Group B4- The Marketers- Source- Financial express- 6th march,2013

Retail sector can support existence of various formats: Experts

FEB 22,2013

There are lot of opportunities in retail sector to absorb new and existing players says Lalit Agarwal, Multi-brand retial chain V-Mart CMD. He says understanding and targeting the right consumer is of essence. He further added that 50% of consumption is driven by middle class and which is expected to rise to 60-63% within 3 years.

Current focus is on IT optimisation and effectiveness. The adoption of IT systems have helped traditional retailers retain their customers, leading provider of specialised retail management solutions Ginesys CEO Prashant Lohia said.

Indian retail sector is currently 500 billion USD and is pegged to read 1.3 trillion USD by 2020. The Indian retail sector accounts for over 20% of country's GDP and contributes 8% to total employment.

BMW recalls more than 30,000 SUVs to fix brakes

16^th Feb, 2013                                                                                                                          POOJA

Review: BMW is recalling more than 30,000 SUVs to fix an oil leak that can knock out the power-assisted braking. The German automaker says the recall covers X5 SUVs in the US from the 2007 through 2010 model years. The vehicles were made between September 12, 2006, and March 18, 2010. They have eight-cylinder engines.

Implication: The company says a small amount of oil can leak from a brake hose and cause the power-assisted braking to fail. Brakes would still work, but the problem could increase stopping distances and cause a crash. BMW says it has no reports of crashes or injuries. The problem was discovered when warranty claims increased. The company will replace a brake vacuum line hose for free. The recall is expected to start this month.

Now, gen-next transparent cellphone

17^thFeb,2013                                                                                                                  POOJA

Review: In a revolutionary development, a Taiwanese company claims to have developed a gen-next transparent mobile phone which it says will be in the market by the year end. The company, Polytron Technologies, has already begun marketing a transparent multi-touch phone. Its prototype uses a 'Switchable Glass' technology. That is a conductive Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) using liquid crystal molecules to display images, the 'Daily Mail' reported. When the phone is in off mode, the molecules align to form a milky composition, but when switched on they re-align to form text, icons, and other images. Electric current is carried through transparent wires. "It will happen near the end of 2013. Trust me," said Polytron general manager Sam Yu. The device still contains some parts that are not tran parent, including a SD card and SIM card. The microphone, camera, and batteries are also visible, and will be hidden behind a dark glass cover when the model goes into production. The company, according to Yu, will develop a smaller lithium ion battery that would be much less noticeable. When complete, the phone will have a dual-sided multi-touch display in front and back. The prototype phone has yet to feature any software or operating system, the report said.

Implication: A Japanese company recently used a transparent liquid crystal display (LCD) in its wristwatch but had trouble adding hardware to the smaller frame. "The challenge of using a transparent display in a wristwatch, and I suppose other wearable technology, is that you need to store the batteries somewhere else (usually they are stored behind the LCD panel)," Tokyoflash marketing manager Paul Cooper said. It remains to be seen whether the phone's transparency by itself will attract buyers, as the prototype does not offer significantly different functions than most smartphones.

"Display quality is paramount," Avi Greengart, research director at Current Analysis, told The Verge. "If the display quality is not up to par with the best of today's AMOLED and LCD screens, a phone using it won't sell even for its novelty value," said Greengart

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/audi-india-sales-up-29-in-february/1083363

Audi India sales up 29% in February

·         German luxury car maker Audi today reported 29 per cent growth in sales in India during February at 775 units as against 600 units in the same month last year.

·         Leading the growth in India are the company's sports utility vehicle range, including the Q3, Q5 and Q7, Audi India said in a statement.

·         "The year has started on a positive note for us with successful launches of the new Audi Q5 and the new Audi R8 in January. We introduced the petrol variant of the hugely popular Audi Q3 in February. Our popular SUV models are enabling us to continue on our growth story," Audi India Head Michael Perschke said.

·         He, however, said the recent announcements in Budget may dampen the spirit of customers.

·         "Increase in imported cars and excise duty on SUVs was very surprising. We will have to seriously evaluate the impact of this hike on our prices and, have no choice other than to pass on to customers," Perschke added.

Mercedes-Benz chalks out 4-pronged strategy for India                          26-2-2013

·         Mercedes-Benz India has evolved a four-pronged strategy towards passenger cars this year as it transfers its truck and bus business under Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV). The company had been selling buses — inter and intra city and Actros mining trucks — in the India market, which would now fall under DICV portfolio.

·         As part of its India approach, Mercedes-Benz plans to launch four new products this year, invest in dealer network, improve overall ownership cost and double production at the Chakan plant.

·         Merc has aggressive plans to strengthen their position in the Indian market. Chakan will be for passenger cars and Chennai will be for trucks and buses.

·         Starting with the launch of G63 on Tuesday, Merc plans to drive in its much-awaited premium hatchback A-class in diesel and petrol variants by mid-2013. Other launches are the new GL in May and the B-class diesel variant around the same time.

·         Mercedes-Benz is doubling its production capacity from 10,000 units to 20,000 at Chakan by end of this year to make space for the new models. Moreover, the company is looking at localisation in a big way to improve ownership cost to the customers.

·         Mercedes-Benz assembles models like S-class, E-class, C-class and M-class at its plant with localisation ranging from 10% to 60% over various mentioned models.

An Apple iPad a flight could save Air India Rs 900 cr yearly in costs

4th March 2013

Issue:

·  That may not seem much unless one considers that these documents weigh roughly 100 kg in international flights and 40 kg in domestic flights.

·  This led in more weightage which ultimately resulted in an increase in fuel cost.

Solution:

·  The airline is discussing converting mandatory documents carried on board all commercial flights — including aircraft operational manual, flight crew operational manual, navigation charts and circulars — into a soft copy loaded on iPads to be issued to pilots.

·   With iPads, that weight will come down and, in turn, lower fuel costs by over 10 per cent. Ballpark estimates worked out by a cost-cutting committee of Air-India suggest an annual per aircraft fuel savings of around Rs 7 crore.

·  A number of carriers in Europe and the US already carry these documents — currently stocked behind a co-pilot’s seat in the cockpit — as soft copies.