Triumph gears up for India ops with a change in plans

Triumph will start assembling completely knocked-down kits at a factory in Gurgaon-Manesar area

Triumph Motorcycles, the British company which sells the iconic Thunderbird, Daytona 675 and Speed Triple bikes, will start selling in India in September after a change in its manufacturing plans, three people familiar with the plan said.

According to the new plan, Triumph Motorcycles will start assembling completely knocked-down (CKD) kits at a factory in the Gurgaon-Manesar area in Haryana, a departure from its earlier plan to build a factory at Narsapura, near Bangalore.

The company’s manufacturing plans in Karnataka will be implemented later, two of the three people cited above said. It is, however, unclear whether the company has bought land in Haryana to start an assembly plant or it will use the manufacturing facilities of a vendor.

“They want to test the Indian market. The Gurgaon-Manesar belt will act as a stepping stone,” one of the three people familiar with the matter said. “At Narsapura, a full-fledged manufacturing facility will come up in 2015.”

All three declined to be named.

The company has opened a purchasing office in Gurgaon and hired a consultant to recruit in India, according to the second person cited above. “They want to get over with the recruitment process by end July.”

Local assembly will help the company save on import taxes and reduce the cost of the motorcycles sold in India.

India imposes an import duty of 60% on completely built vehicles, 30% on semi knocked-down kits and 10% on completely knocked-down units.

“We will shortly be holding a full press briefing on our planned activity in India, and would prefer to hold off on any communication until that time,” a Triumph spokesperson said. “We will be in touch as soon as the firm plans for this briefing have been made.”

Triumph’s India plans have been delayed by the unexpected resignation of managing director Ashish Joshi, who quit the company in April.

Joshi was heading Royal Enfield’s European operations before joining Triumph.

The Hindu Businessline newspaper in May 2012 reported that Triumph Motorcycles then planned to set up a factory near Bangalore at a cost of Rs.215 crore.

The company’s proposal was approved by the Karnataka state high level clearance committee. The committee has approved the allotment of 30 acres of land at Narsapura Industrial Area in Kolar district, the report said.

Triumph had exhibited its models, including Bonneville, the iconic Speed Triple and Street Triple, the off-roader Tiger 800XC, supersport Daytona 675 and cruisers Storm and Rocket III, during the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo.

The company had then said it would assemble some of these models locally.

Priced between Rs.5.5 lakh and Rs.22 lakh, Triumph models compete with motorcycles from companies such as Harley-Davidson Inc., Ducati and BMW Motorrad.

While some of Harley’s models in India are locally assembled, BMW and Ducati have been selling imported units.

Triumph plans to open sales outlets in India by this year, according to the company website.

The market for high-end motorcycles will continue to surge with the growth in the Indian economy, according to an industry consultant who declined to be named.

“Harley has managed to make an instant connect with the buyers in this niche segment. No doubts there will be buyers who would have waited for Triumph, but that initial momentum has been seized by Harley,” he said.

Harley sells at least 80-90 motorcycles a month, while the estimated size of the market is a little over 2,000 units a year.

Source : Amrit Raj; http://www.livemint.com

Fan merchandise start up Bluegape raises 1.5 crore via online platform

Fan merchandise start up Bluegape raises 1.5 crore via online platform

Bluegape, a two-year-old startup has raised funding through an online platform that brings together investors across the globe. 

Bluegape, a two-year-old startup that retails fan merchandise for films such as Krrish and Batman as well as for the Aam Aadmi Party has raised funding through an online platform that brings together investors across the globe. The Delhi-based company received over 1.5 crore from global investors through online funding platformLetsVenture.com.

Bluegape was a part of TLabs 1st cohort, a mentorship driven accelerator programme run by Times Internet Ltd (TIL). It received a cheque of Rs 10 lakh Rs as part of the program apart from mentoring and guidance.

Sahil Baghla, the 23-year-old CEO of Bluegape, said the funding was completed in two months with eight different angels from countries such as Ukraine, Singapore, US and India, pitching in. "It would had taken us around five months to get funding through traditional method of meeting different investors which is tough and time consuming ," said Baghla, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, who launched the firm with Ayush Varshney, a junior from his institute, after finding it difficult to get posters for his dormitory.

The Delhi-based firm, which sells merchandise like T-shirts, posters, mugs and laptop skins for brands, will use the money to strengthen its supply chain. It will also use it to scale up technology. Out of the eight investors who have funded the firm, Baghla has not met five. These angels showed their interest for investment by looking at a profile and a video pitch on LetsVenture.

