If Chelsea win in the FA cup finals (and I am praying it will ) and Premier league, Gus Hiddink will turn Demi-God . Not since Jose Mourinho has Chelsea fought like such a cohesive team. The two terrific back-to-back performances, against Liverpool in the league and against Arsenal in the FA cup semis is already making other teams wary. The Liverpool match will rank maybe as one of the finest high-stakes matches palyed by Chelsea. With the see-saw resulting in a 4-4 draw, it was quite a setback for Liverpool. Arsenal began with a lead and went down 2-1 in match with a record attendance ( over 88000 people ) at the Wembley making it an all blue finals in May.
Drogba is in outstanding form just in time - as the Champions league semi-final with Barcelona , the Barclays premier league match with Arsenal and the final with Everton come up over the next couple of weeks.
This new-found Chelsean ability to resurrect themselves from downunder, to react to the goal scored by winning is stuff of legends. The pressure of the scored goal binds the team into some sort of a vengeful fighting machine, bringing out the best in them, and amid great drama and suspence, they score towards the dying moments of the game, so much so that one now assumes it will happen each time.
This team is not for the faint-hearted !
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Socha hai - the answers.
Answers to the Javed- Farhan Akhtars song from Rock on.
Aasman hai neela kyon? – This is due to dispersion of light, technically called Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths ( red, yellow, orange) pass straight through however, the shorter wavelengths ( blue) are absorbed by the gas molecules and then radiated in different directions. This scattered blue light is what makes aasman neela .
Paani geela geela kyon? – Simple principles of adhesion, cohesion and surface tension apply here.Water’s molecular structure makes it good at forming hydrogen bonds and bipolar bonds with other materials. That's why it's so good at adhesion (sticking to things). Liquids like water, alcohol and kerosene have less surface tension and low viscosity so they wet the skin, leaving a thin viscous residue on the surface. ON the other hand liquids like Mercury with high surface tension don’t wet .
Gol kyon hai zameen? – The circular shape is due to the gravitational pull of the earth. It pulls all nature towards its core resulting in a shape that is circular.
Silk mein hai narmi kyon? – Silk is manufactured from the nest of silkworm,which is made up of liquid secreted by silkworm,It is not fibre like cotton so is much softer.
Aag mein garmi kyon? – Fire creates an exothermic chemical reaction that agitates & excites the molecules in an object. This agitated motion of these molecules creates heat. The more they move around the more heat they give off. This heat is transferred through the air and can be felt by us through radiation.
Do aur do paanch kyun nahin? – This is defined by the numeric system – sum of two even numbers is an even number. Now, don’t ask 6 kyon nahin !
Ped ho gaye kam kyon? – Afforestation – trees meet many human needs – paper, rubber, furniture, transport. Also leading to global warming – Al Gore’s fav subject.
Teen hai ye mausam kyon? – Rotation around the suns orbit creates varying intensity from the Sun leading to 3 seasons. In some parts of the country , theres no rain so its more like summer all year round !
Chaand do kyon nahin? – There are two moons ! Earth has two moons; the first one is the one we all know called 'chaand ' the second is 'Cruithne' a 3 mile lump of rock that takes 770 years to cycle its orbit. A collision between our planet and another body created a debris which got caught in our gravity and formed the moon.
Duniya mein hai jung kyon? – This is metaphysical – quite beyond physics. Tribal survival instincts lead to war and will continue to do so. Some parts of the world are still evolving – defining new reasons for fights and redrawing boundaries.
Behta laal rang kyon? – Corollary to the above. Jung leads to laal rang. Purely physical.
Sarhadein hai kyon har kahin? – Purpose keeps vitality, differences create eliminiation of options and Darvinian theory leads to survival of the fittest.
Behti kyon hai har nadee? – All matter flows from high to low till even – rivers originate from the high mountains and hills and flow into oceans
Hoti kya hai roshni? – Millions of tones of Hydrogen is converted into helium every minute in the Sun creating immense heat & light. In the night, the Reflected light from moon gives the ‘roshini’
Dost kyon hai rooth te? – Transactional Analysis in play here. The three stages of Parent – Adult – Child create many permutations of behaviour, one of them is an emotional blackmail. In negotiations when you don’t want to argue logically, you assume a child state and ‘rootho’ , creating a temporary artificial advantage.
