Bulgari books India return, may tie up a silent partner

Italian luxury firm Bulgari is in the process of finalising a local partner for its proposed reentry into India’s high-end merchandise market.

Italian luxury firm Bulgari is in the process of finalising a local partner for its proposed reentry into India's high-end merchandise market, three persons familiar with the matter said. 

The seller of pricey jewellery, watches, leather goods and accessories had exited India in April 2011 after ending a seven-year tieup with a Mumbai-based firm to run monobrand stores. This time round, the brand intends to have more control over its operations. "Bulgari is making an attempt to come on its own and is in the process of setting up a store," one of the persons said. "This time, they will go in for a silent partner due to regulatory requirements." Bulgari did not respond to emailed queries sent by ET seeking information on the talks.

However, persons in the know said the company plans to open a single-brand store in south Delhi in a couple of months. Bulgari was bought by the world's No 1 luxury group, LVMH, in 2011. Franck Dardenne, general manager of LVMH Watch & Jewellery India, said, "Bulgari is considering options, but I will be in a better position to answer in the next six months."

India's luxury market is expected to reach $14.73 billion by 2015 from an estimated $8.21 billion this year, compelling several international luxury brands to have a relook at the market. India allows 100% foreign direct investment ( FDI) in single-brand retail and 51% in multi-brand retail, but the opening up of this sector comes with the rider that 30% of sourcing should be done locally. The sourcing clause, however, is a deterrent for most international luxury brands, which are currently operating in the country through joint ventures, franchisees or silent partners.

Rome-headquartered Bulgari was founded in 1884 by silversmith Sotirio Bulgari as a single jewellery shop. The company, famous for its colored stone jewellery and watches that have a unique serial number, also operates luxury hotels and resorts. It had a turnover of over Euro 1 billion in 2010. Latest sales figures were not available, as LVMH does not share brand-specific revenue details. In 2004, Bulgari had joined hands with Dia Group's sister concern, Lifestyle Tradelinks India, to open two standalone stores in Mumbai and Delhi.

The stores, however, closed down after seven years. "The sales were good, but some problem cropped up between the brand owners and the franchise partner," said another person who did not wish to be named. Like Bulgari, high-end Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoutre (JLC) is also considering reopening a standalone store in India by early next year. JLC had opened a mono-brand store in DLF Emporio in 2007 in partnership with Kapoor Watch Company, but closed it the following year.

"The time was not right then," said Dinesh Aswani, India manager for JLC. The company's watches are sold at 11 points of sale in India, priced between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13.5 crore. "We are looking to open a standalone boutique in partnership with one of our existing retailers," he said without giving any details. Arvind Singal of Technopak, a retail consultancy firm, said,

"Most brands have tasted success in China and see a similar potential in India in the coming years, and this is why they want to control the brand's distribution, sales and marketing, so that they are better placed when the market really opens up."

Source : By Vijaya Rathore, ET Bureau 

Trouble for Tata Tele, Reliance Communications as oil companies go for VSAT connection

The move will likely give a blow to Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, which offer over 3,000 already working connections on CDMA mobile technology.
Indian oil marketing companies will use satellite internet connections for around 10,000 petrol pumps facilities like credit card machines, connecting to loyalty programme databases, and other inventory management applications. 

The move will likely give a blow to Tata TeleservicesBSE -19.74 % and Reliance Communications, which offer over 3,000 already working connections on CDMA mobile technology. 

"CDMA is cheaper but it is not continuous and requires the system to get a new IP (internet) address every time, which is not safe," said a person in charge, asking not to be named. Connection through satellite would entail a single internet address and can be secured more easily. "Plus the performance is patchy, we tried VSAT on some other pumps and it is much more reliable." 

Bharat Petroleum, which is the consortium leader, is spearheading the move. Hindustan PetroleumBSE 0.38 % and Indian Oil, the other two in the group, are jointly going to issue a tender for satellite connections for these petrol pumps soon, the person said. The connectivity contract is worth around Rs 100 crore annually. 

A mail to Bharat PetroleumBSE 0.96 % and Tata Teleservices went unanswered. Reliance CommunicationsBSE 2.45 % declined to comment. 

Unconfirmed sources said that Reliance Communications services around 360 pump connection while Tata Teleservices has 3,500 BPCLBSE 0.96 % pumps and 850 HPCL. 

The issue with satellite communication, which prompted oil companies to try CDMA, is the high capital expenditure to set up the dish and box to link up connectivity, much like the dish and box required for Direct-To-Home television services. 