"After that we had a phone call of one hour with each of the angels and they decided to invest," said Baghla. As some of the angels are first-time investors, Lets-Venture took care of all kind of financial and legal due diligence and term sheet for the investment round. Founded by a team of serial entrepreneurs and investors last September, the funding platform has grown to 200 global investors and 250 startups.

"Couple of my companies that I was mentoring got closed due to lack of early-stage funding," said Manish Singhal, angel investor and cofounder of LetsVenture.com. "One of my friends met with 61 angel investors before closing a seed round. It was very time consuming." Singhal is of the view that even though there are global online funding platforms, including AngelList, his company is the first such venture dedicated towards the India market.

Source : By Peerzada Abrar, ET Bureau

Ajay Agarwal's Maxx Mobile is a multi-crore brand in a decade

I started in 2002 by stamping my firm’s brand name on imported mobile phone batteries and selling them to local traders at cut-throat rates : Ajjay Agarwal 

When I was 15 years old, I dropped out of school to join my father's electronic trading business in Mumbai. My move was not prompted by dire financial circumstances, but by sheer fascination. I was keenly interested in the family business, and this is why my parents did not force me to complete my education. In 1992, I started by helping my father with accounts, for which he paid me Rs4,000-5,000 per month. Five years on, I helped him get into other verticals, such as garments, musical instruments and imported mobile phone accessories. For the latter, we visited manufacturers in Malaysia and China, and this helped me when I launched my own company in January 2002.

I began with a seed capital of Rs10 lakh, which came from my savings. The first step was to have my proprietorship firm registered in the name of Max Mobiles and Phone Accessories; it was only in 2004 that we set up Maxx Mobile as a company. Initially, I would stamp my brand name on imported mobile phone batteries and sell them to dealers in Mumbai. The response was very good because my prices were lower than those of other brands in the market. Besides, I offered a warranty on batteries, which resulted in some losses because the overseas manufacturers would not give us a replacement for damaged goods. Still, it was a small price to pay for establishing the brand, and before the year ended, the firm had registered a sales figure of Rs15 lakh.

At the beginning of 2004, I figured that I should set up my own manufacturing unit for mobile phone batteries. I could easily afford the move since I had saved nearly Rs40 lakh from the company profit. To begin with, I leased a 3,500 sq ft space at Malad, Mumbai, and stocked it with a plastic moulding machine and a welding machine, both imported from Korea. I also employed 25-30 people for the new venture, and by February 2004, our manufacturing unit was up and running. Initially, we suffered frequent breakdowns due to overloading since the workers lacked experience in handling them. To overcome the problem, we hired a technician from a big company by paying him twice the salary he was getting. This proved to be a good investment, and by April 2004, we were manufacturing 5,000 batteries a day.

The next obvious move was to expand the operations. In 2006, we purchased 6,000 sq ft of land at Haridwar for Rs20 lakh, the funds coming from internal accruals. It cost us another Rs2.5 crore to set up the factory and purchase machines, for which we took bank loans. Once the Haridwar factory was functional, our output shot up to nearly 1 lakh pieces a day. The turnover for 2006-7 was Rs2 crore, which increased to Rs5 crore the following year, after we forayed into the headset business as well.

The next crucial year was 2008, when we started importing mobile phones and selling them under the brand name Maxx Mobile. Between August 2008 and December 2009, we launched almost 33 feature phone models. We also spent nearly Rs10 crore on setting up 23 dedicated outlets for our products in different cities across the country. Meanwhile, we became associated with the IPL matches and spent Rs12 crore on advertising. To fund these aggressive plans, we had to look beyond our own reserves, so we resorted to an additional funding of $20 million (approximately Rs100 crore at the time) from Star Holdings (Asia), a Singaporebased company. Amazingly, we recorded a turnover of Rs590 crore in the first five months of taking the initiative.

In 2009, we signed on M S Dhoni as our brand ambassador and the advertising campaign during the T20 World Cup helped us get eyeballs. Within three months, we reeled in 250 distributors and 35,000 retailers. By the end of 2011-12, the turnover touched Rs1,260 crore. However, the rupee fluctuation took a major toll on the business, with the turnover dropping to nearly Rs435 crore in 2012-13. Another learning from last year was to monitor the goods we stocked since we were left with a large number of an obsolete range of phones, which contributed to big losses.

