IndianMaze

India has been a provider of brain power to the west for quite a long time. So much so that a lot of major positions in US/UK and many MNCs are held by Indians. In fact not only Indians but Asians and Africans have been adding to the brain power in the west leading to "browning" of "white west". Now a days, I can't help but notice two key developments. One, many professionals who went overseas (westwards) for studies/jobs and stayed back have started looking at India as a serious option. But additionally, many more westerners are looking at India as a destination for employment. "White" CEOs in India were common in the past amongst MNCs who wanted to have control from the people who were "close" to HQ country. Things have moved and now one can see many "white" CEOs for Indian companies. Not only that, there are a large number of professionals in C suite and lower positions who want to have India on their CVs. Malls in major cities a

Last 20 years or so in Indian economy have been phenomenal not only in terms of economic growth but also - removal of licence raj in general - becoming adequate/surplus from a scarce economy (imports not withstanding) - rise of brands, and - rise of organised retail Above all have transformed the consumer life and also the decision making. The choices have widened beyond comprehension and still not reached a saturation point. My experiences over the last week(in Delhi) showed how spoilt we are with the choices available in various product categories. Tea - earlier it was 3 products (leaf - 3/4 brands, dust - 1 brand and Darjeeling - 1 brand). Now 13 products (leaf, dust, darjeeling, green, flavoured, tea bags, instant, instant flavoured, iced, packaged, packaged flavoured, infused) and each with at least 6 brands and 2pack sizes. Coffee - earlier 2 products (instant - 2 brands and filter - 1 brand). Now 10 products (instant, decaff, arabica, robusta, columbian, powder, granules, instan

Interesting thoughts were evoked when in a conversation a renowned marketeer posed a question about segmentation on a consumption basis rather than sales basis. As we got further into discussions, we realised that how this was seen by many as same/similar and an issue of sementics though the concept, per se , is absolutely different. I was reminded of one of my own hypothesis that was subsequently tested positive in practice in the category of prestige alchoholic drink. The consumption of prestige products cuts across income levels. The difference is in the frequency of consumption. This was further complicated by the famous example of one red soap that had (at the time of limited survey) a phenomenally high penetration in a high income category and so was the case of a popular brand of tea. Of the recent examples, penetration of TVs amongst people is more consumption led than otherwise. This perhaps also explains the fact the penetration of DVD players is far more than refrigerators.