Sonata, Titan, fast Track, Xylys, Raga...Titan Watches straddles almost every price point in the mass and premium segments of the Indian watch market. But the world’s fifth-largest watch manufacturer and marketer is not content with merely playing it safe and wants to be more!
Its future plans include establishing a solid foothold in the premium category and focusing more on its international markets to emerge as the world’s third- largest watch company by 2015, thanks to its plan of pumping in Rs 1,000 crore over five years. Titan Industries, the parent company of Titan Watches, crossed the $1billion turnover mark in 2009-10, with Titan Watches contributing about 25% to it. In an interview with ET, Harish Bhat, COO- Watches, Titan Industries, discusses company’s strategy and how it plans to implement its plans to become the third-largest watchmaker and retailer within the next five years.
Excerpts:
The Titan brand has clicked with Indian masses. But you have expanded its brand portfolio to include in-house and international brands such as Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. What works better? Acquiring brands or creating new ones?
Our success is due to a combination of factors. Not only do we have strong brands such as Sonata, Fastrack and Xylys, but we also have more than 290 showrooms across the country, and we plan to take this count to 325 by March 2011. We will also increase the number of exclusive fast track stores from 24 to 100 by March 2011. The key is to establish better retail presence.
Personal accessory brands have to target a certain mindset and lifestyle. Every brand stands for an idea. While Raga represents sensuality, Fastrack has the idea of college youth having fun. One idea can only cater to one mindset. Therefore, in the lifestyle and accessories space, it pays rich dividends to have a house of brands. It is a sounder decision than trying to straddle the market with a single brand.
Market segmentation has become immensely important over the years. How has Titan Watches gone about this?
Yes, we have also tried to segment the market as thinly as possible. And this has worked very well for us because our access points—World of Titan showrooms are common, the watch dealers are common, the departmental stores such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and West Side are common. But when a consumer enters an access point, he should be able to find the exact product that appeals to his lifestyle.
So you want brand Titan to be everything for everyone.
That is not our intention. Brand Titan’s philosophy has always been—be more. Be More reflects itself in different ways through our different brands. Whatever we are in life, we always nurse ambitions to be more than that. So it’s a fantasy that we have. Our aim is to help consumers realise that fantasy in a certain way. For example, an executive may secretly wish to be a pilot. Wearing the Aviator series of Titan watches takes him closer to that innate desire. This is what brand Titan wishes to help achieve for consumers. Our larger aim is to build a house of brands.
Your company has a crowded portfolio in the mass premium space. Don’t you see a cannibalization of sales in this space?
We have ensured that each of our brand in this space appeals to a certain mindset. Nebula watches are made of pure 18 carat gold and appeal to a certain kind of consumer who likes wearing solid gold watches. Tommy Hilfiger is an American fashion brand and appeals to those who want to have a piece of that. Xylys watches work on consumers’ perception of having Swiss precision. Hugo Boss is about European high fashion. Then we have Titan Automatics brand of watches meant for consumers who trust Indian watches. So each of these five watch brands are positioned differently.
Source:3 Jun 2010, 0105 hrs IST, Amit Sharma, ET Bureau.
Tags:Titan Franchise, Titan Franchising, Watch Franchise, Watch Store, Watches Business, Accessory Business, Watch Store, Harish Bhat, Xylys, Raga, Fast Track, Sonata, Nebula, Watch Brands.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tanishq to add 15 Franchise Stores To Its Existing 115.
KOLKATA: Tanishq, the jewellery brand of Titan Industries, does not see soaring gold prices as a major concern for its retail business, a top company official said today.
“The gold price is no big concern for us,” Titan Managing Director, Mr Bhaskar Bhat said here on the price of the precious metal, which was hovering close to Rs 19,000 per ten grams.
“We have registered volume growth of gold jewellery by 11 per cent in the previous year,” Bhat said, without giving any projection for the current fiscal.
Mr Bhat said the company was planning to add another 15 stores during the year. The company has 115 stores across the country. Meanwhile, Titan is trying to promote a better workplace for the gold artisans of its outsourcing partners to improve productiv ity and bring down costs.
“In the concept of Mr Perfect Workplace, we provide a healthy workplace with air-conditioning, compared to the pitiful conditions in which artisans work traditionally. Free Rs 50,000 mediclaim is also offered to workers,” Mr Bhat said.
The concept will attract talent to the trade, a Tanishq official said. There are 22 outsourcing partners which feed 100 per cent of Tanishq’s gold jewellery requirement. - PTI
Source:Hindu Business Line:PTI.