We have learnt from our mistakes and have streamlined the operations. Today, we cater to all consumer segments, boasting 84 mobile phone models spanning dual-SIM budget phones, touchscreen phones, besides the mid-range and high-end Android smartphones and tablets. Our 550-employee company is eyeing a turnover of Rs600 crore in the current financial year. For any Indian brand to succeed, it's important to take care of the after-sales service. At present, we have around 1,000 service centres, which are set to double by the end of April 2014. Next on the cards is the manufacturing of Android mobile phones, though the idea is on hold due to the tax structure in the country , which makes it financially unviable for us. In the meantime, we are looking forward to a turnover of Rs1,500 crore by end-2017.

(As told to Amit Shanbaug)

Source : ET Bureau

Ten stocks that can return upto 50% in 2014

Ten stocks that can return upto 50% in 2014 

Most analysts rule out any surprises from Q3 results considering the fact that the benefit of the currency might not be available in December quarter.

The S&P BSE Sensex managed to bounce back on Monday even though the macro triggers remain muted with IIP data reflecting the underlying weakening production trend in the manufacturing sector. Today, the index is witnessing dull trade.

Last week, index of industrial production (IIP) contracted for the second straight month. The index fell by 2.1 per cent for November on a year-on-year basis, which was even sharper than October's decline of 1.6 per cent. Now all eyes are on inflation data due on Wednesday for the month of December.

The BSE Sensex rallied over 400 points in intraday trade on Monday, led by smart buying seen in IT, banks, capital goods and oil & gas stocks. The index finally closed 375.72 points, or 1.8 per cent higher, at 21,134.21.

The large part of the optimism can be attributed to Infosys' stellar results on Friday for the quarter ended December 31. However, most analysts rule out any major surprises from Q3 results considering the fact that the benefit of the currency which was there in the previous quarter might not be available in December quarter.

"Markets would be closely watching the inflation data and that would definitely give some cues as to what the RBI would do in the upcoming policy meet," said Ankit Agarwal, VP & Fund Manager, Centrum Broking.

"We feel that the markets in the near term will continue to remain a little volatile as we do not expect any great wonders from the quarterly results. In the Q2, they had got a benefit of higher depreciated currency, but on a QoQ basis, even that benefit has sort of normalised," he added.

Agarwal said, "On any significant dips in the market, we would buy into some of the cyclicals with a 10 to 15-month investment horizon as there could be some disappointment in the results."

We have collated list of ten stocks from various brokerages which can deliver returns upto 50 per cent in 2014:


Indiabulls Real Estate: Motilal Oswal maintains 'BUY' rating on the stock as the firm's cash flow is likely to remain steady due to execution progress, which will lead to a decline in net debt. The stock is trading at around 40 per cent discount to its NAV estimate of 125.

Prestige Estates Projects Ltd: Religare maintains 'BUY' rating on the stock as the company has posted steady sales in the third quarter aided by a big launch in Bangalore. Its full-year guidance is good and a pick-up in deliveries is the key performance indicator.

VST Tillers Tractors: Nirmal Bank maintain 'BUY' rating on the stock since the company is asset-rich, with a clean balance sheet, and enjoys dominance in its product range. Earnings growth is expected to be high at a CAGR of 36.9 per cent over 2013-15. 

Adani Ports and SEZ: Credit Suisse initiates coverage with 'outperform' rating as the release of corporate guarantees for Abbot and continuation of strong volume growth at Mundra are the key catalysts. 

Ipca Laboratories Ltd: Edelweiss maintains 'BUY' rating on the stock as the domestic business is gaining traction and will continue to grow at a sustainable 16-17 per cent over the next two years. We forecast 24 per cent EPS CAGR over 2013-16.

Sobha Developers Ltd: Goldman Sachs retains 'BUY' rating on the stock as the company will continue to witness a robust revenue growth and operating cash flow since the rolling 8-quarter pre-sales momentum remains strong.

HDFC Bank Ltd: IIFL upgrades the stock to 'BUY' as the mobilisation of FCNR (B) deposits will enhance competitiveness and lead to significant improvement in earnings and profitability over the medium term. 

Sintex Industries Ltd: Sunidhi Securities Ltd recommend 'BUY' as Sintex enjoys an early-mover advantage in businesses that are geared towards social sector spending in India, which is likely to continue. The company is poised to accelerate business growth. 

