Daily News Digest- 5th Dec'14

Thought of the Day:

Today in History:

Following made the Headlines:

India:

• Flipkart to skip Google’s online shopping festival: After nearly two years of association with Google’s Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF), Flipkart.com has decided to give this year’s festival a miss as India’s largest e-commerce company plans to run its own discount fest, Big App Sale, that overlaps with Google’s shopping event. So, while e-tailers such as Amazon.in, Snapdeal.com, Shopclues.com and Jabong.com gear up for the three-day sale from 10-12 December, Flipkart has decided to compete with them alone by offering discounts via its mobile app from 8-12 December. “They (Flipkart) have done their own sales and have learnt from their mistakes. Now they are aware of the good and bad of running such events,” said Harish H.V., partner, Grant Thornton India LLP. “Also, they (Flipkart) have spent enough money already in creating their brand. The number of people who have experienced Flipkart is huge. So, they are in a pretty strong position,” he added.

• Royals Promote Products Fit for a King to Preserve Legacy: Royalty and luxury often go together, especially in a market like India where the luxury consumption story began with the royals splurging on things such as Bulgari jewellery, LV trunks and Rolls Royce cars. In a role reversal of sorts, the erstwhile royals and their descendants are targeting new buyers of highend products ranging from pashmina shawls to hand-painted saris and expensive leather footwear. Many are promoting handicraft products made by the artisans of their erstwhile kingdoms under the banner of trusts and NGOs, while others are created items such as precious jewellery , home décor stuff and artworks as pure commercial activity . While most of the retailing so far has been conducted through museum shops running within old forts and palaces, attempts are being made to reach out to a larger audience by exploring new avenues such as corporate tie-ups, online and even international exhibitions. Last year, Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur commissioned English perfume house Penhaligon's to develop a special fragrance named after his granddaughter ­ Vaara ­ and inspired by his hometown Jodhpur. The product -priced at . 12,500 for 100 ml, more than many ` leading international brands was, however, not created for personal consumption alone, but to be commercially retailed.

• Myntra Eyes Breakeven in 18 Months by Cutting Costs: Myntra, India's largest fashion and apparel online retailer, is working on cutting costs, improving back-end supply chain efficiencies, seeking more margins from brands and boosting private brand business in a bid to break even in the next 15-18 months, a top official said. “We are working towards profitability by making the organisation lean and efficient and improving overall margins,“ said Ashutosh Lawania, co-founder of Myntra, now owned by top e-commerce player Flipkart. Lawania said Myntra is looking to more than double the share of private labels, or own brands, in its overall sales to 40%-50% from 20% now, which will give a boost to its profitability since margins on in-house brands are typically 60%-70% higher than what it makes with selling other brands.

• After Phones, Candy Crush Set To Enter Your Wardrobe Soon: Developers of Candy Crush Saga, perhaps the world's most popular online and mobile game, plans to cash in on its popularity in India by launching high-street designer clothes, handbags, shoes and, of course, candies under the Candy Crush brand. King Digital Entertainment Plc, the London-based owner of Candy Crush, has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Mumbai-based Dream Theatre, to license and sell Candy Crush branded products across South Asia. “Since women between 18-25 years have been identified as the primary consumers of Candy Crush, our core focus for extending the game to products is women's fashion clothing, accessories, handbags, footwear and even home furnishing,“ said Jiggy George, founder and CEO of Dream Theatre, an entertainment, sports, fashion licensing and brand management firm. Dream Theatre is close to signing a contract with a top Indian fashion designer, he said, but refused to name the person. In July, fashion designer Manish Arora had showcased a fallwinter collection for Amprapali jewellery inspired by Candy Crush.

