Daily News Digest- 28th Oct'14

Thought of the Day:

Today in History:

Following made the Headlines:

India:

• The MSM Box makes its debut in the Indian Market: World One Retail Pvt Ltd has unveiled their much-awaited MSM Box (My Style Mile Box)—a little box with the potential to revolutionize how women in urban India shop for beauty & fashion. The MSM Box combines in-store "try and buy" model with the ease and comfort of online purchasing. The groundwork for this "best of both worlds" approach was laid in 2012 with the blog, MyStyleMile.com. MyStyleMile.com began with the aim of providing quality content about beauty and fashion to its readers. The idea was to keep the readers up-to-date with the latest trends in India and abroad. The MSM box aims to delight its customers by inspiring product discovery, generate demand, and help build a community of people who appreciate good things in life. Some of the differentiating features of the MSM Box include- One full-size product along with deluxe samples of new and existing products, Gift vouchers from the best of spas/salons across the country, trusted and recognized brands, Rich online content around the brands in the box & currently offering free shipping with the MSM Select Box. The MSM Box has two avatars i.e. MSM Select (super premium to luxury brands such as KAMA Ayurveda) priced at INR 995 & MSM Express (mid-segment brands such as Innisfree & Organic Harvest) priced at INR 495. Both of these offerings are available on their website www.msmbox.com

• Amazon Hunts in Startup Jungle, Eyes Gift Card Co: Amazon India is in advanced talks to buy a minority stake in gift card technology and retail firm QwikCilver Solutions, according to three people aware of the development. The deal, if successful, will mark the first investment in an Indian startup by the Seattle-based firm which is battling rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal for primacy in India's online retail industry. “Amazon could pick up about 20% in QwikCilver,“ said one person directly aware of the talks who did not want to be identified. ET was not able to ascertain the value of the likely deal. The Bangalore-based company has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Accel Partners and Helion Venture Partners, who are the two main investors. It was founded in 2008 by Kumar Sudarsan, TP Pratap and Bhaskar Vasudevan, all three alumni of BITS-Pilani. QwikCilver, which provides backend technology for the gift card business of several retailers including Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Westside and Croma, has also been coveted by Flipkart, according to these sources, but talks have progressed further with Amazon. QwikCilver, which retails electronic and physical gift cards on its online site GiftBig, also has on offer gift cards of Amazon and Flipkart. “Amazon has promised to let them run as a separate business where they can continue to service other clients, including Flipkart,“ said a source.A spokeswoman for Amazon said, “We do not comment on anything we may or may not do in the future“, in response to email queries on the developments.

• Infosys Sets Up $2m Fund with Princeton University: Infosys has set up a $2-million fund along with Princeton University to enable up to two scholars to pursue research at the school's Institute of Advanced Study , thereby underlining new CEO Vishal Sikka's strategy of deepening partnerships with academic institutes globally . This comes almost a month after Infosys signed an agreement with Sikka's alma mater, Stanford, to jointly make course curriculum in Data science and Analytics and help Infosys and the college work on real-world problem areas. “At Infosys we believe that people, when amplified by technology , knowledge, imagination and an enriching ecosystem, can achieve incredible things,“ said Vishal Sikka, Infosys CEO and MD. “By mentoring visiting scholars, in both academic and practical terms, the IAS has created yet another avenue to produce advances in knowledge that can change the way we work and live -with wide-ranging impact on global development“ Infosys' rival Wipro too announced last month that it will partner with Vellore Institute of Technology to train its graduates hired this year in analytics space as the company looks to overcome the shortage of data scientists in the industry .

• Santro & Spark Near End of the Road: Hyundai Motor will soon stop producing the Santro, the South Korean automaker’s launch model in India that has become a synonym for the company and earned the country the label of a small-car manufacturing hub. Another hatchback that was once popular in the local market, the Chevrolet Spark, is also nearing the end of its life cycle. The final batch of Santros will roll out of the assembly line in the last week of November, while GM is expected to end production of the Spark in December, said people with knowledge of their plans. The Santro and, to a lesser extent, the Spark in its previous avatar as the Daewoo Matiz were the first to challenge the hegemony of Maruti Suzuki (then Maruti Udyog) cars in the Indian market. With their manufacturers now planning to pull the plug on these models, the entire first generation of entry-level cars will be gone. Maruti stopped producing the M800, its first model, and the Zen that competed directly with the Santro and Matiz some time ago. Since its launch in October 1998, Hyundai has sold more than 1.36 million Santros in India and exported another 5,35,000. GM has sold over 1,65,000 units of the Spark in seven years since taking over the car portfolio of Daewoo.