Tags:Tanishq Franchise,Perfect Workplace, jewellery franchise,gold franchise, jewelry franchise, jewellery business, diamond franchise, jewelery franchising, gold franchising.Bhaskar Bhat, Titan,
“The gold price is no big concern for us,” Titan Managing Director, Mr Bhaskar Bhat said here on the price of the precious metal, which was hovering close to Rs 19,000 per ten grams.
“We have registered volume growth of gold jewellery by 11 per cent in the previous year,” Bhat said, without giving any projection for the current fiscal.
Mr Bhat said the company was planning to add another 15 stores during the year. The company has 115 stores across the country. Meanwhile, Titan is trying to promote a better workplace for the gold artisans of its outsourcing partners to improve productiv ity and bring down costs.
“In the concept of Mr Perfect Workplace, we provide a healthy workplace with air-conditioning, compared to the pitiful conditions in which artisans work traditionally. Free Rs 50,000 mediclaim is also offered to workers,” Mr Bhat said.
The concept will attract talent to the trade, a Tanishq official said. There are 22 outsourcing partners which feed 100 per cent of Tanishq’s gold jewellery requirement. - PTI
Source:Hindu Business Line:PTI.
Tags:Tanishq Franchise,Perfect Workplace, jewellery franchise,gold franchise, jewelry franchise, jewellery business, diamond franchise, jewelery franchising, gold franchising.Bhaskar Bhat, Titan,
Cafe Coffee Day Takes Over Cafe Emporio
BANGALORE: Homegrown coffee conglomerate Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company (ABCTL) gave a boost to its international retail ambitions by snapping up the Czech Republic-headquartered Cafe Emporio for Rs 15 crore.
Cafe Emporio was originally managed as a subsidiary under Czech company Orea Hotels. In 2006, the 20-24 outlet chain was taken over by private equity firm Cimex Invest. However, Cimex shut down half the cafes due to poor profitability. Cafe Emporio, which has seven outlets are in Prague, also operates two formats including a pure-play cafe as well as a lounge.
ABCTL’s retail arm, Cafe Coffee Day, is targeting 50 overseas outlets in the next 2-3 years. The takeover of Cafe Emporio will help CCD add to its outlets in Vienna, Austria. CCD owns four outlets in Vienna which has served as a gateway for its entry into Eastern Europe. It also has two franchise-operated outlets in Pakistan but the contribution of the overseas business to the group’s turnover is negligible at this point.
“We are focused on increasing our footprint across the central and eastern European region both organically and inorganically as the business requires scale. We wanted to enter this region before the market got crowded,” Shweta Shetty, president, international business for Cafe Coffee Day told ET.
By taking over regional coffee retail outlets or cafes in this emerging market, CCD expects to reduce its time to market in these countries.
Tags:Cafe Emporio, Cafe Coffee Day, CCD, franchise operated outlets, coffee retail outlets, cafe business, cafe franchise, cafe opportunities,best cafe,
Cafe Emporio was originally managed as a subsidiary under Czech company Orea Hotels. In 2006, the 20-24 outlet chain was taken over by private equity firm Cimex Invest. However, Cimex shut down half the cafes due to poor profitability. Cafe Emporio, which has seven outlets are in Prague, also operates two formats including a pure-play cafe as well as a lounge.
ABCTL’s retail arm, Cafe Coffee Day, is targeting 50 overseas outlets in the next 2-3 years. The takeover of Cafe Emporio will help CCD add to its outlets in Vienna, Austria. CCD owns four outlets in Vienna which has served as a gateway for its entry into Eastern Europe. It also has two franchise-operated outlets in Pakistan but the contribution of the overseas business to the group’s turnover is negligible at this point.
“We are focused on increasing our footprint across the central and eastern European region both organically and inorganically as the business requires scale. We wanted to enter this region before the market got crowded,” Shweta Shetty, president, international business for Cafe Coffee Day told ET.
By taking over regional coffee retail outlets or cafes in this emerging market, CCD expects to reduce its time to market in these countries.
Tags:Cafe Emporio, Cafe Coffee Day, CCD, franchise operated outlets, coffee retail outlets, cafe business, cafe franchise, cafe opportunities,best cafe,
Bangalore Franchise Expo June 5/6 2010.
BANGALORE: Buoyed by the success of the Times Franchise Expo Series 2009, The Times of India is conducting Times Franchise Expo Series 2010, covering eight major cities across India.
Having completed 32 expos since launch, Times Franchise Expo has proved to be the most successful B2B marketplace and has successfully completed exhibitions in 16 cities across India. With more than 300 brands having participated in Times Franchise Expo, over 3 lakh business visitors have attended the shows.
