REUTERS / Businessworld New Delhi, 19 July 2012 The government appears set to relax heavily criticised sourcing rules for retailers, anxious not to scare off IKEA - one of the few big name firms that has said it will invest in the country - or any others willing to follow. India kicked open the door to foreign retailers in January when it removed an investment cap for single brand chains to set up shop but then shot itself in the foot by imposing a requirement that companies had to source 30 per cent from small local firms. IKEA and others…
CONTINUE READING
Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, 13 July 2012 Just one sentence in the IKEA website sums it all up: “We design the price tag first and then develop the product to suit that price”. The $30 billion (over Rs 165,000 crore) furniture powerhouse with 330 stores worldwide obviously doesn’t like to mince words: it’s an out and out price warrior in all the 41 countries (India will be the 42nd) it operates in. That obviously would be a cause for concern for the four to five organised players, which account for 6 per cent of the total furniture market in…
CONTINUE READING
Anjana Pasricha, Voice of America New Delhi, 13 July 2012 Foreign investment in India has slowed down in recent months, but a recent United Nations survey says Asia's third largest economy continues to be an attractive investment destination for global companies. Official data show that in April and May, foreign direct investment in India slumped by nearly 40 percent, falling from more than $5 billion during the same period last year to $3.2 billion. Economists say a weakening global and domestic economy is only partly to blame. N.R. Bhanumurthy with New Delhi's National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, says…
CONTINUE READING
Suneera Tandon, MINT (A Wall Street Journal Partner) New Delhi , 9 July 2012 For Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd publisher Chiki Sarkar, nothing is quite as beautiful as paper. Her current favourite is Pineider, the 200-year-old Italian fine stationery brand that she picked from Rome. Sarkar is in good company in the world of letters. Pineiderโs website informs visitors that it was the stationer of choice for writers from Lord Byron and Percy B. Shelley to Giacomo Leopardi and Charles Dickens, and that Napoleon Bonaparte was among the travellers who entered the Pineider shop. The Mediterranean blue and baby…
CONTINUE READING
Pia Heikkila, The National 8 July 2012 The Swedish company Ikea's furniture is well known across the world for being inexpensive and flat-packed, and featuring functional Scandinavian design. People either love it or hate it - Ikea's DIY furniture that looks oh-so-simple in the picture but often needs several hours of careful assembling. Now the Nordic giant wants to bring its collapsible furniture to India and plans to conquer the country with a massive plan that includes a nearly US$1.8 billion investment drive. "Ikea has a long-term vision for India. The investment plans as outlined in the application are estimations…
CONTINUE READING
