The dearth of any particular thing, results in the increase of its value. Simple logic of demand and supply. It is interesting to note though, that the same logic applies so strongly to the behaviour of people and the way business is carried out.
On one of my recent visits to a small town in the north of India, I came across a branded pizza joint that I was familiar with. I was pleasantly surprise when I entered the store, to find that the service was head and shoulders above what I was used to getting in Bangalore. The waiters were very polite, showed us to the table, waited on us, offered suggestions (knowledge about the preparations; now that is one thing that I expected to be higher amongst their urban counterparts), asked for preferences in taste and then served our order. It was as if I had landed up in a gourmet restaurant, but just did not know. Often when I visit the same store in the city, I get waiters who are edgy, impatient and at times even rude if you are somewhat confused.
Is it the lack of business in the smaller towns that brings out the best in the people who serve you? Or is it just the large supply of people in and urban store as against a rural store; that the value of a customer falls? I don't really know why this happens, though I would love to know why.
Monday, September 15, 2008
India Railways Has A Better Value Proposition Than EURAIL
In the opening scene of the movie 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', Ranbir Kapoor has a dialogue, which is insightful and at the same time hard hitting; he says 'I am tired of travelling by train across Switzerland, all you see is Cows and Grass'.
Are the Swiss not pure genius to have marketed green grass and black and white cows to the world so effectively that, every years thousands of people go flocking to Europe, to take a journey on the Eurail?
Recently, while taking a trip on our very own 'India Railways' from Bangalore to Jodhpur, I realised that India has such a huge variety of landscapes, sights and sounds to offer to a tourist. Every 300 Kms or so, the geography changes, the way the houses are built changes, the type of food served within the train changes... There is just so much happening outside that you can look at. There is just so much that one can take in through the course of a journey; it's like visiting several different countries, within this one, highly diverse country called India.
Is this more fun or is this more fun?
I fail to understand why this aspect never comes up in any of the 'Incredible India' ads. The value proposition that India Railways has on offer for tourists is much greater than, what any railway network has to offer in the world. There is opportunity that is crying to be exploited. There is just so much that one can do with this asset that we possess.
We have the longest, most vast railway network any country has and it works flawlessly, most of the time; except when we ourselves like to highlight the negatives and sit and cry about it. There is such raw potential that is waiting to be unleashed. Somebody has to come forward to unleash it. I would love to be the one.
Are the Swiss not pure genius to have marketed green grass and black and white cows to the world so effectively that, every years thousands of people go flocking to Europe, to take a journey on the Eurail?
Recently, while taking a trip on our very own 'India Railways' from Bangalore to Jodhpur, I realised that India has such a huge variety of landscapes, sights and sounds to offer to a tourist. Every 300 Kms or so, the geography changes, the way the houses are built changes, the type of food served within the train changes... There is just so much happening outside that you can look at. There is just so much that one can take in through the course of a journey; it's like visiting several different countries, within this one, highly diverse country called India.
Is this more fun or is this more fun?
I fail to understand why this aspect never comes up in any of the 'Incredible India' ads. The value proposition that India Railways has on offer for tourists is much greater than, what any railway network has to offer in the world. There is opportunity that is crying to be exploited. There is just so much that one can do with this asset that we possess.
We have the longest, most vast railway network any country has and it works flawlessly, most of the time; except when we ourselves like to highlight the negatives and sit and cry about it. There is such raw potential that is waiting to be unleashed. Somebody has to come forward to unleash it. I would love to be the one.
Retail at the Airport
When a visitor at an airport wishes to shop, what would he/she look for? I guess the retailers at the Bangalore International Airport never thought about that when they were setting up their stores. I find a lot of the merchandise that has been put on display at these stores are surely not the kind that an airport shopper would pick-up. Let us see why...
An airport shoppers is one who wants to pick up something that he/she:
1) Is going to utilizing over the course of the journey
2) Is going to present to someone as a gift
3) Is going to carry as a souvenir that is extraordinary or typical of the place which can be taken back. At least that is what I look to shop in an Airport.
Let us see what BIAL has done. The Raheja group came and booked a large space and BIAL found it convenient and gave it away for Crosswords and Shoppers Stop to be opened. A book shop is good, it works especially in the context of an airport. But a large part of the merchandise featured in the Crossword store in BIAL are coffee table books. Lets say, coffee table books are bulky, expensive, not easy to carry and most important of all a lot of weight added to the hand luggage. It does not make a for a good in-flight read, unless the person is travelling by business class (not to mention the ratio of allocation of seat for business versus economy in a plane and the profile of people booking those seats). So just because coffee table books fetch a higher margin, they place the books there and generate very little revenue from the same.
I don't understand the rationale behind having a Shopper's Stop in the airport. The merchandise on offer is not exclusive or recognized. The brand is not know outside of the country and is available everywhere in this country, why would anybody hit that shop, unless they really need to.
