A car which changed India

As we forged our way into year 2015, we are leaving behind one of the legendary cars that changed India and its auto industry. The journey of the Indian passenger car segment has been marked by model which then became milestones in their own right. The Maruti 800 which came out in 1983 broke the shackles of the License Raj and built the aspiration for the car in the minds of the Indian family. While Maruti build on the aspiration with its simplicity, Hyundai and its Santro marked the rise in aspiration of the common man to move from the necessity of mobility to the mark of driving in comfort.

In 1998, Hyundai came into the small passenger car segment with the Santro (inspired from the elegant city of Saint Tropez in the French Riviera) which was then dominated by Maruti (80% share) with the basic 800 and the Zen with a  more powerful 1000 cc engine. A new entrant in the small car segment was another Korean, the Daewoo Matiz. The rest like the Ford, Honda, Toyota were out to focus on the mid-sized saloon segment. Coming in as a challenger to the dominant force is not a mean thing; but for a car which even towards its closure in 2014 is selling up to 30,000 units a year, there has to be something special.

The first success for the Santro came from its tall boy design which was a novelty in itself. Yes, the purists claimed it looked much like its name in Korea, Atoz which sounded like an auto (rickshaw), it gave radically more head room in the cabin as against its competition. This also meant that an Indian woman could get in without much trouble of managing her saree and having to almost kneel to get inside. The other part was the fact that Santro has a better ground clearance than most in its category. And while air conditioning as a standard accessory was not available initially, the cost differential between an AC and non-AC was just a few thousand rupees.

The turning point for Santro was the 2003 launch of the Santro Zing which had the AC and power steering as a standard option. This was the major blow to have an impact of the market which Maruti was slowing losing its grip on. With no major improvements on the Zen and the delay for the tall boy Wagon R meant Santro went on to gain in leaps and bounds within no time. The only possible area where Hyundai could have lost the battles was costs. But using a single vendor approach for economies of scale and an 80% localization of suppliers, the Santro was the largest selling car within two years of its launch. Between 2003 to 2010, the Santro sold anywhere between 1,00,000 to 2,40,000 units year after year. It was the simple looking, comfortable interiors design, zippy but fuel efficient engine and the distinction that it was not a Maruti built its first base for Hyundai loyalists of today.  

In a city like Mumbai where driving might be a pain almost all throughout the day, Santro found a new lease of life in the last 5 years. The iconic black and yellow Premier Padmini was on its way out into the oblivion and there were already new contenders in the form of Maruti Wagon R, Alto, Omni, Ecco and Tata Indicab waiting to fill the gap. But the Hyundai Santro today has a dominant present as the new face of the black and yellow Mumbai Taxi. I am yet to see a cabbie who is not happy with the change to Santro. The ones who moved over directly from the Padmini to a Santro find a whole ocean of difference in the driving experience. Their most common appreciation comes in the handling and the power steering that have helped reduce their fatigue and work longer shifts. The ones who tried others and are now driving a Santro just say “yes uss se accha hai…”.

It is kind of funny that the Santro will be discontinued from the same year as the legendary Ambassador has taken its final bow. But one thing is for sure, if the Ambassador left its legacy as the car that was the one which enjoyed the decades of the Licence Raj, the Santro will be remembered for a car that established India as the global small car hub. What we will also remember is the fact that it pushed the wheels of the Indian auto towards previously perceived luxuries of power steering and air conditioning into standard specification and made our ride a little more joy. 

A man, a lady and the Indian attitude

The last time I wrote on mobile based apps being a new form of social media, little did I know that I was going to take it a step beyond my experimentation phase and possibly adopt it as a patron. A part of the evaluation process was to try and gauge if the latent need for social interaction was something very personal to me or was there anyone else under the some with similar interests. (yeah that’s where I draw the Star Trek analogy). This meant I had to get some positive responses and some level of interactions before I could get an understanding of what are people looking for on these apps.  Not to mention, it also gave me an insight into how the social fabric of the country was changing and what could possibly be the next stage.

One thing is for sure; tinder, two, badoo, woo, or zoosk- it is easier to change and upgrade applications; you cannot change the way people behave or their attitudes. Yes- most of the new and updated apps have a decent level security perimeter to get rid of obvious leaching and stalking. But even today, the initial thought that you can live a pseudo life on the internet with not even a hint of your own real self is still prevalent. Even with parallel verifications over email and login via Facebook accounts, there is still no dearth of fakes who can circumvent this. After all, it doesn’t take much to create a fake profile on a social media platform.

