Thousands of new Realty Brands have hit The Indian Market in The Recent past. The Current Dynamism of The Sector Accomodates them well, but Ambiguous Positioning Threatens long Term Survival of many
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When I take a ring side view of the kind of advertising that a number of real estate players are doing today to lure customers into having a dekko at their property, one particular indicative orientation that never fails to catch my attention is the availability of a ‘golf course’ in the vicinity. In the years that our generation grew, the very term used to bring to mind pictures of cigar chomping, jet setting first world millionaires (in dollar terms) moving around with their caddies and a number of other helpers at their beck and call, often on the other side of 50; hitting birdies as well as winning multi-million dollar deals on those very greens – all in a days work!

Count on good ol’ Indian ingenuity to make first world luxuries so commonplace and to distort such well established stereotypes to the point of no return. On one end, these players are actually utilising that particular USP to symbolise their ‘products’ as luxury. Admittedly, the middle class of today is becoming a stickler for affordable (even seemingly so) luxuries, and therefore the broad approach makes sense. But on the other end, they are also playing with the luxury image of a golf course and ending up losing sight of the very objective for which they had planned the entire exercise.

It’s a crazy rush for a share in the Indian realty space. With India’s housing shortfall pegged at anywhere between 20-70 million residential units by World Bank, competition looks hardly enough to make it crowded yet. The demand is expected to be even more if you go beyond actual need. A fact of India’s shifting demographics is that growing numbers of working couples are looking to stay away from parents, which is expected to provide a further boost to the demand. As the global economy shifts focus towards China and India, there is understandable optimism among realty players on the future value of their current investments. By 2050, Indian cities are expected to have some 854 million residents according to UN estimates, which is just about the entire current population of US, Brazil, Russia, Japan & Germany combined.

When you look at economic profiles, the market divides itself into several levels. Around 148.92 million Indian households (60% of total) have an annual household income of less than Rs.80,000/-. At the next level another 132.66 milllion have annual household incomes that start from around Rs.80000 and go upto the Rs. 1 million plus range. There is a visible resurgence in the commercial segment as well post slowdown, with office rentals growing by 5-15% in major commercial centres across India, as per a research by Cushman & Wakefield. Pune led the resurgence followed by Delhi. The research firm projects demand of around 240 million sq. ft. across India in terms of commercial space by 2014. However, a huge 46% of this demand is still expected to come from the three major regions of NCR, Bengaluru & Mumbai.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website

IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again....
Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Planman Technologies

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Bose’s Products are Undoubtedly its most Powerful Sales Team. But should The Company continue to let them alone do most of The Talking?

It’s most ardent fans say that Bose is to audio systems what Microsoft is to operating systems, Intel is to microprocessor chips and Google is to search engines. The reasons stem from the company’s genesis itself, based on its founder Dr. Amar G. Bose’s (former professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) philosophy that “audio products exist to provide music for everyone, everywhere – music, not equipment, is the ultimate benefit.” His focus on user experience backed by top quality R&D ensured that Bose sound systems made their mark in most products that they have launched in the audio space.

With the Indian market for high-end products giving room for optimism across categories like apparel, cosmetics, home furnishings, cars, consumer electronics, et al, Bose has also been growing its presence at a brisk pace, and is well received by customers. But there is one aspect of the company’s growth that would keep marketing theorists aghast – their apparently high aversion to advertising and creating some sort of brand personality for Bose Systems.

Promotions are almost entirely restricted to the 33 retail points of presence it has established across major hubs in the country; including smaller towns like Pune, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. Here too, executives aren’t willing to talk much about the company and would only be happy telling you about products, as my personal experience suggests. Marketing has evolved from the school of thought that a great product just sells itself. Then why does a highly successful brand like Bose still follow the old school and rely on product brilliance, highly premium pricing, retail presence & word of mouth alone?

“(Consider how) a brand like Body Shop became a £2 billion brand without spending a shilling on advertising and entirely driven by word of mouth,” counters brand consultant Kiran Khalap. Of course, one advantage that comes out of this is the positioning of Bose as a very exclusive brand for a special set of people. For many years, Bose has been one of the world’s leading makers of speakers for home entertainment, automotive and pro-audio markets, and also manufactures a variety of consumer models for stereo systems and home theatres, including its compact Wave radio system. In fact, some aficionados are known to save for months, as the starting price of these speakers is around Rs.l lakh!

The company follows a ‘direct to customer’ approach; with no middlemen or resellers, by setting up exclusive stores for its products. But isn’t the company severely restricting itself by not investing in advertising? Bose officials refused to respond to 4Ps B&M, citing that being a private limited company, they do not divulge such information to media.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website

IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again....
Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Planman Technologies

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Sunder Aaron, Business Head, Sony PIX tells 4PS B&M about The English Movie Genre Segment and his Future course of action for The Channel.