The stores that make up an Airport retail area should have some degree of exclusivity. They should be the sort of things that you do not find very easily around the city. Most airports across the world sell their retail space to luxury brands, since their product mix is very exclusive and the kinds that would make everyone stop and take notice, besides its easier to get them to shell out a few more bucks for the space that they take up. They also allocate space to the not so luxury but, internationally well known brands, which can again draw a crowd on the basis of their brand power. Apart from them, space needs to be allocated to things that are unique to the city. Having this part of the offering covered is very important as far as pushing the city to the world is concerned.
The airport is the first and the last brush that one has with a city. It is important that all of the aspects of the airport are taken care of really well. Poor presentation on any front will most certainly hurt the image that one builds of the city in their minds.
An airport shoppers is one who wants to pick up something that he/she:
1) Is going to utilizing over the course of the journey
2) Is going to present to someone as a gift
3) Is going to carry as a souvenir that is extraordinary or typical of the place which can be taken back. At least that is what I look to shop in an Airport.
Let us see what BIAL has done. The Raheja group came and booked a large space and BIAL found it convenient and gave it away for Crosswords and Shoppers Stop to be opened. A book shop is good, it works especially in the context of an airport. But a large part of the merchandise featured in the Crossword store in BIAL are coffee table books. Lets say, coffee table books are bulky, expensive, not easy to carry and most important of all a lot of weight added to the hand luggage. It does not make a for a good in-flight read, unless the person is travelling by business class (not to mention the ratio of allocation of seat for business versus economy in a plane and the profile of people booking those seats). So just because coffee table books fetch a higher margin, they place the books there and generate very little revenue from the same.
I don't understand the rationale behind having a Shopper's Stop in the airport. The merchandise on offer is not exclusive or recognized. The brand is not know outside of the country and is available everywhere in this country, why would anybody hit that shop, unless they really need to.
The stores that make up an Airport retail area should have some degree of exclusivity. They should be the sort of things that you do not find very easily around the city. Most airports across the world sell their retail space to luxury brands, since their product mix is very exclusive and the kinds that would make everyone stop and take notice, besides its easier to get them to shell out a few more bucks for the space that they take up. They also allocate space to the not so luxury but, internationally well known brands, which can again draw a crowd on the basis of their brand power. Apart from them, space needs to be allocated to things that are unique to the city. Having this part of the offering covered is very important as far as pushing the city to the world is concerned.
The airport is the first and the last brush that one has with a city. It is important that all of the aspects of the airport are taken care of really well. Poor presentation on any front will most certainly hurt the image that one builds of the city in their minds.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Indian Malls - Retail Graveyards
First of all, I must confess that I have not seen many of the malls in India and also I don't have much information about the new projects that are coming up. But in all that I have been able to see so far, most of the malls in this country have nothing than can hold the interest of the shoppers there. Most of them are a endless number of shops laid out in a cuboid.
Malls can be destinations that people visit to spend their time, having fun, spending time in a structured manner. The shortcomings of most of the malls that I have seen is that there is an unbelievable amount of stress that has been laid on selling out space to the retailers. There is a greater degree of loyalty and customer satisfaction that can be drawn out of leaving spaces empty as against giving it away to the retailers. This is a fact that very few developers understand. People coming to a place that is supposed to be a destination, where they might spent an entire day don't want to be thrust from one shop to the other when they are there. They would look for places where they can actually hang out!
There is also a huge retail mix available in the mall; mall developers do not wait to think that retail is not the only offering that people are looking forward to. Having things in a mall that allows people to amuse themselves with (with or without a revenue generating aspect to it) is very important. The mall should be very engaging and should permit the shoppers... no no; the visitors (let us not see them as just shoppers; they may or may not shop) to enjoy their time in various activities in the mall. Having a rock climbing wall, a fancy barbecue on the terrace, roller coaster, etc. are different ways of creating engagement devices for the shoppers. These are extremely important to keep a mall alive.
STORIES - People love stories and even more so they love to tell stories to other people. In such a case don't you think that every mall should have a story of its own. Giving a theme and an exciting story behind the theme is very important to excite people about a mall. It also helps secure an individuality for the mall. It is extremely important to give a character to a mall in order to have a presence for it which is everlasting.
At present developers are just constructing spaces where they put as much retail as they possibly can. These spaces are extremely impersonal and have nothing remarkable about them. These malls don't have an individuality or character that separates them from the rest. The trend that I notice at present is only going to result in the malls of today becoming the retail graveyards of tomorrow. When something bigger and better comes along the crowds will just shift to the better option and the malls being built now are going to just fade away very fast.
Malls can be destinations that people visit to spend their time, having fun, spending time in a structured manner. The shortcomings of most of the malls that I have seen is that there is an unbelievable amount of stress that has been laid on selling out space to the retailers. There is a greater degree of loyalty and customer satisfaction that can be drawn out of leaving spaces empty as against giving it away to the retailers. This is a fact that very few developers understand. People coming to a place that is supposed to be a destination, where they might spent an entire day don't want to be thrust from one shop to the other when they are there. They would look for places where they can actually hang out!