The state-run oil marketing companies have called for pre-bid presentations from Hughes Communications India, Bharti AirtelBSE -0.22 %, Nelco ( Tatanet) and HCL Comnet. The vendors are so far planning to offer incurring the capital expenditure themselves, and allow the oil companies to pay it over time. 

Bharat Petroleum already has around 700 pumps that are using satellite connections for data services. The rental cost of the technology is about 20% higher than CDMA technology, but it comes with a service level guarantee like in the case of ATMs for banks, said the person quoted earlier. The average monthly spend on the CDMA network is around Rs 400, but, it comes with no commitment.

Source : http://money.rediff.com; ET Bureau

Swarnim Sankul-I: Narendra Modi's Rs 150 crore office

Swarnim Sankul-I: Narendra Modi's Rs 150 crore office

In April, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, moved into a new office in the capital Gandhinagar. Built at a cost of Rs 150 crore and spread across 35,000 sq ft, the four-storey building has been unofficially dubbed as "North Block", not in the least because of Modi's prime ministerial ambitions.

Global corporate look

At first glance, the new office, painted in a uniform cream colour, holds few surprises.

Even from outside, it is clear that great care has been taken to give it a global corporate look.

Swarnim Sankul-I

Officially, it is called Swarnim Sankul-I, one of the twin buildings that dot each side of the Gujarat Assembly.

Rooted in the Indian backdrop

But it is also rooted in the Indian backdrop - it faces the north, considered auspicious according to Vastu Shastra.

Modi's office

A box-like exterior houses Modi's office on the third floor, which leads to a sprawling balcony that offers a direct view of the newly built Mahatma Mandir, a convention centre and memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.

Ground floor

Visitors are greeted with customary security checks. Soon after, one hits a wide passage that leads directly to a round reception table in wood on the ground floor lobby.

Metallic lifts that serve all floors

Again, one gets the feeling that one is in a corporate office rather than a sarkari one. Here, visitors come across a second layer of security personnel.

Get used to the security: there are checks on every floor. Look up to see a ceiling presenting an Oculus. On the right of the ground floor are four metallic lifts that serve all floors.

Display of awards

A gamut of awards won by the Gujarat government is displayed in glass and wooden cupboards next to the lifts.

Auditorium, two committee halls

The ground floor also boasts an auditorium, two committee halls and a conference hall named after the four major rivers of Gujarat: Sabarmati, Tapi, Mahi and Narmada.

The cabinet meeting hall has been named Girnar Khand, a tribute to the home of the Asiatic lions.

Adorned with French windows

The lobbies on all floors are adorned with a French window, a top-down casement that lets in sunlight. This saves electricity, a design intervention made at the insistence of Modi. Indeed, Modi seems to have closely supervised the construction.

"The CM was very particular about the quality of the building," says Bimal Patel, one of the architects based in Ahmedabad.

Spacious

All lobbies sport 49-inch LCD television sets. They are spacious, a marked departure from the congested corridors of the earlier building.

Two mediumsized lawns adorn the backyard and serve as a link to the Assembly. A raft of paintings doll up the walls aesthetically.

Offices on each floor

Cabinet ministers' offices on the second and fourth floors stand out for their space management. Each office sports a huge chamber with an ante-chamber and each ministerial enclave holds a couple of cubicles for staff along with a small conference room and waiting room. 

The entire building can accommodate 1,000 employees.

Special access point for Modi's convoy of cars

The main entrance apart, there is a special access point for Modi's convoy of cars. This point is covered in concrete roofing and a front wall. Needless to say, this area is cordoned off.

This has led to talks that Modi's office is bulletproof. Officials denied this. But the building is under constant CCTV surveillance.

Modi's grand office

In the works is Swarnim-II on the other side of the Assembly. That building, modelled on New Delhi's secretariat, would be Modi's 'South Block'.

Even if his push for the top job in the country is thwarted, Modi would still boast a grand office.

Source : Vishal Dutta, ET Bureau 

Are you a bad employee?

Are you a bad employee?

Know which actions of yours make the company judge and label you as a bad employee, deny you promotions and increments, and put you on the firing list?

By Devashish Chakravarty 

The 80:20 rule can be interpreted for the workplace as 20% of the employees doing 80% of the best work. It could, however, also be read as 20% of the employees causing 80% of all major problems. So, which actions of yours make the company judge and label you as a bad employee, deny you promotions and increments, and put you on the firing list? We lay down common behavioural pointers used by most professionals.

What is your profile?