Britannia Industries Ltd: HSBC has initiated coverage of Britannia Industries Ltd with an 'overweight' rating and a price target of Rs 1,100, citing the company's strength in the fast-growing mid-to-premium segment in biscuits/bakery.

Cadila Healthcare Ltd: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from "underperform" and raised its target to Rs 1,000 from Rs 705, saying the worst is behind and earnings will accelerate from fiscal 2015. 

The investment bank also expects that Cadila is likely to get 20 or more drug approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration, and that it expects domestic sales to recover in fiscal 2015.
(The above report is compiled from inputs from ET Wealth publication dated 13 January 2014.) 

Source : By ECONOMICTIMES.COM

How a forced split of RPG Enterprises actually worked for Goenka brothers

How a forced split of RPG Enterprises actually worked for Goenka brothers 

“They've achieved more because of shaper focus & freedom to make speedier decisions,” says Anil Sainani, executive coach of Empowering Solutions. 

In August 2010, the late Rama Prasad Goenka interrupted his son Harshvardhan Goenka's holiday at a small village in Switzerland to seek his opinion on dividing up family businesses. The patriarch wanted to carve out his empire — then Rs 13,313 crore in sales and Rs 9,150 crore in market cap — between Harsh and younger brother Sanjiv.

Both brothers, who had informally been managing different companies from Mumbai and Kolkata, were against a formal split of RPG Enterprises. Their father, among earliest in India Inc to use acquisitions as a growth strategy, had built the empire-buying tyre, carbon black and engineering companies. And the sons wanted to keep it undivided. But the patriarch — he passed away in April 2013 — had seen the ugly spat between the Ambani brothers and made up his mind that a pro-active division of businesses between his two sons was wise.

"It (the split) is something that my father desired; neither my brother Sanjiv nor I wanted it to happen. It was literally thrust upon us...He has been telling us over the last two years, but we have been resisting it. But a day came when he made it a fait accompli..." Harsh Goenka said in a Bloomberg interview later. Both Goenkas declined to participate in this story.

In the ensuing division, Harsh got Ceat, KEC International, Zenstar and RPG Life Science. Sanjiv inherited CESC, Spencer's, Phillips Carbon and Saregama.

For a family partition of a 35-year-old business empire, this was a relatively simple affair. "Each company had its own individuality with chief operating officer and operational managers, so it was easy to align to two groups after the split," says Dr Sandeep K Krishnan, a former HR official in the undivided united RPG group. He is now an associate director at human resources and leadership consultancy People Business.

The division of businesses was finalised in August 2010. Three and a half years later, how have each of the brothers fared? And has the split been good for public shareholders in both companies?

Since the split, the market capitalisation of Harsh's empire increased 12% to Rs 4,478 crore. In comparison, the BSE Sensex gained 17% during the same period. The market cap of companies, led by Sanjiv, increased 13% to Rs 5,790 crore in the same period. This excludes Firstsource Solutions, a BPO firm Sanjiv acquired in October 2012. Firstsource has a market cap of Rs 1,620 crore.

Such a division of businesses among the second generation of a family is not always required, but when done well, can aid growth, experts say. "Any business family need not split to grow, but it (such a division) can be a fundamental message to stakeholders," says Kavil Ramachandran, professor at ISB. In the hindsight, the split brought sharper focus to individual companies and an early succession to each group.

Both brothers have rolled out many changes. Both have seen parts of their respective businesses do well. Both also have two concerns. First, a few individual businesses in both camps are struggling. Second, in terms of shareholder returns, companies now run by both brothers have underperformed the BSE Sensex. Harsh Goenka flagship Ceat almost doubled its sales in three years. Its net profit, after taking a beating in 2011, bounced back. The company reported Rs 5,052.21 crore revenues in fiscal ended March 2013, up from Rs 2,850 crore in 2010. Its net profit, which tanked to Rs 27.44 crore in 2011, rose to Rs 120 crore. However, although sales at KEC International doubled, profits plunged to more than half from 2010 as debt doubled.

Sanjiv, who operates out of Kolkata, boosted flagship CESC by almost doubling its sales and tripling its profits in three years. He also purchased a controlling 50% stake in Firstsource Solutions and restructured retail chain Spencer's by shutting down loss-making stores and increasing its revenue from every square feet. But Phillips Carbon slipped into the red with a Rs 22-crore loss in fiscal March-ended 2013.