• Japan telecom giant to invest $10bn in India: Japanese telecom and internet giant SoftBank on Monday announced its intent to invest nearly $10 billion (around Rs 60,000 crore) in India over the next few years. Masayoshi Son, the $92 billion conglomerate's chairman and founder, is expected to kick off investments during his trip to India, where he is expected to meet several entrepreneurs. Son mentioned the investment intention during his meeting with communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, an official statement said, adding that India is “the top most priority for SoftBank“. Japan's richest man, who had invested $20 million in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2000, is eyeing investments in e-tailing and technology companies in India, said sources privy to the discussions. Son is learnt to have suggested that the Centre speed up the rollout of telecom infrastructure and quickly move to nationwide 4G services. SoftBank is leading a $650million financing round in Delhi-based Snapdeal. SoftBank is pumping in as much as $180 million in taxi hailing startup Olacabs which competes directly with Uber. 

• Our site got more traffic than the Taj: Amazon: More people visited its website during a recently concluded month- long shopping bonanza than tourists thronging the Taj Mahal every year, claimed Amazon India on Monday. The festive season had fuelled a fierce competition as well as debate in the e- commerce space this year. Like its competitors, Amazon India, too, offered an “ Online Shopping Dhamaka” from September 21 to October 21, during which sellers offered deals and discounts on a host of products across categories on www. amazon. in. The American major also claimed that sellers, with monthly revenues of over ₹ 10 crore in the online market, grew five times in this period. Even though Amazon India refrained from sharing any figures (like most of its peers), it tried to sustain its claims of success through metaphoric comparisons. It said: “... traffic on Amazon. in during the monthlong Online Shopping Dhamaka was over 15 times that of the total number of tourists thronging the Taj Mahal every year.” The company also claimed that the total weight of the shipments it made in the last one month was equal to over 800 “adult elephants”, with mobile devices contributing to “ nearly half of the traffic”. Other top categories included consumer electronics, books, home, beauty products, and shoes. Amazon India said if all the books sold from the portal in the last one month were stacked up, the pile would be higher than Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain peak. The pairs of shoes sold on the ecommerce major’s portal in India during the 30 days would be enough to walk to Mars and return, “ without running out of apair of shoes”, it added. It also said the sarees sold on Amazon. in over the last one month could “ engulf the cricket pitches of all ODI ( one- day international) grounds across the globe 20 times over”. 

• Burger King to open 12 outlets in India over three months: American fast food chain Burger King will open 12 outlets in India over the next two-three months, six each in Delhi and Mumbai. According to people familiar with the burger chain’s plans, the brand will roll out its first outlet in the capital in less than a month at a prominent mall in South Delhi, followed by the rest in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai. “The initial plan is to roll out a store every few weeks to keep the momentum going,” said a person with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be named. With an investment of up to Rs.2-2.5 crore per outlet, Burger King is eyeing other potential locations like Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. To be sure, Burger King is launching in Asia’s third largest economy where a spurt in disposable incomes has led to a rise in out-of-home food consumption, pushing chains such as Domino’s, McDonald’s and KFC to expand.

International:

• Amazon buys comedy service Rooftop Media to expand digital content: Amazon.com Inc is buying online comedy service Rooftop Media, a small deal that underscores the Internet retailer's broader ambition of becoming a media and entertainment powerhouse. Amazon is persisting in buying content to round out its service, with designs to take on Netflix Inc and other online digital media services. But that increasing spending has helped keep the company in the red, inviting criticism from investors. Audible, the audiobooks service it bought in 2008 for $300 million, is picking up the 10-person company for an undisclosed sum. Audible founder and Chief Executive Donald Katz said in a statement on Monday the company had been attracted by Rooftop's content as well as its pool of comic talent. Rooftop records comedians at clubs across the country and licenses the digital rights to thousands of hours of comedy, which is broadcast either live or later on demand. The company's media partners include Apple Inc and Yahoo, and it also works with streaming services such as Sirius XM , Spotify and Pandora. Its content now becomes part of Audible, itself a fast-growing seller of online audiobooks, and vastly increases Rooftop's audience, said Rooftop Chief Executive Officer Will Rogers.