Taare kyon hai toot te? –Keep in mind that shooting stars really aren't stars at all. They are debris from space buring up entering earths atmosphere
Badalon mein bijli hai kyon ? During a storm, a build up of electrons in the upper layers of the clouds causes Lightening. These electrons are attracted towards the positive potential of the earth, but air’s stiff resistance doesn’t allow the electricity to pass through easily. When a huge potential has been accumulated, the electricity forces its way through the air molecules. This causes a lot of friction and hence releases a tremendous amount of heat energy causing thunder. Lightning usually strikes the highest point and the most positively charged area. This is becuz lightning looks for the easiest way out of air.
Sanaata sunaee nahin deta – newtons first law- matter remains in motion till external force acts. Sound is created by movement of air molecules. If molecules are static, so sound is ultrasonic and one can’t hear it.
Aur hawaein dikhayee nahin deteen – air made up of various transparent - gases Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, Methane, Krypton, Hydrogen and Xenon
socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi? socha hai… ki hai yeh kya sabhi?socha hai… socha nahi toh socho abhi
socha hai… kya kabhi… hota hai ye kyon?
Aasman hai neela kyon? – This is due to dispersion of light, technically called Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths ( red, yellow, orange) pass straight through however, the shorter wavelengths ( blue) are absorbed by the gas molecules and then radiated in different directions. This scattered blue light is what makes aasman neela .
Paani geela geela kyon? – Simple principles of adhesion, cohesion and surface tension apply here.Water’s molecular structure makes it good at forming hydrogen bonds and bipolar bonds with other materials. That's why it's so good at adhesion (sticking to things). Liquids like water, alcohol and kerosene have less surface tension and low viscosity so they wet the skin, leaving a thin viscous residue on the surface. ON the other hand liquids like Mercury with high surface tension don’t wet .
Gol kyon hai zameen? – The circular shape is due to the gravitational pull of the earth. It pulls all nature towards its core resulting in a shape that is circular.
Silk mein hai narmi kyon? – Silk is manufactured from the nest of silkworm,which is made up of liquid secreted by silkworm,It is not fibre like cotton so is much softer.
Aag mein garmi kyon? – Fire creates an exothermic chemical reaction that agitates & excites the molecules in an object. This agitated motion of these molecules creates heat. The more they move around the more heat they give off. This heat is transferred through the air and can be felt by us through radiation.
Do aur do paanch kyun nahin? – This is defined by the numeric system – sum of two even numbers is an even number. Now, don’t ask 6 kyon nahin !
Ped ho gaye kam kyon? – Afforestation – trees meet many human needs – paper, rubber, furniture, transport. Also leading to global warming – Al Gore’s fav subject.
Teen hai ye mausam kyon? – Rotation around the suns orbit creates varying intensity from the Sun leading to 3 seasons. In some parts of the country , theres no rain so its more like summer all year round !
Chaand do kyon nahin? – There are two moons ! Earth has two moons; the first one is the one we all know called 'chaand ' the second is 'Cruithne' a 3 mile lump of rock that takes 770 years to cycle its orbit. A collision between our planet and another body created a debris which got caught in our gravity and formed the moon.
Duniya mein hai jung kyon? – This is metaphysical – quite beyond physics. Tribal survival instincts lead to war and will continue to do so. Some parts of the world are still evolving – defining new reasons for fights and redrawing boundaries.
Behta laal rang kyon? – Corollary to the above. Jung leads to laal rang. Purely physical.
Sarhadein hai kyon har kahin? – Purpose keeps vitality, differences create eliminiation of options and Darvinian theory leads to survival of the fittest.
Behti kyon hai har nadee? – All matter flows from high to low till even – rivers originate from the high mountains and hills and flow into oceans
Hoti kya hai roshni? – Millions of tones of Hydrogen is converted into helium every minute in the Sun creating immense heat & light. In the night, the Reflected light from moon gives the ‘roshini’
Dost kyon hai rooth te? – Transactional Analysis in play here. The three stages of Parent – Adult – Child create many permutations of behaviour, one of them is an emotional blackmail. In negotiations when you don’t want to argue logically, you assume a child state and ‘rootho’ , creating a temporary artificial advantage.
Taare kyon hai toot te? –Keep in mind that shooting stars really aren't stars at all. They are debris from space buring up entering earths atmosphere
Badalon mein bijli hai kyon ? During a storm, a build up of electrons in the upper layers of the clouds causes Lightening. These electrons are attracted towards the positive potential of the earth, but air’s stiff resistance doesn’t allow the electricity to pass through easily. When a huge potential has been accumulated, the electricity forces its way through the air molecules. This causes a lot of friction and hence releases a tremendous amount of heat energy causing thunder. Lightning usually strikes the highest point and the most positively charged area. This is becuz lightning looks for the easiest way out of air.