The sharper focus has helped, but both brothers could have shown more enterprise, experts say. "They have been able to achieve more because of shaper focus and freedom to make speedier decisions," says Anil Sainani, executive coach of Empowering Solutions. "The aggression RPG (the father) showed is not seen in his sons," says Arun Kejriwal, founder Kejriwal Research and Investment Services. But among the two, the younger is probably a little ahead. "Sanjiv is more aggressive and Spencer's offered him an opportunity to prove his mettle independently," says Krishnan of People Business, who also teaches at IIM Indore.

But it's still earlydays as companies that both brothers run show more potential. Kejriwal says the dark horse in Harsh's stable could be Ceat as raw material prices have fallen. Among Sanjiv's businesses, Philips Carbon could bounce back; one has to wait for a few quarters before passing a verdict on Firstsource, he adds.

Source : By Baiju Kalesh, ET Bureau

List of Real Estate Companies India

List of Real Estate Companies India

Real Estate Companies India

India's real estate market is on a high growth curve. Today investment in real estate is proven best deal then any other field. Find here list of top 20 booming real estate companies of India with name of their head .

1. Dlf Ltd (Head - Dr Kushal Pal Singh, Chairman)
2. Omaxe Ltd (Head - Rohtas Goel, Cmd)
3. Unitech (Head - Ramesh Chandra, Executive Chairman)
4. Ansal Api (Head - Sushil Ansal, Chairman)
5. Parsvnath Developers Ltd (Head - Pradeep Jain, Chairman)
6. Godrej Properties Ltd (Head - Milind Korde, Md)
7. K Raheja Corp (Head - Chandru L Raheja, Chairman)
8. Oberoi Realty Ltd (Head - Vikas Oberoi, Cmd)
9. Kalpataru Group (Head - Mofatraj P Munot, Promoter)
10. Db Realty (Head - Vinod Goenka And Shahid Balwa)
11. Sobha Developers Ltd (Head - Pnc Menon, Chairman)
12. Brigade Group (Head - Mr Jaishankar, Cmd)
13. Puravankara Group (Head - Ravi Puravankara, Founder And Cmd)
14. Nitesh Estates (Head - Nitesh Shetty, Md)
15. Prestige Estates Projects Ltd (Head -  Irfan Razack, Cmd)
16. Ambuja Realty (Head - Harshavardhan Neotia, Cmd)
17. Merlin Group (Head - Sushil Mohta, Md)
18. Ps Group (Head - Pradip Kumar Chopra & Surendra Kumar Dugar)
19. Hiland Group (Head - Nayan Basu, Ceo)
20. Belani Group (Head - Nandu Belani)

Source : http://top-20-in-india.blogspot.in

Why your real estate investment will eventually die a natural death! Here is an argument.

Why your real estate investment will eventually die a natural death! Here is an argument

Hey! Is that a paddy field beating out my home price? Yeah. 

Are you here, wondering how we could make a statement like that? Indian real estate is on a growth path. Prices are increasing everyday. In so many cities, including the one you come from, real estate investments are giving you 20% returns annually.

We know. However, what you read here might make sense to you, even if it makes just a wee bit of that s word.

We will restrict the vision of this story to residential property investments only and place our arguement, without wasting any more time.

The natural death argument:

One of our colleagues, while still in his short school pants moved into one of the upcoming localities of Kolkata which happened to be near the airport. His dad, bought this new apartment, fitted and finished to the norm of that day back in 1988. Modest, no club or swimming pool attached, no manicured gardens. No one who bought a place to live there ever imagined that he would own a car, so there was no demand for car parking space. Your mother will tell you that producing something that no one wants is being stupid. The builder kew that and he built no car parks. Elevators (Lifts) too were left out of the scheme as these Ground plus four buildings were not really needing a lift those days. People were buying up the apartments nevertheless. There was no need for a lift.

Right beside this apartment complex where our friend stays till date were vast paddy fields. They had no value in those years. Nobody thought anything would ever happen there. While the paddy fields were zero value right through 1989 to 1995, upcoming projects slowly lifted the price of those land parcels and apartments built on those paddy fields started selling at about a 1000 bucks a Sq ft from 1995. In 2008, apartments in the remaining paddy fields were announced at launch prices of Rs. 2700 per Sq ft, when, our colleagues apartment could have fetched the same price. Owing to nothing else but the prices in the vicinity. 

Today, in 2013, while the price of his house is stagnated at around 3000 bucks a Sq ft, the last of the paddy fields are fetching prices of Rs. 5000 per Sq ft!