The Crooked

The earliest you can get into trouble is by printing incorrect data in your CV. The companies that conduct employee background checks find that corporates have little tolerance for lies in resumes. Potential employers believe that at the workplace, such people could continue to attract negative attention by false reporting of data, padding of expenses, personal use of company resources like downloading movies through the official mobile phone, and theft of cash or goods. If you're caught doing such things, most managers won't consider it worth the risk and effort to counsel or rehabilitate you, and would choose the easier option of termination.

The Unreliable

You could frustrate your manager by not holding yourself accountable for your work and time, as well as by being unreliable in critical situations, such as coming late to office or meetings, missing delivery deadlines and offering poor quality output.

The Destructive

In an easily identifiable avatar, you are the one who intentionally causes damage to the firm's property, either by habit or to get even for a perceived wrong, thus becoming the biggest risk to a firm's existence and reputation. More insidious, but equally risky, is flouting of law and company policies to engage in illegal activities, including using the firm's identity and e-mail for unauthorised transactions or false communication.

The Disinterested

You can be the most common burden on the company's resources simply by being lazy and disengaged. You could get away with your apathy for some time, but a smart manager may spot you through your avoidance of ownership, lack of feedback in ongoing projects, non-volunteering for responsibilities and use of questionable short cuts at work. You could also give yourself away through constant complaints about personal issues, highlighting problems without suggesting solutions, surfing the Internet at office, and routinely exceeding your leave quota.

The Incompetent

This is a special label that is earned when you do not have the required skills and cannot deliver. The firm may try to get you trained, so don't foil it by refusing to change or learn. A great team leader would try and create the environment, systems and team culture to make it easy for you to pick up the right skills. He would advise you to focus on learning specific actions and to practise the same. A patient HR may even try to sculpt a job that suits your skills before letting you go.

Is your attitude eclipsing your good points?

Mr Right

With a top-notch academic profile, you are used to being rewarded for right answers. But if you're politically naive, you would be unable to navigate teams and bosses to get the work done. Ask savvier colleagues to teach you about 'stake holders' and 'buy in' before frustration derails the team's output, and your career.

Mr Wrong

You may be brilliant at your work, but have you outgrown your teenage angst? The best indicator of such behaviour is that you can't stand company regulations and believe that bosses and management are always wrong. A neutral mentor may help you grow up before a short-tempered boss blows you up.

Mr CEO

You, the super-achiever, always had a steep learning curve and want to become the CEO overnight. Highrisk decisions and pushing your team 24/7 threatens the business and increases attrition. Counselling by a successful senior manager and a smart HR could train you for enduring success.

Mr Analyst

With a squeaky clean and successful past, you are simply afraid to fail. Your analytical skills help you to project the potential pitfalls of any proposal and avoid accountability and action. You need to be counselled that your attitude stalls you and your team, and your past won't save you from a pink slip.

Mr Gladiator

You love the spotlight and have the skills to win. However, the only way you know is to finish off your other gladiator team-mates. A seasoned manager and regular feedback can help make you a general, who leads his soldiers instead of fighting them.

What do your colleagues say?

Uncouth

Everyone knows you at the workplace for all the wrong reasons. Your team members find you uncivil and rude, and avoid working in the same projects as you. You do not pass up a chance to backstab your colleagues and even complain about the boss. Despite your fantastic output, your manager classifies you as a cost.

Inflexible

The easiest way to sabotage your team is to be inflexible about everything. You probably follow the boss' instructions and the office rule book to the T, while believing that the rest of the team is incompetent and overpaid compared with you.

Uncaring

The job description never mentioned emotional quotient (EQ) and yours is pretty much in the single digits as opposed to your high IQ. Your lack of empathy for team-mates and insensitivity towards their feelings leads you to yell at them and stress them at every stage. The HR lets you know that you are the unanimous choice for 'Jerk of the Year' award, not for the next promotion.

Violent

Violating the law is the shortest route out of the office door. Physical violence against team members, verbal abuse and sexual harassment are all red flags for the firm. With such bullying, expect a quick ending.

Insubordinate

The last straw breaks the camel's back. At the workplace, refusing to obey direct instructions and insolent replies are easily recorded and quickly escalated across levels. The manager has to put in very little effort to ask for a replacement to fill your seat.

(The writer is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and CEO of Quetzal Verify, an HR solutions company.)

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Amartya Sen's daughter Nandana meticulously handles her passion from movies to non-profit work

“I’m drawn to cinema because I have absolute faith in its transformative power, in its ability to raise human awareness,” says Nandana Sen.

The agenda is more important than the tool to implement it, even if it is seen as a double-edged sword by the society. So saysNandana Sen, the daughter of economics Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, a welfare economist, who warned Parliamentarians to remember those who are dying every day for want of food even as law makers stalled work.

