I was at Nilgiri's corporate office yesterday, after a months prior appointment. Nilgiri's is a 100 year old store in bangalore, and has earned its reputation of selling genuine food stuff. I Have been trying to do business with them, for while, earlier I did not have a product to place on thier counters. It took us one full year to be able to make something suitable enough for a counter like theirs. This time when I was there, things were different. Nilgiri's just sold of to a British Retail Chain, and now they are corporatised. They are franchising all their outlets, have plans to open 2500 stores in next one year.
So, this poor farmer, was trying to negotiate with a multinational retail giant now, their approach has changed and i was forced to change my colors too. Margins, markups, market share, SKUP name the jargons and this kisan from bihar was supposed to answer all of them.
I grow, most of my food stuff, then process it, like my mom makes pickles and my wife bakes cakes, I eat what I grow and what I manufacture. I consider this a certificate for the quality that I produce, and that is why I had gone to nilgiri's for, as they stood for the same values.
Usually I keep 10 to 15% margins and try to pass on the rest to the consumer. But not now, Organised retail wants, 30 to 50% margins, per product fixed charges, registration charges. So, anything, manufactured at say, $1.00 wil need to be sold at $3 for every mans greed to be met.
The corporates have heavy salaries to pay, advertising costs, average manager does not stay for more than an year, he has to perform for his next salary, so they keep pushing the lines upward. they have an identity crisis. which is leading to the food crisis.
I was in silliguri, vegetable yard, a couple of weeks back and the cost of water melons is less than Rs. 1 a Kg, in delhi it is Rs.12 to 20 a kg, 11 Rs. for transportation, unacceptable.
The food crisis, is not for real, like the value of the shares, one trades in.
Being a free thinker, I have no objections in people marking up on margins, or trading into shares or comodities. But as Rajesh singh, I wouldnt do it. Hoarding comodities, and expecting that people will go hungry on a later date, is not good business. You make more money, and then you pay for the same food 3 times the cost, is not good business. popcorn for 50 bucks, not funny.
Adding value is fine, giving an experience while you munch that popcorn, is creativity and enterprise. Well best part is what's wrong if people are paying for it. i will tell you what's wrong. I produce that Corn that you are eating, and I sell it for Rs. 4 per kg, Rs. 50 is what i have to spend to munch 100 gms of popped corn. I am going to go back learn all the tricks that corporates are upto, and will have a 300% markup on the corn, right from my fields. it would not make much of a difference to the consumers, but surely I should be able to buy my Popcorn.
I am no Adam Smith to forecast the outcome, but, onething is for sure, technology will change the way Farm products have been grown, distirbuted and sold. It is the corporates who are going to be stuck in the web they are knitting.
As for me I just got myself a laptop, and working on starategies and PP presentations.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
king of good times
Yesterday, it took me 16 hrs to reach, bangalore, 10 hrs at the delhi airport and 4 hours in and out of flight. I started at 11 in the morning to reach bangalore at 2 in the morning. only good thing was that, vijay malya told me that I was his personal guest. Akshya khanna, I used to like him, even though he was from Mayo, after yesterday, he was uncool, in real life, he is like any other... filmy guy.. if you were at bombay xaviers hostel, you would know what I am talking about. Well, he was sitting opposite me at Delhi airport lounge and kept giving filmy glances, looking in the mirror, his biceps, over shoulder..et al..you just lost a fan Akshya.
However, When you are there for 16 Hrs with those kingfisher girls, and with no phone and no laptop. what does one do? one can only lech for a couple of hours at a stretch, after that it becomes a research. well thats what I did, a thesis on Air Hostesses.
There are three ways that all airlines dress their women.
1) Air India types. 2) King fisher types 3) every other, other than the last two.
The last one types are dressed in anything, that they think looks good, it has no statement. so no research work on that.
