Daily News Digest- 14th Oct'14

Thought of the Day:

Today in History:

Following made the Headlines:

India:

• At 3m sqft in 5 yrs, Flipkart set for largest office deal: India’s biggest ecommerce company Flipkart has doubled its demand for office space to 3 million sqft, barely two-months after approaching top developers to lease 1.5 million sqft. Embassy Office Parks, the equal joint venture between Blackstone and Embassy Group, is said to bag this lease deal which is pegged to be the largest office space transaction in India in at least a decade. The deal, at Rs 52 per sqft, is likely to be inked as early as this week. Flipkart plans to absorb the entire office space in two phases, but in a record four to five years. The e-commerce poster boy had short-listed Bangalore-based Bagmane Group and Embassy in a process advised by real estate consulting firm JLL.

• Flying Jet Often? Here's a Document Check for You: Jet Airways' troubles with documentation of pilot records and licences don't seem to be ending. The airline has now found that some pilots have been flying without valid annual line check certificates. An internal check by Jet Airways has discovered that three pilots' certificates had expired, prompting airline officials to raise the alarm. “This is not just a safety issue and the fear is that there may be many more such pilots flying with the airline,“ said a Jet Airways executive with knowledge of the matter. Line check certification is a process by which a pilot's flying is monitored by a trainer sitting in the cockpit through a flight to ensure that all defined norms are followed in letter and spirit. During the flight, pilots are expected to use their best judgment, even under unusual circumstances, and have to convince the trainer of their abilities. A mistake by the pilot would warrant further training. Failure to renew line check certificates of pilots could attract punishment as stringent as grounding of the airline, which experts say could be held respon sible for the lapse. An email sent to Jet Airways last Friday and a reminder sent on Monday did not elicit any response at the time of going to print. Jet Airways, controlled by founder and Chairman Na resh Goyal, has about 1,100 pilots. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways owns a 24% stake in Jet. “This is an airline's fault much more than the pilots'. In such cases, the airline could be grounded, according to the rules,“ said Mohan Ranganathan, a former member of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's safety committee.

• Indian Football Gets a Rs 600-Crore Kick Out of ISL: Brand football has got its biggest boost so far in the country with the Indian Super League, which kicked off on Sunday , attracting total spend of around . 600 crore, as per estimates by the All India ` Football Federation (AIFF). Reliance Industries, co-promoter of the Indian Super League (ISL), believes the new league -that brings many interna tional stars and the glamour and pomp of Bollywood to Indian football -will help the country improve its world football ranking significantly from 158 at present and eventually play the FIFA World Cup. “That's the ultimate objective,“ Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director at Reliance Industries, told ET.“Look at Kuwait and how they came all out of the blue into the World Cup. If Kuwait can, why can't India?“ Ambani said RIL will fully support the development of soccer in India. “The ulti mate objective of the new league is to raise the bar of the game to the extent that India can send a team to the World Cup,“ he said.“The quality of Indian football is going to improve more. This is just the beginning and to achieve that ultimate goal whatever is needed will be done. From my side, I am always there.“

• Xiaomi Hires ex-Google Exec as Product Manager of Indian Ops: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has hired a former Google executive to manage its product strategy in India where the Chinese company is facing a lot of flak over inventory handling: its hugely popular handsets are sold out within seconds during online sales. In a Facebook post, Hugo Barra, the company's vice-president of international operations and a former Google executive himself, said Jai Mani would join Xiaomi as lead product manager of its operations in India. He has already relocated from San Francisco to Bangalore, Barra wrote.According to Mani's LinkedIn profile, he is currently product manager and co-founder of a startup. At Google, he was last a Google Play strategy and analytics associate. Mani joins Xiaomi at a time when the company is taking on devices backed by Google's Android One project, with comparable prices and features. Mani may have to do some damage control initially as Xiaomi focuses on India as one of its top markets. It has been drawing the ire of those who have been unable to lay their hands on its smartphones because of the limited inventory.However, all those frustrated at missing out on the Redmi 1S flash sales can take heart. Now, Xiaomi says it will offer 1,00,000 units at each of these weekly events on Flipkart, ramping up production to meet demand. “For Redmi 1S, we actually had to take volume away from all the other markets to be able to meet demand in India,“ said Barra.

