Top 10:

Top 10 Indian CEOs:

Rank     CEO                                            COMPANY

1.          Ratan Tata                                   :Tata Group

2.          Mukesh Ambani                          :RIL

3.          Anil Ambani                                :ADAG

4.          partha S.Bhattacharyya               :CIL

5.          S.Gopalakrishnan                        :Infosys

6.          O.P.Bhatt                                    :State Bank of India

7.          Chanda Kochhar                         :ICICI Bank

8.          N.Chandrasekaran                      :TCS

9.          Vineet Nayar                               :HCL

10.        R.S.Sharma                                 :ONGC

Top 10 Global CEOs:

Rank        CEO                                       COMPANY

1.             Warren Buffet                        :Berkshire Hathaway

2.             Steve Jobs                               :Apple

3.             Rupert Murdoch                     :News Crop

4.             Steve Balmer                          :Microsoft

5.             Jamie Dimon                           :JP Morgan

6.             Robert Dudley                        :BP

7.             Mark Zuckerberg                    :Facebook

8.             Brain Moyanihan                    :BOA

9.             Marius Kloppers                     :BHP Billiton

10.           Tom Albanese                        :Rio Tinto

* These Rankings are based upon the most discussed Business heads. published by: Business Today

A New Social network.

MOODLER.IN

Now, let them know how you feel..

The social media is lending itself to new innovations, the latest being a site called Moodler that harnesses the power of moods..

What's Up??

The Chennai-based Pixelkraft is a digital media communications company that describes itself as one “made up of a highly motivated (sometimes moody) lot who think that the Web is too much fun to be left to serious-sounding people”. Moodler, an icon, instead of hundreds of posts such as the kind found on Twitter or Facebook, speaks volumes. “It's a dialogue, even when you‘re not uttering a syllable, you can tell what mood the world's in just by looking at the icon, and you can do a mood graph too, to tell what mood the world is in.”

Why ‘Moodle'?

Moodler is designed to track the mood of a social network. Moods happen for a reason, and Moodler just makes it easy to have conversations around what caused that mood. it's different from Twitter or Facebook because they are all about ‘me'. But the latter two needn't be all about ‘me', one argues, they could be places to have a discussion or a debate rather than be merely an exercise in egotism. Facebook stands for “this is me”, Twitter for “I'm thinking aloud”, Foursquare for “I'm here” and Moodler for “I'm feeling/what do you feel?” On FB and Twitter, though, one has to actually read what someone else's saying, whereas Moodler is visually immediate.

Moodler, which has notched up over 1,200 members so far in the six weeks since launch, has made an app for the mobile phone, and is making apps for the iPad and Google TV.

* Its an Indian site designed as more simple and more interactive with the members in their social network. just check it out. www.moodler.in.

Harry Potter

The magic of Harry Potter!!

What makes Harry Potter one of the biggest brands of our age?.

Harry Potter has become one of the biggest fictional brands of our generation. Ever since the first Potter book was published in 1997, over 400 million copies have sold, making it one of the bestsellers of all time. The first Harry Potter movie ranks amongst the top 10 grossers of Hollywood, and the first six movies have earned an astounding $5.7 billion. Brand Harry Potter commands levels of recognition and buzz that most consumer brands would die to achieve. What explains this magic, and what learnings does it hold for us? Here are seven lessons from Brand Harry Potter.

• THE BRAND HARRY POTTER IS BASED ON A POWERFUL HUMAN INSIGHT.
• THE BRAND ENGAGES US SPLENDIDLY.
• THE BRAND IS SUFFUSED WITH EVOCATIVE SYMBOLS AND RITUALS.
• THE BRAND HAS CREATED ITS OWN LEGENDS.
• THE BRAND HAS DEVELOPED A DAZZLING ARRAY OF TOUCH POINTS.
• THE BRAND HAS LEVERAGED NEW-AGE MEDIA VERY SMARTLY.

"As you contemplate the seventh lesson, don't forget to enjoy the seventh Harry Potter movie."

TRENDS: The Indian consumer, 10 years on

The Indian consumer, 10 years on...

Given the rapid changes in the country's demographic profile, marketers and advertisers say they would be addressing a whole new Indian consumer in the next decade..

*** Even as the majority of India will be young, there will still be a significantly large retired p

opulation and a very large middle-aged population.

What will the Indian consumer look like in 2020?

Based on a few reports (The FMCG Roadmap to 2020 by Booz & Co), some trend spotting by CEOs at the recent CII-FMCG summit and forecasts by experts, BrandLine pieces together the profile of the Indian consumer a decade from now. The 2020 consumer in the country will be:

• A younger Indian.

          *The average age of the Indian in 2020 will be 29

• A predominantly urban animal.

           *Even as marketers chase the rural markets today,the growing trend of large-scale 

             migration to the cities could mean changing ratios

• A multi-tasker SEEKING experiences.

           *the emerging new consumer will be a seeker of experiences: so the engagement would       

            have to be more visual, more interactive.Brands will need to focus on the experience.

• Not-so-price conscious, indulgent.

          *Several market surveys and studies have shown that the Indian consumer, even at the    

           BoP (bottom of the pyramid), is not so much cost-conscious as he is value-conscious.

          *By 2020 when per capita incomes are expected to double and India will be the eighth   

           largest economy, this will become even more pronounced. 