• Madison Square Garden explores splitting firm: Madison Square Garden, owners of sports teams the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, may separate its businesses into two publicly-traded companies. The firm said it is exploring a split between its entertainment business and media and sports businesses. The proposal has been under internal consideration since July but no timetable has been set for the potential spin-off or its completion. Its shares rose as much as 14% in after hours US trade following the news. "Investors favour companies with greater strategic focus on their core businesses," Madison Square Garden (MSG) chief executive officer Tad Smith said in a statement. "We are exploring the opportunity to improve upon the excellent shareholder return created since MSG's spin-off over four years ago by separating our business into two companies, each with its own distinct value proposition for investors." The New York-based company said its entertainment business, which also runs Radio City Music Hall, would focus on event and venue management.

• Bottega Veneta Opens Store in Boston: Bottega Veneta has opened a 2,500-square-foot store at 310 Boylston Street in The Heritage on the Garden in Boston’s historic Back Bay district. The condominium, which is across from the city’s public garden, also houses retailers such as Escada, Christofle, Hermès, Anne Fontaine, St. John and Exhale Spa. The Bottega Veneta unit will offer ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories, eyewear, jewelry and fragrance for men and women, as well as handbags for women and bags for men. “I’m delighted to finally be opening a boutique in Boston, a city of such history and culture,” said Tomas Maier, Bottega Veneta creative director. “The Back Bay neighborhood has a certain charm and intimacy that we were drawn to, and once the right space became available, the opportunity was there. We’re confident this new boutique offers the perfect ambience for those who live in and visit Boston to immerse themselves in the collections and experience our superlative service.”

• Beyoncé, Topshop Team For Ath-leisure Brand: She's arguably Topshop’s most famous customer. Now Beyoncé is connecting further by partnering with the brand. Beyoncé Knowles and London-based Topshop have formed a 50-50 joint venture company, Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd., to produce an athletic streetwear brand, WWD has learned. It could launch in stores and online in fall 2015 at the earliest. The deal is expected to be unveiled by Topshop in London today. “This not a collaboration. This is about building a brand and building a business — a separate, proper business, with separate overhead and a separate office,” Topshop owner Sir Philip Green told WWD in an interview Sunday.

• Boss Appoints New Americas CEO: Hugo Boss has a new chief executive for the Americas. Gerrit Ruetzel, currently president and ceo of Hugo Boss for the Asia Pacific region, has been named the group’s president and ceo for the Americas, effective Jan. 1. Ruetzel, who is to relocate from Hong Kong to New York, succeeds Mark Brashear, who left the company last June after six years at the U.S. helm. In turn, Gareth Incledon, currently managing director of Hugo Boss China Retail, is to succeed Ruetzel. Incledon’s duties will be managed internally, a Boss spokesman said, with a successor to be named at a later stage. Ruetzel and Incledon will report to Claus Dietrich Lahrs, Hugo Boss ceo and chairman of the managing board. Lahrs has overseen the group’s American business since Brashear’s departure.

Tech:

• It's Nimbuzz-ing Now. UK Buy Values Co at Rs 1,500 cr: New Call Telecom, a UK-based Internet service provider, has acquired a 70% stake in India-headquartered Nimbuzz for about $175 million, valuing the instant messaging, voiceover-internet call and mobile ad services provider at more than eight times its expected revenue % stake for $175 million for this fiscal year, underlining the huge interest in the segment. “We see huge potential for new revenue streams and very large expansion of broad band in India through this,“ Jerome Booth, chairman of the UK firm and its principal investor, told ET. He added that the company is planning more acquisitions in the Indian market in the fields of fixed line broadband, Wi-Fi and e-commerce. While New Call didn't share any financial details, a person close to the development said Nimbuzz was valued at as much as $250 million, mainly due to its 201 million strong subscriber base and monetising capabilities. “This purchase will be done in part cash and some in the form of stock,“ the person added. Nimbuzz chief executive Vikas Saxena will continue in his position and drive growth at the company, which will operate as New Call's unit. So-called over-the-top (OTT) services, which include messaging and calling apps, have proved highly popular, with adoption levels soaring in many countries over the last two years. That has led to Facebook's $19-billion acquisition of WhatsApp, which has more than 600 million active subscribers, and Japanese internet giant Rakuten's $900-million purchase of Viber, with 450 million users.