• Nerolac Ties up with Flipkart for Festive Season: Kansai Nerolac Paints on Monday said it has entered into a strategic marketing tie-up with leading e-tailer Flipkart ahead of festive season. The interactive consumer interface will allow one to browse through a gallery of wall finishes, designer textures, product benefits, videos and customer testimonials before making the purchase, the company said. Nerolac is also offering up to ₹10,000 discount throughout this three-month-long association.“Nerolac's association with Flipkart is to provide convenience to customers seeking a home makeover this festive season at their fingertips, “ Kansai Nerolac Paints chief marketing manager Yatnesh Pandey said.

• V-Mart Plans up to 200 Non-metro Stores in 4 Years: Multi-brand retail chain V-Mart is aiming to expand its store network up to 200 in non-metro ci ties in next four years by adding upto 25 stores every year. The company, which primarily retails apparels in tier II and III cities, has also plans to expand in the North East and Southern regions. “We would double our size in next three to four years. We would keep adding 25-30 stores every year in our network,“ VMart Retail chairman and MD Lalit Agarwal said.

• Amazon's India Ops Face FDI Scrutiny: The government has begun a close examination of Amazon's local operations to see if it's in compliance with the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) policy following the Seattle-based online seller's run-in with the Karnataka government's commercial taxes department. The scrutiny follows a request by the Karnataka state government to the finance ministry that it has forwarded to the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), two government officials familiar with the development told ET. “Is the model followed by the company compliant with the FDI policy ,“ the communication to DIPP says asking it to examine the structure closely . India does not allow FDI in businessto-consumer or B2C e-commerce, while 100% FDI is allowed in business-to-business or the B2B category . DIPP will look at Amazon's business in India and check whether what it does is in compliance with FDI policy.

• Lightbox Vemtures II Raises Rs 600 Cr: Venture capital firm Lightbox has closed its new fund at Rs 600 crore, the company said on Monday. Lightbox Ventures II seeks to back early stage start-ups in India with a focus on consumer technology ventures. It has been raised completely from overseas investors and underlines a growing appetite for the country's fast-growing start-up space. Lightbox was initially targeting $90 million, but raised the target due to increase in demand. The fund had made a first close at $25 million in April. “A lot of the conversations that we started prior to the elections picked up steam and a lot more investors are coming to India,” said Lightbox co-founder and partner Sandeep Murthy, who met over 220 investors. Investors in the fund, called LPs in industry parlance, include a mix of institutional investors like endowments, fund of funds, family offices and individuals.

• It's Logic: Online Players Make Offline Acquisitions: Until now they defined their identity and earned their spurs by differentiating themselves in convenience and pricing from their brick-and-mortar cousins, but can online retailers look to subsume them for the next stage of their evolution? India's fast-growing online retailers, who are bubbling with energy and flush with investor money secured at eyepopping valuation multiples, could potentially buy department store chains, a move observers say , will precipitate consolidation in the market and redefine the sector. Such an outcome would be a logical step, some argue, because online retailers are rapidly gaining market share as well as mind-share, putting them in a position to take over leadership of the industry. “I think online players should make offline acquisitions as the momentum is with them right now,“ said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory firm Technopak.“A big chunk of customers still buy offline and acquiring a brick-and-mortar chain could be a powerful customer acquisition tool for online sites in certain categories.“ According to Technopak, the Indian retail industry is valued at $525 billion (. `31.5 lakh crore, or about a quarter of India's GDP) now, with online's share at about 1%. By 2020, the retail industry is estimated to double in size while online will grow more than six-fold.

• Tata Value homes launches e-commerce platform for home buying: Tata Value Homes Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd, on Monday announced the launch of its e-commerce platform for home buying, www.tatavaluehomes.com. The website will allow global access to the company’s properties in India. “Evolution of Indian consumer over the years to embrace the e-commerce platforms has opened up the market for consumers across the globe,” said Brotin Banerjee, managing director and chief executive, Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd. Since December 2013, the company has sold 700 homes online through various tie-ups such as with Google and Snapdeal. “Going ahead we will continue to sell homes on Snapdeal and we are also in talks with other companies,” said Banerjee. Today almost 25% of the bookings for Tata Value Homes are made online and the company expects that in the next two years almost 40-45% of the bookings will be made online, Banerjee added. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) bought almost 25% of the homes the company has sold online, while customers from smaller cities contributed almost 30% of the sales, he said. The company is looking at launching three new projects in the next four to five months and will be entering two new markets, the national capital region and Kolkata. The three new projects will add almost 12,000 to 15,000 units to the company’s inventory.