• Ericsson Bags $1-billion RCom Deal: Ericsson has bagged a seven-year deal, likely worth more than $1 billion, to manage the network of Reliance Communications across 11 service areas, making the Swedish telecom gear maker the only service provider to manage the pan-India network of a mobile phone operator. The latest deal ­ covering circles in east and south which was till now being managed by French rival Alcatel-Lucent -is an extension of a similar one signed in 2013.That deal was worth $1 billion, and covered the other 11 circles, in northern and western India. “We have full responsibility for Reliance (Communications) networks. We are going to manage about a 150,000 km of fibres, multivendor and multi-technology networks ­ CDMA, GSM (both 2G and 3G), and wireline,“ Magnus Mandersson, executive vice president and head of business unit global services at Ericsson, told ET in an interview. Mandersson didn't dis i close any financial terms, while RCom declined to comment on the t deal, which typically includes activities such as designing, building, operating and managing dayto-day operations for the entire net work of the customer. The latest contract is bigger in scope than the previous one, which was worth $1 billion but was for eight years and 100,000 km of fibre and related mobile infrastructure.

• Amazon Looks at Bottom Line to SELL PREMIUM DIAPERS: Amazon just launched Amazon Elements, a line of premium products that are only available to Prime subscription members (membership costs $99 per year and includes free two-day shipping on tons of items as well as music, TV, and movie streaming). Every Amazon Elements product will include information about where each ingredient in it was sourced and why, as well as when and where it was manufactured.The idea is to appeal to shoppers who want more product transparency and to take ethical manufacturing into consideration for purchasing decisions. Each item will have a QR code on it ­ when buyers scan it with their Amazon app, they'll get a bunch of information about the product.

• Amazon’s Karnataka tax woes could get worse: The stand- off between online retailer Amazon India and Karnataka’s commercial tax department is likely to escalate. Tax officials are contemplating attaching the assets of its dealers who haven’t responded to a notice by the department. A number of such dealers, served a cancellation notice by the department, are yet to respond. The commercial tax authorities, who have already extended the deadline for responses, are now deliberating the next course of action. The department has stopped issuing fresh registrations to new dealers on Amazon’s ecommerce platform. “As of now, the status quo continues, as we are waiting for the chief minister to take a stand on the issue,” said I S N Prasad, principal secretary, finance department, Karnataka. “ However, we have stopped issuing fresh licences to new dealers until the matter is resolved. We had given additional time to dealers and are waiting for their response.”

• New airlines to take wing in 2015: Aviation professionals and investors are taking fresh bets by launching new airlines on regional and national routes while existing domestic carriers continue to bleed and remain mired in debt. The first to take off will be Air Pegasus, promoted by Bengaluru- based ground- handling firm Deccor Aviation. Air Pegasus Managing Director Shyson Thomas said the airline would commence services later this month on regional routes in south India. Industry sources, however, expect the airline will start flying next month because the company is yet to receive a permit from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Air Pegasus received a no- objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry in 2012 but its plans were held up over difficulties in getting aircraft on lease following the shutdown of Kingfisher Airlines. The airline has now taken on lease a 70- seater ATR- 72 and has tied up for two similar aircraft. Air Pegasus will connect Bengaluru with Thiruvananthapuram, Hubli, Chennai, Tuticorin and other cities in the initial stage. Other start- ups too are preparing for launch. Air One, which runs an air charter service, plans to finalise its aircraft leases by next month, while Flyeasy, a regional airline with a base in Bangalore, has begun hiring pilots and engineers for its proposed fleet of Embraerjets. Premier Airways headed by NRI engineer Umapathy Pinaghapani is slated to launch services next summer, according to a media report. Air One and Premier Airways are among six companies that received noobjection certificates from the civil aviation ministry earlier this year. Flyeasy, promoted by ABC Aviation & Training, received its clearance prior to 2014.