Moreover, during some conversations, our office buddy also tells us that even at about 2800 bucks a Sq ft, it is very hard to find a buyer for apartments in the complex, considering there is very little parking and no contemporary amenities. A few more years down the line, there could be no buyers left for those apartments! No one with money to buy a new home would invest in that decaying, old real estate cluster of 150 homes, despite the fact that it is one of the most sought after locations in Kolkata today. And yes, our friend still lives there and he has a great feeling calling it his address. This will tell you that there is still nothing fundamentally wrong with these old houses. Except that no one wants to buy one anymore. You know the Hindustan Motors Ambassador? Cool car huh? Want one for 6 lacs? Excuse me? Get the drift buddy?

Real estate, like all things die natural deaths. Your real estate investment could look contemporary and nice today but if your latest gadget can get outdated in 6 months or less, someday, your property will as well. Think about it. Will you buy a large, high ceiling princely home in the old and beat parts of your city? On the same streets your father always dreamt of living and knew he would never live that dream. Will you buy that old and thoroughly used apartment in the heart of the city just because it was affordable and you you were getting it 30% cheaper. (Why you are getting it cheap should drive home our argument harder) You see, the real estate on offer is aged. It does not make sense to you/ anyone anymore. Your children feel depressed about the design, the materials and the neighbours. It is dying.

Okay, you are thinking, but the land value is appreciating, isn’t it? Yes, it is. But if you were sharing a piece of land with 149 other apartment owners, we cannot fathom out how that land value appreciation could help you in any way. On paper, technically, you have a solid asset that is growing each year. On paper, you are now, at par with those paddy fields and their new age projects. In reality, you know your real estate is dead.

We reckon, that your home loan company in India knows something pretty cool. It knows that after you have finished the 20 year tenure of your home loan repayment, your real estate will start growing really old. A few more years and the prices will completely stagnate. Add a few more to that and your home is dead, naturally.

You have the new towns, the new sectors and the new colonies everyday. New is happening. New is where the world is. Old things wither away and die. Legendary cars, cutting edge gadgets, search engines, mega corporations and social networks have all been known to die natural deaths. Simply because us humans do not want to be around old and ‘outdated’ things for too long.

Your real estate investment is not an exception. Enjoy it, while it lasts!

P:S: We are not even talking construction quality here. Most of the new homes being built would look like crap 20 years down the line. And no, you cannot sleep in that manicured garden every night, can you?

Source : http://www.indianrealestatefordummies.in

Invisible restaurateur: 34-year-old Priyank Sukhija runs 19 eateries in Delhi, yet few have heard of him

Invisible restaurateur: 34-year-old Priyank Sukhija runs 19 eateries in Delhi, yet few have heard of him 

Priyank Sukhija is arguably Delhi's most successful restaurateur - with a business model that's exciting plenty of investors around the country 

This holiday season, for Christmas or for New Year, if you had gone out for dinner at some of Delhi's upscale markets - Connaught Place, Khan Market, Haus Khas Village, Malcha Marg, Sunder Nagar or Nehru Place, for instance - there is a good chance that you went to one of his establishments. There is also a good chance, even if you eat at his restaurants regularly, that you have never heard of him. 

Priyank Sukhija (34) is arguably Delhi's most successful restaurateur - with a business model that's exciting plenty of investors around the country. He runs 19 restaurants in the city (all but one are profit-making). His establishments span more than 100,000 sq. ft of prime real estate. Three more will open for business before April. 

His eateries are on track to clock Rs 100 crore in business this fiscal. He is planning ten more restaurants in two years. This year, he intends to open formats serving Indian food in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

There is a secret behind Sukhija's ability to expand so rapidly- a network of partners who are happy to invest in his ideas and let him run the show. Different people are partners in different projects. Bhupinder Singh Kochchar of the VI John group is a partner in some projects. 

NO PLANS FOR PE PLACEMENT 

Amit Bagga of Bagga Link motor dealerships and Umang Tiwari of Delhi-based Tiwari Builders are his other partners. 

Because of Sukhija's recent track record, he says he is able to set good terms for himself in partnerships. He will bring 10% of the investment required, but will take 50% of equity. "The rest is a fee for the privilege of partnering with me," Sukhija says, in all seriousness. But he does everything else, from executing the concept, hiring the chefs and the staff, and the day to day running of the restaurant. "I only partner with people I have known for years. That way, if the place makes a loss, the partner doesn't turn on me," he said.