International:

• Universal to open theme park in China: Universal Studios will open its first $3.3bn (£2bn) Chinese theme park after 13 years of trying to enter the booming entertainment market. Hollywood director Steven Spielberg will help design the Beijing Universal park, the company said on Monday. The park is being developed with local state firm Beijing Tourism Group. Universal is the latest US firm to enter China's fast-growing entertainment sector after rivals Walt Disney and DreamWorks Animation. The company did not say when the theme park would open, but reports say it will be in 2019. Both Disney's $4.4bn theme park and DreamWorks' $3.1bn entertainment complex with Chinese partners are expected to open in 2016 in Shanghai. Film studios are in a big rush to build theme parks in the world's second-largest economy as a rapidly-growing middle class is spending more money on entertainment and travel. In April, Disney said it was increasing investment in its Shanghai Disney theme park by another $800m after striking a deal with a Chinese joint venture partner.

• KFC to open first Myanmar outlet in 2015: KFC's parent company, Yum! Brands, has teamed up with Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings to bring the franchise to Myanmar, also known as Burma. Both parties are aiming to open their first KFC restaurant there in 2015. US-based Yum! says the move reflects the firm's "global strategy of expansion in emerging markets". KFC sees Myanmar as "an important emerging Asian economy with a population of 50 million people". Those comments were made by KFC's chief executive Micky Pant in a statement. Yoma Strategic Holdings is an investment holding company based in Singapore, with various business interests in Myanmar that span across several industries, including real estate, agriculture and tourism.

• J.C. Penney Names Marvin Ellison as CEO-Designee: J.C. Penney Co. Inc. has found its “number-one warrior.” That’s how Myron “Mike” Ullman 3rd, chief executive officer of Penney’s, described the hiring of president and ceo-designee Marvin Ellison, in an interview Monday. The 49-year-old executive vice president of U.S. stores at Home Depot will join Penney’s Nov. 1 and will succeed Ullman as ceo on Aug. 1, at which time Ullman will begin a one-year term as executive chairman. Ellison also will have a seat on Penney’s board. “The board was highly engaged, and from the beginning it was very important to get the turnaround well under way before we chose the next leadership,” said Ullman, 67. “We were all very impressed with Marvin’s passion for the customer, his relationships he’s had with the associates he’s worked with over his 30-year career and his energy for the opportunity that he sees to get into the minds of the customer in such a way that we become the preferred choice for that customer.”

• Maison Martin Margiela Opening First Accessories-Only Boutique: With the media in a frenzy over the recent appointment of John Galliano as creative director for its haute couture line, Maison Martin Margiela — more known for reticence than flamboyance — revealed the opening of the brand’s first accessories-only boutique in Milan. Located in the city’s burgeoning Porta Nuova area on Via Vincenzo Capelli, the 775-square foot store stocks the minimalist brand’s footwear, bags, jewelry, fragrances, eyewear, miscellaneous deco-objects and small leather goods, for women and men. The first collections on display are from the fall 2014 lineup, and they appear against the store’s predominantly white backdrop, with mirrored ceilings above and trompe-l’oeil rugs stretched over a concrete floor.

• Luxottica's Turmoil Goes On as Del Vecchio Adds CEO Post: Luxottica Group SpA — one of Italy’s corporate jewels that has for decades relied on stable management under the majority ownership of chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio — is suddenly seeing a revolving door of executives. The latest had Del Vecchio, who continues to own a majority of the eyewear giant, assuming the role of interim chief executive officer until a pair of co-ceo’s can be appointed. He is assuming the role after the departure of Enrico Cavatorta, who was appointed ceo of corporate functions and interim ceo of markets only last month. Luxottica admitted Cavatorta was leaving “following disagreements on the current governance structure” while Roger Abravanel has resigned from the group’s board for the same reasons. Luxottica revealed the new management structure — or at least its temporary one — late Monday night after an arduous board meeting. Earlier in the day, the group’s shares plunged 9.2 percent to close at 37.29 euros, or $47.09, at the end of trading on the Italian Stock Exchange.

