I had been meaning to write this post a while back, but got sidetracked with my daughter’s results, experiment with Twitter so got delayed a bit.

A lot has already been written about how much money all the Franchise, BCCI et all have made; but the common refrain being India did not benefit much. Read the rest of this entry »

The big R word bandied about everywhere still, with different people saying “Mandi hai boss”; “Economy down hai”; “Recession” hai.

After a couple of drinks over the weekend, mostly everyone ends up saying that “thoda situation tight hai, magar sudhar jayega”.

Cribbing about the government, employers, friends, society, BMC, BEST, weather, god is ongoing. This is ably supported by the MEDIA, with their stupid Questions to fill paper or soundbytes

• How much has this recession affected you?
• What sacrifices have you had to do in the current economic scenario?
• How long do you think this shall last?
• What should be the new PM’s approach to end this?

All of these questions appear with the ring leaders in print - Mumbai Mirror & Mid-day - in Bombay. The questions are asked to college students at CCD, Barista or college canteen; housewives shopping at malls, kiran store, kitty parties & some business men rushing to catch the churchgate or borivali local.

Majority of them have no clue, except for the fact that they would get their 30 seconds of fame. Bus Mein Star bangaya.

In such a scenario, I fail to understand:

• Restaurants mostly all, except maybe the 5* are always full.
• The same traffic, cars are seen on roads.
• Car Sales has not gone down.
• Fuel consumption has not gone down
• Restobars still do roaring business serving alcohol to underage also.
• Mobile phones sales continue to rock

YES, some large ticket items do get delayed in purchase, whilst consumers scout around for better deals. Jewellery does not get sold, but there is no wedding season currently.

People from upcountry, rural do not come to spend their vacations to Mumbai, since it is expensive, similar brands are now available there, maybe at better prices also.

Private Labels seem to be the mantra these days, which is good for the economy.

I see Value Correction happening that surely is benefitting consumers & more so in the times to come.

Read more about Recession, Is India going thru one, The shine is still here, Reducing Manpower & Correction.

With everyone talking about economy, recession, job cuts & what have you; the scenario sounds depressing, whereas it actually is not.

Talking about this with friends from various industries, though primarily from the Jewelery business, advising them, I decided to pen down the basics, because even in such times a winning strategy can be executed, keeping the fundamentals of business in mind always.

Some basic mantras that can help tide you over:

1. PRODUCT - stick to the basics

i. Focus on profit, not volumes - The time is to rein in the volume push, concentrating on profits. It would be better to maintain profitability on existing volumes, rather than grow volumes.

ii. Innovate within existing Formats - Take cognizance of the different formats of sales/distribution. Aligning & offering more products, offers at a S-I-S (shop in shop) may be much better than trying to push a high street/stand alone store during these times.

iii. Maintain standards - Continue maintain laid standards, do not start switching off AC’s, lights (instead tone them down; use reflective visual merchandising to help). Do not compromise on service levels, staffing drastically.

iv. Let product innovation take a back seat - Continue investing in innovation, but do not invest time, effort, money into completely new products that may only be on the shelves after a couple of months or next season.

2. Promotion - Focus & Creativity

i. Do not blindly take decisions on cutting down advertising & promotion. Take a step back, analyze & implement.

ii. Yes all experiments may be held in abeyance OR better still targeted at niche, catchment areas before being rolled out.

iii. Above all do not get into deep discounting, just because everyone is doing so. It is the worst decision to get into herd mentality.

3. Price - Be determined.

i. Sure, create a lead in price but always keep competition in mind. Studies, Analyze but never blindly follow them.

ii. A good idea would be create closer price ladders in similar products, designs.

iii. And create, increase opportunities for standard pricing across designs, sub brands, collections.

4. Proposition

i. Communication is the key here. During tough times, customers look for a tangible benefit & hence imperative to give them a good - great value proposition.

ii. Also deliver a much higher perceived value by add on and other related adjacencies.

5. People - recognize, own, connect, cherish, celebrate, reward - This goes for consumers as well as own people.

i. Take the lead in identifying changes of consumer behavior.

ii. Keep a constant & consistent dialogue about brand, product, and industry.

iii. Consolidate distribution

iv. Continue investing in the team; creating a sense of joint ownership.

v. Celebrate people’s (own & consumer) achievements.

vi. Infuse pride in people.

I am sure, there would be more points & would welcome inputs, thoughts.

After weeks of listening to depressing news, rumors, discussions; on recession, inflation economy, sensex, problems Saturday November 22, 2008 turned to be a day that lent credence to my constant refrain, that ‘It is a much needed overdue Correction that is taking place’. Read the rest of this entry »

Economic Times answering this question What’s a Recession? has made a fair analysis with some writing about India

“Is India going through a recession?”

There is no doubt that India has been affected by the recession that has beset the US economy, especially in sectors which are export-oriented or are dependent on outsourcing. However, the RBI governor last week assured that India would not see recession even if uncertainty continued globally. He stated that growth would be moderate and pegged GDP growth for 2008-2009 at 7.5-8%(ET 2Nov) Read the rest of this entry »