Business – Lessons from carrefour(from spoonfeedin.wordpress)

Business – Lessons from carrefour

Raghavendra Kamath

Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, is all set to enter India – it will launch its own cash and carry venture this year. The buzz about the French retail giant finally tying the knot with Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is also getting louder.

Though Carrefour has its sourcing office in the country for over two decades, it has been playing hard to get over the last five years as negotiations with almost all big Indian companies – Bharti, Wadias, DLF, Parasvnath and Reliance Retail – ended without any results. According to reports, the long wait is about to come to an end with the Future Group being the lucky one.

Advertisement
So what will Carrefour, which had a turnover of 92 billion euros (Rs 6.25 lakh crore), over half of which came from international operations, bring to the table when it starts its operations in India? What makes the brand tick in 35 countries all over the world? A lot, really, say retail experts. Here are some of them.

LOCALISATION

“Localisation has been the biggest strength of Carrefour in the countries it operates — from local tie-ups to hiring local executives to run stores, local sourcing to merchandising, they do it well,” says Purnendu Kumar, associate vice president of Technopak Advisors, a business consultancy.

Retail experts say China was a classic example of how Carrefour adapted to local conditions. Carrefour entered China in 1995 by forming a joint venture with the Chinese management consulting firm Zhong Chuang, and established a firm called ‘Jia Chuang’. When most foreign retailers viewed China as a large market, Carrefour saw it as many small markets.

It designed stores and launched private labels to suit Chinese consumers and each store ran independently. It hired local people in key positions and kept the staffing lean. “Since their hypermarkets are large, they hired qualified professionals to run it and gave them as much freedom as possible, thereby each store manager ended up running a store like a CEO,” says Hemant Kalbag, partner and vice-president at business consultancy AT Kearney.

Each store manager could take decisions depending on the local traditions and customs. “Since retail activities are all about contact with people, the group consistently emphasizes local recruitment plus management and staff training on the job wherever they work,” says the Carrefour group’s website.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

Carrefour mostly uses ‘direct procurement strategy’ in the markets it operates. It sources 90-95 per cent of the products on its shelves locally, depending on the country in markets such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Italy and Greece. This helped Carrefour to maintain lower prices compared to other foreign retailers, in international markets.

And India is no exception to its strategy. Carrefour currently works with about 90 suppliers/ farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana; directly dealing with the farmers for quality production and effective supply chain management. The various products being exported from India include organic clothing, fruits and vegetables to Europe, UAE, Indonesia, Europe, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Carrefour exports goods worth $ 170 million (Rs 782 crore) from India.

It also keeps its supply chain very economical and flexible. It uses vehicle from trucks to bikes depending on the need, area to be covered and cost, says a former Carrefour employee.

Initially, Carrefour used the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for procurement, which required electronic linking of stores, warehouses and suppliers through computer networks. After 2003, the retailer adopted Integrated Composite Application Network (ICAN) software to integrate its stores, distribution centres and supply chain partners in various countries. “They have efficient processes, supply chain, back-end systems which are working very well for them. Retail is nothing but making right choices about merchandising, supply chain and systems,” says Kalbag of AT Kearney.

STORE OPENINGS

Decentralisation is another key strategy of Carrefour. In China, all foreign retailers followed the centralisation policy, with one headquarter controlling the operations of all stores in the country, Carrefour did exactly the opposite. It set up regional offices in each of the Chinese provinces and that office took care of shops in that particular region.

It is also adapting stores to local needs. Carrefour has been making its hypermarkets compact depending on lifestyles of customers in countries where it operates. According to the company, its average size of hypermarket has come down to 54,000 sq ft in 2008, just two-thirds the size of a store opened in 2004. In Bogotá, for example, Carrefour opened two hypermarkets with less than 26,000 sq.ft of sales area. In Taiwan, Carrefour’s growth is being driven by compact and mini formats, some of which are located in shopping malls and offer a wide array of services and leisure activities.

So what is taking them so long to enter India when their international rivals are already here? Make no mistake: the retail giant is doing its homework well.”They have hired a lot of people in the National Capital Region where the staffers’ job is just to check the varieties of different products available in the stores of Indian retailers, their pricing and so on. They want to be the best in offering and pricing when they enter” says a former Carrefour executive who did not want to be quoted.

Kelloggs tussle - nice article from Times

India's organised retail story has just begun 27 Jan 2010, 0621 hrs IST, Rajiv Banerjee, Moinak Mitra & Writankar Mukherjee, ET Bureau

Save Print EMail Share Comment Text:

