for the Louis Vuitton house in such an iconic location in Paris,” Ghesquière said. “It’s always very stimulating to follow my vision through to the design of the retail space.” The vintage shelves and seating, including circa 1971 Perspex chairs by Boris Tabacoff and a 1969 hulking white marble table by Carlo Scarpa, serve as the backdrop for Ghesquière’s retro-tinged fashions, such as dresses and skirts cut in crisp A-lines, some detailed with big contrasting pockets or bold zippers. It marks the debut of ready-to-wear at the Left Bank location.
- Tod's Unveils New-Look Flagship on Madison Ave.: “This is the temple of luxury and of Italian quality,” said Diego Della Valle, chairman and chief executive officer of Tod’s SpA, describing the newly redesigned Tod’s boutique at 650 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, which will quietly open its doors on Sunday and be officially inaugurated with an event on Monday evening. The store features a new concept for Tod’s, and Della Valle underscored that, going forward, the strategy is for each flagship to have its own identity. “We want to avoid the sameness — the boredom of seeing stores that are alike all over the world, wherever you are,” he explained. “The ingredients, the materials and colors will fundamentally be the same, but with a different interpretation depending on the location.” First opened in 1999, the Madison Avenue store has been given a complete makeover. It now makes a statement for Tod’s evolution from a luxury footwear and leather goods brand to a lifestyle collection replete with women’s wear by Alessandra Facchinetti and men’s by Andrea Incontri. The interior look, developed with an in-house team, signals an enhanced sense of luxury compared with its previous iteration. “This unit is appropriate for the city, the street and the country,” said Della Valle. “It’s sort of an Italian palazzo. We wanted to blend the DNA of the brand and the Italian style. Materials are all Italian, the leather is especially treated and recognizable, in line with our product.
Tech:
- German Rocket to Take Jabong into Global Orbit: Online fashion retailer Jabong is opening up a new front in the Indian ecommerce battleground. Its major investors, Germany's Rocket Internet and Swedish investment firm Kinnevik, are merging five of their international fashion ecommerce firms, including Jabong, into a single global entity. This will al low the Delhi-based company to tap into a global knowledge base and also give it access to new and large investors. The combined conglomerate has been named Global Fashion Group (GFG). The Global Fashion Group will include Dafiti from Latin America, Lamoda (which operates in Russia and parts of the former Soviet Union), Namshi from the Middle East and Zalora from Southeast Asia and Australia. “GFG will be focused on capturing the massive growth opportunity of fashion ecommerce in emerging markets. Each of the business units will be able to build on the original Rocket platform and continue to leverage knowledge and expertise gained across 23 countries,“ said Oliver Samwer, co-founder and CEO of Rocket, in a statement. Rocket Internet also operates other consumer Internet ventures in India such as furniture e-tailer Fab Furnish and food delivery service firm FoodPanda. “We are delighted to have joined forces and have created a global fashion giant which is active in four continents. This will lead to an even better experience for us internally but also for our customers. We can rely on common sourcing, outstanding IT competencies and our experiences with private labels,“ said Praveen Sinha, managing director of Jabong. He, however, declined to provide details of the implications. Analysts are of the view that the immediate advantage will be in the form of learnings and differentiation in the form of merchandising. “There's a lot that ecommerce players can learn from firms in other geographies that are ahead on the evolution curve -from customer experience to supply chain,“ said Neelesh Hundekari, partner at consulting firm AT Kearney.