Tech:

• Wipro Adds a 3rd Dimension to Itself: On August 14 this year, Maltesh Somasekarappa received a call from one of the largest hospital chains in Mumbai. The caller, a doctor, sounded impatient and demanded how soon Somasekarappa, who heads Wipro’s 3D printing unit, could make a human skull. The doctor explained that the hospital was looking to replace a portion of a patient’s fractured skull after a car accident. The patient could slip into coma any moment if not operated upon immediately, the doctor stressed. “How early can you do it?” the doctor asked again. The hospital then emailed skull scans and other specifications for Somasekarappa to “print it out”. Somasekarappa, who had recently convinced the top bosses at Wipro to invest in an additive manufacturing unit with a 3D printer that cost around $1 million (Rs 6 crore), asked his four-member team to assemble and begin work so as to ensure that the titanium replacement skull was ready within hours. “By lunch on August 15, we were ready to ship the skull,“ he said, “but the patient slipped into coma and is still not in a condition to be operated upon.“ Interestingly, printing skulls is not the core part of Wipro’s fledgling 3D printing business, which is now printing objects ranging from satellite antennas to parts of hydraulic pumps and even fuel nozzles for airline engines. For Wipro, these early investments in additive manufacturing (next-generation manufacturing that involves 3D printing) are aimed at transforming its traditional hydraulics business, and at the same time finding an alternative revenue stream.

• OnePlus Eyes India Foray Via E-tail: Chinese handset maker OnePlus is se to officially enter India this December through an e-commerce partner, a route that has been success fully employed by Motorola and Xiaomi to sel their devices in the country. “India is a super ho market with rapid data growth and this is th right time to enter the market. We are talking to al three leading e-commerce players in India to star our operations,“ Carl Pei, director of OnePlu Global told ET over a Skype call. “We hope to final ise our partner this week.“

• Google says Amazon biggest search engine rival: Google boss Eric Schmidt said on Monday his company's biggest competition as a search engine came from e-commerce giant Amazon, not from its traditional rivals. In remarks prepared for delivery in Berlin, Schmidt hit back at accusations that Google as the world's biggest search engine enjoyed unchallenged market dominance, saying that the sector was targeting the company on several fronts. "Many people think our main competition is Bing or Yahoo. But, really, our biggest search competitor is Amazon," he said. "People don't think of Amazon as search, but if you are looking for something to buy, you are more often than not looking for it on Amazon."

• Windows 10 Preview Program Already Has 1 Million Users: Given the staunchly divided opinions Windows 8 elicited among its users, it should come as no surprise that the first look at the next iteration of the operating system has proven quite popular. According to a blog post today by Windows guy Joe Belfiore, the Windows Insider Program hit 1 million registrants over the weekend. Though the post doesn’t specify how many people are actually using the operating system versus those who only registered to download, it does say the company has received over 200,000 pieces of feedback since the program started. According to Microsoft, 64 percent of these users are running the Windows 10 Technical Preview directly, as opposed to the rest running it from a virtual machine. This indicates a good number of users are looking to see what the newest version of Windows would be like as their primary OS. Microsoft is clearly keen on redeeming Windows’ image with Windows 10, emphasizing its desire to listen to user feedback as it looks back to the pre-Windows 8 era as much as it looks forward.

• Facebook Stickers are Coming to Comments: All the stickers you’ve been using via Facebook Messenger will soon be available for all post comments. Beginning today, Facebook will be rolling out global sticker support for comments on people’s Timelines, Group posts and Event Posts. The stickers will be available from both mobile and desktop versions of the social network and the iOS and Android apps. As messaging apps have risen in popularity, so has the use of stickers by those apps. Facebook already has stickers in its Messenger mobile apps and browser. Stickers in comments joins images and other embeddable content available for post replies. Unfortunately, still no GIF support. But hey, STICKERS!

• Google Chrome Earth View Extension Spruces up New Tabs: Do you know what’s boring? When you open a new tab in Google Chrome. Unless you have an extension installed, it’s a white canvas with the Google search bar and a selection of website shortcuts. Yawn. To spruce things up a bit, Google has launched an Earth View extension which displays a different, beautiful satellite image every time you open a new tab. Better yet, you can click the globe icon in the corner to see the current photo inside Google Maps. It’s a simple tool for whisking your imagination away to somewhere new and combating those glum autumnal months.