International:

• Uber Raises $1.2 B at $40 B Valuation: Uber just raised $1.2 billion, CEO Travis Kalanick announced on the company's blog.The ride-hailing and logistics startup has raised $2.7 billion since its founding in 2010. The company didn't announce its valuation, but Business Insider can confirm that it was $40 billion. Uber says it will use the $1.2 billion to create more than 1 million jobs in 2015 and to “make significant investments, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.“ Uber also vows to become “smarter and more humble“ moving forward.Recently, its executives have taken heat for saying and doing controversial things. The company hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc to sell more than $1 billion of convertible debt to the bank's wealth management clients, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Goldman Sachs clients are getting a chance to buy a sixyear bond in the mobile car-booking company that will convert into equity at a 20% to 30% discount to Uber's valuation at the time of an IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified. Goldman Sachs isn't investing its own money in the debt, said the people. The convertible bond carries a coupon that increases over time if Uber hasn't gone public within four years, said the people.

• Lufthansa cancels half its long-haul flights over strike: German airline Lufthansa has cancelled almost half of its long-haul flights, as pilots strike for the second time in a week over retirement benefits. Pilots went on strike at 02:00 GMT, and the action is due to continue until 22:59 GMT. Up to a third of cargo flights have also been cancelled, Lufthansa called the strike action by pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit, "completely incomprehensible". This is the 10th strike for the airline since April. The airline's pilots oppose plans to phase out an early-retirement scheme. Currently, pilots are able to retire at the age of 55 and receive up to 60% of their pay until the standard retirement age of 65.

• Lane Crawford Joyce Launches New Business Unit: The Lane Crawford Joyce Group said Thursday it is launching a new “strategic platform” for contemporary and premium brands by reorganizing part of its ImagineX operations into a new concern. The Hong Kong-based retailer said its new Walton Brown division- named for former Lane Crawford executive Andrew Walton Brown- will operate more than 100 points of sale across tier 1 to tier 4 cities in China, offering distribution through retail, wholesale e-commerce and and travel retail sales points. Until now, Walton Brown has operated as part of ImagineX and it runs a chain of premium malls and outlets. The company said Thomson Cheng will be president of Walton Brown and retain his role of managing director of ImagineX. Lane Crawford Joyce Group said Juicy Couture, which launched in Greater China with ImagineX in 2006, will move under the Walton Brown umbrella.

• Dover Street Market to Shift London Location: With Mayfair bursting at its silken seams as fashion and luxury retailers fight for premium space around Bond and Mount Streets, once down-and-out patches of central London are taking on a fresh appeal. For decades, the businesses inhabiting the tourist-jammed, traffic-clogged streets around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square haven’t exactly been of the high-end variety: Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Aberdeen Steak House, Planet Hollywood, and countless cheap souvenir shops have been neighborhood fixtures.

• Walgreens Taps Linda Filler: Walgreen Co. has tapped Linda Filler as president of retail products and chief merchandising officer. She was previously president of Claire’s Stores Inc. Filler, who will join Walgreens on Jan. 1, will oversee all the chain’s merchandising activities. “With her deep experience across a broad range of product lines and strong supplier relationships, Linda has the expertise to understand what our customers want and innovate quickly to create an experience that drives loyalty and results,” said Alex Gourlay, president of customer experience and daily living at Walgreens and president-elect of Walgreen Co. It is a newly created role, although Gourlay has been handling some of the responsibilities. Gourlay will assume the title of president of the Walgreens division, following the merger with Alliance Boots by the end of calendar 2015’s first quarter. 

• Jimmy Choo Confirmed as Entering FTSE 250: Jimmy Choo plc is set to become a member of the FTSE 250 group of stocks, the London Stock Exchange confirmed this week. The index tracks the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London exchange by market capitalization, and the change in members is part of the quarterly reviews of the FTSE U.K. indices, the LSE said. Jimmy Choo’s market capitalization as of Dec. 3 is 688.15 million pounds, or $1.08 billion, and its stock price closed at 1.76 pounds, or $2.76, Thursday evening. The luxury label's shares debuted on the London Stock Exchange Oct. 17, with a share price of 1.40 pounds, or $2.19. The changes will be implemented at the close of business Dec. 19, the LSE said, and will take effect when trading starts Monday, Dec. 22.

