The Strategic Drucker
Author: Robert Swaim
Publisher: Times Publication Books
Price: Rs 395
ISBN: 9788126525058.
Engage
Authors: Brian Solis and Ashton Kutcher 
Publisher: Wiley
Price: Rs 1,205
ISBN: 9780470571095.
You Can&rsquo;t Predict a Hero
Author: Joseph J Grano
Publisher: Times Publication Books
Price: Rs 350
ISBN: 9788126525089.
Getting Naked 
Author: Patrick M Lencioni
Publisher: Wiley
Price: Rs 1,205
ISBN: 9780787976392.
Leading with Care 
Author: Mary Cantando
Publisher: Times Publication Books
Price: Rs 350
ISBN: 9788126525010.
Practicing Greatness 
Author: Reggie McNeal
Publisher: Times Publication Books
Price: Rs 295
ISBN: 9788126525027.
Beating Low-Cost Competition 
Author: Adrian Ryans l
Publisher: Times Publication Books
Price: Rs 325
ISBN: 9788126525041.
The Three Laws of Performance 
Authors: Dave Logan and Steve Zaffron
Publisher: Times Publication Books Price: Rs 395
ISBN: 9788126525072.
Social Media 101 
Author: Chris

The top 10 business bestsellers

Business Standard

Subroto Mukherjee, chief operating officer of Baskin Robbins (Saarc), talks to Sohini Sen and Sarmistha Neogy on his expansion plans, new launches and challenges before the industry.

Q&A: Subroto Mukherjee, Chief Operating Officer, Baskin Robbins

There&rsquo;s something in the air these days. I told this to myself a few days ago as I was taking a stroll on the Linking Road stretch in Bandra, late in the evening. The lights in the stores, smiling faces emerging with multiple shopping bags in their hands, store managers joking around with their employees and the entire hustle and bustle in the market, all contributed to a very happy atmosphere, perhaps insinuating us of the times to come. Strange enough as it may seem but I started feeling good myself. And then I decided to give it a thought.

There's Something in the Air

Zen Mobile, one of the several homespun mobile phones that have come up in the last year or so, is ready with its first television commercial with Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan. The TVC focuses on the long-lasting battery of its phones. Zen Mobile Chief Executive Officer Vaibhav Shastri says: &ldquo;We have a budget of Rs 25 crore for the October to December quarter, which will cover 360-degree activation across television, print and outdoor avenues. We had cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bachchan in mind. It took us three-and-a-half months to close the deal with Bachchan.

Zen Mobile: Zen and the art of selling

Godrej Interio, Godrej &amp; Boyce&rsquo;s furniture brand, is weaving in technology in its products and sprucing up its stores to drive growth. In a largely (90 per cent) unorganised market, but which is steadily seeing the growth of branded furniture, Godrej Interio is aware of the need for a national player. &ldquo;Branded home furniture is growing at 20 per cent but is only 10 per cent of the Rs 20,000-crore market.

Godrej & Boyce: Hi-tech furniture

In the last decade, Indian manufacturing companies have imbibed world-class practices in manufacturing management.

India's quality revolution

Nestl&eacute; has come out with a new campaign for its Nescaf&eacute; instant coffee with actors Deepika Padukone and Purab Kohli. The campaign unfurls a silent emotional play between two neighbours &mdash; one a celebrity, Padukone, and the other the guy next door, Kohli &mdash; and talks to the youth of urban India.

A brew for the young

Almost two years ago, Bharat Hotels took on a new identity, the Lalit. The global economic meltdown that followed hit hotels real bad across the world. India was no exception. But the industry is buzzing with activity one more time. Everybody wants to grow; large companies want to buy smaller ones, and white knights have become active. Budget hotels are mushrooming all over the country.

Q&A: Jyotsna Suri, CMD, Bharat Hotels

Tata Coffee will give up its brands to become a pure-play commodity company. Why? It is the ambition of most farm commodity companies to move up the value chain and sell branded products. Brands, after all, can improve profit margins and valuations. Seldom does a company give up its brands to become a pure-play commodity company. But this is exactly what Tata Coffee has done. Over the next few years, it will move its brands like Tata Caf&eacute;, Mr. Bean and Coorg (these brands may not be as popular as Nestl&eacute;&rsquo;s Nescaf&eacute; or Hindustan Unilever&rsquo;s Bru but have dedicated customers in certain pockets of the country) to group company Tata Global Beverages (earlier Tata Tea) so that it can focus on commodities. The strategy may look disruptive but has been well thought through.

Back to beans

This market is expected to grow at 17 per cent a year.

KIT: The cosmetic market in India

Corporate houses are stepping up efforts to cash in on the Commonwealth Games (CWG), which drew a lot of positive response after the spectacular opening ceremony.

Companies step up brand building activities during CWG

Press Trust of India

Dell, which recently knocked out Hewlett Packard from the No 1position in the Indian personal computer market, isn&rsquo;t the only one to move from the men to the boys.

Lenovo wakes up to the power of youth

Till the XIX Commonwealth Games (CWG) began, many companies were wary of letting their brand ride on the Games. Hence, official corporate sponsorships were limited to begin with. Having been launched successfully, the Games now find many riding the wave.

Ambush marketing at CWG

Bangalore-based Societe Generale Global Solution Centre (SG GSC), a subsidiary of the France-based Societe Generale group, has launched a scholarship programme for students of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) -Bangalore, IIM-Kozhikode and the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B).

Societe Generale arm to give Rs 1 cr  in scholarships

Thanks to fewer applicants this year and more seats at IIMs.

Cracking CAT is a tad easier

    This company gets its name from the first version of Oliver Stone&rsquo;s Wall Street. It was started by two former Wall Street executives and fans of the film. They took one of the fictitious company names used in the movie to launch their business and also pay homage to the original film. Name it.

The Strategist Quiz (#170)

&nbsp;

    Hindustan Unilever and Procter &amp; Gamble on a Tide variant called Tide Naturals&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Saatchi &amp; Saatchi was founded by brothers Charles and Maurice Saatchi&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    The term Specialty Coffee was coined by Erna Knutsen&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Kleiner Perkins Caufield &amp; Byers&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Catch, the table salt brand from the DS Group&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Reliance Industries&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Powerade from Coca-Cola&nbsp;
   

Answers to last week's quiz (#066)

The owner of several best-selling brands has identified the gaps in key segments well ahead of others.

Why Paras is a hot buy

Smartphone market leader Nokia with 34 per cent market share in India is feeling the heat of tough competition &mdash; not only from Apple and Research in Motion&rsquo;s (RIM) Blackberry, but also from home-grown phone makers which are offering feature-rich mobile phones at dirt cheap prices.

Nokia fights back in smartphones

Jez Frampton is the global chief executive of brand consultancy Interbrand. With 40 offices across the world, Interbrand is one of the largest in its space. Every year, the consultancy releases a list of the 100 best global brands - something that is keenly awaited by a number of corporate chieftains. Indian companies, however, have nothing to cheer about this year as no domestic brand has made it to the list - a trend that has been more or less the same since the first list was published eleven years ago. Frampton, who was in Mumbai recently, explained to Viveat Susan Pinto, why Indian brands have failed to make it to the august list.

Q&A: Jez Frampton, Global Chief Executive, Interbrand

The decision follows reports of MBA seats lying vacant.

Page 606 - News