The Harvard topper that Nandana is, the expectation of her parents was that she would choose to be a professor, like her father or a writer like her mother. But she chose acting to convey messages that her father does through lectures and books.

Convincing the champion of the poor was not difficult. He knew the master of movies,Satyajit Ray, as they studied together at Shantiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore.

"I'm drawn to cinema because I have absolute faith in its transformative power, in its ability to raise human awareness," says Nandana. "I've always found it significant that 'actor' and 'activist' share their root verb - to 'act' is, essentially, to 'do', and to engage or compel others to 'act' as well. Whenever possible, I combine my commitment to child rights with my acting work." The feisty actress, who has been known for her maverick, yet bold choices, has had different takes on things.

Why acting when the message could be conveyed as powerfully as her father does through writings? "In this one respect, I feel our culture has some catching up to do. Other cultures don't find it quite so mystifying that actresses can look nice, act well, think smart, write clearly, have an education, enjoy a political consciousness, and exercise a moral conscience, all at once!" Her desire to take up acting has left many tongue-tied.

"It's been a source of confusion to most. When I moved to Bombay to shoot Black, everyone's first reaction was, 'What's a Harvard topper doing in films? You're too intelligent to be an actress!'

Now that I have a body of films, when people find out that I'm a writer and an activist as well, the reaction is reverse: 'But you're an actress — why would you want to write?'' And did her parents echo her sentiments when she told them of her decision to be an actress?


"I was a prize-winning student. My parents did expect me to be either a writer or a professor. But being exceptionally creative in their own fields, they were very excited and supportive when I chose to be an actor."

As the daughter of Amartya Sen, and poet, novelist and academic Nabaneeta Dev Sen, it is hardly a surprise that Nandana inherited the best of her parents' melting pot of talents. She blends into each of her roles, be it being an unconventional actress or an active social worker aiding the cause of children, with equal ease.

Movies and her another passion, nonprofit work, where do they merge? "They are very different universes," says the daughter Sen. "I'm drawn to characters that are intense and unusual, not necessarily perfect, but all-too-human and always believable. In this respect, I've always had different priorities than many other actresses."

Her fight for child protection rights is wide-ranging, from being an official ambassador to informal advocacy. She works with several national and international organisations in this field — UNICEF, Operation Smile, Terre des Hommes, RAHI, MVF Foundation and FXB Suraksha.

While many may see this as an extension of her celebrity persona, Nandana considers it her moral duty as a citizen. "There is no crisis in our country greater than the abuse, exploitation, exclusion, and violation of vulnerable children.

The disregard we show as a nation for child protection is horrifying. It's disturbing to see how easily we distance ourselves from the child without a home, the child working hazardously, the child with HIV, the child who has been sold, the child who has been raped — as if she is not a part of our reality," says Sen. Her upbringing in Kolkata and her years at Harvard have contributed to her dedication to social causes and have formed a pattern to her work.

As a child working with street children in Kolkata, working with victims of domestic abuse at Harvard and enrolling herself with UNICEF's adolescent empowerment programmes in Mumbai, she has paved her path in causes that are integral to her life.

Like the roles she chooses, her unconventional talent has led her to penning a children's book I Kissed A Kangaroo, as well as translating a book of poems published by her mother Make Up Your Mind.

Does her need to prove herself in so many different roles stem from her fear of being typecast? "Although from the start I've selected non-stereotypical roles, I think it's inevitable that actors get typecast. I'm sure there are many like me in this industry who are force-fitted either into 'arty' or 'sexy' - funnily enough I get slotted both ways!''

Source : Devika Ghosh, By ET Bureau 

Just Dial IPO Makes Amitabh Bachchan Richer

Loic Venance/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Amitabh Bachchan during a press conference at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, May 15.

Indian search firm Just Dial Ltd. on Wednesday successfully closed its initial public offering, by getting bids for twice as many shares as it was offering to sell.

The deal is notable for two reasons. Firstly, the numbers: The $173 million-share sale is only the third successful IPO on India’s major stock exchanges this year.

Secondly, one of the beneficiaries: Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who has owned 62,794 shares, or 0.1% of Just Dial, since February 2011.

Though Mr. Bachchan won’t be selling his equity in the share sale, his investment could now be worth as much as 34 million rupees ($615,249). Meaning, he has made a theoretical profit of 33.5 million rupees ($603,048).

That’s probably peanuts for Mr. Bachchan in sheer amount, but his return would be a neat 54 times his original investment.

To be sure, this profit is only on paper, and real returns will come only when Mr. Bachchan sells stock.

Also, the price of Just Dial’s shares is yet to be finalized.