The end came after months of a tense stand off. Hectic talks and parleys between the two parties, sometimes muted and sometimes threatening led to a nought. Finally, the Kellogg’s brand was pulled off the shelves from 148 Big Bazaar stores. “We pleaded with them to listen to us and understand the issues. At the end, it was a futile exercise and some what humiliating to go to them again and again,” a senior official from the Future group says, commenting on the imbroglio. When Big Bazaar banned Kellogg’s, it replaced the counters with its private label Tasty Treat corn flakes on the shelf. The claim by Big Bazaar officials so far on the off take of the private labels performance vis-a-vis Kellogg’s is encouraging. If Big Bazaar with its strikingly similar colours and packaging to Kellogg’s packs is able to entrench itself in the breakfast cereals category, it will open a new chapter and another front between the fledgling own labels programme of retailers and national brands in India. The Kellogg’s-Big Bazaar fracas indicates that the working relationship between retailers and brands will remain a stormy affair. Both parties will test each other to assess the strain one can take in this battle for shelf space. Even as officials at Future group claim that Kellogg’s refused to acknowledge the reason behind the increase in margins which the retailer was asking for, Kellogg’s response is it didn’t make business sense. “We can’t accede if they ask for the moon,” the Kellogg’s executive states. He adds that even Carrefour, Wal-Mart in developed markets never remove market leaders from the shelves and terms it as an “unnecessary show of strength”. Industry observers call this tussle as a natural progression as both parties are trying to settle into a marriage. “Even today modern trade constitutes around 4-5% of the total trade serviced by national brands. So brands were not looking at it seriously, where as retailers after tasting blood with private labels feel emboldened,” says Asitava Sen, director, business consulting, The Nielsen Company. Thomas Varghese, CEO, Aditya Birla retail says private labels currently accounts for approximately 19% of his company sales across categories with around 13 power brands and store brands covering almost 300 SKUs at More stores. “Large international brands across countries have also had competition from private labels and now the time has come for them to face similar competition here as well,” he says. SHELF HELP The private label programmes definitely got a fillip courtesy the slowdown. While consumers held back on high ticket purchases, there was a downgrading by consumers which the retailers seized as an opportunity with the store labels. Devendra Chawla, business head - private brands, Pantaloon retail says the growth from zero to Rs 180 crore turnover for own labels is a result of same value at less mark up. Citing the example of foods and beverages, where the company has presence from — from noodles to colas — Chawla says it’s an engine for growth in the time to come. Damodar Mall, customer director, Future group seconds the thought. “Most of the purchases are non branded and therefore it’s a open level playing field right now. Category will expand, consumers will change, who will win? The jury is still out,” says Mall. At the same time, national brands have been working with the unorganised trade under taking retail initiatives like the Supervalue Stores from Hindustan Unilever (HUL didn’t respond to our queries) and Purple Kings initiated by Cadbury with varying degree of success. Sen however reckons the partnering with conventional trade has its own pangs. “After all, its franchisee management and brands are going through a learning curve here as well. But identifying the high net worth stores and nurturing them makes a lot of sense and is lot easier compared to developing relationships with modern trade.” So the road ahead means some smart manoeuvring both by retailers and brands. Aditya Agarwal, director, Emami admits that getting shelf space is a challenge as retailers increase their focus on private labels. “Brand building will play a major role. We plan to increase our investment on brand building, come up with more SKUs and merchandising for modern retail to fight this game of private labels,” says Agarwal, adding that there will always be a set of consumers who are price conscious and not brand conscious. Brands believe that retailers shouldn’t discount the pull factor of national brands. “Private labels has to be there for modern trade to survive. At the same time, retailers need national brands to grow categories for their own labels to ride,” states Sunil Sethi, ED, sales and customer development, Cadbury. Despite the differing points of view, retailers know they need the national brands and manufacturers realise the importance of a new channel like modern trade. This applies for OTC brands as well. Case in point: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) joined hands with Shoprite from South Africa which runs a cash-n-carry format. The company worked closely with Shoprite to help grow two categories – Antacids and Pain Balms which do not get purchased from the modern trade, explains Navneet Saluja, EVP - sales, GSK. “We worked closely with Shoprite and drafted a channel strategy for modern trade, where cross-category and checkout placements were identified as an opportunity to create a shopping occasion through impulse buying.” As a result of this exercise, the antacid category has grown 6 times in Shoprite and pain balm category has doubled, states Saluja. Another trend likely to gain root according to industry experts is brands sticking to its core proposition and resisting the temptation to become a retailer themselves. Citing the example in fashion retail, Govind Shrikhande, CEO, Shoppers’ Stop says that apparel brands opened their own stores in the hope of increasing off take. “So inside a mall, they are present in MBOs (multi brand outlets) and also stand alone. So they are killing business opportunities for everybody as there isn’t enough throughput. “Instead why don’t you pay me 30-35 % margin, I give you the shopping experience, get the throughput and achieve the sales target,” he states. Indeed the jury is still out on how exactly will the changes shape up the modern trade landscape in the future. For along with the changes on the shelves, there has been a course correction on retail network as well as back end. The organised retailing story is by no mean over, infact, it’s just begun.

The Reason You’re Stuck (and the one best way to avoid the six ways that will keep you stuck)

Nice Article from Zenhabits.net

Photo courtesy of Pikaluk.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from best-selling author and top bloggerSeth Godin, author of the new bookLinchpin: Are You Indispensable?.

Why is it so difficult to ship?

Ship as in get it out the door. Ship as in make a difference at work. Ship as in contribute your art and vision and expertise and passion to the project you’re working on.