Tech:

• An App to Cut Your Mobile Bill Burden: A new web-cum-mobile application-based service promises to take the drudgery out of searching for the best telecom network and tariff plan that mobile phone users should opt for. Two former top executives of Vodafone India and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm have teamed up to launch Billbachao, which notifies mobile phone users about the operator which has the best connectivity in the area and the tariff plan that suits them on the basis of their individual profiles. Jonathan Bill, who worked for Vodafone India and is the managing director and co-founder of Billbachao, told ET that the app can help users save up to 25% on their tariffs – whether it’s prepaid or postpaid – with the same operator. “The app also has recommendations for the most optimum network based on where you live, work and travel,” he said.

• i for India: Apple plans big push with 500 stores: Apple, the Cupertino-based world's most valuable electronics maker, has decided to go big in India.After being on the fringes for long, the company is finally set to cut loose in the fastgrowing Indian phone market. The world's most admired electronics brand -that sells devices such as the iPhone, iPad tablet and iPod media player -plans 500 `iOS' stores in the country in its first major push that will include moving into smaller towns and cities. The company , which recently topped $700 billion in market cap in the US, has been in India since 2011, but not been a mainline brand here like many other overseas markets, including China. This is in contrast to its Korean rival Samsung that dominates the Indian phone market. “All this will change now.The company is finalizing plans to become a serious player in India, which is being seen as a strategic and one of the most promising markets globally ,“ a top company source told TOI. The company sold around one million phones in India in the year ending September 2014 and expects the volume to treble this year and top 3 million. “And, it will only strengthen from here as the expansion starts and picks pace,“ another source said.

• Cyanogen reiterates commitment to OnePlus, will deliver updates: Last week, rumors emerged that OnePlus may be looking to abandon Cyanogenmod as its Android OS after Cyanogen announced it was selling rights to its OS exclusively to another provider in India without notifying OnePlus. OnePlus launched in India earlier this week and had been planning to do so for some time, working closely with Cyanogen to get a firmware update prepared for the launch. When it learned the rights were being given to another provider, Micromax, OnePlus said “it was surprising and disappointing to hear from Cyanogen on November 26 that they had granted exclusive rights in India” and that “it is truly unfortunate that a commitment we both made to our Indian users will now not be upheld.” Today, Cyanogen reiterated on its blog that it is committed to OnePlus and that it will still work with the company to release OTA firmware updates for global devices, including those sold in India, but doesn’t address OnePlus’ disappointment in the exclusivity agreement.

• BBC iPlayer Hits XBox One, Adds 30 Day Downloads: The PS4 got iPlayer at launch but the BBC made XBox One owners wait a little longer. Now, just in time for Christmas, the wait is over. The BBC has launched an iPlayer app for XBox One which takes advantage of the console’s Kinect voice control features. To grab the new app, you just need to switch on your console and log in to XBox Live, you’ll find the new BBC iPlayer app there as a free download. The BBC has also announced that it’s extending the extending the time you have to download TV shows to watch offline from 7 to 30 days.

• Wickr's Self-Destructing Messages are Now on Your Desktop: The Wickr mobile apps for iOS and Android are known for incredibly secure messaging that feature a self-destruct option for text, images and videos. Now those messages are available on your desktop. The new Wickr app for Windows, Linux and OS X, is available today with the same security features found on the mobile apps. All the messages use multi-layer encryption with AES256 and ECDH521 and are never stored on any servers. The desktop app also removes all metadata and is completely anonymous, with only your devices having the key that can reveal messages directed at you. In addition to being able to set a time limit for all individual messages (with a maximum of six days), you can “forensically” wipe the deleted messages from your computer. In other words, once it’s gone, it’s really gone.

• Messaging App Line Goes Global With Its Payment Service: Japanese messaging app Line is releasing a new update, taking its mobile payment service Line Pay global for the first time. The company claims to have 170 million active users worldwide. Line Pay will let them make payments for services and at shops that support the option. From today, you can register a credit card and buy Line stickers and other content through the Line store. Line sent out this news a week early. Line Pay will be launching globally on 8 December.