Sanaata sunaee nahin deta – newtons first law- matter remains in motion till external force acts. Sound is created by movement of air molecules. If molecules are static, so sound is ultrasonic and one can’t hear it.
Aur hawaein dikhayee nahin deteen – air made up of various transparent - gases Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, Methane, Krypton, Hydrogen and Xenon
socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi? socha hai… ki hai yeh kya sabhi?socha hai… socha nahi toh socho abhi
socha hai… kya kabhi… hota hai ye kyon?
Monday, April 06, 2009
Noone knows a thing
The sensex has crossed 10500, an unexpected 25% jump from where it was just two weeks ago.
All analysts and brokers predicted the bear market rally ( from sensex at 7600 in Oct to 8800 in Mar ) reversal at any moment and predicted newer lows in the next 2 weeks ( maybe 5000, one analyst told me ) . That was last week.
The same analysts are predicting the current rallys peak now ( maybe 12500, another broker tells me today)!
"Bear market rallies aren't uncommon,' had said a global guru two weeks back ,' but having thus far and no further. "
"What we are seeing is only domestic investor action, the FIIs are only net sellers. Over 11000cr has been invested by indian institutional investors and the market is flat - indicating that its the FII money that moves the Indian markets. And considering the latest US industry data, it seems quite some time coming", said a TV presenter last tuesday
"I am selling all emerging markets. Maybe second half is when I will come back" said another investment guru at the end of last weeks markets summary
"Downgrade", said a rating agency of a couple of stocks
"Sensex at 5000 in the near term", said an analyst
"Sell at next rally"
"Buy at lows"
I wanted to hold Reliance, my broker said sell- I sold at 1500. It's 1700 today. Just five days after I sold .
I wanted to buy more of L&T at 565 two weeks back. 'The way it is chasing Satyam, it will go to 300' said an insurance head. I didn't buy. It's 770 today.
I wanted to buy ICICI at 305 in the same week. 'This is a stock with amazing NPAs. Everyone' s dumping it.' Sure enough, next three days ICICI hit 275. Today its at 374.
I bought Satyam at 46. When it hit 38 last week, I buzzed my broker wanting to buy treble the stock quantity and lower my average buy price. 'No way, money down the drain', he said', wait till it gets directions'. Talk of directions, in 2 sessions, it has hit 46. With my intuitive averaging out buy, I would have been +3 bucks on the stock.
Tata group is in Rs. 1 trillion debt, thats 90% of the groups turnover. Sell all Tata. Today, eight trading days later, all its stocks are up 15%. Debt be dammed.
Noone knows a thing.
Today, all analysts are saying just the opposite of what they said two weeks ago - all is hunky dory, life has changed, everyone has got jobs , G20 summit was great, Paulson's done the bailout trick, madoffs in jail , elections far away.
Here's a prediction from Barclay capitals aired this afternoon - 'this bull run will last the next three quarters of 09'
I am not buying !
All analysts and brokers predicted the bear market rally ( from sensex at 7600 in Oct to 8800 in Mar ) reversal at any moment and predicted newer lows in the next 2 weeks ( maybe 5000, one analyst told me ) . That was last week.
The same analysts are predicting the current rallys peak now ( maybe 12500, another broker tells me today)!
"Bear market rallies aren't uncommon,' had said a global guru two weeks back ,' but having thus far and no further. "
"What we are seeing is only domestic investor action, the FIIs are only net sellers. Over 11000cr has been invested by indian institutional investors and the market is flat - indicating that its the FII money that moves the Indian markets. And considering the latest US industry data, it seems quite some time coming", said a TV presenter last tuesday
"I am selling all emerging markets. Maybe second half is when I will come back" said another investment guru at the end of last weeks markets summary
"Downgrade", said a rating agency of a couple of stocks
"Sensex at 5000 in the near term", said an analyst
"Sell at next rally"
"Buy at lows"
I wanted to hold Reliance, my broker said sell- I sold at 1500. It's 1700 today. Just five days after I sold .
I wanted to buy more of L&T at 565 two weeks back. 'The way it is chasing Satyam, it will go to 300' said an insurance head. I didn't buy. It's 770 today.
I wanted to buy ICICI at 305 in the same week. 'This is a stock with amazing NPAs. Everyone' s dumping it.' Sure enough, next three days ICICI hit 275. Today its at 374.