Regular readers of this blog (and of Leo’s life-changing book) have seen first hand what happens when you force the distractions out of your life and focus on what needs to be completed instead. What he has taught us is that when you focus your efforts and energies on things that matter and cut out the stalling and distractions, amazing things happen. It’s absolutely astonishing how much we can accomplish (and insanely disappointing how few people do).

What separates the few who ship from the masses who stumble, stall and ultimately surrender?

The resistance.

Steven Pressfield first wrote about the resistance a few years ago. The resistance is that little voice in the back of your head, the one that tells you that it will never work, the one that insists you check your email one last time, the one that worries that people will laugh at you.

The resistance loves committees and it hates a mission. The resistance creates fear and uncertainty, and it will do almost anything to keep you from being noticed. There’s a biological underpinning to the resistance–your amygdala. The amygdala is the pre-historic portion of your brain, located near the brain stem. It’s responsible for fear and anger and revenge and sex and survival. When the amygdala is aroused, when it feels threatened, when there’s a sense that people might actually laugh at you, it takes over. It rises up in rage and fear and shuts you down.

And so the resistance kicks in. The resistance goes to meetings and plays devil’s advocate (I didn’t know the devil needed an advocate.)

The resistance finds excuses, it makes tasks needlessly complex (or oversimplifies so much that you fail). The resistance uses phrases like, “see, I told you it would never work.” The resistance demands that you study the issue more, or grab a Diet Coke, or go visit those friends who are in from out of town and you won’t be able to see them unless you go right now. The resistance invented yak shaving. The resistance is also responsible for giving you an even better idea just before you finish this one… in fact, the resistance will do anything it can to prevent you from shipping.

Why do little companies get so much more out the door than big ones? Because big companies have committees, groups of people designed to protect the status quo, to prevent failure, to avoid catastrophe. The committee is made up of humans, each of whom is battling her own version of the resistance. “If this ships, my boss will see it, and I might get fired.” “If this ships, a kid might use it, cut of his finger and I might get in trouble.” “If this ships, people are going to think it was my idea, and there’s a chance, just a chance, they might hate it.” Most of all, “if this ships, people might laugh at me.” And so the committee shoots for the lowest common denominator of safety, a product or service or idea that arouses no one’s lizard brain. Which means mediocre. Or late. Or both.

The iPod came from two people, Steve and Jonathan. The Zune came from 250. Which product would you rather own?

The resistance sabotaged my work for years. It pushed me to focus on average topics, delivered in a blameless way, because that felt safer.

So, when others were starting search engines or revolutionizing the online world, I was busy creating sort of ordinary books for sort of ordinary editors who were looking for the next small thing. And no one scolded me for doing this. No one looked at my sort of average work and called me out on it, because they were fighting the very same resistance as I was. It’s surprisingly easy to get through life and make a career out of being average… the resistance would prefer it if you did.

The resistance is powerful, so powerful that all the shortcuts, time savers and focusing tools are powerless in its path. Now you know its name. Now you know how it sneaks in under the radar and sounds quite sensible as it undermines your work and compromises your vision. When the resistance appears, you must call it out. Call it by name. Recognize it for what it is and then defeat it. You will defeat it not by rationalization or even a calm discussion. You will defeat it with single-minded effort, effort so deep and dedicated that it might exhaust you.

Unfortunately, the web is filled with tips and tricks and lists that appear to help you in your quest to shut up the lizard, to defeat the resistance. I say unfortunately because these lists are calm, practical and ultimately ineffective. They are polite in the face of a nefarious enemy, they are rational in the face of screaming insecurity. None of them are working for you because you may not be serious about actually defeating the resistance. It’s fun to procrastinate and comforting to dissemble, because not shipping doesn’t arouse the lizard brain. It’s safe.

The challenge then, the missing link in the Zen Habits is this: you must quiet the lizard brain. You must defeat the resistance. You must find something SO IMPORTANT that it is worth enraging your prehistoric fears, SO IMPORTANT that you can’t sleep until it ships, SO IMPORTANT that yes, you are willing to go through all the hoops Leo lays out for you in order to ship.

Either that, or you could be mediocre instead.

Seth Godin is the author of a new book called Linchpin. It’s about recognizing, defeating and ultimately destroying the resistance on the path to doing work that matters. Read more about the book.
–
If you liked this post, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

9 Great Reasons to Drink More Water

Article from happyyou...

1. Water gives you bright and healthy skin.

Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance. Water stimulates the circulation of your blood, fluids, and the necessary elements inside your body. It also controls and regulates the skin’s natural balance. When water is warm, it has the energy to hydrate, refresh, detoxify, and oxygenate your skin. Warm water also gets rid of blackheads and makes large pores smaller. Drinking water makes the body more relaxed and rejuvenated.

2. Water keeps your brain healthy.

Your brain tissue contains about 85% water. Regularly drinking water keeps your brain to function well. Studies have shown that dehydration is a key factor in causing migraines, headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.

3. Water flushes out those nasty toxins out of your body.

The function of your kidneys is to get rid of any waste from your body. If these toxins stay in your body they make you feel tired and sometimes unwell. These toxins also place a harmful burden on the other systems in your body. Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.