Sukhija's gastronomic reach in Delhi is most visible in Hauz Khas Village, a chic market heaving with fashion boutiques and quirky eateries. Apart from the three-level Out of the Box cafe, which serves a wide range of dishes, he runs the Asian restaurant Fat Ninja, Fork You, which serves American, Italian and Tex-mex cuisines, Raas, which serves Pakistani cuisine, and Chamanlal and Sons, a quirky bar named after the legend of a lawyer who drowned in the Hauz Khas Lake. 

Strangely, Sukhija is not as well known as he ought to be even among the small circle of restaurateurs. "I have never heard of him but I have eaten at Raas and I thought the food was good," said Anjan Chattarjee, the founder of Speciality Group of restaurants, which runs brands such as Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China. "But if he runs 19 restaurants in Delhi, he is a rock star. It is unusual and it's great that he is creating new formats," said Chattarjee, whose company runs 107 restaurants in 23 cities. 

Sukhija says people like the experience at his eateries because he executes with painstaking attention to detail. "I travel the world looking for ideas, I oversee everything - decor, music, menu, staff uniform, cutlery, you name it." He says he doesn't like to experiment.

"People want the food they are familiar with, executed well, in a casual atmosphere where nobody is judging them," he says. "I tell my waiters - if you can't speak English well, it's OK. Tell the guest you don't speak English and speak in Hindi." If his eateries are consolidated into a single company, he will own about 60-65% of the equity and a little more in share of profits. That is because he wholly owns some of the most profitable assets, such as Lazeez Affaire. 

He said he has no plans to go for a private equity placement or an IPO just yet. "I don't need the money. We have no debt and there are enough HNIs who want to put money in any project. I can think up, and you know, I really can't be bothered to go and spend my evenings in Chandigarh or Kanpur because I have some project coming up there. I work very hard, but my lifestyle is important to me," he said. 

Sukhija says he started Skooter nightclub so he and his friends could party. Otherwise, he doesn't like the nightclub business. "You have to keep doing new things to attract clients. 

In restaurants, you develop a good concept and execute well, it will run on its own for years." Sukhija's first venture was a bowling alley, which he started with capital from his father, a corporate lawyer, while still in first year of college. Just as he was about to open for business, the Uphaar tragedy of 1997 happened, in which 59 people died in a fire. 

Following the incident, the Delhi government banned operations out of basements. His venture failed before it could collect its first rupee. He still refused to follow the family line into the legal profession, and when a family-owned building in Malcha Marg was vacated in 1999, he started his first restaurant there. 

Sukhija, who's had fire-related accidents in two of his restaurants, is very careful about safety, he says. In April 2013, two security guards died in an accident in one of his eateries. That was the worst setback of his career, he admits. 

Source : Sruthijith K K, ET Bureau 

High import duty, 50%-60% rise in gold sales force jewellers open shops in Gulf

High import duty, 50%-60% rise in gold sales force jewellers open shops in Gulf 

According to the Indian government rule, NRI men can bring gold jewellery worth Rs 50,000 while women can carry gold jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh. 

The new year has begun on a gloomy note for gold jewellers. A 10% import duty along with a 1% VAT and a high premium of $125 per troy ounce have made Indian gold costlier and less attractive to non-resident Indians (NRIs) who are now buying gold jewellery from Gulf countries where sales have increased by 50%-60%. An increase in NRI purchases in West Asia has prompted Indian jewellers like Kalyan Jewellers to open shops in the region. Malabar Gold & Diamond,which is already present in the region with 32 retail showrooms, has drawn up plans to add 10 showrooms in the region this year. 

Talking to ET, Shamlal Ahmed, managing director (international operations), Malabar Gold & Diamond, said: "After the Indian government introduced the 80-20 rule for gold imports by jewellers in July last year, the price of the yellow metal went up due to a supply crunch. This prompted NRIs to buy gold from Gulf Cooperative Countries (GCC). Malabar Gold & Diamond is a major supplier to the gold counter in Dubai dutyfree area and we have seen a 200% increase in sales at this counter in the past few months. And the quality of good jewellery is also good." 

According to the Indian government rule, NRI men can bring gold jewellery worth Rs 50,000 while women can carry gold jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh. Earlier, the limits were at Rs 10,000 for men and Rs 20,000 for women. "So a family of four can easily bring gold worth Rs 3-4 lakh to India and it does not have to shell out extra for the import duty and the high premium on gold available in India," explained Ahmed. 

