Best Buy & Vivek’s in talks for India foray May 31, 2007
Posted by Shel in Retail.add a comment
Best Buy, one of the most successful retailers in the US, is in talks with Vivek’s of India for an agreement. What the agreement is to be, has not been specified as yet, but sources suggest it will entail technical and sourcing needs. Vivek’s is one of the country’s leading consumer durable retailers and has an excellent knowledge of the market and consumers. Senior executives from Best Buy were in the country earlier to get an idea on how the market functions here and also to meet with several top electronic brands, such as LG, Samsung and Sony.
Environmentally friendly POS systems May 31, 2007
Posted by Shel in Retail, Technology.3 comments
As point of sale systems go, Vision Point of Sale systems are the best in the industry, and as someone who has been in the retail industry for over 15 years, I do know all about them. Vision Point of Sale is based in Glenview, Illinois and started up in 1993, becoming the best known POS provider for its all-round product capabilities, for purchase and maintainence of POS systems. The company has even been named by Deloitte & Touche as one of “Technology Fast 50″ companies for the past four years.
What I really like about Vision POS is the variety of products such as its IBM point of sale, which is one of the very best in the industry and a favorite of a lot o retailers. Using the very latest technologies, Vision only deals with the very best and is also the authorized dealer for Fujitsu, IBM and NCR. The company has recently seen a rising demand for service and maintenance on POS systems, especially for the three big brands of Fujitsu, IBM and NCR. It has been estimated that more than 60% of retailers use refurbished POS systems to reduce their costs as well as cut down on wastage and keep old POS systems out of landfills, and Vision is helping retailers do exactly that.
What does your workspace look like? May 30, 2007
Posted by Shel in Personal.3 comments
Mine is small, efficient and has lots of light. I have windows on two sides of me, a compact desk and a cork board on the wall facing me, where I have put up some artwork from college, a Picasso portrait (yes, well, what the heck they seem to go together quite well!!), a sepia postcard from Jaipur, an old treasured pic of my grandparents and sister as a baby and a pic of me and my hubby from our time in Bangalore (yes, I have the requisite flower, a peach Plumeria no less, behind my ear, as I always did in Bangalore!). I also have a ledge below the window where I keep my reference books, dictionaries, a thesaurus (yes, I still use them, although I bought them in college), my marketing Whitebooks from the last couple of years and some interesting books that I have read lately and want to write about.
Thanks to TimeforBlogging where I saw this first!!
Rules of commenting May 19, 2007
Posted by Shel in Blogging/Writing.1 comment so far
I love Akismet.
Thanks to this wonderful program, I don’t have to deal with spam, and God only knows there seem to be too many spammers out there.
Some things to remember when you are commenting:
- Please do not submit multiple comments one after another as I will just delete one of them.
- Please be intelligible. If I can’t understand what you say, you’re not going to get a reply.
- And most important of all, please don’t ask me for answers that are already there in the blog post, as I’m not going to be able to answer those comments either.
I find it extremely odd, how people are continuously asking me for jobs, dealerships etc in Reliance Retail, when I have repeatedly said that I have nothing to do with the company and only provide the links to these sites, simply because I want to. One person even said, “Please sir, give me a job in your company.” Hah, did he really think that Mukesh Ambani was writing this blog? C’mmon people, if you want to work or open a franchise or supply products to Reliance, you must be able to read and understand what this blog is about. I only write about retail since that is my interest and my field of work.
TGIFriday’s offers reduced size menu options May 18, 2007
Posted by Shel in Marketing, Trends.add a comment
TGIF’s decision to offer reduced portions for lower prices earlier this year is an interesting move. These “right portion right price” meals which cost less than a third of the regular sized orders. The company is marketing these meals as offering its customers choice, customization and convenience rather than a ‘reduced menu option’, which did not go down well with customers when it was done by Ruby Tuesday’s about three years back.
“This is a category issue stemming from consumer demand. The category needs to listen,” said Richard Snead, president and chief executive officer of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, parent of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants. “We are listening.”
Press Releases:
PR Newswire: T.G.I. Friday’s® Restaurants Take Leadership Role with Portion Control
CPSI Newsroom: T.G.I. Friday’s “Right Portion, Right Price” is Right Direction, Says CSPI:
Security Vs privacy May 18, 2007
Posted by Shel in Technology.add a comment
Since I work from home, I’ve not had to face this problem but a lot of computers at many offices are installed with a keystroke software that records all keystrokes that are typed on it. Everything from passwords, chat conversations email etc are recorded. Thankfully I don’t have to deal with this keystroke logger system, as I do my personal and professional work from the same laptop. It will probably be a good idea to get another laptop, just for work in the future.
It is a hotly debated subject and both employers and employees have valid points, the most important being a compromise of a company’s security and an invasion of privacy of employees. Maybe, companies should add some time out periods or have separate computers that are not being monitored where employees could check their email and do other personal stuff. Not sure how many would go for it, but it’s definitely worth thinking about.
George Fernandes backs vegetable vendors May 17, 2007
Posted by Shel in Retail.add a comment
The latest twist to the saga of Reliance Fresh stores in Ranchi continues. Now, the politicians are getting involved. The attacks on Reliance Fresh stores in Ranchi have led to JD (U) leader George Fernandes backing their cause. While consumers are happy to have additional options on where to do their shopping, the street vendors are upset at being cut out of the loop due to the store selling fruit and vegetables at lower prices.
Chandigarh’s appeal is rising internationally May 15, 2007
Posted by Shel in Globalization.add a comment
Things are really looking up in Chandigarh since the new IT Park has come up. The city has a great combination of super infrastructure, great educational institutions, the highest per capita income in the country which ensures that all new things come quickly to the city, a rapidly growing workforce in fields such as IT, technology etc and has lots of options for weekend breaks to the Himalayas.
I was happy to read in the news this morning that Singapore based firm e-Sys Technology will be relocating its global business to the city and will be investing Rs 100 crore for its integrated facility at the Rajiv Gandhi Information Technology Park. The centre in Chandigarh will be integrated in manufacturing, logistics, R&D and services as well as serve as it’s international headquarters.
Vikas Goel, chairman and managing director of eSys said that, “I believe that Chandigarh has the best infrastructure and clean environment and many of my employees in Singapore are keen on working in Chandigarh with eSys.” Read the full story in Business Standard.
Higher wealth potential in China than in India May 12, 2007
Posted by Shel in Money.1 comment so far
There’s constant buzz about growth potential in China and India and according to a poll by Barclays Capital, 80% of those surveyed forecasted a minimum of 16% growth rate in assets that are run by wealth managers in China, more than what was predicted for India. China has one of the most upbeat future of Asian wealth markets according to this survey of 73 wealth managers from across the world who oversee $5 trillion.
According to Peter Hu, a top investment manager at Barclays Capital, the outlook of the wealth generation in Asia is stronger in China than in India, although most managers are still upbeat about India. The amount of alternative investments has shown an increase, probably due to the number of younger and more sophisticated investors in the area.