4. Water regulates your body temperature, particularly during exercise.

When you exercise, you lose water through your breath and by sweating. As the sweat evaporates, your body cools. Replenishing any water you lose during exercise is vital for physical performance and good health. Too much water loss will increase your risk of heat exhaustion. In addition, to your normal six to eight glasses of water each day, drink a glass before you exercise. Then, for each 20 minutes of exercise, drink another cup or more. Be sure to drink a cup or two after you finish.

5. Drinking plenty of water lessens the risk of heart attacks.

Research has also shown that people who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day are less likely to die from a heart attack than people who drink less than two.

6. Water raises your metabolism.

Metabolism is the way by which the food you eat is converted into energy. The first chemical process that takes place is digestion. This process prepares the nutrients in the food to be absorbed by the body and transformed into energy. Drinking plenty of water is essential to maintain good digestion which keeps your metabolism going. The health benefit of water is better consumption of the nutrients you consume resulting in loads more energy.

7. You lose weight by drinking water.

Water helps you maintain a healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite. Drinking water is important if you’re trying to lose weight, some studies have shown that thirst and hunger sensations are triggered together. If there is a slight dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and you might eat when the body is really thirsty. As most food contains some water, if you don’t drink much they may be subconsciously driven to eat more to gain the necessary water supply however, you also consume more calories. So in short, drinking more water can help to prevent overeating and benefit weight loss.

8. Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival.

A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.

9. Drinking water lessens your chance of cancer.

Drinking plenty of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer.

The importance of the cat in meditation

A nice read from the blog of Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho

Having written a book about madness (Veronika decides to die) , I was forced to wonder how many things we do are imposed on us by necessity, or by the absurd. Why wear a tie? Why do clocks run “clockwise”? If we live in a decimal system, why does the day have 24 hours of 60 minutes?
The fact is, many of the rules we obey nowadays have no real foundation. Nevertheless, if we wish to act differently, we are considered “crazy” or “immature”.
Meanwhile, society continues to create some systems which, in the fullness of time, lose their reason for existence, but continue to impose their rules. An interesting Japanese story illustrates what I mean by this:

A great Zen Buddhist master, who was in charge of the Mayu Kagi monastery, had a cat which was his true passion in life. So, during meditation classes, he kept the cat by his side – in order to make the most of his company.
One morning, the master – who was already quite old – passed away. His best disciple took his place.
– What shall we do with the cat? – asked the other monks.
As a tribute to the memory of their old instructor, the new master decided to allow the cat to continue attending the Zen Buddhist classes.

Some disciples from the neighboring monasteries, traveling through those parts, discovered that, in one of the region’s most renowned temples, a cat took part in the meditation sessions. The story began to spread.
Many years passed. The cat died, but as the students at the monastery were so used to its presence, they soon found another cat. Meanwhile, the other temples began introducing cats in their meditation sessions: they believed the cat was truly responsible for the fame and excellence of Mayu Kagi’s teaching.

A generation passed, and technical treatises began to appear about the importance of the cat in Zen meditation. A university professor developed a thesis – which was accepted by the academic community – that felines have the ability to increase human concentration, and eliminate negative energy.
And so, for a whole century, the cat was considered an essential part of Zen Buddhist studies in that region.

Until a master appeared who was allergic to animal hair, and decided to remove the cat from his daily exercises with the students.

There was a fierce negative reaction – but the master insisted. Since he was an excellent instructor, the students continued to make the same progress, in spite of the absence of the cat.
Little by little, the monasteries – always in search of new ideas, and already tired of having to feed so many cats – began eliminating the animals from the classes. In twenty years new revolutionary theories began to appear – with very convincing titles such as “The Importance of Meditating Without a Cat”, or “Balancing the Zen Universe by Will Power Alone, Without the Help of Animals”.

Another century passed, and the cat withdrew completely from the meditation rituals in that region. But two hundred years were necessary for everything to return to normal – because during all this time, no one asked why the cat was there.


in my book “Like a flowing river”

Why multiple cards when 2 can do the due?

Why multiple cards when 2 can do the due?

Usage of multiple credit/debit cards can lead to errors, missing payment dates & wrongful entry by banks. Vidyalaxmi prepares a check list to help you save the blushes