• Telenor Skips 3G, Bets on `Disruptive' 4G Technology: Norway's Telenor is working on technology that will allow it to offer highspeed 4G mobile broadband services with less spectrum than currently needed, skipping 3G altogether in India -a move that some say may disrupt the plans of bigger rivals. “We are not there yet, but in the future we believe that this might be possible,“ Hilde Tonne, executive vice president and head of Group Industrial Development at Telenor, told ET. Once the technology is ready and its permit is converted into a unified licence, Telenor's Indian unit Uninor can offer 4G services without buying more spectrum than what it already has in the 1800 MHz band. A unified licence allows airwaves to be used to offer any technology -2G, 3G or 4G. According to analysts, the ecosystem for offering 4G over the 1800 MHz band (FDD-LTE), which Uninor has, is far more developed globally than the 2300 MHz band held by Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm. While both companies recently also won 1800 MHz spectrum, Airtel has started 4G services in some cities using the 2300 MHz band and Jio is expected to begin next year. Uninor, which is known for its `sabse sasta' offerings, may well start a price war for the service since it has the advantage of using its existing bandwidth while rivals have to use airwaves acquired through auctions, say experts. “This may weaken the business case for bigger players who have 4G plans and airwaves for the next spurt in internet users,“ said a senior industry official, who asked not to be identified.

• Xiaomi to set up data centre in India: Days after the Indian Air Force asked its personnel and their families not to buy Xiaomi smartphones because of security concerns, the Chinese smartphone maker said on Monday that it would set up a data centre in India next year to store local user data. Xiaomi, which started selling phones in India in July this year, has already sold about 400,000 handsets in the country through Flipkart. The firm also said it was “attempting to reach Indian authorities to learn specifics”. “Since early 2014, we have been migrating our services and corresponding data for Indian users from our Beijing data centres to Amazon’s data centres in Singapore and the US. Parts of this migration will be completed by the end of October, and all of it will be completed by the end of 2014. In 2015, we plan to launch a local data centre in India to serve the needs of (and store data for) our Indian users,” Xiaomi said in a statement on Monday. The company added that the efforts were to “significantly improve” the performance of its services as well as to allay any concerns that users in India might have. “We treat their data with utmost care and the highest privacy standards,” it noted. Xiaomi has faced privacy controversies in Taiwan, too.

• Two drug chains disable Apple Pay, as a rival makes plans: Apple Pay, the Silicon Valley giant's highly anticipated mobile wallet, has been available for only one week but already may be inciting a battle within the payments industry. Over the weekend, Rite Aid and CVS disabled Apple Pay from working in their stores nationwide. The reason was not immediately clear. Ashley Flower, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid, said the company "does not currently accept Apple Pay." She added that Rite Aid was "still in the process of evaluating our mobile payment options." Representatives from CVS did not respond to repeated telephone and email requests for comment on Sunday. Analysts said disabling acceptance of Apple Pay was a way to favor a rival system that is not yet available but is being developed by a consortium of merchants known as Merchant Customer Exchange, or MCX. Rite Aid and CVS are part of that consortium, not part of the group of retailers that had teamed up with Apple on its payment system. Nonetheless, over the week, Apple Pay technology was working in Rite Aid and CVS stores.

• Twitter’s third-quarter user growth slows, shares decline: Twitter Inc.’s third-quarter user growth slowed and its loss widened as chief executive officer (CEO) Dick Costolo struggles to speed up the addition of new members. Active users on the social network rose 23% to 284 million, the San Francisco-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. That compared with 24% growth in the prior period. Sales more than doubled to $361.3 million, topping the $351 million average analyst projection compiled by Bloomberg. Costolo replaced executives and introduced new products this year as he sought to reassure investors that Twitter, which went public in November, has room to grow. The company has pushed further into mobile advertising and services for other application developers, moving away from relying on its main website to generate traffic and ads. While the number of monthly active users matched analysts’ estimates, growth has been slowing at least since the company went public last year.