"The 80-20 rule coupled with a high import duty is forcing Indian jewellers to look at setting up facilities in the Gulf region," said Ahmed.

In fact, Kalyan Jewellers, one of the leading jewellery retailers in south India, has made a spectacular entry into the UAE market, opening six retail outlets on December 26."The government's 80-20 rule is killing the jewellery trade in India. Now that current account deficit (CAD) has been addressed, the government should do a rethink on the 80-20 policy. We would have witnessed a lot of NRI footfalls during this time in the previous year.But this year, it has completely disappeared though a lot of them have come to India for a month-long holiday," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, past president of All India Gem & Jewellery Trade Federation. 

On July 22, the Reserve Bank of India said that a fifth of gold purchases by importers in every lot would have to be exclusively made available to exporters. It said that only 80% of the imports could be used for domestic purposes, and that too for entities engaged in jewellery business, bullion dealers and banks. "Market is extremely nervous. There are no buyers but many sellers. The availability of gold continues to be a major stumbling block which is pushing up premium in the market. Though international gold is hovering around $1,200 per ounce, Indian prices remain firm because of the high premium. Investors are staying away from gold," said Prithviraj Kothari, managing director, RiddiSiddhi Bullions. 

Source : By Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau 

Alfred Cointreau, the 27 year old scion of 150 year old 'Cointreau' liqueur brand

Alfred Cointreau, the 27 year old scion of 150 year old 'Cointreau' liqueur brand 

Alfred considers himself to be among the closest to the family tradition in his generation 

Alfred Cointreau is 27 and probably too young to be in charge of a 150-year-old heritage brand. But as a sixth generation scion of the Cointreau family, he is passionate about his inheritance of the French orange-flavoured liqueur brand, having worked in almost every department and every stage of production. In fact, after finishing business school and a very short stint at a French newspaper, he joined the family business three years ago working with the master distiller. He has a deep interest in mixology and spends a lot of time at the Cointreau archives to gain knowledge about cocktails and the liqueurs and spirits used to create them.

"Not just the name, my brother, sister and cousins have all grown up with the traditions around Cointreau and most of us were given a dash of the liqueur by our grandfather in our baby water during our christening ceremony," says Cointreau who holds the formal position of heritage manager for the brand globally. "Though I joined the company only three years ago at the distillery, I was born and raised in Angers, the small town where it is located and have grown up watching and helping my grandmother Elisabeth carefully prepare family aperitifs with Cointreau when entertaining friends," he adds.

Steeped in Tradition

A brand of triple sec or orange liqueur, Cointreau is positioned as the market leader in the segment. "We are the original triple sec with a 150-year tradition behind us; the distillery was set up in 1849 and from the traditional recipe to the iconic bottle shape, nothing has changed over the years; even though we do introduce limited edition packaging from time to time," says Alfred Cointreau.

He considers himself to be among the closest to the family tradition in his generation having spent his childhood and teenage years in the family hometown and bonding closely with his grandfather Pierre Cointreau from a very young age.

Having honed his skills at the distillery, he knows about the history and heritage of the brand; he now travels around the world as part of his job to promote the brand. "Creating new cocktails with Cointreau is my passion and I like to work with local bartenders in different countries. Sometimes I combine my old family recipes with new ideas," says Cointreau, who also spearheads the Cointreau Academy in Angers and plays an important role in training bartenders there.

Recently in India on his first visit, Alfred Cointreau created a signature cocktail CointreauKini (see Alfred's Heady Mix...) working with bartenders at Delhi speakeasy bar PCO and Indian fashion designer duo Shivan and Narresh. "As a brand, we like to associate with style and glamour and Shivan and Narresh are known for their signature swimwear line. It was great working with the bartenders in Delhi as well as the designers," he says.

"I travel to the US very often and bartenders there can't do without Cointreau, which is probably the most popular cocktail base for them. We have 350 original Cointreau recipes and in the US our liqueur is the base for many new and classic ones including the iconic Margarita, Cosmopolitan and Sidecar," he adds. He likes to experiment with different liquor bases such as whisky, cognac and tequila and play with different mixes in creating his own cocktails.

  Cointreau is excited by the double-digit year-on-year growth in the Indian market. "The traditional whisky market is making way for a cocktail culture here in India as more and more young people are experimenting with new things. Besides the metros, we also find a lot of interest among young people in Tier II and Tier III cities for our brand and have been working with trade and connoisseurs to promote the brand," he says.

Source : By Ishani Duttagupta, ET Bureau