- Snapdeal, Den Networks Ink JV: Ecommerce company Snapdeal has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Den Networks, India’s largest cable TV distribution company that serves 13 million homes in more than 200 cities, to extend its reach to television home shopping audiences. The venture will leverage the robust distribution network of Den Networks and Snapdeal’s wide product range and more than 30,000 vendors, said a person familiar with the development. Den Networks did not respond to queries. Snapdeal could not be immediately reached. Leading global investors have shown keen interest in this market space in India. The two leading home shopping companies — STAR CJ and HomeShop18 — operating in India have witnessed sharp growth in their top line. NW18 HSN Holding, the digital retail arm of Network18, is planning to raise about $75 million through an initial public offer in the US for an equity valuation of about $1 billion. It has filed a prospectus with the US regulator toward this end. Earlier this year, Providence Group, one of the leading private equity firms that manages about $40 billion, picked up a 50% stake in STAR CJ Networks India Pvt Ltd from STAR group. CJ O Shopping, the largest home shopping company in South Korea with annual sales of about $4.4 billion in 2013, is its partner in Star CJ. “This deal would benefit both Snapdeal and Den Networks where Snapdeal gets direct access to millions of households at one go while Den gains from the deep domain expertise of the former to build up a strong revenue stream,” said KS Reddy of Advaya Equity Advisors. The deal creates an entity that could evolve into something similar to US-based QVC, the world largest home shopping company with annual sales of $8.6 billion, which is owned by leading cable television company Liberty Group. “With this deal, Den Networks seems to be going the QVC way which is the largest home-shopping network in the USA,” said a media analyst. The cable company has bought the franchise for the Delhi team in the Indian Soccer League. “It is building a strong consumer B2C brand by entering the home-shopping network backed by its presence in the cable TV, broadband and football business through owning the franchise in the ISL,” said the analyst. Snapdeal raised $100 million in May this year in a fifth round of funding.
- Tata Comm's Baweja to Join Flipkart as CFO: Online retail firm Flipkart is set to get a new chief financial officer after a hunt of more than a year. Sanjay Baweja, chief financial officer at Tata Communications, is expected to join the company in the next few weeks. “They (Flipkart) have been looking for a suitable person from the FMCG sector for quite some time now and have finally identified Sanjay as their candidate,“ said a person who has direct knowledge of the offer. The company, the person said, has offered a salary of 4 crore. There is also a milestone-linked bonus component, apart from employee stock options. When contacted, Flipkart said it “will not be able to comment on market speculations“. Baweja, who has three decades of experience in finance, joined Tata Communications as its CFO in 2009. He has previously worked at Emaar MGF Land, Bharati Airtel and Xerox Modi. Baweja could not be reached for comment. “There are government regulatory and compliance issues that Flipkart's CFO will have to deal with especially considering the acquisitions the company has made and is planning to make,“ said a person who works with the company in an advisory capacity.
- Mindtree Veterans Plan Cloud Startup: Mindtree co-founder S Janakiraman, along with four other company veterans, is building a cloud-computing startup incubated by the Bangalore-based software firm. While Mindtree will be a minority investor with a less than 20% stake in Nuvepro, Janakiraman will be investing around $1 million of his own money and joining as the startup's chairman. This spin-off, the first to come out of Mindtree since it was launched by for mer Wipro executives in 1999, will help the founders raise additional capital from venture capital firms and even explore alliances with bigger rivals Infosys and Wipro as an independent entity. One of the triggers for Janakiraman and his team involved with the idea to seek a life beyond Mindtree was the reluctance shown by some VCs in partnering with a startup that was completely owned and controlled by the parent organisation. “The umbilical cord had to be cut,“ said Janakiraman, 58, who is to retire this year from Mindtree. Nuvepro has come up with a solution, called VMUnify, which helps enterprises in delivering infrastructure-as-a-service with secure virtual data centres and unified cloud environments. Nuvepro was among 150 ideas submitted under a programmed called `5 by 50' to encourage entrepreneurial ventures within Mindtree a few years ago. As part of it, Mindtree selects five ideas with potential to generate $50 million in revenue pitched by its employees. “The services industry is the right place to introduce products,“ Janakiraman told ET in an interview.