I bought Satyam at 46. When it hit 38 last week, I buzzed my broker wanting to buy treble the stock quantity and lower my average buy price. 'No way, money down the drain', he said', wait till it gets directions'. Talk of directions, in 2 sessions, it has hit 46. With my intuitive averaging out buy, I would have been +3 bucks on the stock.
Tata group is in Rs. 1 trillion debt, thats 90% of the groups turnover. Sell all Tata. Today, eight trading days later, all its stocks are up 15%. Debt be dammed.
Noone knows a thing.
Today, all analysts are saying just the opposite of what they said two weeks ago - all is hunky dory, life has changed, everyone has got jobs , G20 summit was great, Paulson's done the bailout trick, madoffs in jail , elections far away.
Here's a prediction from Barclay capitals aired this afternoon - 'this bull run will last the next three quarters of 09'
I am not buying !
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Will the Internet be the 'Last Man Standing' in 2025?
A richer, depleted and younger planet will only access a quick , precisely targetted and cost&time-effective medium. The Guardian is already online, having stopped its print edition yesterday. The internet is the largest medium in the Uk already. Music downloads on mobile is 5 times the music industry in india today.Video content being 'searched' will be a bigger market than broadcast. Movie downloads on broadband will be bigger than multiplex collections. Content production will change dramatically to adopt to the net's needs.
So in 15 years, will the internet be the only medium left - offering massive choice , comfort and affordability ?
So in 15 years, will the internet be the only medium left - offering massive choice , comfort and affordability ?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Comics - no relief !
Wanting to buy the graphic novel on the never-ending war in Lebanon, ' Waltz with Bashir', I rummaged my mouse through amazon.com to discover some good things about online buying and some nasty truths about graphic novels.
Book buying on the net has come a long way since I bought my first book on rediff in 1998. The book 'Kotler on Marketing' was delivered from Shankars in Bangalore with a nice pyramidal bookmark . It was a no-frills experience- some discount, a 3-day delivery promise and no status-of-order check. Have since bought many more books - the experience is better now except that there's no discount and delivery takes 15-20 days but you can track the order on the cell phone. Would rather have the discount and 3 day delivery without the SOD check. Better than rediff is the buying experience on Amazon, one for its reviews- and two for the near-brick&mortar-purchase experience. The best is its trademarked feature 'Look Inside' which actually opens the books pages for a sneak peek at the index, prologue, first chapters and epilogue for a quick browse before buying. A bookstore experience, but without the 'butt-brush' factor. Albiris, on the other hand, is a store with terrific choice- the same book is available in hardcover to paperback , signed copies to pre-owned to first editions at varying price points. Sometimes the first quoted price is a 10th of the last copy. Becasue whats the point of buying online if you can't get the browse experience and the discount ?
Now to Waltz with Bashir.
Why are the graphic novels as expensive as they are.
The DVD of '300' - based on the spartan-persian war can be had at Rs.400 , the book is Rs.500 but its graphic novel is twice that at Rs.950. Try Agatha Christie's novels - most cost close to Rs.300 today while the graphic novels cost Rs.650 upwards. This is one mystery even she wouldn't be able to solve!
I grew up on comics - ( no ipod, playstation , gameboys , computers ,multiplexes , DVD players and cellphones in those days. A weekly movie meant a trek to the open-air movie theatre in the army unit with a dress code- tie, shoes and full sleeve shirts !) So my companions were comics - Amar chitra kathas, indrajal and diamond comics, commandos ,tintin and asterix alongwith the daily newspaper episodes of Tarzan, Woody Allen ,Bo peep, Calvin , Garfield , Mutt&Jeff , Bringing up father and later the Mad magazines of which I have a huge set. The most expensive amongst the lot were Herge's Tintin and Asterix at near Rs.75, quite reasonable even almost 5 times the price of an ACK then .Even the graphic novels of David Copperfield or Three Musketeers were quite easy on the wallet. IN the pricing hierarchy, their book-versions were always much more expensive.
Things have been turned on their head.
Suddenly, a graphic novel is the most expensive version of the story. An animated movie like Persepolis or Waltz with Bashir has DVD versions at Rs.400 but graphic novel versions are 25% more expensive. My experience with print tells me it costs probably much lesser to make a comic than a book.
Is it the target groups propensity to buy, then? An Asterix costs under Rs.700 now, so assuming people are ready to spend that much for a comic, shouldn't a graphic 'novel' cost more?