UNTIL a few years ago, multiple credit cards were considered a status symbol, which is why perhaps many find it difficult to refuse a ‘lifetime-free’ gold or platinum card offered to them either by their bank, airline, retailer or employer. Added to this are debit cards which many banks have started issuing to all their account-holders. Today, these multiple debit and credit cards compete in our wallets to get swiped at the merchandise. As a result, usage of multiple cards lead to tracking errors, missing payment dates or ignoring a wrongful entry at the bank’s end.
HOW MANY CREDIT CARDS?
Don’t opt for more than two credit cards. Most banks offer good credit limits which reduce the scope for having additional cards. If you have a low credit limit, it could be either an issue with your credit score, or some banks follow a staggered approach in enhancing credit limit with new customers.
“With a spate of credit card offers such as cash backs, i-mint points, etc, a customer gets convinced about signing up for an additional credit card. These offers are complicated, worded differently and are offered by most cards today. Hence, a customer should just stick to a Visa and Master Card, which are widely accepted throughout the world,” says Suresh Sadagopan, a certified financial planner with Ladder 7 financial Advisories.
MANAGING PAYMENTS
Keep a primary credit card so that you route all your expenses through that card. First, get a stock of what kind of credit cards you own. When it comes to co-branded cards such as a petro card, airline card or a shopping card such as ICICI Bank-Big Bazaar credit card, it’s obvious these cards would be given a preference for specific use because of higher reward points, which would offer better mileage than a plain vanilla credit card. In such cases, you could route all expenses through this particular card and keep the regular card as a back-up. “It would be easier to track your expenses as the second card would not generate any bill on a regular basis,” Mr Sadagopan adds. However, it’s best to use a debit card for your routine expenses as you would be constrained by the amount in your savings account.
PLANNING BILLING CYCLE?
If the bill on the first credit card is due on January 30, then keep the second bill due date as February 15. The logic behind having a staggered billing cycle is you would get enough time to repay dues. For example, on the first credit card, the last day of the billing cycle would be January 10 and the second one would be January 25. So if you have an emergency big-ticket expense after January 10 and before January 25, then you could swipe you first card as you would get longer time to settle your bill. When the bank offers a credit card, they set a billing cycle in accordance with the issue of the card. But you have a choice to change the billing cycle to suit your convenience.
AVOIDING DEBT TRAP?
If you are spending 30% of your take-home salary to pay off some debt (excluding home loans) then there is a problem. “The logic is you will be spending 30-40% of your take-home for lifestyle and other living expenses. If you spend another 30% on consumption loans, then that leaves little money for your goal management,” says Kartik Jhaveri, chartered wealth manager and director of Transcend India.
Similarly, if you are unable to pay the outstanding amount on credit card, it’s a definite sign of trouble calling. The monthly interest rate charged on a credit card is between 3% and 4%. If you are unable to settle the balance even in the second month, the jump in the outstanding balance is very steep. Hence, in the first month itself, it makes sense to liquidate some low-yielding instrument to pay off this debt. The logic being that a FD may offer just 7-8% over a year, which is much lesser than 40-50% rate charged on a credit card on an annual basis.
vidyalaxmi.v@timesgroup.com

Metro Overtakes Tesco in TOP 3 Retailers

Tesco loses place in global top three of retailers

Analysts are pressing for Tesco to explain how an extra £100m of vouchers for its Clubcard loyalty scheme affected sales

Marcus Leroux, Retail Correspondent

• 6 COMMENTS

Tesco has slipped from third to fourth place in the league table of the world’s biggest retailers, The Times has learnt.

According to a worldwide study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the accountants and business advisers, Britain’s biggest grocer has been overtaken by Metro, of Germany, best known in Britain as the owner of Makro, the cash-and-carry store.

The report, provided to The Times, also confirms that, although the world’s biggest retailers have all increased their sales in the past year, two thirds suffered a hit to profits, sacrificing margins to ensure that customers kept spending.

The news comes a day before Tesco is to update the City on trading in the crucial Christmas period. It is tipped to report like-for-like sales growth of about 3 per cent for its UK business for the six weeks to January 9. Some analysts are pressing for it to explain how an extra £100 million of vouchers for its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which were sent to members before Christmas, affected sales.

RELATED LINKS

• Tesco falls behind rivals during Christmas boom

• Tesco takes on mobile operators with launch of £20-a-month iPhone

Ira Kalish, author of the Deloitte report, said: “This has been a tumultuous year for the global retail industry. Sales growth slowed and profitability fell, sharply for some.

“Many retailers ‘bought’ sales with heavy promotions which hit the bottom line hard. However, we are already seeing evidence that as economic recovery takes hold around the world, retailers should be able to return to a path of improving profitability.”

In the study period, companies’ fiscal 2008 years, ending in 2009, only retailers in the Middle East and Africa saw profitability rise. For the world’s top 250 retailers, sales grew by 5.5 per cent. Average profitability fell from 3.7 per cent to 2.4 per cent, with European retailers suffering the sharpest fall — from 4.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent.

Average profitability fell from 3.7 per cent to 2.4 per cent, with European retailers suffering the sharpest fall — from 4.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent.

Mr Kalish said that in Britain and America a “shift to value”, in which thriftier shoppers have eroded profit margins, would focus retailers’ minds on international expansion.

Apart from Tesco, British retailers in the top 50 include J Sainsbury (No 29), Wm Morrison (No 32) and Kingfisher (No 49), owner of the B&Q DIY chain. Marks & Spencer slipped from No 44 to No 51.

Mr Kalish said that Britain and the United States would endure a stilted recovery while consumers learnt to live within their means as they sought to repair household finances.

