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Growing information networking is raising a new concern: theft.
Picture this. A team of 10 people puts in its papers en masse at a software company. One of them is persuaded to stay back, but does so only for a few weeks. A month later the employer finds that there are no hard or soft copies of the project the team was working on. Sabotage? Sounds like it. Far fetched? The company where it happened doesn't think so. But it hasn't sued any of them either, simply because it wants to steer clear of adverse publicity. For every such case that gets reported, there are probably 10 others that don't. Earlier this month, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) got a taste of it when one of its ex-employees allegedly tried to palm off a proprietary report as his own. The buyer, smelling fish, decided to check with PWC, which promptly slapped a suit against the ex-employee. Expect such cases to become commonplace in the future. As companies make the migration to a networked and knowledge economy, confidential information and ideas will become more vulnerable to theft. Some recent studies reveal that as much as 50 per cent of intellectual property loss could be due to employees. Says Srinath Mukherji, Market Director, Arthur D. Little: ''We must take every action possible under law in case of breach of confidentiality by any of our employees.'' It's going to be an uphill climb. The Information Technology Act, 2000, is silent on theft of electronic intellectual property. Which means anybody making copies of proprietary information can not be penalised under the it Act. ''In such a situation, the courts will have to hear the case under the provisions of the Copyrights Act,'' says lawyer Pavan Duggal. But often such laws prove inadequate to deal with the complexities of hi-tech thievery. Samsung would likely agree. Last year, the company lost a middle-level manager to a Korean rival, and allegedly also a lot of market-sensitive information. Samsung went to court, which however did not think there was enough evidence or gravity in the case. Points out Duggal: ''Most of this is still untested waters for the Indian legal system.'' Paranoid employers, meanwhile, have no option but to keep a wary eye on their flock. -Ashutosh Sinha A U D I O Brisk audio sales strike a contrarian note in the depressed consumer electronics industry. It's hard being an Indian. It's harder still being a marketer to Indians. Those ayes of agreement that you hear are coming from the consumer electronics industry. Just when companies had ramped up production anticipating a boom, the CTV market actually slumped. Refrigerators are in no better shape, and just don't ask about washing machines. In fact, the 10-month long lull in the industry has marketers wishing that more of their white and brown goods could be passed off as audio systems. Just why? That's the only segment which hasn't just bucked the trend, but is booming. Sales of hi-fi systems (minus radios, transistors, and portable two-in-ones) are up between 10 and 15 per cent, those of audio CDs by 51 per cent, and the nascent video CD segment is ripping at more than 200 per cent a year. Says Pravin Rai, Senior Manager (Audio), Sony India: ''Most of the companies are repositioning, and focusing on this category.'' Hidden among the numbers is an interesting consumer trend. For instance, more and more consumers are opting for CD systems, even if they are sans the bells and whistles. Even DVD is believed to be flying off the shelf rapidly. Revealingly, sales of the conventional portable two-in-ones-which account for 10-15 per cent of the total audio market-are actually falling. Says Suresh Khanna, Secretary General, CETMA, an industry association: ''Companies like Sony, Aiwa, Panasonic, and Kenwood have expanded the market.'' Japanese brands seem to be the clear favourites in audio. In CD players, for instance, Aiwa leads the market with 43.5 per cent share, followed by Sony (16.8 per cent) and Panasonic (11.6 per cent). Says Kabir Mulchandani, CEO, Baron Electronics: ''The market is shifting towards high-end products, and the investment needed to stay alive in this category is heavy.'' Seems like B.B. King is already playing somewhere in the background. -Jaya Basu S U R V E Y A new survey puts two Indian banks on top of the e-bank charts. Three months on the internet calendar is a long time. Long enough for bottom-scrapers to turn frontrunners-well, almost. One quarter ago Asian Banker Gilboa Report, which conducts a quarterly ranking of e-banking products and services, showed Citibank India and ICICI Bank languishing at 24th and 14th positions, respectively. This quarter, however, finds Citibank's Citidirect in the No. 2 slot, followed by ICICI Bank's Infinity. How? In the three months to December 2000, Citibank managed to migrate a third of its banking customers to internet banking, while ICICI Bank converted a quarter. If the conversions look surprisingly easy, it's because the pay-offs are impressive. CitiDirect services include account-to-account transfer, utility payments, demat account maintenance, and e-shopping. Says Nanoo Pamnani, CEO and Global Consumer Bank Head, Citibank India: ''Internet banking is a highly competitive space making it a challenge to stay ahead.'' According to Amit Gilboa, editor of the report, the latest rankings illustrate the segment's low entry barriers. Overtaking competitors online is much easier than the slow and expensive process of opening more bank branches. Are Indian banks listening? -Roshni Jayakar A D V E R T I S I N
G The soft-drinks slugfest may be over-rated. But, hey, they are fun. God, these cola wars are unending. Just when you thought that a bleeding Coca-Cola India had put a stop to the over-hyped aerated water battles, Sprite (its clear lemon drink) has gone ahead and taken a potshot at Pepsi's latest ad film featuring actress Preity Zinta and the South African chimp, Sam, better known as Jaggu. In the hallowed halls of cola offices, the new war is being scrutinised in microscopic detail. Fearful whispers point out how this is the first time Coke's clear drink has joined the epic battle against Pepsi's brown beverage. ''Could this be Coke's flanking strategy or merely a red herring to destabilise value proposition in the marketplace?'' is what nervous executives probably want to know. Meanwhile, the copywriter at Coke's agency (McCann-Erickson) who's cocked a snook at Pepsi with the words (''Jaggu se gentleman ki duri, sirf Sprite kare puri''; translation: only Sprite helps you evolve from an ape to a homosapien) is being patted on the back. But then Sprite has always maintained a no-nonsense attitude, scoffing not-so-discreetly at cola drinks even from its own stable. Its ''dikhawe pe na jao, apni akal lagao'' (don't fall for looks, use your head) campaign was meant to trash the hype surrounding the cola business. Watch this space for Jaggu's reply, which should be coming soon. -Shamni Pande B R A N D S Ford India gets into merchandising to woo customers. Ford sells automobiles, right? Wrong. Stop by at the Chennai-based Lifestyle International's multi-storeyed outlet in Chennai and you'll find a whole lot of other things the Blue Oval vends. Packed into a small 125-sq ft display area are Ford caps, bandanas, jackets, umbrellas, miniature Ford car models, posters, mugs, T-shirts, pens, post cards, wallets, folios, car accessories and sun glasses, all priced between Rs 40 and Rs 350. What's up, Ford? ''We wish to touch every aspect of the consumer's lifestyle, and not stop with selling her an Ikon,'' says Phil Spender, Managing Director of Ford India. A computer kiosk next to the counter ensures registration of every customer who buys a Ford product, with facilities of browsing the Ford site and looking into the plush Ikon interiors. That's a nice way of prospecting for buyers, and also catching a generation of consumers young. The pilot project, where Ford has invested Rs 2.5 lakh in merchandise, will run for a month and depending on the consumer reponses, the company might opt for a permanent stall. London's Harrods already has a permanent Ford shop that sells Ford Racing and Jaguar Racing Gear. According to Spender, Chennai's Ford Gear is clocking average daily sales between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500. If only selling cars were that easy. -Nitya Varadarajan
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