From the friends I made, I gather a collective feeling that the idea of dating is still something we Indians just cannot fathom. Somehow, friends as a relation between members of the opposite gender comes too low down in priority on a list of possible associations. So the idea of ‘Fun’ is still connected with sex rather than shared interest or activities and just hanging out. Now though some talks did make me a prince amongst the frogs, but it was also painting a picture that people are unable to rise above their ingrained mentality of what you do with your online life. It was not uncommon of people blatantly getting on to just casual sex or a life beyond the limitations of marriage. From my perspective, the profiles online were mostly unsure of what they were doing there or what they seek in life. Not to mention, there were a few escort and more than services hunting for clients.  

On an overall, there were also some very plain assumptions that were being made about people; much on lines of what we hear people talk in defense for improper conduct towards a gender and possible actions. Like if a person was in their 30’s and single; separated etc. it does have some perceived notions which in ways define the character value of the person. We sometimes forget that a person single beyond their 30’s may have had some priorities above just being in a committed relation or simply the fact that you don’t meet the right people at the right hour- but we have a compartment for them. A person who has legally separated is at times a scum lower than even someone who has had multiple partners with no strings attached or any real level of committed relations. I’m not sure what is a bigger flaw; the failure in one relation or a something else from a social perspective that builds the divide.

I believe we as Indians have come leaps and bounds in terms of updating our technologies and lifestyles to match up to the rest of the so called developed world. I guess what now remains is overcoming our shortfalls of the limbic brain instincts to evolve to a more evolved attitude. 

Retail Challenge -Breaking the Time Barrier

Retail has been a super dynamic sector for the whole of last year. Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon; all have been trying in more than one ways to woo consumers towards them. So far it was a war based on pricing, same day delivery and loyalty discounts etc. which was more or less related to how each one can score over the other. All put together, they were giving the physical retail a run for its money- though in a small sample survey I conducted, multi-brand retail stores were still in contention along with the e-retail as the choice for place of purchase.

To be honest, I was expecting the top three e-retailers to break the barrier of price- delivery- service with some master stroke, considering they have been hiring the best marketing brains from across and have the deep pockets and funding to build the required backend to change the status quo. But I have been swept off my feet by the most amazing response from a physical multi-brand mobile store- Sangeetha Mobiles. With a back-end technical collaboration with ebay, Sangeetha Mobiles has come up with http://shopno47.com with a promise so big that it might be a game changer- mobile deliveries in 47 minutes to 1 hour and 47 minutes flat. (Currently in Bengaluru, Chennai & Hyderabad)

Impossible??? Just imagine that you have even 10 franchise stores in a city and a backend hub to process the orders which a spoke can deliver- in 1 hour and 47 minutes for a minimum order of Rs. 5000 is most definitely doable. And if you doubt- they have a timer on the ordering page where it says “Order now and get it in…” which is applicable from the time of  transaction confirmation. More so, after 1 hour and 47 minutes, they claim to call the customers and confirm the delivery has actually happened in the stipulated time.

Considering Sangeetha Mobile is pretty big chain in the south with outlets in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and other southern towns and is easily miles ahead of places like UniverCell- it can actually deliver on the promise. While there have been so many people I have heard talking about Omni Channel Retail, this is the first and practical example I’m seeing from India. The process as I believe might be pretty simple; the order is taken on the back end which will process the payment and the fulfilment will be done by the local franchise or retailer. I have no concrete idea on the backend and process from any source but I feel this is the positive way it might be happening.

So why am I excited? Well for a change, it is the physical retail which is changing the game and trying to get into a space where the e-retailers might be possibly slower. It is going as per the basics of competitive advantage to play in a field where they are confident of their own strength. What’s more, Sangeetha Mobile is now offering a one year warranty against theft, water & physical damage) + 1 Year pick & drop repair service + 1yr extended brand warranty. This is the first time I am seeing anyone come up with such options for customer service post sales.

Now, there were some questions I had in my mind. What’s the whole gig about 47? Well it seems the first store they had was a Shop no 47 and hence… Then I have my reservations of what might happen if a model is not available close to your place, but I’m sure there is a solution for it as well.

What is refreshing though in the entire thing is the positive intent and freshness of the thought to think differently to counter the competition. It is a move to change the status quo and take the challenge to take on the rest in a bold manner. More so, I’m pleased with the outlook towards the after sales service (most difficult to replicate) which the others have been ignoring for the longest time. 