Sony PIX started off on a ubiquitous April 1, 2006 and went on to compete belligerently with Star Movies and HBO. PIX has had the historical advantage of being able to pull movies from the Columbia and MGM roster; a roster – of unconventional lineups – made it number 3 in its category. A research conducted by TAM Media Research in 2010 revealed that Sony PIX showcased more premiers than Star Movies, subsequently resulting in an 8% market share. The recently introduced High Definition (HD) format has given more dope to the segment dynamically altering the competitive landscape. However, till the time HD reaches a formidable number of viewers, there’s nothing much to fear. Sony had appointed Sunder Aaron as Business Head way back in 2006. Sunder had made quite a mark then for his AXN initiatives (‘The Man’s World Show’ being one). Through the years, Sunder has understood the landscape much better. And 4Ps B&M met up with Sunder to understand the hows, whats and wherefores of it all...

After having worked across various global economies, you’ve been looking after the business at Sony PIX for quite a long time. What is your outlook with regards to the Indian market?
India is an extremely dynamic market. It’s a challenging place for distributing revenues. Developed markets are seemingly different. You cut a deal with the operator who tells the number of subscribers they have and how many of them you’ll be able to reach to. That doesn’t happen in India.

What are your views on incorporating Indian content in English movie vhannels? Is such a development worth the effort?
We are the only English movie channel which has incorporated local original programming in India. We do have our own benchmarks for deciding the content. For instance, we showcased Cyrus and 15 Park Avenue. It works as an opportunity to raise standards.

With strong competition around, Sony PIX came in relatively late. You competed well, but still lag behind at fourth position. What is the strategy ahead?
We are right in the middle of a transformation. The basic idea behind Sony PIX was a more contemporary channel. So we went through a thorough analysis comparing our on air elements to competitions and then redesigning the channel to what it is now. Probably, the viewer might not be able to articulate the differences we made to the menu and the fonts, but it does make its way to the subconscious. We have been and will be aggressive on the acquisition of movie studios and properties. An extensive focus on BTL activities like concerts will also help us in the long term.

You primarily target viewers in the age group of 18-44 years. This encompasses segments with different tastes and preference for movies. Don’t you think it is a challenge to maintain balance while catering to such a diverse set of audience?
We are revamping our library with a view to push the average age to 15-20 years old. Sony PIX already has one of the most coveted line up movies including all time favourites like Jerry Maguire. Now, we are focussing on bringing movies like The Forbidden Kingdom. A channel should raise the bar as per the viewers standards and that is what we are attempting to do.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website

IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again....
Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

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In a Highly Intellectual event, The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskars are Awarded by IIPM to Six Transformational Leaders Committed to Positive Social Change and Equality.
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It is worth walking the extra mile if at the end of it you know you have brought about a meaningful and positive change. In the same spirit, The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) honoured six individuals from different walks of life with the prestigious Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar for treading that extra mile. This award is given for the commitment to bring about a positive change in the society and for championing the cause of equality, social justice and human welfare. The award ceremony, organised in New Delhi on March 28, 2011, was presided over by Swami Shantatmananda Maharaj of the Delhi branch of Ramakrishna Mission.

The distinguished award, which additionally has a prize money of five lakh rupees, a gold medal and a citation, was conferred upon Dr. Kiran Bedi, Prof. Ilina Sen, Dr Binayak Sen, Prakash Kaur, Justice (retd.) V R Krishna Iyer and former Chief Election Commissioner of India, T N Seshan. It is one of the various awards that IIPM has instituted to celebrate the spirit of sacrifice and selfless giving.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Malay Chaudhuri, founder Director, IIPM, and Chairman, IIPM Awards Committee, while commending the awardees for their commitment towards their respective causes, said, “In the absence of economic planning in India, social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes are never successful. This leads to criminalisation of the society and the exploitation of the poor at the hands of the rich and the corrupt.” The ultimate cause of uprooting poverty and injustice from the country are very close to the heart of Dr. Malay Chaudhuri.

Thanking IIPM for the award, the most respected social activist and former IPS officer, Dr. Kiran Bedi said, “It gives me immense pleasure as this award will go a long way in contributing towards my cause.” She urged the IIPM students and civil society to join hands against corruption and exhorted them to work for the welfare of the poor at the grassroots level. Dr. Kiran Bedi runs the NGOs Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation; and supports various social causes like prison reform, child welfare and prevention of drug abuse.

Prakash Kaur received the award for her unrelenting mission of rescuing unwanted and unclaimed newborn girls and giving them a secure home and future. “I feel grateful for this award,” said Kaur, overwhelmed with emotion, “It gives me immense satisfaction to be among the people who support humanitarian causes and are ready to help all those in need. I am an insignificant person and yet the IIPM awards committee selected me for this prestigious award.”

Prof. Ilina Sen and Dr. Binayak Sen were individually awarded for their dedicated efforts in restoring sustained focus on human rights in Chhattisgarh and for ensuring social justice for the tribals. In the absence of Dr. Binayak Sen, his wife Prof Ilina Sen received her husband’s award too. Dr. Ilina Sen, who has embraced a life full of difficulties, said, “I thank IIPM for the awards. The Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar has boosted my morale. It feels as if I am not alone in the ordeal through which my family is passing. This award has made me forget my pain for some time and I strongly hope that our struggle for social justice in Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country would produce the desired results.”

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM ranked No 1 B-School in India
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs
IIPM: Management Education India
Prof. Rajita Chaudhuri's Website

IIPM Proves Its Mettle Once Again....
Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet.....
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

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