- Tata Value Homes sells 85 houses worth Rs 40 crore on Snapdeal: Tata Value Homes, focused on affordable housing, has sold 85 houses worth Rs 40 crore in six days under its partnership with e-commerce major Snapdeal. On August 28, Tata Value Homes launched an exclusive offer on Snapdeal, offering Rs 10,000 per month for a year as an assured rent (whether owners stay on premise or lease it out). "We are overwhelmed and amazed with response from customers, we have sold 85 units of Tata Value Homes worth Rs 40 crore on Snapdeal. This has reaffirmed our belief that the customer has adapted to online home purchase as easily as other categories," Snapdeal VP (Fashion) Amit Maheshwari said. As part of the partnership, houses across projects in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai were put up for sale on Snapdeal. Ranging from 1 BHK to 3 BHK, the houses are priced between Rs 18--70 lakh. Interested customers could book their houses for Rs 30,000. "Our research shows 70 per cent of our customers search online before buying a home. We strongly believe that India is ready to buy homes online," Tata Housing Development Company Senior Vice President (Marketing & Sales) A Harikesh said. The phenomenal response received from the customers during the launch of our partnership with Snapdeal is a testimony to this belief, he added. Tata Value Homes, a subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Company, sells houses through its own portal as well. Tata Value Homes would continue to sell through Snapdeal even though the offer would not be available.
- LVMH, Google unite against fake online luxury goods: French luxury products group LVMH and Internet search engine Google have agreed to work together to fight the sale of counterfeit goods online, the two firms said on Thursday. The agreement ends nearly 10 years of litigation over complaints by LVMH - owner of top luxury labels in everything from champagne to luggage - that the Google Adwords key words service helped counterfeiters sell their products on the back of LVMH brands. LVMH is a leading group in the growing, global market for luxury products, but faces the mounting problem of copycat products sold at huge discounts. The companies said in a joint statement that they would work together "to develop new ways of engaging consumers online whilst preserving the value of trusted brands and enhancing creativity..." They said they would use their considerable resources "to tackle the advertising and sale of counterfeit goods online". For Google, the head of the business in southern and eastern Europe, Carlo D'Asaro Biondo, said: "We are very happy to reach this agreement with LVMH and to work together to tackle the advertising of counterfeit goods online and preserve the value of trusted brands." LVMH vice president Pierre Gode said the deal meant that "brands will be protected both online and offline". Google was found guilty in a French court in 2005 of counterfeit activities, unfair competition and providing misleading advertising. The Internet giant lost an appeal the following year and a superior court then referred the matter to the EU European Court.
- Crocs launches kidswear pilot in partnership with Jabong: Crocs Inc. has launched a pilot project with Jabong.com aimed at a full-fledged entry into the kidswear category in India as it looks to take advantage of the market potential of a segment it's already present in through footwear. "The reason we plan to enter the kids apparel market is that our brand penetration in kids footwear is quite impressive," Nissan Joseph, general manager, Crocs India, told ETRetail.com. "This gives us leverage to grow our new category faster. Secondly, we feel this market is still underserved in India, though there are many brands that exists and have their own USPs. But still there are limitations in variety, range, designs etc. Overall, we feel India needs a good kids apparel brand." The garments will be made locally. "We would take the designs with quality specifications from the US, European markets and manufacture them in India," Joseph said. The company has also tested offline retail models in Ambala and Kolkata through the shop-in-shop format. The company has doubled its India business in the last two years, adding almost 300 multi-brand outlets (MBOs) across India. There are plans to open 10-12 stores in this fiscal year in tier 2-3 cities. Crocs India boosted its revenue by 200% in the Indian market in the last two years and by 40% in the June quarter this fiscal.
- Online retailers eye digital wallets: With increasing use of mobile phones to shop online, payment companies and e-tailers are planning to launch digital wallets to offer consumers a convenient and comparatively faster way to pay as well as reduce their own dependence on sales linked to cash on delivery (COD). The daily deals website Groupon and the TV shopping channel HomeShop18 have already introduced digital wallets via third parties while other firms such as Flipkart, Jabong and ShopClues plan to launch them soon. Payment gateways like Paytm, Oxigen, Mobikwik and QwikCilver Solutions are among the few who have a licence to work on semi-closed wallets and others like PayU will offer prepaid digital wallets very soon. Digital or virtual wallets act as a holder of cash that resides in your mobile or personal computer and can be used to purchase goods and services online. These can be loaded with cash through a mobile payment provider, online banking or through telecom operators. Digital wallets can be closed, semi-closed or open. Closed wallets allow consumers to purchase goods and services from only one seller. Semi-closed wallets allow shopping at multiple merchants in a marketplace. “Net banking pages are difficult to load on phones; so, people go on wallets, load money and make purchases. Effectively, people are going mobile and they are finding ways to shop and make payments on the phone,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive at Paytm, a payment solution provider from One97 group. Even e-tailers are looking to reduce the quantum of cash on delivery or COD orders that come through the mobiles. Currently, 50-60% of the total orders are COD.
