Strategic tools for the practising manager

KIT

In 2005-06, Indians spent Rs 1,180 crore shopping on the Net in nearly 8 lakh transactions. In 2006-07, they are expected to spend Rs 2,300 crore online "" a growth of about 95 per cent over this year.

Online shopping is now prevalent in nearly 2,000 towns and cities (including tier-II cities such as Surat, Ankleshwar, Sholapur, Kottayam, Faridabad and Bhopal). Maharashtra tops the list, while Kerala is yet to pick up.

Seventy per cent of the Internet users in India come from the country's top eight cities. Mumbai's share is 20 per cent and Delhi's 17 per cent.

It is estimated that around 50-60 per cent of Internet sales are related to air and railways ticketing. Air and rail tickets worth an estimated Rs 30 crore are sold online in India everyday.

Online payment of bills is gaining momentum and the number of customers making payments online will increase to 1.8 million by 2007 from 0.3 million in 2005-06.

The actual business opportunity for organised retail players is expected to be around Rs 1,200 crore by financial year 2007.

Some of the drivers for online shopping in India are easy access to information and communication, increasing PC penetration and the proliferation of cyber cafes (more than 126,000 and growing rapidly) across the country.

Selections from management journals
NUGGETS

The recent resignation of Scott McNealy as CEO of Sun Microsystems, the company he founded 22 years ago, is another milestone in the succession process of a large technology company. But tech companies often pose unique succession issues, in part because of their unusually fast growth and young founders, according to Wharton faculty and technology experts. "If you look at the dominant companies in the technology industry, most of them are still led, or until recently were led, by a charismatic founder. By and large, the companies that have made the transition have done a pretty good job of it," says Kevin Werbach professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton.

Read the complete article at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/

Top online buys April 2006
WHO BOUGHT WHAT

Handsets

MP3 players and accessories

Mobile accessories

Loose gemstones and diamonds

Women's apparel

PC games

Watches

Coins and notes

Stamps

Digital cameras

Top Searches April 2006

Handsets

Digital cameras

MP3 players and accessories

Women's apparel

Watches

Storage, drives

Mobile accessories

Men's shoes

Laptops

Men's accessories

Source: ebay India (www.eBay.in)