Madhurima Nandy , MINT (A Wall Street Journal Partner) Bangalore, April 30, 2013 After focusing on consolidation and margin improvement for a year, apparel maker Raymond Ltd intends to return its sights to growth and higher profitability in the current fiscal year. Top Raymond executives sent out the signal in a conference call with analysts on Monday in which Raymond’s newly appointed chief financial officer M. Shivkumar indicated that the company’s net debt may go up by Rs.150-200 crore this financial year owing to the company’s capital expenditure plans. Around Rs.342 crore of debt is due for repayment in the…
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Amrita Roy, Ankita Rai & Masoom Gupte, Business Standard New Delhi/ Mumbai April 29, 2013 On an unremarkable day in 1991, Ramnath Nalli, grandson of Nalli Chinnasami Chetty, who set up the first Nalli Silk store in Chennai in 1928, decided to check out if there was a market for Kanjivaram silk saris in the country's fashion capital. He organised an exhibition-cum-sale of its products at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan and showcased an exquisitely crafted range carefully picked from his enviable repertoire. The event was a sell-out, and spurred him on to step out of his stronghold and set up…
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Vishal Krishna, Businessworld Bangalore, April 25, 2013 Despite the gloom about the slow growth of the Indian economy, Renuka Jagtiani, vice-chairperson of the $4-billion Landmark Group is remarkably upbeat about its immediate future. In fact, Jagtiani is chalking out a massive expansion plan for India with the help of two of her deputies — Kabir Lumba, chief executive officer of Lifestyle, and Viney Singh, CEO of Auchan Hypermarkets. “You will have to be positive about the future,” she says. “India is going to be one of the most important markets for us.” She adds that while the Landmark Group has…
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Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, April 23, 2013 While talking about Tesco's plans for India, China and Turkey last week after the announcement of the retailer's 2012-13 results, Chief Executive Philip Clarke was particularly silent on its India plans. Save for a passing reference, there was no word on opening stores in India or the size of the potential investment. Tesco insiders say even though rules were relaxed to allow foreigner to own a majority stake in an Indian retailer early this year, the world's third largest retailer has not been able to make much headway, largely because of the…
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Vandana, The Week Mumbai, April 22, 2013 It has been six months since the Indian government allowed 51 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) in multi-brand retail. However, in spite of numerous attempts at wooing foreign retailers, there has hardly been any investment. Global retailers who had lobbied for access to India's multi-brand market have, so far, shied away from entering. “It is not enough to criticise the government,” said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. “India Inc. should go back and loosen their purse strings.” Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his team at the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP)…
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