The rat race and humans

Over the Christmas Eve and the days to follow I was on a binge watching mission of a HBO TV series called ‘From the Earth to the Moon’. Intriguing as the concept is, based on one of man’s greatest ambitions since the dawn of time the series was complete in the sense that it did not focus so much on the lunar landings alone- but the whole saga that unfolded in the political corridors, scientific community and the public at large after JFK made that bold statement to put a man on the moon within 8 years. This came at a time when all that NASA was doing then was well short of even taking a man into space, something the USSR had already managed. Just one of the reasons why I see projects involving Tom Hanks in a very different light than the rest- the research, the perspective and the narrative is most unique and comprehensive.

So just to paint a picture of the times: USSR is leading the space race and the president has made a bold public statement. Man in space is still a distant dream; both in terms of technology and achievement. But still within a gap of 7 years from the presidential address, the brickwork of probability was turned into the flights of possibility. Aircraft test pilots were now trained to go beyond the stratosphere and aircraft builders where building space crafts. Every person in every single department was in a run up against time and every failure was costly in terms of money, time, political ideology and at times even human life. Till the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon, everyone was eager to know the answer to the question; can man actually do it?

So at the cost of sounding filmy- who was the first man on the moon? Yes, Neil Armstrong. Who was the second??? And I guess there might be still be a few who will name Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. But what do we know about Michael Collins, a man who sat there closest to these two men a few miles above and was pivotal in their safe return. How come Apollo 11 has become legendary and only two from the crew of three is who we recognize? How many of us know about any lunar mission from Apollo 1 to Apollo 17; or the fact that the Apollo programme was built on the learnings that came along from the Mercury and Gemini missions that were like test flights for the lunar landings.

The simplest explanation to all this came to me in an astonishing manner the human mind and memory actually works.  We as human are trained to be rats running a race to go from point A to B. The winner takes it all and there is no medal for coming in second. We have actually been tuned to be more oriented towards attaining goals and once achieved, we fail to recognise all the people and their efforts that went into reaching the goal. The worst is once the goal has been reached, our level of interest in the details dwindles and no level of achievement that might follow has any relevance in our minds. We at times tend to forget that there is a larger bunch of people and their sacrifice that hides behind the achievement of the larger goals.

Imagine the number of people who work behind the scenes to make every single flight possible. There are the ones who built the actual space crafts, the ones who built the simulators and prototypes. And then there were those who sat in the mission command in Houston not even blinking an eye lid when missions like Apollo 13 went haywire. We as people simply refuse to accept the people behind the larger picture. And this is not an American phenomena- even in a movie like Swades, SRK is asked if he is in NASA, is he an astronaut. Not in the same league, but the moment people know I worked in radio, I’m asked if I was an RJ… cause astronaut or an RJ- they are the face and that’s what matters to people.

The series also brought to the fore another aspect of human nature- something we call the short span of the public memory. After Apollo 11, possible Apollo 12 and Apollo 13 were missions where people were still attached to the TV with a curiosity of what happens next. When the last two missions got down to some serious scientific research, public interest and limelight both just vanished. In fact, a near flawless Apollo 17 was not even telecast as the romance of space had ended and the swinging 70’s were no longer having the attractions for it.

Today, no NASA missions actually attract notable mentions. India had a boom once the Mars probe Mangalyaan entered orbit; but on January 2^nd 2015, hardly any media carried its 100 days in orbit - nor has ISRO posted anything special on its site. This is what we should accept is our instinct of a rat race… we are all tuned till the first step; the ones that follow just never seem to matter. 

As the air gets turbulent

These may be the three most dynamic sectors in the Indian economy as they seem to flood the news every day- retail and ecommerce websites, mobile telephony and airlines. Each day there is either the rise or fall of a new marketing tactic and sales promotions to drive revenues. I already tried to establish a symbiotic relation all the three are having where mobiles and telephone networks are driving people to the internet, online retail is building the aspiration for products and airlines are making overnight deliveries and satisfaction a possibility. In the last few weeks, the skies have turned murky and the airline industry is likely to face turbulent air. 

Spice Jet was showing signs of running on low cash reserves for a long time. In fact when they launched some astonishing discounts for flight bookings beyond six months from the day of flying; I sensed they were trying to stay afloat by selling a future beyond their reach. And so it happened one day that almost 1800 flights of December were grounded and fuel was now on cash and carry. As for the passengers, well you invested too far ahead on promises to fly on a carrier whose daily operating loss even while flying was in excess of 3 Cr.

