Cost of Living in Indian metros on the rise

Mumbai is India’s most expensive city

Indian metros are expensive to live in. This week is about an image turn around. So while big brand stores like Wills tie up with budding designers and architectural firms to infuse a fresh lease of life into its turn over cards, big ticket corporate houses are giving a face lift to their human segment. Therefore it makes every sense to take the road less travelled and experience places that are awash with stories and legends. Ditto for investments. This time the overseas real estates beckon. And while history may not be right up your alley, a whole new breed of fresh, young writing about women, by women may just be it.

-Chillibreeze Business Research Team

Retail

Corporate Styling

Salons in Bangalore are having it good these days what with India Inc set to up its style definition and quotient. Corporate Houses are set to pamper their employees and grooming slips are giving salon houses over 50% of their revenues. Leading the pack amongst the corporate sector is very obviously the hospitality sector where looking well groomed counts as well as the IT biggie zone. Veronica D, managing partner of Club Citrus, a premium unisex salon and spa, says a minimum of 200 grooming slips, ranging between Rs. 750 to Rs. 1500 are sold a month to various star hotels in Bangalore for the well being of their employees. They cover a full head to toe pampering programme and everyone on the hotel staff gets to avail of these salon services.

Companies like Jet, Reliance Retail, Health & Glow and Levis are also high on personal grooming for their employees Leading hiring firms say that companies spend 10% to 15% of their training budget on grooming.

“The adage ‘dressed to kill’ has more meaning when it’s used in business parlance,” says Deepti Agadi, independent grooming consultant. “Because what you wear and how well you match your accessories and attitude may help you clinch a billion dollar deal. Such grooming — look attractive and convincing — chemistry does wonders, especially when the customer-facing executive is a woman.’’

In addition, the higher disposable rate of incomes accompanied by changing attitudes of the people are making spas and other grooming services run a neat business. At present the organized beauty market is pegged at Rs 800 crore, with some people clocking a monthly spend of Rs. 6,000 on basic grooming. Spa therapies alone see a monthly spend of over Rs. 5,000.

Looking good sure does count and for the beauty industry, this is an adage they would sure love to latch onto.

July 26, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Will To Change

ITC's garment retailing arm Wills Lifestyle, is tying up with young budding designers, Italian fabric makers and established designers to downsize costs and give an image makeover over to their garments. With this they aim at getting the upwardly mobile, young jet setters as their clientele and getting a straight 30% growth for the company. Leading design institutes as NIFT, NID and Pearl Academy have been roped in for the same as also with international design studios Alessandra Macchi Studio (Italy) for superior quality flat knits and with Ricardo Rami Studio (Italy) for fashion wear for women. The company is also planning to take leading Indian designers including Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal among others on board to showcase their products during the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week. Their collection will also be available at its stores. So Wills Lifestyle is all set for a young, fresh makeover that’s very modern and very international in cuts, color and style. Spreading the image makeover will be a slew of new look stores, product launches and product presentation and the focus will be men’s formal wear category and women’s wear.

Wills new concept stores, 50 at present and slated to go to 80, will have better product presentation through interplay of stacks and hangs. Trial rooms and stores will have increased spacing. Staff will be trained to provide customers with a better shopping experience. In short Wills Lifestyle is aiming at some serious image makeover and netting in a cool profit figure in the near future.

July 23, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Living

Sighting Offshore

The buying power of Indians is taking a significant leap and the results are there in the investments in the UK real estate scene. An estimate by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) about the purchasing power of Indians says that globe-trotting Indians could spend as much as Rs 128,000 crore or £15 billion on residential property in the UK in the next decade. Indians will regard property as their main investment in the days to come as their disposable income rises.

In a significant move to “tap into the opportunities in the Indian market, by bringing the product directly to them", The British property company, The Berkeley Group said it was soon to launch two of its most exciting new developments at exhibitions in Mumbai and Delhi next month. Once again they see it as a fallout of rising middle class incomes and heightened engagement in affairs that are global, least of all higher studies that is making UK property a sound investment proposition. Parents are investing in an apartment that they can pass on to their children when they go to university, while business travelers are investing in flats they can use whenever in the UK.