Is that why it sits smugly in that high price range?
Some graphic novels are too shallow- no plot, too many characters, some erratic strokes and colors and an unfinished agenda- prompting a sequel ! Scam absolutely, if there was one.
Finally,is it that the audience seeks multiple experiences around the same story? So, will Harry Potter book and movie versions follow with a graphic novel version ? Now that the Potter theme park is launching in December this year.
Is the reader of the book , the viewer of the movie and the player of the game the same ?
And will he pay another 1000 bucks for the graphic novel ?
Maybe .
Can't figure why.
Book buying on the net has come a long way since I bought my first book on rediff in 1998. The book 'Kotler on Marketing' was delivered from Shankars in Bangalore with a nice pyramidal bookmark . It was a no-frills experience- some discount, a 3-day delivery promise and no status-of-order check. Have since bought many more books - the experience is better now except that there's no discount and delivery takes 15-20 days but you can track the order on the cell phone. Would rather have the discount and 3 day delivery without the SOD check. Better than rediff is the buying experience on Amazon, one for its reviews- and two for the near-brick&mortar-purchase experience. The best is its trademarked feature 'Look Inside' which actually opens the books pages for a sneak peek at the index, prologue, first chapters and epilogue for a quick browse before buying. A bookstore experience, but without the 'butt-brush' factor. Albiris, on the other hand, is a store with terrific choice- the same book is available in hardcover to paperback , signed copies to pre-owned to first editions at varying price points. Sometimes the first quoted price is a 10th of the last copy. Becasue whats the point of buying online if you can't get the browse experience and the discount ?
Now to Waltz with Bashir.
Why are the graphic novels as expensive as they are.
The DVD of '300' - based on the spartan-persian war can be had at Rs.400 , the book is Rs.500 but its graphic novel is twice that at Rs.950. Try Agatha Christie's novels - most cost close to Rs.300 today while the graphic novels cost Rs.650 upwards. This is one mystery even she wouldn't be able to solve!
I grew up on comics - ( no ipod, playstation , gameboys , computers ,multiplexes , DVD players and cellphones in those days. A weekly movie meant a trek to the open-air movie theatre in the army unit with a dress code- tie, shoes and full sleeve shirts !) So my companions were comics - Amar chitra kathas, indrajal and diamond comics, commandos ,tintin and asterix alongwith the daily newspaper episodes of Tarzan, Woody Allen ,Bo peep, Calvin , Garfield , Mutt&Jeff , Bringing up father and later the Mad magazines of which I have a huge set. The most expensive amongst the lot were Herge's Tintin and Asterix at near Rs.75, quite reasonable even almost 5 times the price of an ACK then .Even the graphic novels of David Copperfield or Three Musketeers were quite easy on the wallet. IN the pricing hierarchy, their book-versions were always much more expensive.
Things have been turned on their head.
Suddenly, a graphic novel is the most expensive version of the story. An animated movie like Persepolis or Waltz with Bashir has DVD versions at Rs.400 but graphic novel versions are 25% more expensive. My experience with print tells me it costs probably much lesser to make a comic than a book.
Is it the target groups propensity to buy, then? An Asterix costs under Rs.700 now, so assuming people are ready to spend that much for a comic, shouldn't a graphic 'novel' cost more?
Is that why it sits smugly in that high price range?
Some graphic novels are too shallow- no plot, too many characters, some erratic strokes and colors and an unfinished agenda- prompting a sequel ! Scam absolutely, if there was one.
Finally,is it that the audience seeks multiple experiences around the same story? So, will Harry Potter book and movie versions follow with a graphic novel version ? Now that the Potter theme park is launching in December this year.
Is the reader of the book , the viewer of the movie and the player of the game the same ?
And will he pay another 1000 bucks for the graphic novel ?
Maybe .
Can't figure why.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Borrowed Fame
Last week I had finished reading Tom Sharpe's The Great Pursuit about a guy lending his name to a book by an anonymous author who didn't want to attach his name to his book. With dry Sharpe humor, it turned out to be an intellectual plot peppered with some dramatic action between London & New York, as the 'pseudo writer' becomes famous and carves out a 'fictitious' life of his own, extracting revenge in the bargain.
The 1951 movie, 'The Front' ,which I watched yesterday, had Woody Allen playing a cashier at a restaurant, masquerading as a writer , when he actually was a 'front' for a set of blacklisted 'communist' authors. He sees this as his escape from the drudgery of the cash register, but this is the cold war '50's and the FBI is hot on trial of any communist whiff. The relationship formed with a beautiful TV production manager, as a result of the weekly 'scripts' he is providing, form the rest of the interesting story till an abrupt ending leaves you thinking about the need to be truthful !