This won’t be the first time this is happening with Spice Jet which saw a similar fate in its earlier avatar of ModiLuft, which ironically had also ran out of funds. So from a full service carrier that started off in 1993, Spice Jet turned into a Low Cost Carrier in 2004. Ina typical LCC style, Spice Jet always had its parking slots away from the terminal gates with flights at wee houses in the morning or late night and the buy off the cart catering service. A positive which I definitely noted was the aircrafts were always clean, young by age and more often than not; on time as well.

So how does the 2^nd largest LCC and one of the longest serving airline enter the whirl of failures? In my opinion, almost every airline in India has been suffering similar losses in a mad rush to woo customers by bare minimum fares and discounts which in most cases barely seem to cover fuel and airport charges. Spice Jet in its initial years was fighting Air Deccan on a price war of Rs 99 tickets (which after the taxes and surcharges used to come up to Rs 2300), but as far as buyer psychology was concerned, it scored heavy. All flights going full was a record that Spice Jet had in its initial years. The leadership was maintained until Indigo burst out on the scene and its offering of low cost and timely arrivals and departure made a big dent on the markets.

I had a sniff at the possible financial position last year when tickets at a cheap rate and more than 6 months beyond the flight date were being sold; a clear indication that cash flows were fast eroding and survival games have begun. The last reports have now indicated a possible government intervention to boost the airline off its blocks again. But lack of financial profitability has been the truth even with Jet Airways; which after the collapse of Kingfisher is rebuilding itself as a full service carrier and earn back its customers from the LCC’s. Adding to the mix is Air Asia’s entry into the LCC market, but its limited destinations at present makes its market position tough to decide. It now remains to see how the much awaited Vistara which is scheduled to fly from the next month will perform and affect the market.

A matter of debate may be, but one thing is happening for sure; the Indian skies are seeing turbulence and it might be only the financially fittest and consumer selected one’s which will survive the wind fall which is likely over the next few months. 

The brands that make every Indian wedding

Family has been a very intrinsic part of the Indian culture and value systems. No wonder the coming together of families through a wedding is also rated as a very big event. A new beginning of sorts is marked with a hell lot of new stuff which floats amongst the families. There is a lot of shopping activity that happens prior to the actual wedding and there are a few brands which have actually carved a niche for themselves as far as Indian weddings are concerned. Yes, there are a lot of local players in each category, but for some verticals- these brands stand as the gold standard primarily through the years of advertising that they have sincerely followed.

 Amongst the unwritten rule for the groom or the majority of the male population is to be dressed in a formal suit for the reception or some occasion during the wedding. At this point only Raymond’s can make a man complete. It may be tailored next door, at a Raymond’s Made-to- Measure store or be it a readymade, the fascination with a suit in Raymond’s fabric is like a must. In more recent times, Raymond’s has tried to make the man a sensitive father, a retiring teacher, a caring son and husband; but as a brand they also have an unmistakable connect with weddings. The man in Raymond’s has the charm to break a traditional sangeet into an impromptu ball dance, express his love in a manner suited to the shining armoured knights and also turn a reluctant arranged partner fall in love. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87lrVrz3Pv0)

The domination of Raymond’s in this space is so high that competition like Siyaram, Grasim suiting’s, Reid & Taylor have all had celebrity endorsements and placed themselves in the office wear category to distinguish themselves from Raymond’s. People can be so particular in terms of the suit fabric that even a fabric worth over 10K or a final suit worth 30K is not looked upon as splurging.

When we talk of traditional wear for men and women, it has been an area which was strongly dominated by local market players. The bling value on traditional clothing for both genders has always been different and varying as per the regions and customs that go around in every part. Not to mention for the ladies, sarees and their patterns have held traditional weavers as the highest authority. When it comes down to stitched wear, designers and tailoring shops still carry a high regard. It has again been a bit different for the guys as various styles of kurta are the only possible variations. Manyavar seems to be making a heavy in roads on this front. Apart from a very heavy team sponsorships in IPL, the brand has also made an impressive TV ad showcasing that they will lead the pack in organised occasion wear for Indian men. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I4Qd1wbAV4)

Now so much for men- the ladies segment has a whole lot of saree and jewellery stores which are local market chains like Roopmilan, Kala Niketan, Nallis or the PC and Ghanasingh jewellers and many more like them. Clothing somehow does not have one brand which has the kind of appeal that goes beyond the product and how it makes you feel. But jewellery has had a larger emotional and social angle in terms of brands. A bride without gold to adorn the dress is like unheard across socio-economic strata in India. So apart from the traditional and family attached jewellers, there are big jewellery brands like Geetanjali or TBZ which have added a touch of glamour and a royal appeal to wedding and occasion wear ornaments. But a national brand which may stand out in my opinion is Tanishq by Titan. I see them as a brand which had communication which went on a note that it could inspire the “not interested” to get in the marriage mode. Which other brand thought that they could also add a touch of glitter to a 2^nd marriage? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqggcpL79qw)

