Vyas Ice Banga

The ice seems to be melting in the hands of Manvinder Singh Banga of HLL. He has taken B.M. Vyas of Amul, the black sheep of this fast growi...

The ice seems to be melting in the hands of Manvinder Singh Banga of HLL. He has taken B.M. Vyas of Amul, the black sheep of this fast growing industry, head on. The two have a collision lined up to make the heat afflicted consumer gulp down a few more dollops of ice cream. Last year Banga almost singed his tootsies while treading on Amul8217;s footsteps, by trying to cut costs and introducing low priced products. So this time he has decided to narrow his focus on the premium segment. Having a strong back-end support, Vyas is aiming for the industry number one position. He looks all poised to take Amul beyond just droll billboards. Vyas seems to be focused at beating HLL at its own game and is contemplating the acquisition of some third party suppliers and contract manufacturers of HLL. Banga is definitely at his wit8217;s end trying to foil Amul8217;s plans. While HLL creates, Amul prefers to innovate. Now since HLL takes the trouble of creating, it cannot undercharge. But for HLL8217;s every Feast, Amul offers a cheaper Frostik. Amul8217;s products are usually 25per cent cheaper than HLL8217;s. Banga seems to believe that Kwality8217;s presence at price points and segments where Amul has not so far made its appearance would ensure the safety of Kwality. Maybe that is why HLL is slowly rising into the top compartment of the consumer8217;s refrigerator. His spate of introductions for this summer included premium take-home desserts like Vienetta and Black Currant Sundae. On the other hand, Amul has so far specialised in out-of-home consumption. Banga has begun to realise that Amul is quite nimble. Kwality claims that it is premium for its quality and hygiene, but Amul is a trusted brand for exactly these reasons and also has a high recall all over India. Nevertheless, given the current low per head consumption of ice creams in our country both Banga and Vyas may actually find the whole pie growing and may manage to ignore market share battles, at least for one season.

Bengal may get Bhatia8217;s Yes

Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia believes that the West Bengal government8217;s effort at attracting investments to the state is generating a lot of interest. In the city to launch his Yes! Messaging card from cell operator Command, Bhatia8217;s praise of the West Bengal government was rather forthright. This was only Bhatia8217;s second trip to the City of Joy8212;the first one being 20 years ago, when he came to Kolkata with his parents on his way to Darjeeling. Though he is currently focusing on his existing business ventures8212;Cradle Tech Mediabolic Inc and Navin Communication, he says he is willing to consider setting up shop in Bengal for his next venture. His praises for the Bengal government probably is a first step in this direction. Bhatia feels that what one looks for while making an investment is a talent pool, basic infrastructure, like access to Internet, power supply, the availability of quality office space and financing opportunities. Considering the West Bengal government has been promoting all these, it is probably only a question of time before we see Bhatia initiate a business venture in the state.

Cross-border TV showdown

While the entire business community braces itself to increase business relations with its counterparts in China, there is a man who chooses to swim frantically against the tide8212;Kabir Mulchandani, the managing director and marketing head of Baron International. The wounded Mulchandani has publicly threatened to sue the Chinese, TCL Group for defamation. TCL is the television brand that had a joint venture with Mulchandani8217;s Baron Group in India. That Kabir has been in troubled waters with his foreign associates is not a new tale. His association with Akai ended when they refused to accede to his inclination to get Aiwa into the Indian TV scene through Baron itself. Soon Mulchandani was seen licking his wounds when expectedly, Aiwa8217;s marriage to Baron came to a sad end. After the bumpy ride alongside partners like Hitachi, Aiwa and Akai, Mulchandani seems to have reached the end of his tether as far as foreign partnerships are concerned. Instead he has done a complete turnaround. He now plans to give the Chinese companies that caused him much heartache, a good run for their money. From the skeletons in his crowded cupboard, he will pull out Bush, the Baron Group8217;s own brand of television. Mulchandani, would hopefully be able to reap some good out of this move. Maybe the funds he hopes to receive as damages from TCL in case he wins the case against them could be used to rejuvenate this dead brand. The man sure needs a lot of luck now and some cash too.

Dilip Cherian, runs a public affairs firm Perfect Relations. He is an economy watcher and tycoon tracker. None of the people he writes about are his clients. Your insider tales are welcome at dilipcheriannow-india.net.in