REALISING THE importance of brand identity and an uplifting consumer experience, many brands in India have started focusing on translating the brand personality into communication and messages that reinforce the brand positioning. From materials, shape, in-store music to even smells, the consistency of brand communication is more important at the point of purchase than advertising.

KIT: Retail trends

Business Standard

A RANDOM WALK DOWN WALL STREET
Author: Burton G Malkiel
Publisher: WW Norton &amp; Co
Price: Rs 1,657
ISBN: 0393062457
GROWING GREAT EMPLOYEES
Author: Erica Anderson
Publisher: Penguin
Price: Rs 539
ISBN: 1591841909
ZIGLAR ON SELLING
Author: Zig Ziglar
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House 
Price: Rs 175
ISBN: 8179925870
SNOWBALL
Author: Alice Schroeder
Publisher: Penguin
Price: Rs 995
ISBN: 9780747598367
INDIA&rsquo;S GLOBAL POWERHOUSES
Author: Nirmalya Kumar
Publisher: Harvard Business Press 
Price: Rs 695
ISBN: 9781422140789
HOW TOYOTA BECAME #1
Author: David Magee&nbsp;
Publisher: Penguin&nbsp;
Price:&nbsp;Rs 499&nbsp;
ISBN: 9781591842293
IT&rsquo;S NOT WHAT YOU SELL, IT&rsquo;S WHAT YOU STAND FOR&nbsp;
Authors: Roy M Spence Jr and Haley Rushing&nbsp;
Publisher: Portfolio&nbsp;
Price: Rs 899&nbsp;
ISBN: 9781591842415
THE ASCENT OF MONEY&nbsp;
Author: Niall Ferguson&nbsp;
Publisher: Penguin&nbsp;
Price: Rs 395&nbsp;
ISBN: 9781846141928
HOUSE OF

The top 10 business bestsellers

    Mahatma Gandhi&rsquo;s first fast for a public cause during the early 1920s was to help the striking workers of two famous companies. Name them.

The Strategist Quiz (#111)

Answers to last week&#39s quiz (# 110)

Jyoti Malhotra chances upon love and the circle of life in the time of war and elections in Kabul.

The new Great Game

We test the Landcruiser&rsquo;s baby brother, the Toyota Fortuner.

Soldier of fortune

Viv Richards in his autobiography complains of an Indian peculiarity that many foreigners visiting the country are rather foxed by. It has to do with our concept of &ldquo;cocktails and dinner&rdquo;, at least as prevalent in north India. Unlike in the West, where formal sit-downs involve civilised drinking with dinner (and conversation), in India, these affairs are known to stretch on and on, with the gentlemen downing copious quantities of &ldquo;Scotch&rdquo;, stuffing themselves silly with cardiologist-phobic snacks, before the dinner is finally brought out. By then it is usually past the witching hour and no one can taste anything. As Richards vividly notes, in one instance, his hosts, having tanked up, clearly forgot their duties and rushed to the buffet table as soon as dinner was announced, quite forgetting that there were starving guests too to take care of! The West Indies team was left to fend for itself.

Be polite, have a bite

Beauty is in the eye of the householder, and, now that spas are willing to visit your home, it is a good excuse for a get-together, Abhilasha Ojha is delighted to discover.

It's Sparty time

Americana-on-two-wheels rolls into India.

Hog the road

I personally know a dozen people who would have bought the Toyota Fortuner had it been available in India earlier. Some of them are SUV maniacs, some with wanderlust that can be satiated only with the help of a 4x4, some just wanted a big (and hence safe, they argue) car. I know another dozen who were waiting patiently for the day when Toyota would actually launch the Fortuner in India.

Seven Up

I don&rsquo;t want to be a collector but a rider. Once you start collecting bikes, you only have time to keep them all looking good,&rdquo; says Navin Ansal. Ansal, along with his wife Raseel Gujral, runs Casa Paradox, an interior design firm, with outlets in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and ambitious growth plans.

Biker baron

The weather is changing, and everyone these days seems to be suffering some sort of illness. The BJP, for instance, is spectacularly unwell. It has spent the last many days in a kind of terrible inner turmoil, shuffling around in mismatched socks, speaking in tongues, pulling out its own teeth one day, its fingernails the next.

Where's the party?

Actor, producer, doctor, and MD of Elder Healthcare, Anuj Saxena is truly multi-faceted, finds Shuchi Bansal.

A multi-layered flake?

For the past 12 years, selling the iconic Swiss army knife in India has been a passion for Anish Goel, managing director, Victorinox India. Today, the brand is synonymous with not just knives but also watches, travel gear and lifestyle products.

The (Swiss) knives are out

More than anything else, I&rsquo;m surprised by how much underwear talk has come out of the Jaswant-Jinnah imbroglio.

All that Jas

With her new book and two to follow, Jaishree Misra, says Anoothi Vishal, aims to be an Indian Danielle Steel.

Clique lit

There&rsquo;s not much wit about, these days. Slapstick, yes, farce, for sure, comedy, alas often inadvertent, tragicomedy, all the time, and humour &mdash; yes, sometimes.

Will and Willie

The latest Granta (#107) contains a terrifying essay by the writer Rana Dasgupta (of Tokyo Cancelled and Solo). It&rsquo;s title is &ldquo;Capital Gains&rdquo;, and it is about Delhi&rsquo;s new moneyed elite.

Endless freedom

Do these words define a new sensibility, wonders Kishore Singh, swimming in a fog of martinis at Varya.

Asian. Contemporary. Eclectic. Streetside?

The India Art Summit threw at least five such experiences at me: Not only did I enjoy the works of these artists, but I also found myself trying to learn more about them. One of them, luckily, has an ongoing solo show. There were others whose works I enjoyed as well, but these were known artists and didn&rsquo;t offer me the same &ldquo;ah-ha&rdquo; moments. So, here are my fab five.

The fab five

The Jermuk Grand Prix ended in a very tense last round. Ivanchuk and Leko led with Aronyan and Gelfand just a half point behind. The lineup was Gelfand-Leko, Akopyan-Ivanchuk and Aronyan-Inarkiev. Gelfand and Aronyan both established edges in the middlegame while Ivanchuk got on top in a time-scramble.

CHESS #603

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