BUSINESS
Failure to close the deal may be a blessing in disguise for Bisleri & Tata Consumer
Selling Bisleri, a high-volume, low-margin product, didn’t make much sense for the Ramesh Chauhan-led group. The eponymous brand is the clear leader in a booming market
BUSINESS
Current wave of tech layoffs won't be reversed any time soon
Layoffs at tech companies look more permanent than knee-jerk and an added worry is the structural change as their biggest client, banking, tightens its purses
BUSINESS
Mohit Joshi's exit shows how Infosys has become a victim of its own success
The exit of Mohit Joshi and Ravi Kumar within two months means that Infosys will need to restart its succession process. Meanwhile, the IT giant can treat its leavers as brand ambassadors of the company, a la Hindustan Lever
BUSINESS
Smart investors need to look out for women in leadership positions
Diversity numbers are best for companies like Infosys and HDFC which have also given consistently high returns to shareholders over a sustained period
BUSINESS
Another pivot won’t resolve Blinkit’s existential issues
There’s little to suggest a rapid turnaround in Blinkit’s fortunes, notwithstanding the latest turn. The expansion into home services will bring the struggling company in direct competition with Tiger Global-backed Urban Company while also diffusing its focus from its original quick-commerce mandate
BUSINESS
Citibank’s failure to build an emotional bond with India will ensure it won’t be missed
The onslaught of new technology by fintech startups, combined with the dynamism of private Indian banks, threw up a level of competition many foreign banks could not handle
BUSINESS
Annapurna sale ends HUL's branded commodities foray
Inability to make headway in the competitive and low-margin atta and salt markets has seen HUL exit these categories
BUSINESS
Vodafone-BSNL merger could be disastrous, as the Air India experience shows
Merging two loss-making entities does little to solve the underlying problems, as seen from the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines
BUSINESS
The start of a succession plan at the Aditya Birla group
Kumar Mangalam Birla has a long way to go but the early elevation of Ananya and Aryaman Birla to key board positions challenges the scions to help the textiles-aluminum-cement dependent conglomerate find its feet among new-age businesses
BUSINESS
Boom in luxury car sales in India a sign of rising consumer confidence
While sales of mainstream vehicles is expected to be tepid, the luxury car market is riding a boom
BUSINESS
Budget 2023: A budget that keeps the spotlight on resource building
To the extent that this annual exercise is a window into the government's thinking and vision for the future, Budget 2023, dares to be different
BUSINESS
No apparent synergy between BPCL and its planned BeCafes
A completely unrelated diversification into food and beverages, where its chances of winning are close to non-existent, defies logic
BUSINESS
GoMechanic fiasco may be the end of honeymoon for Indian startups
The GoMechanic episode casts a dark shadow over all participants in the fray including deep-pocket investors, Sequoia and Tiger Global, the media which rushed to celebrate their unrealised success and, of course, the founders who may have even ignored warnings of financial irregularities from their auditors
BUSINESS
What just happened at Cognizant
The exit of Brian Humphries as chief executive officer (CEO) and the simultaneous appointment of Stephen Rohleder as the new chairman, replacing Michael Patsalos-Fox, at the $19.4 billion Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp is a development of significant import
BUSINESS
The Green Pivot: India needs a dual market strategy to exploit sustainability sector opportunity
With the green market size still in its infancy in India, companies must also look abroad to attain viable size
BUSINESS
Can Budget 2023 help Indian companies become global superpowers?
The government and companies must work in tandem to build up globally competitive champions. Over to the Budget 2023-24
TRENDS
Air India crew betrayed lack of training in dealing with unruly bladders
Air India had built a reputation for tolerating passenger misbehaviour, changing that culture is one of the biggest challenges before the Tata Group
BUSINESS
Chanda Kochhar’s sullied legacy also includes ICICI Bank’s underperformance
Chanda Kochhar will go down in corporate history as part of a long list of chief executives whose financial misdemeanours hobbled the companies they headed
BUSINESS
Why work when you can startup?
The flux in the job market has raised the viability of entrepreneurship as a career path for many young Indians
BUSINESS
Arrests of Venugopal Dhoot, others revive hope in ICICI-Videocon case
This week’s arrests by the CBI therefore goes some way in alleviating fears that the case is being handled with kid gloves
BUSINESS
Why Narayana Murthy is wrong even when he is right
Would Infosys have lost or gained on growth had it allowed the sons and daughters of the five founders to join the business in leadership capacities?
BUSINESS
In the global race for fabs Indian companies need to be faster to market
India is a large enough market for a variety of chips and its proven capabilities in chip design make it a great location for a fab. But the window of opportunity may be fast closing
BUSINESS
A $9 billion contract for US firms has ramifications for Indian IT services
The US government's decision to give a large cloud services contract to US tech companies may be a sign of what lies ahead
BUSINESS
With its lenders back in the court, Jet’s future looks cloudy
In retrospect, it is clear that the consortium that bid for and bagged the rights to revive the airline underestimated the financial requirements of the task they had undertaken