Dreamers OR Implementors

Dreamers & Implementers
An organisation needs a mix of people who do and people who think to successfully ride the good times and the bad
DEVDUTT PATTANAIK

IN INDIAN FOLKLORE, THERE ARE
four characters. There is Shekchilli, Gangu Teli, Mitt Ka Madhav (some say Gobar ka Ganesh) and Raja Bhoj. These four characters most aptly describe the kind of people we have in our organisation.
Shekchilli is a dreamer. One day he gets a pot of milk from his master. He dreams of turning the milk into curds, churning it for butter and selling it, making some money and using that money to buy more milk and making more butter. And in time making and selling so much butter that he would not have to work. As he dreams of the possibilities, he stumbles and falls on the road. The pot of milk in his hand breaks and out pours all the milk into the ground.
Gangu Teli does not dream at all. He likes
to implement things. He calls himself a ‘realist’ and focuses on practical things like doing the task and measuring its effectiveness and efficiency. That’s what the world should be doing. He has a disdain for dreamers. His name Teli suggests that he is an oil presser. Just as an oil presser uses force to push oil out of oilseeds, Gangu Teli uses pressure to get work out of his team. Carrots, he says, are dreams; sticks, he insists, are reality. The story goes that when the wall of the king’s mountain-fort kept co lapsing, the astrolog recommended the sacr
fice of a woman and her newborn to appease the gods the mountain. The only person whose wife and child were available for sacrifice – either voluntarily or under pressure, we will never know — was Gangu Teli. He is the frontlinse warrior; he knows. When times are bad, he will be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. The buck stops with him as he stands in the market. He is therefore most valued in the immediate term. Since he knows that, he often suffers from an inflated self-importance.
Mitti ka Madhav (also known by some as Gobar ka Ganesh) is neither a dreamer like Shekchilli nor an implementer like Gangu Teli. He is what you want him to be. On his own, he is neither. He is a reactive member of the team, doing whatever pleases you, with no mind or opinion of his own.
And finally, there is Raja Bhoj, the ideal leader, a dreamer as well as implementer. If a 2x2 matrix of dreamers and implementers is created, then Raja Bhoj sits in the top right hand box while Mitti ka Madhav sits on the bottom left hand box. Raja Bhoj knows when it is time to dream and when it is time to implement.
When the recession hit, Mr. Pyne realised, to his horror, that his organisation is full of Gangu-Telis and Mitti ka Madhavs. And he had to admit that it was his own fault. For six years the going was good. The demand for the copper pipes he made was greater than the supply. So he hired a number of executives who thought tactically and could sell. “No dreamers for me,” he told his HR department, “I want people who implement.” Mr. Pyne had had his experience with dreamers. They sat all day, made presentations to him, never moved out of air-conditioned offices, and imagined the market. He had to pay them a fat salary but there was no output that he could implement or measure. It was a waste of time. “All this strategy nonsense is good for other companies. Not more me,” he said. So he created an organisation where it was all about tasks and measurements. Creativity was not celebrated. “Lets just copy what the competitor does,” he said, “Why waste time thinking ourselves?” Things went well for a long time. Growth in quarter after quarter. Bigger offices, more people, more sales and good profits. Then came the recession.
All the businesses showed a de-growth suddenly. No one wanted copper pipes. Pipes sold were being returned. Payments were not being made. The salesmen were frustrated. Everyone shrugged their shoulders helplessly and hung their head in shame. Mr. Pyne looked around and realised there was no idea he could copy to get out of the situation. Everyone was in the same boat. Almost everyone. There was one small company, belonging to one Mr. Raut, that was doing reasonably well. Their salesmen were not complaining and no one in his team feared losing a job. Mr. Pyne called on Mr. Raut, who was kind to share his secret. “You see when the going was good, I imagined a time when things would not be so. Every boom is followed by a bust. So I created a small team to imagine a situation where there is no demand for copper pipes. How would we survive then? They came with many ideas and I invested a small proportion of my profits to experiment with them. Most of them failed. But two ideas that they came up with are proving to be viable in these trying times.”
Mr. Pyne realised that Mr. Raut was a Raja Bhoj who had created a team of Shekchillis. Together they had dreamt of bust even in boom times. And this had enabled them to survive the bust. If only, he had functioned like that. But then, he was no Raja Bhoj. He had taken pride in being Gangu Teli and now that the fort had collapsed, it was time for him to make the dreaded sacrifice of all that he dearly loved.

A 24x7 job,networking and lots of family time

You Can Never Plan Work-Life Balance; It Has To Come From Within, Says Regional Head Of Premium Spirits Company
Sreeradha D Basu KOLKATA