The company is selling 17.5 million shares at a price in the range of 470 rupees ($8.6) to 543 rupees ($9.9) per share, and the final price will be decided by investment bankers based on the amount of bids from investors.

Mr. Bachchan could not be reached for comment.

The star, who recently attended the Cannes film festival for his first Hollywood appearance in movie the Great Gatsby, is also Just Dial’s brand ambassador.

He signed a three-year contract with company to that effect in December 2010.

Just Dial’s IPO will allow the company’s existing investors like Sequoia Capital, SAIF Partners and Tiger Global to sell a part of their stake, according to the IPO prospectus.

Follow India Real Time on Twitter @IndiaRealTime.

Source : By Ashutosh Joshi, http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/

YES Bank CEO Rana Kapoor's family buys Rs 128 cr house next to Mukesh Ambani's Antilla

The building, built on a third of an acre plot, stands in the middle of a posh neighbourhood that boasts of homes of some of India's richest businessmen - Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla

The family of YES BankBSE 3.06 % CEO and managing director Rana Kapoor has bought a residential building - jointly owned by Citibank andGlaxoSmithKline - on tony Altamount Road in Mumbai for Rs 128 crore, and plans to build a home there. The building is next to Mukesh Ambani's 27-storey Antilla.

Khursheedabad Building, the apartment block, was put on the block in March this year.

The building, built on a third of an acre plot, stands in the middle of a posh neighbourhood that boasts of homes of some of India's richest businessmen - Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla - as well as of Washington House sold recently by the US Embassy to Lodha Developers. It has six apartments in all, of which the US-based bank owns five while one is owned by the British healthcare firm.

At least two persons involved in the deal said the building has been acquired in the name of Kapoor's wife Bindu and a privately held company. The Kapoors plan to bring down the structure to build their home and a small office for themselves, one of the persons said.

"My family has bought (the property), and not me," said Kapoor in an SMS to ET. A spokesman for Citibank declined to comment while GSK's spokeswoman could not be reached.

The transaction was managed by property advisory firm, CBRE, a source said.

He said other bidders for the property included Mumbai-based Indiabulls, private equity firm Everstone Capital and the Vandrewala family of Hirco Plc.

Delhi-born Kapoor, a career banker, is the founder of YES Bank, India's fourth-largest private bank, and has been on the lookout for properties in south Mumbai for the last one year.

Several Indian businessmen have been buying expensive homes in Delhi and Mumbai over the last few years. Earlier this month, ITCBSE -1.04 % Chairman YC Deveshwar bought a bungalow in Delhi's Shanti Niketan area for Rs 85 crore.

TOTAL BUILT-UP AREA OF 14,800 SQ FT

The ground plus two-storey structure on Altamount Road currently has a total built-up area of 14,800 sq ft that includes a basement and has been used by Citibank and GSK over the years to house their mid-to-senior level executives. Nanoo Pamnani, who is on the advisory board of BMR Advisors, stayed in one of the apartments here in the 1980s-90s before he became the chief executive officer of Citibank India in 1999 and later its chairman.

Citibank and a number of other companies such as Hindustan Unilever, GSK, Bank of America, Standard Chartered and HSBC have traditionally owned many apartments in prime parts of Mumbai that were used as incentives and perks for senior executives. The apartments in Khursheedabad Buildingas well as in many others were initially taken on rent by companies in the 1950s and were bought in early 1970s from their original owners at rates that are much lower than today's market prices.

In recent years, Citibank has sold over a dozen apartments in Mumbai - including five apartments in Colaba's Harbour Heights building, and one each in NCPA Apartments on Nariman Point, Meher Apartments onAltamount Road and Kanti Apartments on Mount Mary Road in Bandra. In 2008, Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna had tried to buy a 2,550 sq ft apartment in Il Palazzo on Malabar Hill from Citibank for Rs 30 crore. The deal did not go through. The bank finally sold the apartment in December last year to a diamond merchant for Rs 28 crore.

Other banks and corporates, too, have sold apartments and other properties in Mumbai. In 2011, Standard Chartered and HSBC sold a five-storey residential apartment block, Bishopsgate, at Breach Candy, which they owned together, to real estate developerPeninsula Land for Rs 272 crore.

HUL recently sold its apartment block in Worli, called Gulita, to Piramal realty for Rs 452 crore and is now looking at selling 55 apartments in south Mumbai's prime neighbourhoods of Nepean Sea Road, Altamount Road, Cuffe Parade, Malabar Hill and Colaba for over Rs 300 crore. The US Embassy is selling one of its buildings, Lincoln House, in Breach Candy.

Source : By Ravi Teja Sharma, ET Bureau