- Starbucks app gets Uber integration for rides to stores: If you’re jonesing for a coffee and it’s too far to walk, the Starbucks iOS app was just updated with Uber integration. Now you can call a black car to get your black coffee. The app is live now but warns that you “must have the Uber app installed and be in a city where Uber is available.” Seems fair enough. When you click on the Uber button in the Starbucks app for a store you’d like to visit, it launches the Uber app. From there it’s the typical Uber experience except at the end you get a hot cup of caffeine. The update also addressed some sign-up concerns experienced by some customers, and tackled the usual bug fixes and enhancements.
- Myntra eyes Diwali bounty with exclusive tie-ups, 3 private brands:With an eye on achieving $1-billion gross merchandise value in 2016, online fashion store Myntra will collaborate with around 20 brands to launch some of their products exclusively on its platform by the first week of October. It has tied up with brands like Puma, Vero Moda, Jack and Jones, Biba, Lee and Wrangler, among others, to launch over 1,000 styles, which is likely to give Myntra a timely boost during the ensuing festive season. Having been acquired by online marketplace Flipkart at a valuation of $350-370 million, besides a promise of infusion of another $100 million, Myntra will add three more private brands to its kitty of eight before Diwali. The fashion e-tailer will also launch brands like New Look and Antony Morato by the end of September, in line with its aim to launch a new brand every fortnight. “We are launching three private brands around Diwali, one in the formal category, one in kidswear and the other a licensed brand. We will continue to grow our private brands as they are important both from a differentiation point and also profitability aspect. They account for a fifth of our revenues,” Ganesh Subramanian, COO, Myntra, told FE. Subramanian said Myntra will also focus on augmenting its technology capabilities, especially in the data analytics space. The e-tailer has formed a team of data scientists to closely monitor user engagement with products and the site as a whole, to streamline its product recommendation engine. Besides, mobile will be another area of focus. At present, Myntra generates around 40% of its orders from its mobile app and expects the figure to surge to over 60% by the end of the year.
- Flipkart Teases Successor to Moto G Ahead of Friday's Launch: Flipkart, the exclusive retail partner for Motorola's Moto E, Moto G, and Moto X handsets in India, has started teasing the upcoming launch of a new smartphone via its Twitter handle. While the teasers thus far have not made it clear which phone is being referred to, it is expected to be the successor of the Moto G based on previous leaks. In the first such teaser, posted on Tuesday, the company tweet asked followers, "What happens when the exceptional smartphone gets even better? Watch this space for the next level!" along with an image with the caption, "Great pictures deserve an exceptional screen. The next level of the exceptional smartphone. Coming soon on Flipkart."
Currency:
· 1 USD= ₹ 60.4382
· 1 EUR= ₹ 78.1833
· 1 GBP= ₹ 98.5932
· 1 AUD= ₹ 56.4623
Glitter Meter: India
Gold (INR/10g) | Silver (INR/kg) | |||
City | Current | Change | Current | Change |
Chennai | 27890.00 | 120 | 41955.00 | 105 |
Mumbai | 27820.00 | 130 | 41955.00 | 105 |
Delhi | 27940.00 | 120 | 41955.00 | 105 |
Kolkata | 27920.00 | 130 | 41955.00 | 105 |
World Indices:
Exchange | Last | Change |
DJIA | 17069.58 | -8.70 |
FTSE 100 | 6877.97 | 4.39 |
CAC 40 | 4494.94 | 73.07 |
DAX | 9724.26 | 97.77 |
Nikkei | 15716.43 | 40.25 |
Hang Seng | 25232.62 | -65.30 |
Sensex | 27139.13 | 53.20 |
NASDAQ | 4562.29 | -10.28 |
*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.