The starting prices stand at £235,000 or Rs. 2.006 crore and £399,950 or Rs. 3.424 crore.

July 24, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Costly Business

Living in Mumbai is not going to be easy, what with the high cost of living that threatens to leave behind those of Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or even Seoul behind. In fact, in Mumbai, the cost of petrol is higher than that of Tokyo; rice is costlier than that of Singapore and Beijing, and clearly, Mumbai prices are northbound. The cost of living in the city has risen considerably since last year. This is also true for Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore which too are equally feeling the pinch of price rise.

The annual Cost of Living Survey done by Mercer in 143 cities around the world reveals all the four Indian metros have moved up the ranking. Mumbai ranked 48 this year has moved up to 44th position. New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai are also moving faster up the ladder. All this is due to the high inflation and rupee strengthening that is making staying in Indian metros so very expensive.

"Overall, the Indian cities are moving up as the aspirational demand and resulting cost of consumer goods increases, says Gangapriya Chakraverti, Business Leader for Information Product Solutions, Mercer.

July 24, 2008
Source:Economic Times

Declining Interest in Indian Art

Paintings of M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza remained unsold a few weeks ago, at a Christie’s auction of Indian art in London. This was due to a lack of bids on them although F.N. Souza’s Birth did fetch a record Rs. 10.6 crore. This was a pointer to a cooling off of the Indian Art scene which was on a record high in the past 7 years and went on from $2 million (Rs. 8.4 crore) to $400 million. However, a shift in buyer tastes, and suspicions of price manipulation at auctions have led to a less frenzied buying.

Artists as Subodh Gupta, Justin Ponmany and Atul Dodiya are selling better than M.F Hussain and others. This shift from modern to contemporary reappeared at a Saffronart online auction on 19 June, where Gupta’s untitled installation of steel vessels sold for $1.43 million, beating Raza’s Germination, which sold for $1.05 million. Three out of 12 Husain paintings remained unsold, and the highest bid for a Husain was around $379,000.

People are no longer relying on the name alone, rather their investments are based on sound knowledge of an artist, hi market worth and of course the beauty of the painting. So, quality rules. “Earlier, people wanted a Husain, no matter which Husain it was,” says Arun Vadehra, managing director of Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi. “Quality was totally overlooked.”

Art funds have also shown a shift from the modern to the contemporary. So an overpriced Hussain simply refuses to cut an ice with buyers on the basis of their name alone. As in other sectors the art sector too in set for a price correction and only quality is the only determining factor that gets paintings moving of museums and exhibition and auction sites.

July 26, 2008
Source: Mint

Travel

Palace Intrigue

Bundelkhand, Orcha and Kunder are places to go to this season if you are interested in living out a piece of history. These places are full of historical artifacts, backed by legends and tales. Of course the authenticity of these tales are suspect, but they more than make up by their sheer interest value.

Orchha and Kundar are but a few hours' journey apart but a couple of centuries away from each other in terms of the recognition that has come their way as heritage sites.

Orchha, small and laidback, is a half-hour drive from Jhansi. And its clainm to fame is the Raja Ram temple.An idol of god Rama could not be moved to the temple built for it. This was during the reign of Madhukar Shah (1554-92). The idol had been specially brought from Varanasi by his queen and was temporarily installed in the royal palace while the Chaturbhuj Temple was being built. However, once the temple was completed, the idol would not budge.

Taking this as a sign from heaven, the royal palace itself became a temple, the Raja Ram temple which gets thronged to capacity by devotees during Ram Navami. Lord Rama is worshipped here as a King, due to the idol's inclination towards the palace rather than the temple.

Strange towers that seem like vents sitting right in the middle of the temple courtyard has also spawned stories about the possibility of an underground tunnel. Also places worth seeing are the The Jahangir Mahal, Raj Mahal and Sheesh Mahal which together make up what is known as the Royal Enclave. A fourth palace—the Rai Parveen Mahal is at a distance away. The most impressive of the palaces, Jahangir Mahal, echoes with stories and legends. Pieces of history that still stand and breath out these stories from its ramparts.

