Oscar's battery operated TV: Nifty move

On the face of it, it's a brilliant marketing brainwave: A battery-operated CTV for the millions of people in India's villages that do not have any electricity. According to the last census report, 56.5 per cent of the rural households did not have access to electricity. So, even if a bare 10 per cent of the households bought one, you are talking about creating a market for almost eight million units where none existed. That indeed is the calculation Delhi-based Oscar International made when it launched its battery-run TV in November. In just the last month, Oscar claims to have sold about 10,000 units. At Rs 5,190 apiece, "it's an honest product (at an) honest price", says Oscar's Director, Arpita Khurana.

Perhaps, but odds are stacked tall against the product. For one, the battery discharges in 48 hours-even assuming just three hours of television watching every day, the battery will last 16 days. After that, the customer has two options: Recharge the battery or buy a new one. The latter involves an expense of at least Rs 2,000. The former is not a realistic option, because you need electricity to do so. Besides, Mirc Electronics (of Onida fame) launched one such in 1993, but the line was discontinued within two years. Why? "The rural market was too price sensitive," says Vipul Mathur, Head of Marketing (B&W), Mirc. LG also claims to have toyed with the idea, but decided against it for being economically unviable. Says Rajiv Karwal, MD, Electrolux, who in his previous stint at Philips helped launch a wind-up radio, which is doing well: "Unless a product reduces the amount of electricity required per se, it will not survive.'' For now, Oscar is taking its chances.

-Amanpreet Singh

New, New, And New, But It Hasn't Worked
New launches galore haven't helped GM India.

Last word: GM India may have sold 13,505 cars in the first 11 months of this year, 66 per cent higher than the 8131 it sold in the first 11 months of last. However, the number is just around 2.5 per cent of the number of cars sold in India in the same period, which stands at around 600,000. If all goes well Indian car makers will sell around 700,000 cars this year. The company has burned around Rs 50 crore on launches: first, it made a song and dance about ushering brand Chevrolet into the country; then, it did nearly the same for a car, Optra. The money hasn't helped, nor have the products, and the world's largest car company remains a minnow in the Indian market.

-Kushan Mitra

	CHEVROLET FORESTER Launched: March 2003 Sales (units) Till November 30, 2003: 153 It may be the most hi-tech of the utes on offter in the the Indian market but it has a big problem: you see, it doesn't look like a suv. Sales have neraly ground to a halt over the past few months.
	OPEL CORSA SAIL Launched: May 2003 Sales (units) Till November 30, 2003: 2,534 The Sail has helped parent marque Corsa--sales increased 36 per cent to 8596 units in the January-November period of 2003 as compared to the same period last year--but the competition is still streets ahead.
	CHEVROLET OPTRA Launched: July 2003 Sales (units) Till November 30, 2003: 3,670 The Optra made a splash when it was launched as a rival to Toyota's Corolla and Skoda's Octavia. However, the hype has now tapered off--as have sales, to around 500 units a months. However, the imminent launch of a less-expensive 1.6 litre version will help sales climb.

Gurgaon: Asia's Mall Capital
Delhi's affluent suburb is witnessing a mall rush. Good for shoppers, disastrous for promoters.

Herd Mentality: Yet another mall in the making

Twenty-five malls with a total retail space of 44 lakh sq ft. That's what Gurgaon is set to add in another three years. Already, this booming suburb of Delhi is home to three big malls (MGF Metropolitan, DLF City Centre, and Sahara Mall), which offer 6 lakh sq ft of pricey, but air-conditioned space. Many more, like Mega Mall, are nearing completion. Once all the malls are up and running, Gurgaon will have more malls than any other city in India-actually make that Asia. Why the rush? "Supply creates its own demand," says Anshuman Magazine, MD, CB Richard Ellis, meaning that open and relatively cheap (at least until recently) space in Gurgaon is making a mall boom possible. "Life is becoming hedonistic (and consumption conspicuous)," adds Ajay Khanna, Head of Malls at DLF, which owns some 3,000 acres in Gurgaon. There are an estimated seven lakh people living in Gurgaon and about 200 families are said to be moving in every week. Besides, Delhi does not have any mall (perhaps excepting Ansal Plaza) comparable to Gurgaon's. So a lot of shoppers are actually from Delhi. But the mall stampede (dda is triggering one in Delhi too) will hurt many in it. Real estate prices in Gurgaon are climbing, as are the lease rentals at the malls; the latter is up some 15 per cent in just six to eight months. More competition may force prices down, but that's unlikely to expand the universe of shoppers. Inevitably, malls and the shops in them will end up under-cutting each other. That's when it'll hurt being a mall promoter in Gurgaon.

-Amanpreet Singh

Wrigley Wants To Chomp
Will Joyco end up in Wrigley's mouth?

Joyco's MD, Arun Hegde: Waiting for Wrigley

In the next few days, the $2.75-billion-in-revenues Wrigley is expected to seal the deal for acquisition of Joyco, part of Spanish food giant Agrolimen for a reported price of $270 million. If that happens, the American chewing gum-maker will bag Joyco's operations in 70-odd countries, with production facilities in 14 of those, including India. When contacted, Wrigley's spokesperson and brand manager Sambit Lenka said, ''We are not in a position to offer comments.'' But the news seems to be good for Wrigley India. Although it entered the country in 1993, Wrigley hasn't been able to make much of a dent in the Rs 1,300-crore confectionery market. Last year, its estimated revenues were Rs 15-20 crore, compared to rival Perfetti Van Melle's Rs 400 crore and home-grown Candico's Rs 150 crore. With Joyco's Rs 180 crore sales-which comes from popular brands like Boomer and Pim Pom-added to its own, Wrigley could pole-vault to No. 3 position, besides bagging Joyco's network of 1,900 distributors and four lakh outlets. But the real issue for Wrigley may be boosting consumption of chewing gum in the country. Currently, it accounts for less than a thousand tonne in the 1.3 lakh-tonne-a-year confectionery market. "Wrigley can now keep its operations in India alive," says Sanjiv Kumar, CMD, Candico. Thank HQ.

-Sahad P.V.