AS head of a spirits company, Harish Moolchandani knows what gives him a natural high. The MD, India & sub-continent, of the world’s fourth largest premium spirits company, Beam Global Spirits & Wine India, puts in an average of 8-10 hours at office, travels 10-12 days a month and is on call 24x7. All this doesn’t include work-related socialising. You might be tempted to think this wouldn’t leave him with much time for family, and a work-life balance with a schedule such as his would almost be a lost cause. But so far, says Moolchandani, he’s doing just fine.
“I must be doing something right because so far, my family’s not complaining,” he says, with a hearty laugh, as he lets ETin on his little secret: multitask, and prioritise both family and work simultaneously. And yes, that is possible: “To be honest, I don’t plan anything. It’s got to come from within.”
His family comprises wife Priya and 15-year-old son Deepesh, and his father who occasionally stays with them.
No matter how gruelling his schedule, Moolchandani’s day — if he’s in Delhi — starts with a walk and a round of badminton at the local park. “It’s great fun and good exercise. My son joins in whenever he gets a day off, and so does my father whenever he’s staying with us,” he says.
Moolchandani’s work involves extensive travel, and he is on the road at least 10-12 days a month. “But unless I’m travelling abroad, I make it a point to be with my family over the weekend,” he says. It helps, as well, that his organisation advocates a five-day work week. So weekends are largely devoted to the family. Reading is another passion, “and my being glued to a book is something that drives my family up the wall,” he says.
Moolchandani isn’t one of those who turns his Blackberry off when he’s at home. “I never switch off my phone. If business needs me, I am on call,” he says. “But that doesn’t affect home life.”
His son’s board exams are not too far away, so studies are taking centrestage at the moment. Nonetheless, family outings are regular affairs, whether to catch the latest film releases, going to the club or checking out the newest restaurants in town. “We’re all foodies. At home, we eat mostly vegetarian, so it’s non-vegetarian fare for us when we eat out,” he says.
Being in the liquor industry involves a fair amount of after-work socialising as well. But that, says Moolchandani, is fun, not work. “My wife accompanies me to these dos whenever she feels like it.” He also makes regular trips to the spa with his wife.
The family loves travelling and two to three trips a year are a must. “Earlier, I’d drive off on a long-distance trip, but I’ve cut down on those for some time now. But we still head off for weekend jaunts whenever possible,” he says. Their last trip, around Christmas, was to Vaishnodevi, for the family is spiritually inclined.
“I’m in a 24x7 job, so if work demands my attention, I give it. But as busy as I am, I need to detox and there’s no better medicine than family,” says Moolchandani.
And this is one reason, he says, “work-life balance” has to come from deep within, and can’t be planned. “After all, at the end of the day, if you’re giving your work your 100% and more, who else are you doing it for other than family?”

Get basics right for your finances to grow

Nice article from times

Madhu T | TNN

Mumbai: New Year resolutions for many mean quitting cigarette or giving up booze. There are others who aspire to hit the treadmill with great gusto. These days, financial resolutions like paying off credit card dues, buying adequate insurance cover, opening a systematic investment plan (SIP) with a mutual fund also find a place on the list. However, most of these ambitious plans don’t always materialise, since most people don’t have the basic financial discipline to see them through, say financial consultants.
“Paying off loans, buying a term insurance plan or opening an SIP may be the most common thing to do, but I would stress on doing basic things like keeping track of expenses, filing bills and bank statements on time,’’ says Gaurav Mashruwala, a certified financial planner (CFP).
“In some cases, we have seen that people are not even aware of the number of bank accounts they have or the list of investments they have made over the years,’’ he adds.
No wonder, ambitious financial plans fail to take off as little ground work had been done.
“It may sound silly, but we have come across many instances where even educated people didn’t have a clue about their financial health. We actually had to make a lot of queries and then find our way through a mess of papers before reaching a conclusion,’’ says a wealth manager who doesn’t want to be named. “Sure, you can hire a service to do these things for you, but that would cost you money, which you can easily save by taking simple steps,’’ he adds.
Okay, here is what they would like you to do. To begin with, start filing those statements from your bank and mutual funds. Next, start the habit of keeping track of your expenses vis-a-vis income to get a clear picture of how much you save on a regular basis. This, according to financial experts, is crucial to take important financial decisions. Now, proceed to your bank account to see how much money is lying idle in your savings account.
“People who have opened multiple salary accounts won’t even realise that they have so much money lying idle in them,’’ says Mashruwala. Keep only the minimum amount required and transfer the rest to fixed deposits or other form of debt investments, which would yield you better returns. Mashruwala also reminds individuals to draw up a will and make proper nominations for their various investments.
This is no way to suggest that you don’t have to include ubiquitous (and ambitious) financial resolutions this year. Sure, you must have adequate insurance cover, a plan to pay off outstanding expensive loans, SIP to make the best of out of the stock market.(See list: A Plan For Everyone) But don’t forget to include the basics in your list of resolutions.
A Plan For Everyone
Make an assessment of your financial status
Have a plan to retire your expensive credit
Set your various financial goals
If you have at least five year to meet a goal, opt for equity. Otherwise, stick to safer debt investments
Always have adequate insurance cover (term cover preferred) Also, make a will and nominate persons to avoid troubles in future

Eight Rules for New Year's Resolutions

From mindtools.com

Our Eight Rules for New Year's Resolutions will help to set you up for success right from the start. Inevitably you will come up against challenges and road blocks along the way; however by planning ahead and following these rules, you'll be better placed to deal with these problems easily, rather than stumble and quit.