 While we are on Titan, watches were always a part of the accessories which could also be a gift for anyone in the family; father to their ward, amongst siblings, as a gift for send-off… but can you propose marriage with a watch? Well in a way, Titan just redefined that space occupied by a diamond ring with a watch in the most refreshing and ‘without words’ emotions. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYSvzmqD4fQ)

There are so many other examples I can think of which have become a part of the Indian wedding saga. The woman get a space of her own in a new environment and the first stage of trust in a new relationship is established by a Godrej cupboard. A whole lifetime of memories shifts to a new space safe and sound in VIP luggage. A lot of brands are trying to break into this wedding space; a lot have already owned this space for themselves.

There is nothing to deny, marriages in India is a big affair and with anything between a million and ten million marriages taking place every year and an average of four members in each family- it is also a considerably large sized market for brands to look forward to. Not restricted by economic conditions or political scenarios; the big fat Indian wedding is USD 40 billion industry which is here to stay and just boom on. 

When expressions find a way- the new media avenues

This weekend, one of my batch mate from college came out with a collection of short stories she has written over the year and compiled in a book. The book came out as a kindle e-book titled, “Do virgins taste better and other tales of whimsy”.  What has got me excited is the fact that she has made it to a point where her thoughts and ideas have been able to reach a larger audience circumventing the vicious nets and monopolies of publishers. The answer came in the form of Amazon and its CreateSpace service.

My class had quite a few talents with literary skills to write books and scripts, very few actually have taken it up as a full time profession. My roommate in college went into advertising, but had a compilation of photographs coupled with his feelings behind them expressed as poetry. The concept was too alien to publishers, and he was reluctant to share excessive details suspecting foul play. Another of my roommate is journalist who having extensively travelled in a riot torn UP has inside stories and anecdotes which no news channel will every carry. The works for both of the above have original ideas but the flight of expression is yet to find wings. I see the new avenues in media as a viable options in the days to come.

The story has been similar to many of the upcoming talents who have the ideas and concepts for a larger stage but find no takers. The Viral Fever (TVF) Media Labs is a sensation on YouTube as a channel which has a very steady and loyal bunch of followers. Their popularity is marked by the fact that a video from TVF crosses 100000 viewers in a day at max. But the origins of the second largest network of youth entertainment in India lies in the fact that the concepts presented by its founder, Arunabh Kumar, were rejected by MTV and other youth channels. By means of YouTube, TVF today has a reach so massive that online portals like Snapdeal, Common Floor or even movie stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Parineeti Chopra, Ayushman Khurana, Ranveer Singh have come on their shows to connect with youth and promote their movies.  

There is no doubting the fact that making a film is an expensive proposition and has a lot more in terms of financial hurdles. But some like another batch mate of mine, Faraz Ali, have taken up spending their time, effort and own savings to find a route to achieving things. The alternative he has found takers has been short film festivals. One of his first efforts, Mehrooni got a lot of critical acclaim after being shown at the Mumbai Film Festival and Royal Stag Large Shot films. The encouragement has taken him to make Makhmal this year which not only had big names like Jackie Shroff and Shafquat Amanat Ali attached to it, but also got opportunities in film festivals overseas (Including the New York 30 under 30) as an avenue to showcase his art to the world.

Another space where alternate media is making an impact is music. Recently, Vayu, a college junior of mine, launched a music video on YouTube of a song he had written and had composed almost 8 months ago. Apart from the fact that he is a lyricist having written for mainstream Bollywood, he had the desire to write about things he felt close to and ultimately wrote about dope. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtHf8QBJj0Q) The challenge he faces now is promoting his song but with no support of a big production house and only friends and well-wishers backing the video already has more than 62K views and becoming a cult in a small way.  Not to forget, platforms like Sound Cloud are also helping him gain more popularity. 

On the whole, the sphere of media has grown in a big way and is helping people to bypass the traditional road blocks and monopolies of publishers, music labels, channels and film producers and distributors. It is now up for the people with ideas to come up with the best of their own content. Success may be defined once people get to witness what you have, but a lot more avenues to help the right talents see the light of day.