Sales of commercial vehicles, which were on a decline for over a year, are showing signs of a recovery. Two out of the three CV makers reported an increase in sales last month.
Low cost carriers have 55 per cent of the market, up from 45 per cent in Q1 last year, and 30 per cent two years back. Does it mean India really is an LCC market? The performance of the airlines also seem to suggest that. While budget carrier Spicejet announced a small profit for Q1, all the big boys in the industry seem to be in trouble.
More than 50 companies had rushed to make qualified institutional placements after real estate firms like Unitech and Indiabulls raised money through this route. Now it appears that only some of these companies may be able to raise equity through this route, on rising concerns over valuations and over-supply.
For instance, two of GSKCH's OTC products -- Eno and Iodex -- command a household penetration of 9 and 10 per cent respectively in metro cities. GSKCH has already drafted a channel strategy for modern trade in collaboration with South African retailer Shoprite, where cross-category and checkout placements were identified as an opportunity to create a shopping occasion through impulse buying.
After beverages and chips, the US major is now betting big on the biscuits market in India.
The annual shareholders' meet resembled a rock concert in an indoor stadium with associates cheering like crazy fans.
Sources now believe that the next few months can see more companies raising money through qualified institutional placements and private equity. The success of the Unitech and DLF block deals have encouraged other companies to jump onto the bandwagon.
The Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate (at which it lends to the banks) by 525 basis points to 4.75 per cent from the pre-credit crunch level. Yet, companies continue to borrow much of their working capital at 12.25 per cent, which is State Bank of India's prime lending rate and a sort of benchmark. Nearly three-fourths of all working capital loans like cash credit and overdraft are lent at bank's prevailing PLR.
Both PepsiCo's 'Youngistaan' brand ambassadors -- Virender Sehwag, captain of Delhi Daredevils, and Ishant Sharma, member of Kolkata Knight Riders -- have been formally present at various promotional activities for arch-rival Coca-Cola India, simply because Coca-Cola is the associate sponsor and the official pouring partner for both Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Parle-G enjoys close to 70% market share in the glucose biscuit segment and has held its price line for 25 years now. Ranju Sarkar explains how.
The compulsory peer reviews of auditors' notes for Sensex and Nifty companies for Q3 results of the last fiscal and full-year results of 2007-08 have proved a virtual non-starter, owing to confusion over its scope and the appointment of auditors.
More than 500 independent directors have resigned since January 1 this year.
In a few years, households receiving piped gas at home can use a fuel cell unit to produce power and heat, which can also be used to chill homes during summer.
Among the minority who are relieved at the rising heat are consumer durables' companies and retailers. Air conditioner (AC) sales are picking up in anticipation of a hot summer.
Videocon, Philips and Godrej are reworking strategy to grow their small appliance business. Last year, their focus was on high-end products. This shift to the low-end segment, they believe, will help them maintain their sales growth from Tier-II & Tier-III cities, while simultaneously helping them penetrate into rural areas. Home appliances account for over Rs 50 billion of the Rs 320 billion consumer durable business and is growing at a rate of 10-12 per cent.
The SC's dismissal of the Income-Tax department's plea that companies cannot claim deductions against tax liabilities on account of losses due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations legitimises the way companies were accounting for these forex losses.
The company has started using a new composite material for manufacturing refrigerators which will subsequently be rolled out to other product lines. The company has also done away with its regular corrugated boxes for packaging to incorporate stretch-hood film packaging and shrink wrapping. Stretch-hood packaging boasts of benefits such as better load stability, flexible adaptation to load height, width and depth and weather protection (rain, dirt and dust-proof).
Auto financiers, which had tightened lending norms in the face of rising defaults last year, may loosen their fists in the wake of the Calcutta high court's order of Wednesday, reaffirming the lender's right to seize vehicles if customers stop repaying loans.
High-end brands like Moschino and sports lifestyle brands such as Puma and Levi Strauss are devising strategies to reduce inventories and old stock pile-ups. While so far the thrust was on end-of-season sales, the low offtake due to the slowing economic environment has compelled most branded apparel makers to look at means to reduce stock to almost nil while maintaining margins.
The reasons for the growth of the luxury industry are not hard to find. It is still in a nascent stage in India and is growing at a scorching pace as the aspiration for better products is on the rise. The consumer market in India has shown a high growth trajectory and by 2025 is expected to become the world's fifth biggest consumer market as incomes and living standards are bound to grow, according to an Assocham study.
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