There is also a huge retail mix available in the mall; mall developers do not wait to think that retail is not the only offering that people are looking forward to. Having things in a mall that allows people to amuse themselves with (with or without a revenue generating aspect to it) is very important. The mall should be very engaging and should permit the shoppers... no no; the visitors (let us not see them as just shoppers; they may or may not shop) to enjoy their time in various activities in the mall. Having a rock climbing wall, a fancy barbecue on the terrace, roller coaster, etc. are different ways of creating engagement devices for the shoppers. These are extremely important to keep a mall alive.
STORIES - People love stories and even more so they love to tell stories to other people. In such a case don't you think that every mall should have a story of its own. Giving a theme and an exciting story behind the theme is very important to excite people about a mall. It also helps secure an individuality for the mall. It is extremely important to give a character to a mall in order to have a presence for it which is everlasting.
At present developers are just constructing spaces where they put as much retail as they possibly can. These spaces are extremely impersonal and have nothing remarkable about them. These malls don't have an individuality or character that separates them from the rest. The trend that I notice at present is only going to result in the malls of today becoming the retail graveyards of tomorrow. When something bigger and better comes along the crowds will just shift to the better option and the malls being built now are going to just fade away very fast.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Resource Harvesting - India
India is a large country blessed with several resources. It has also been blessed with some amazing natural gifts such as the Himalayas and the large coastline stretching some 7500 Kms. It has several rivers that provide with water to most of the country. What all of this provides is also ample opportunity to exploit these resources for the purpose of generating energy.
India is poised at a point where double digit growth would be easily facilitated if only the energy needs of the country could be taken care of. We are energy dependent and therefore this growth is not facilitated at present. I have no doubts in my mind that the idea that I am pushing here is not one that can be easily achieved; but instead of spending crores of the people's tax money on figuring out whether to sign a treaty with a third party (again!) for securing the future energy needs, we need to look at securing it on our own.
Can't we as Indians make a decision to push the envelopes of technology to the limit develop new and more eco-friendly ways of harvesting the bounty of resources that this country is blessed with? Is renewable sources of energy not the future of energy?
The world of automobile manufacturers had said that a car with a price tag of $2500 was not possible. Tata, an Indian company made it happen. Why are there no visionaries in the field of energy who would pursue the possibility of making India energy-independent. It would be India for now, but tomorrow the world will be their playing ground.
There is a pressing need for India to push the next wave of technological breakthoughs. Companies such as Suzlon have become industry leaders in wind energy, but have not really put together proposals for wind farms, that can cater to an entire state perhaps; they continue to look abroad for business. Similarly, though there are several players in the solar energy field none at all have the vision of setting up solar fields to cater to the large population of India (Sun is available 300 days of the year is this part of the world).
I do not understand when they are capable of bringing in billion dollar investment for buying others comapnies; why is it that they cannot make similar investments for setting up power plants that shall cater to the needs of this country; which will not be a bad business proposition, by the way!
It is a black day in India when we laud the shifting of dependance for energy from the middle east to US. We should be looking at ways to make ourselves energy independent. I am waiting for an Indian visionary to take the lead towards making this a reality.
India is poised at a point where double digit growth would be easily facilitated if only the energy needs of the country could be taken care of. We are energy dependent and therefore this growth is not facilitated at present. I have no doubts in my mind that the idea that I am pushing here is not one that can be easily achieved; but instead of spending crores of the people's tax money on figuring out whether to sign a treaty with a third party (again!) for securing the future energy needs, we need to look at securing it on our own.
Can't we as Indians make a decision to push the envelopes of technology to the limit develop new and more eco-friendly ways of harvesting the bounty of resources that this country is blessed with? Is renewable sources of energy not the future of energy?
The world of automobile manufacturers had said that a car with a price tag of $2500 was not possible. Tata, an Indian company made it happen. Why are there no visionaries in the field of energy who would pursue the possibility of making India energy-independent. It would be India for now, but tomorrow the world will be their playing ground.
There is a pressing need for India to push the next wave of technological breakthoughs. Companies such as Suzlon have become industry leaders in wind energy, but have not really put together proposals for wind farms, that can cater to an entire state perhaps; they continue to look abroad for business. Similarly, though there are several players in the solar energy field none at all have the vision of setting up solar fields to cater to the large population of India (Sun is available 300 days of the year is this part of the world).
I do not understand when they are capable of bringing in billion dollar investment for buying others comapnies; why is it that they cannot make similar investments for setting up power plants that shall cater to the needs of this country; which will not be a bad business proposition, by the way!
It is a black day in India when we laud the shifting of dependance for energy from the middle east to US. We should be looking at ways to make ourselves energy independent. I am waiting for an Indian visionary to take the lead towards making this a reality.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Simple is Powerful
The above video is a parody on Microsoft; had they launched the iPod. I think that it epitomizes, the thing that makes Apple a more lovable company. Their presentation is very simple!
For an idea to have an impact, it is important for the idea to be simple. A simple idea can be understood by more people and can be spread easily as well, since the effort that needs to be taken to explain the same is much less.
Simplicity is the in thing...
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