Rule 1: Commit to Your Resolution
Successful resolutions start with a strong commitment to make a change. To succeed, you must believe that you can accomplish what you set out to do, and really want to achieve it. Bolster that belief and desire by doing the following:

1. Choose resolutions that you really want to achieve – and express them in a positive way.
2. Announce your resolution to everyone around you – they will help to hold you accountable.
3. Develop a ceremony to mark the beginning of your commitment – this makes it more "real" and special for you.
4. Don't leave your choice of resolution to the last minute - take time to think about your goals, and make sure that you are mentally committed to them.
5. Questions to ask yourself to determine if you can take ownership of your resolution include:
   
   
   1. Is this resolution my idea or someone else's?
   2. Does this resolution motivate and invigorate me?
   3. Does this resolution sit comfortably with other factors in my life, such as my values and long-term plans?
6. Remember that there's no reason why your New Year's resolution should take all year to achieve!

Tip: Imagery is a powerful technique to help you own and commit to your resolutions. Picture yourself having attained your goal. How do you feel? How do you look? Where are you, and what are you doing? How do others react to you? By visualizing yourself in the position you desire, you can bolster your belief that you can achieve your goal, and strengthen your desire to do so.

Rule 2: Be Realistic
The key to achieving goals is continued motivation. If you set goals that are too difficult, you risk failing. Consistently failing at something is profoundly de-motivating (it's no wonder that after a few dismal attempts, some people abandon the idea of New Year's resolutions altogether!)

1. Think carefully before setting the same resolution that you set last year. If it didn't work for you then, make sure that there is good reason that you can achieve it this year. What has changed? Do you have more commitment to make it work? (Be careful, or else you will end up with a repeat performance, and another failed resolution!)
2. Aim lower, rather than too high – aim for something that is challenging, but that you have a good chance of accomplishing. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution and expand your goal later if you want to keep improving.
3. Don't try to do too much. There is no reason to set more than one or two resolutions. Anymore than that, and you'll lose focus, and lessen your chances of success in any one area.

Rule 3: Write It Down
A simple but powerful technique for making your goal feel real is to put your resolution into writing. There is something inside us that creates more commitment and drive when we do this. Consider writing your resolution down on pieces of card, and keeping it where you'll see it often – on your desk, on the fridge door, or in your wallet.

Rule 4: Make a Plan
This is where so many resolutions fall down. Articulating what you want to achieve is one thing; deciding how to do it is quite another. Don't miss out this step!

1. Start by envisioning where you want to be.
2. Then work back along your path to where you are today, writing down all of the milestones that you need to pass in between.
3. Decide what you will do to reach each of these milestones, at least at a high level. (You can plan in more detail as you reach that stage.)

Rule 5: Be Flexible
Not everything will work out precisely the way you planned. If you are too rigid in your approach to making resolutions, the first minor obstacle can throw you off your course completely.

1. When creating your plan, try to predict some of the challenges that you will face. Make a contingency plan for the ones that have the highest probability, and mentally prepare yourself for others, just in case they come up.
2. Realize that your resolution itself may change along the way. As long as this is positive, that's not failure, it's reality. As your life changes, so will your goals, dreams, and desires. Remember Rule 1 (Commit to Your Resolution): If you need to make changes to the goal so that you continue to care about it, do so.

Tip: There is no fixed rule saying that a resolution must be set in January. If your circumstances mean that it is better to wait until March, then do so. Resolution making and goal setting are a year round activity.

Rule 6: Use a System of Reminders
It's hard to keep focused on your plan when you have many other commitments, responsibilities, and obligations. The best way to stay on top of your resolution is to develop a formal reminder system.

1. We'll say it again: have your written resolutions visible at as many times of the day as possible. Leave reminders at work, at home, in the car, on your calendar, in your briefcase, and so on.
2. Make sure that the actions you have planned are on your To-Do List (perhaps have a special section for them at the top).
3. Set up reminders in your desktop calendar or subscribe to an email reminder service.
4. Think creatively about how you can remind yourself of your resolutions, so that they stay in the front of your mind.

Rule 7: Track Your Progress
You won't know how well you are doing unless you keep track of your progress. This is why your detailed plan is so important. By building excitement around the little successes, you can keep yourself motivated, and keep pushing forwards.

1. Use a journal and regularly make an entry in it regarding your progress.
2. Note when you felt particularly pleased with your efforts.
3. Note when you felt down, or felt like quitting. Over time, look for common themes and decide if there is an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.
4. Record challenges you faced, as well as things that went better than planned.
5. Look back at your entries on a regular basis, and use your past experiences to shape your attitude as you move forward.
6. Ask a friend or family member to call you on pre-defined occasions to discuss your progress.
   

Rule 8: Reward Yourself
Although knowledge of a job well done can be reward enough, we all enjoy a little treat from time to time. Even the most committed person needs a boost, and sometimes that is best accomplished through an external reward.

When you are developing your plan, make a note of a few milestones where you will reward yourself once you have achieved them. But spread them out – you want to make sure that the rewards remain special, and are not too easy to get!

Key Points

New Year's resolutions can be a pain or a pleasure – the choice is yours! If they're a pain, you may resolve never to make a resolution again, so resolve to make them a pleasure! The starting point is to focus on something that you really want and are ready to give your commitment to. Do this and you'll be in a great position to stay motivated and be successful!

As you plan your New Year resolutions, apply the Eight Rules to set yourself up for success.