July 24, 2008
Source:Economic Times

Sunny Sites

The Konark Sun temple in Orissa is one of the most sought after tourist spots in India. However what is a little known fact is that there are 3 such temples dedicated to the Sun God. One of them is the Konark Temple; the other two are those found in Martand in Kashmir and the third in village Modhera, in Gujarat. This Sun Temple, although situated among ruins stands grand and majestic even in desolation. This temple was built in 1026 A.D. and was built during the reign of King Bhimdev I of the Solanki Dynasty.

The temple is the handiwork of the Silavat masons who, without drafting designs on paper, deftly adhered to their ancestral principles of architecture and astronomy in building the structure. Motifs on stone are chiselled with such finess and exactness that it looks as if they have been made from soft wood! The inner sanctum that houses the idol of the Sun God is dark and is so designed that at solar equinoxes, the idol is kissed and set aglow by the first rays of the rising sun.

A lush garden and a small open archaeological museum are other attractions in this area. There is also a cafeteria and a Government guest-house in its precincts. A large dharmshala or resthouse serves to accommodate pilgrims who throng the temple during festivals, especially the Mahotta Parv. For three days in January every year, The Modhera Sun Temple serves as the backdrop for the Festival of Indian Classical Dances, organised by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat.

Modhera is 102 km northwest of Ahmedabad in Mehsana district, Gujarat and is well connected by rail, and road.

July 25, 2008
Source: The Hindu Business Line

Healthy and Fitness

Living Up Your Age

Forty is the new twenty and women and look forward to living up their age minus guilt or apprehensions. And if you go with statistical findings all the time, here’s one that shows that more and more women are living up their 40s.

According to a US based survey, the generation of females reaching their late 40s is revelling in a new-found youth. These so-called ‘Gen H’ (Generation Happy) females seem to be independent, experimental and comfortable in their own skin. A lot of Indian women too echo their point of view and see age as just a number. “I think Indian women have managed to unshackle the stereotype. Apart from the career front, more and more women are now asserting their right to live life on their terms. Their lifestyle is reflecting a trend where they are spending on themselves, travelling, and not just saving up for their families. I absolutely agree with this change....subtle as it may be in the middle class as yet,” says Mini Mathur, TV personality, when probed about the kind of life forty plus women look forward to.

Agrees actress Puja Bedi, “Universally, it has been seen that women don't stop "living life" just because they get married, have kids, or grow older. It's been an Indian thing. So you are as old as you feel and truly feeling good about yourself does not accede to any age.

July 25, 2008
Source: Times of India

Diet Dangers

A detox diet may be an excellent way to rid oneself of fat, but it may be harmful to you, especially for your brain. Health experts say that the "hydration diet" is dangerous and must be avoided. The stark warning comes after a mother suffered a massive epileptic fit brought on by severe sodium deficiency just one week into a hydration diet.

Diets such as these are not safe and should not be recommended for a weight loss programme since they send the body into starvation mode. So the MBR slows down as a result of which very little of the body fat is burned down. Often epileptic episodes and brain seizures follow this kind of a diet.

July 25, 2008
Source: Times of India

Books

Chick Lit and More

The book scene in India is hotting up with hip, happening, candid, cool and very urban writings making their way out in recent publications. The point to moot is that all of them are by sassy women writers who combine feminine experiences with urban themes to give exciting stories about women and their trials and coping strategies that are so unique to women themselves. Easy identifiable, these are fun and lighthearted and give the gendered perspective in a much palatable way. It is all about aspirational women and makes an emotional connection with its readers. Books to look out for in this genre: Advaita Kala’s Almost Single, Anuja Chauhan’s The Zoya Factor, Anita Jain’s Marrying Anita, Meenakshi Madhavan’s You are here.

July 27, 2008
Source: The Times of India