Yourstory.in New Delhi, March 11, 2013 Ennovent, a company that accelerates innovations for sustainability in low income markets, is launching its new offering, Startup Services, in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Startup Services is aimed at developing and refining the business models of enterprises with products and services that improve the lives of low-income people in India. Often, when entrepreneurs bring innovations such as solar lamps or low-cost education to market, they face several barriers that stem from a lack of peer and expert support networks, and a difficulty in engaging with mentors and service providers. Ennovent’s…
Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, March 7, 2013 Aditya Birla Group's retail chain 'More', which closed more stores than it opened in the last four years, is changing tack. Its new strategy: Open more stores but only those that work with customers. 'More', which closed nearly 150 supermarkets in the last four years, is looking at opening 100 supermarkets every year in the next three years to bolster its retail presence. It is also planning to open half a dozen hypermarkets next financial year. It opened five of them this financial year. More currently has 496 supermarkets and 14 hypermarkets…
Liz Morrell, Retail Week February 26, 2013 India has long been an attractive target for international expansion thanks to its size and a young, increasingly affluent population. Retailers have been extolling its merits for some time, but it's a market where UK retailers have been hampered by everything from regulatory restrictions to cultural challenges. India closed off foreign direct investment (FDI) into retail operations in the second half of the 1990s, and although it began reopening the sector to FDI in 2006, it has taken until this year for the country to announce changes that may finally make a difference…
Ashish K Tiwari & Nupur Anand, DNA (Daily News & Analysis) Mumbai, February 26, 2013 Imagine walking into a McDonald’s outlet for a McSpicy Paneer burger and also getting to pick up a cup of cappuccino from a Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) counter inside. Going by a buzz, McDonald’s and CCD operators in India could very well team up to create co-located stores. Officials of both companies denied the move. “There has been no move to tie up with or create associations with Café Coffee Day or any other brand in India presently,” said Smita Jatia, managing director, Hardcastle Restaurants…
Luxury is an ill-defined concept. There is no specific line or limit of price, quality or availability that separates the luxurious from all that is not. However, like other similarly intangible attributes such as power or grace, we all immediately recognise luxury when we experience it. In fact, experience — vague as that may sound — is key to differentiating luxury, more than the tangible product being consumed. It’s not just the person’s own direct sensory experience, but also the prestige and status granted by others around her or him that creates the luxury experience. Surely, with such intangible notions…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