• More aware and educated.

         *As education levels rise (India will have more than 100 million graduates and    

           post-graduates), the Indian consumer will become more aware.

• A bit of a brand sceptic.

          *India is getting younger and the youth are typically not so sentimental about brands.     

           Second, the rise of private labels will give brands a run for their money. Hence, marketers 

           will need to work harder to gain brand salience.

• More health conscious.

         *even as their disease profile is forcing Indians to become more health conscious, the 

          Indian consumer wants a pain-free change.“The sweet spot for marketers is to give the 

          healthy option without foregoing the indulgences,” citing how consumers may switch to 

          healthier oils but will not give up oil.

• Convenience conscious.

         *With time at a premium and Indians getting busier, marketers will have to provide more ‘

          on the go' products. By the next decade, the Indian consumer will be demanding 

          convenience, not just of products but also of purchase.

          "how Kitchens of India, its ready-to-eat label, sells more online (on Amazon) than in retail stores."

• More individualistic.

         *The family structure will continue to evolve in the next decade — even as the joint family 

          disintegrates and nuclear units take firm shape, there could also be a rise in the single 

          person household.

         So, rather than address the family as a unit, marketers need to talk to individuals pointing 

         at how an increasing number of men are making FMCG purchases on their way from work.

Franchising : A Smart way to get started!!

Taking the franchise route is a smart way to get started

"As a business model, franchising gives an entrepreneur a system to follow. You get the support of an experienced hand and your learning will be faster."

Do you want to live the dream of being your own boss? Then, may be, you should buy the franchise of a good brand. Franchising is the smart way to get started as an entrepreneur, says Mr Gaurav Marya, President, Franchise India.

Heading this integrated franchise and retail solutions company, Gaurav Marya has helped many budding entrepreneurs meet the challenges of being in business and growing with it.

He has serviced several large and medium businesses including, that of Videocon, the Landmark Group, Tata Steel, Unilever India and Levis.

Excerpts from the interview:

Can you explain the concept of franchising and how it has clicked in India over the last few years?

• Franchise literally means rights or privileges granted to someone. If you have a successful business model or a brand and you transfer it to someone in another geographical location for a fee or royalty, that becomes franchising.
• The franchising industry is growing by 30 per cent every year. Prominent industries here are education and retail. F&B and Wellness is also a fast growing segment.
• There are two types of franchising — 
• one is distribution-based franchise, where, typically, the company would give the product/service to a distributor who will sell it under his own name.
• The second is business format franchising, which is the growing phenomenon now. Here, the products are sold under the franchisor's brand. And, yes, they use the same signage and give the same kind of experience to customers.

So how does a franchise business work? Is it on a profit share basis?

• Typically, when you take up a franchise, you would be required to pay an upfront fee towards the brand. Product companies charge a relatively small fee compared to service businesses, as margins are made on the supply of the product.
• If you take a Koutons franchise, for instance, you need not pay royalty because the company will supply shirts and trousers and make margins on that.
• But if it is a service franchise like that of a food business, a royalty will be charged on a monthly basis — which is a share on the gross sales. Your profit will depend on how you run the business.

In a franchise business model, what are the areas where the entrepreneur has restrictions?

• In franchising, there is something called the ‘firm and flexible' rule. The franchisee (one who takes the franchise) can't change the brand name or the product features.

For example, he cannot add a new product to the company's product line. Flexible are areas where one wants to expand the business. A franchisee for McDonald or Pizza Hut in India, for instance, has more vegetarian than non-vegetarian options. Generally, a franchise business model is suited to entrepreneurs who believe in working in a system.

How should one select a franchisor?

• There is a three-stage approach which we advise for the franchisees. 
• Stage one is called "Information stage", the potential franchisee needs to go and collect information from the market on the brands available, the sector options and on what can give the best return on the time he is to invest.
• Then comes the ‘evaluation' stage. In this stage, one should speak to the specific brand's past franchisees and look into how those franchise outlets have performed. While valuing the franchisor, some self-evaluation is also needed. One needs to know his financial and operational capability. Many people assume franchise business to be an easy affair; not really, it can take all your weekends and all your evenings. So, once you are done with evaluation.
• you go to the next stage, which is, ‘negotiation'. This is where you go and negotiate on the fee structure and clauses in the agreement. One can take the advice of a professional consultant or a law firm or even a chartered accountant for this.

What are your thoughts on taking up franchise business for a career?

• It is a smart way to get started. As a business model, franchising gives an entrepreneur a system to follow, which has been proved successful.
• You get the support of an experienced hand and your learning will be faster. But again presuming that you will be successful just because you bought the franchise of a number one brand is wrong.

Can you name some brands that are doing successful franchise business which young entrepreneurs can look at?

• There are lot of good brands. Well, to name few — Motilal Oswal, Gitanjali, Videocon, Euro kids, NIIT and Archies. For someone looking at low-cost franchise business, there are several good play schools which are open to franchise offers now.

What is the exit option in a franchise business? Is there any lock-in period?

• Franchising is normally a term-based agreement which is renewed if the franchisee continues to pay and fulfil his obligations.
• But in the middle of the term, the franchisor can terminate the agreement for non-performance on the part of the franchisee or on an act that is breach of contract.
• A franchisee should be very careful while putting down the exit clause in a franchise agreement. He must be careful about how he wants to define an exit.