Corporate India learned tough lessons as the global financial markets melted down in 2008. With economic data in the country suggesting the recent recovery may be affected by headwinds from the global slowdown, now is a good time to remember the lessons from 2008
&ldquo;Get ready for the sun&rdquo;
M G Parameswaran
After almost a decade of double digit growth the Indian advertising market took a big hit in 2008-09. Reports indicate that total ad spends actually shrunk by as much as 5 per

The upside of a downturn

Business Standard

India is well positioned in many respects for a new era of growth. It possesses a young workforce, an abundance of entrepreneurial drive and vigour, a highly competitive international services sector, significant potential in nascent industries such as green manufacturing and massive untapped consumer demand in its rural populations.

Innovating for inclusive growth

LinkedIn, the professional network on the internet with 135 million members, is increasing its focus on the Asian markets, including India. As much as 51 per cent of its revenues come from hiring solutions which it offers corporations, 29 per cent from marketing solutions to advertisers and 20 per cent from premium (or pay) subscribers worldwide.

Q&A: Arvind Rajan, LinkedIn

While Dhara fortified its groundnut oil with vitamins A and D, its refined vegetable oil has joined the club with low absorb technology.

On a stronger wicket

Wagh Bakri tea lounge in Delhi brews 32 types of international Indian and teas including green, organic and flavoured teas.

It's tea time, folks

In the last decade, most corporate healthcare models were developed keeping in mind the metro markets. The healthcare providers have now started realising that they cannot serve all segments of the population with high-cost structures. To serve different consumer segments such as lower middle income, urban poor and rural population, they need to develop less capital-intensive models.

KIT: Secondary care hospitals in organised sector

    This company was founded by a barrel maker in the late 1700s who used to supply rum to the British navy. Later it started rum and sugar broking. Recently, one of its spin-offs filed for bankruptcy. Name the company and its founder.

The Strategist Quiz (#230)

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    Which footwear brand has introduced the lightest product in the market of 165 grams which carries an eight-gram chip inserted beneath the sole that transmits data on maximum speed, distance covered or number of sprints to a computer or a mobile device?
    Adizero f50 sports shoes by Adidas&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    This 40-year-old industry based in a town, which is believed to have got its name from Ravana&rsquo;s father-in-law, has grown tremendously in the last seven to eight

Answers to last week&#39;s quiz (#229)

The electrical equipment maker is betting big on consumer appliances.

Havells goes off the beaten track

Vijay Mallya and Kishore Chhabria are set to take their fight over India&rsquo;s largest selling whisky brand to the wire.

Officer's Choice: One suitor too many

Godrej Yummiez, the ready to cook frozen food brand under the Godrej Tyson Foods portfolio has just launched its maiden television campaign. And as is evident in all the three commercials, the consumption occasion the brand is going for is &lsquo;parties&rsquo;. This is a platform the brand has been trying to own for a while.

Yummiez heats up the frozen food segment

The target: rural buyers who are cash-rich and generally not dependent on financing solutions.

Maruti on niche marketing drive

As the race to grab attention in a crowded marketplace is getting fiercer by the day, companies are going off the beaten track with a vengeance. The latest to come up with a unique idea is Britannia, which has launched a &ldquo;hunt for the true Snexy.&rdquo; Dubbed India&rsquo;s first &ldquo;reality snack show&rdquo; the teaser digital campaign has seen Britannia setting up a house called &lsquo;Snexville&rsquo; whose residents are humanised avatars of snacks. The purpose is simple: to grab eyeballs via a digital teaser campaign for its new snack- Nutri Choice Multigrain Thins.

Britannia in hunt for 'Snexy'

Hikaru Nakamura leads the London Classic after five rounds. The American GM met four 2800 players in a row for a score of +1 with wins versus Aronyan and Anand, loss to Carlsen, and draw with Kramnik. Under the soccer-scoring system, he has 10 points, (another win against David Howell).

Chess (#984)

In search of a motto

Kolaveri Di is fast becoming a case study on how viral marketing can create a cult following for a product. Shelly Walia analyses the strategy that went into making this song an instant hit.

A viral hit

Every year people queue up in the wee hours of the morning to get the coveted tickets to Chennai&rsquo;s annual December Music Festival. T E Narasimhan gets to the heart of the excitement.

Music Mania

India has just taken pole position for ambivalence. After five years of white papers and debate, foreign retailers who were invited to participate wholeheartedly in multi-brand retail have been shown the door with dizzying speed &mdash; all in a fortnight.

No threat to the corner shop

It&rsquo;s coming to that time of the year when feature editors will demand their annual round-ups of blockbuster films, most viewed television programmes, best food innovations, most expensive luxury buys, and, of course, a review of the records that were broken in the world of art. Art writers will likely spew purple prose about those who commanded top prices, were exhibited, talked about, awarded.

A lacklustre year

The new 3 Series grows up without losing the fun factor.

Three hugger

From infantry to handlooms to hotels, Capt C P Krishnan Nair of the Leela group shares the story of his life in business with Bhupesh Bhandari.

The captain's campaign

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