The next one is Kingfisher type. they have been very smartly dressed in red, the color that would get any bull flaring, 60% of your attention is focused on the color and rest on the posterior of the women, that is what you get to see the most of any air hostess any way, this combination brings out the animal in you, ( red is for blood and posterior is the only way one copulated )and you forget to look at other good things, like face, i mean, charm and courtesy.
But it is the sari Clad indian airlines women which take the cake. The Most skin one can see in a sari is ofcourse the Torso, which signifies fertility, worshiped in many religions, and it instigates the living male to asses the fertility of his seeds. ofcourse this is animal instinct too, but its a fine taste, its like comparing, beluga to fillet-o-fish. It is only, after one is satisfied with the torso, visible in a sari that, one could look for any other assets.
It would be wrong to analyse that all men, look at women with a single view, well, it is the subconscious and 50000 years of civilization that has gone into these instincts. one might not know, even when loking.
It is a different matter that, the torso's that one gets to look at these days, would by any chance lead to some philosphical thinking. Of course indians have been wearing many forms of saris for 5000 years, so no prizes to Indian airlines.
well, this is my research after 16 hrs of oggling at women, I really Hope Neha understands, what effort goes into even looking at womens figures. Stop wearing that Salwar Kurta thing, it has no statement.
Sitting in bangalore, waiting for appointments to materalize, still looking at more women, walk on the streets. thinking, that I will be personal guest to Mallya, again for next two days. Is some solace to my lonely evenings, as Neha, Struggles with two kids, kitchen, inlaws and selling sauces and juices.
Hats off....indian women....i guess that is why they wear, salwar et al...no one assesing your fertility status.
As
However, When you are there for 16 Hrs with those kingfisher girls, and with no phone and no laptop. what does one do? one can only lech for a couple of hours at a stretch, after that it becomes a research. well thats what I did, a thesis on Air Hostesses.
There are three ways that all airlines dress their women.
1) Air India types. 2) King fisher types 3) every other, other than the last two.
The last one types are dressed in anything, that they think looks good, it has no statement. so no research work on that.
The next one is Kingfisher type. they have been very smartly dressed in red, the color that would get any bull flaring, 60% of your attention is focused on the color and rest on the posterior of the women, that is what you get to see the most of any air hostess any way, this combination brings out the animal in you, ( red is for blood and posterior is the only way one copulated )and you forget to look at other good things, like face, i mean, charm and courtesy.
But it is the sari Clad indian airlines women which take the cake. The Most skin one can see in a sari is ofcourse the Torso, which signifies fertility, worshiped in many religions, and it instigates the living male to asses the fertility of his seeds. ofcourse this is animal instinct too, but its a fine taste, its like comparing, beluga to fillet-o-fish. It is only, after one is satisfied with the torso, visible in a sari that, one could look for any other assets.
It would be wrong to analyse that all men, look at women with a single view, well, it is the subconscious and 50000 years of civilization that has gone into these instincts. one might not know, even when loking.
It is a different matter that, the torso's that one gets to look at these days, would by any chance lead to some philosphical thinking. Of course indians have been wearing many forms of saris for 5000 years, so no prizes to Indian airlines.
well, this is my research after 16 hrs of oggling at women, I really Hope Neha understands, what effort goes into even looking at womens figures. Stop wearing that Salwar Kurta thing, it has no statement.
Sitting in bangalore, waiting for appointments to materalize, still looking at more women, walk on the streets. thinking, that I will be personal guest to Mallya, again for next two days. Is some solace to my lonely evenings, as Neha, Struggles with two kids, kitchen, inlaws and selling sauces and juices.
Hats off....indian women....i guess that is why they wear, salwar et al...no one assesing your fertility status.
As
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A Begining
WELCOME TO MY WORLD
Something I have been thinking about for a long time. Its the first step, which takes the most effort. Of course, the next ones take still more effort, but having walked a mile it gets more difficult to go back.This blog is going to be, sort of compilation of thoughts, views, observations, suggestions about friends, people I meet, everything that has gone in making of ME.
It is loud thinking, it will be inconsistent, rogue...a piece of my mind.
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