Quite a set of coincidental stories of pretentious authors and consequences of 'borrowed fame' to swallow in the Ides of March!
The 1951 movie, 'The Front' ,which I watched yesterday, had Woody Allen playing a cashier at a restaurant, masquerading as a writer , when he actually was a 'front' for a set of blacklisted 'communist' authors. He sees this as his escape from the drudgery of the cash register, but this is the cold war '50's and the FBI is hot on trial of any communist whiff. The relationship formed with a beautiful TV production manager, as a result of the weekly 'scripts' he is providing, form the rest of the interesting story till an abrupt ending leaves you thinking about the need to be truthful !
Quite a set of coincidental stories of pretentious authors and consequences of 'borrowed fame' to swallow in the Ides of March!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Car and TV fights
Two very interesting pieces caught my attention in the latest issue of Businessworld and bought back memories of having participated in those battles and return with similar lessons. The first dealt with the fight between LG and Samsung and the second between Toyota and Honda. Coming 6-7 months into the slowdown,both make quite fascinating reading. The last time I drove down the Greater Noida highway to the LG factory, it was mid-summer of 2006. Across various divisions, we made audacious presentations to take the season by radioactive storm. LG turned it down as they were changing tack, the new CEO Shun was seeking to re-position LG from being a mass-market leader to a mass-premium player ( a new segment most companies in boom-time India had created to chase both volume and value - to keep the mass and attempt the premium or viceversa - to whip the cream and drink the milk at the same time). Samsung in the meantime was attempting the reverse. I remember that after my Samsung presentation, I was told that the dealer budgets had now increased from 0.5% to 2.5% of the 4% allocated to advertising and promotion, signifying a shift in strategy to tactical incentivisation. Of course, we managed to attack the regional offices for our share of monies, but the strategic shift stayed in my mind for some time. I thought highly about Korean flexibility. Sony and Phillips in contrast weren't as nimble- sticking to steady premium-technology positioning for years. Both never attempted a price cut or looked at the mass markets.
It seems today, as the article says, that the positioning shifts attempted by LG and Samsung have not yielded the desired results. LG has skidded off its leadership plank and given way to Videocon while Samsung has slipped further. The trade, which was used to LG's agression suddenly needed to look at a new mass player and it helped that Videocon was around to fill the gap. Probably LG's Kims' move to Videocon helped too. Samsungs' consumers were also left confused - as is the wont of any premium brand when it goes mass. The slowdown was a final nail.
The drive to Toyota on the Mysore road is great and the sight of thousands of cars parked in the plant at Bidadi is exhilarating. Have only seen the Maruti, Gurgaon and the Daewoo,Noida plants, so in incomparison this looked much larger. We had to leave our cell-phones at the out-gate and walk the distance to the factory office. IN times of google maps and satellite pics, I thought it was a little archaic. Inside the plant, I saw Japanese excellence at work and learnt the truth about their brillance. The incredibly achieved brand swap of Qualis-Innova is a marketing case study. Toyota doesn't introduce a new model till its existing model has outgrown its profit and volume targets. So, its in it for the long haul. I thought this was a good strategy. After all, where was the hurry ?But the last three years have proved it wrong, or so it seems.
According to the piece alarmingly titled ' On the wrong track',it seems it is losing the battle in India. The Camry costs 21 lacs in India and only 10 lacs in the US. For an economy thats 15 times our size, how do they manage to buy the same car at less than half the price? Assembled locally with a similar 44% imported content, the Accord at 17 lacs is only 7 lacs more expensive than in the US . The 4 lac price differential is hurting volumes. The Corolla Altis, the new car launched phasing out the version I have, is priced above the Honda Civic (and should be!) but the absence of a car in the C segment to compete with the City and one to compete with the CRV are doing Toyota's slow expansion philisophy no good. The plan to launch an A seg car in 2011 will also put Toyota much behind in the race, considering Skoda launched one last year,GM two years back, Mercedes (a beauty at 55 lacs! ) and Honda is intending to do it next yr.
As GM contemplates bankruptcy, as Ford shares drop below $1, and as internationally, Toyota expects its first operating loss in 70 years, inspite of being so very conservative, it will be interesting how, like my team Chelsea, it makes a comeback.
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