The Return

The Return

So I made it back a couple of weeks ago and have been hoping to have posted pictures and a nicely detailed, possibly amusing, account of our adventures through India. I also had hoped that the long weekend would have provided enough time to do this, but somehow, it just did not.

However, just to ensure this blog doesn't go stale, I will post some notes on how I think the part of India I am from has changed since my last visit (two years ago).

The last time I went back I noticed that many endeavors had become privatized, information and communication had become ubiquitous and air quality had become an issue on a metaphorical table.

This time, I noticed that finiancial institutions are actively seeking investments (and getting them), local chains and franchises are being developed, and local marketing and brand recognition are starting to take hold.

• Investments - Banks are starting their own mutual funds and successfully investing in the booming Indian stock markets and they are actively searching for capital. One remark I overheard was that before there was significant capital in India, capitalism was a pipedream. With foreign monies flowing in, capitalism can really take off.
• Local chains - Yes there are McDonalds and Pizza Huts around India, but this time I saw a chain of super markets called Adani. They probably had 10-20 around the city of Vadodara each with very clean aisles and bar-coded merchandise for sales. They were even selling Adani credit cards. To me this represents a little bit of a leap in both sophistication and scale. The alternative to Adani is to go to mom/pop shops that are pretty much everywhere and pretty much where the majority of people shop. These mom and pop shops don't try to do any CRM but they will provide you a tab if they get to know you a little bit. I don't much like chains but I do understand they do provide savings, eventually. But, as Welch pointed out in 'Winning', a mom/pop shop can definitely beat the pants off a chain if they provide the service that customers want. I'm going to guess that chains are going to have a very tough time beating out the sheer convenience of shopping at the mom/pop shop less than a block away.
• Local marketing and Brand Recognition - Again, Coca-Cola is clearly recognized whereever you go in India; however, now even clothing shops have started to push their brand. Don't get me wrong, this has been happening for a long time, it's just this time there were many more brands people were talking about. Shoppers Stop is an example of an older brand while Jade Blue is part of the up and coming brands. These stores market themselves as luxury stores and often cater to visitors like myself. Heh, if you walk in you're pretty likely to meet Americans; I know I met people from Phoenix :-P

I don't know why but I find it all quite fascinating :-)