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Personal care drives FMCG business on rural push

If you are stuck in a remote village in India, dusty and hungry, chances are you will find more options to wash your hair than fill your stomach. 

For decades, food items have been the most widely distributed FMCG products in the country. But that rule of thumb is changing. Indians are more likely to find more personal care products than food in a shop these days—a result of consumer goods players pushing the distribution of an entire range of their products in the face of wary consumer spending.

Latest data from market research firm Nielsen reveals that on the list of the top five FMCG product categories, only one food product—biscuits— finds place. The category with the maximum reach, or penetration as it's called in market parlance, is shampoos at 79 per cent, followed closely by biscuits at 78 per cent. 

Distribution of categories has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 15 years. FMCG is available in 8.8 million outlets and shampoo is available in 80 per cent of those outlets, says D Shivakumar, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India. 

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PM Modi Asks Bank Chiefs to Travel in Bus for Retreat With Him

At Prime Minister Narendra Modi's behest, top bankers will travel together in a Volvo bus from Mumbai to Pune, where the PM will meet them at a retreat to brainstorm and prepare a blueprint for an action plan to reform the banking sector.

Sources said among those on the bus is likely to be State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, and top officials of the Finance Ministry will also attend the off-site next weekend, being called a "Gyan Sangam" or knowledge meeting.

The PM, said the sources, has asked the bankers - the chiefs of public sector banks or PSBs, insurance companies and organisations like NABARD - to make presentations to him at the retreat, the venue for which he reportedly asked to be shifted from Delhi to Pune.

All the bankers have been asked to stay at the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) campus in Pune, sources said.

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Patel Logistics Wants to Triple e-Commerce Revenue

Most domestic logistics players have been struggling over the last four years because of tepid growth in the manufacturing sector. But the e-commerce boom in India has boosted local logistic companies too.

Patel Logistics, an integrated logistics player that focuses on express delivery, e-commerce and warehousing, told NDTV that it expects to triple its revenue from the e-commerce segment in the near future.

"The company is looking to increase its revenue from e-commerce to 15-20 per cent of total revenue from 4-7 per cent now," said Areef Patel, vice-chairman at Patel Integrated Logistics. 

Patel Logistics, which had reported a net profit of Rs 2.34 crore for fiscal year 2013-14, is looking to increase its profit to over Rs 3 crore in 2014-15 fiscal year, said Mr Patel.The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1.03 crore in the quarter ending September 30, 2014, a year-on-year growth of nearly 300 per cent.

Article

How Tourism Supports EU Economy

The EU is a major tourist destination with five member states among the world's top ten destinations for holidaymakers. According to the well-evaluated data submitted in front of global researchers, the tourism simply holds a major share in EU's economic development, since it holds the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth.The growth in turn drives the development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. These characteristics are driving the demand for reliable and harmonized statistics within this field as well as within the wider context of regional policy and sustainable development policy areas.

Seasonal predictions in tourism

The tourism is growing dramatically in the past two decades since it is seen as a tool in promoting the global business. Especially the tourism demand in Europe is growing among the residents as well as the international visitors. The study on tourism reported a 2.4 times higher trips than the trips made on the previous decade. When taking into account the duration of the trips made by the international visitors, the seasonal pattern plays a major role in deciding thetraffic. For long trips, the seasonal pattern was more pronounced than for short breaks and the EU residents made more than 89 million long trips of at least four overnight stays.

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Investor consortium led by Indigo Partners to invest Rs 1400 crore in SpiceJet

Sources with direct knowledge share that US based private equity firm Indigo Partners, which specialises in operating airlines globally, is the anchor investor in Ajay Singh-led consortium to buy SpiceJet. TPG Capital and JPMorgan Infrastructure Fund are the other two funds in the consortium. Sources indicate that the consortium could be investing a total amount of Rs 1400 crore.

Indigo Partners' involvement is key to the deal, said a source, as it has investments in global airlines and understands the operations. Other funds will go ahead with the deal if Indigo Partners signs up for it, a source shared. The US based equity funds are currently conducting due diligence on SpiceJet. ET Now also learns that Indigo Partners may back Ajay Singh to own 26 per cent in SpiceJetBSE 4.78 % to have considerable authority in the company.

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Amazon joins India startup story, backs gift cards company

E-commerce giant Amazon has led a $10-million (over Rs 60-crore) funding round in QwikCilver Solutions for a stake believed to be just under 15%. The investment marks Amazon's maiden investment in India's startup ecosystem, having invested in over two dozen companies globally over the past decade.

Existing investors Helion Venture Partners and Accel Partners also participated in the fund raise of Bengaluru-based QwikCilver, which provides end-to-end gift card solutions for retailers and corporate customers.

In June, TOI had reported how the Seattle-based Amazon had begun identifying startups in the tech and internet space in India.

Confirming the fund raise, Kumar Sudarsan, founder and director of QwikCilver said: "The motivation to get Amazon on board was that they will be able to bring in best practices and global strategies to help us scale the sector to the next level." He, however, declined to comment on the quantum of funds raised and the stake that Amazon has picked up in the company.