The Times Franchise Expo Series 2010 begins with an exhibition at Bangalore on June 5 and 6 at Nimhans Convention Centre, Hosur. This will be the 33rd exhibition in the series.
This Franchise Expo will provide a proactive platform for entrepreneurs seeking new businesses and business owners seeking to expand their existing business to interact with franchisers and franchise experts. Representatives from companies will discuss their business models with the entrepreneurs.Franchise consultants will help you with franchise development, franchise agreements and everything to do with franchise your business. The exhibition will showcase several business opportunities from renowned companies with investment range starting from Rs 50,000 going upto 5 crores.
Exhibition timings are from 10.30 am to 7pm. 9844443277/9844443200
Tags:Franchise Expo, Franchise Consultants, Franchise Bangalore, Franchise Bengaluru, New Business Bangalore, New Franchise Bangalore, Bangalore Business, Bangalore Opportunities, Franchising Bangalore,
Having completed 32 expos since launch, Times Franchise Expo has proved to be the most successful B2B marketplace and has successfully completed exhibitions in 16 cities across India. With more than 300 brands having participated in Times Franchise Expo, over 3 lakh business visitors have attended the shows.
The Times Franchise Expo Series 2010 begins with an exhibition at Bangalore on June 5 and 6 at Nimhans Convention Centre, Hosur. This will be the 33rd exhibition in the series.
This Franchise Expo will provide a proactive platform for entrepreneurs seeking new businesses and business owners seeking to expand their existing business to interact with franchisers and franchise experts. Representatives from companies will discuss their business models with the entrepreneurs.Franchise consultants will help you with franchise development, franchise agreements and everything to do with franchise your business. The exhibition will showcase several business opportunities from renowned companies with investment range starting from Rs 50,000 going upto 5 crores.
Exhibition timings are from 10.30 am to 7pm. 9844443277/9844443200
Tags:Franchise Expo, Franchise Consultants, Franchise Bangalore, Franchise Bengaluru, New Business Bangalore, New Franchise Bangalore, Bangalore Business, Bangalore Opportunities, Franchising Bangalore,
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
20 Entrepreneurs Who Made It Big Without Formal Management Education Training.Inspiring True Stories.
Hot on the heels of her fabulously successful first book Stay Hungry Stay Foolish (SHSF), Rashmi Bansal has produced a sequel — well, sort of.
Connect the Dots (CTD) tells the stories of 20 regular people who became entrepreneurs and made a go of it.
While SHSF told the stories of 25 alumni of IIM Ahmedabad who had chosen to become entrepreneurs instead of employee managers, CTD makes it a point to focus on entrepreneurs who did not have a formal management education.
The message to young readers is clear — you don’t need to be from an IIM to build a successful company.
While some of the entrepreneurs the author has chosen to cover in her book are from privileged backgrounds, many are not. Some haven’t even done college, forget about an MBA.
There is nothing more inspiring than the story of a boy born on the wrong side of the tracks making it big against all odds.
Reading the story of Prem Ganapathy of Dosa Plaza, I could not help believing that India is a meritocracy or at least the land of opportunity for any enterprising person who is willing to work hard.
In 1992, a young lad of 17 leaves Chennai and comes to Mumbai with an acquaintance to explore opportunities. He gets abandoned at the Bandra station and, with no money in his pocket, takes shelter in a nearby temple, and then gets a string of small jobs in the kitchens of various eateries.
Being a Tamilian, he faces discrimination. However, he is enterprising and when he finally gets a customer-facing job — that of serving tea — he quickly begins to generate three times the business of the other tea boys because he is so good in handling customers.
He enters into a partnership to start a tea stall only to get duped by his partner after the business is successful. He is intelligent and learns from the experience. He then breaks out on his own and ends up running a successful South Indian food stall and learns the trade as he goes along.
This food stall grows into a chain of 25 Dosa Plaza outlets with a franchise in New Zealand and enquiries from other countries.
Or take the story of Kunwer Sachdev of Su-kam. Born into the family of an Indian Railways clerk who ran a string of small unsuccessful businesses on the side, Kunwer went to a Hindi-medium government school. From there, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went to college, and after some years of stopping and starting created Su-kam — India’s largest inverter company. Who says India cannot do well in manufacturing? That India has to be a services-led economy? That Indian companies cannot do R&D?
Samar Gupta’s Trikaya Agriculture tells us that there is still hope for Page Three people. Born into a privileged family, educated at Mayo College in Ajmer and living on Napean Sea Road, Gupta tried to do several things unsuccessfully. Much of his time, however, was spent partying hard. When his father died and he inherited the family farm, he got serious about growing exotic vegetables and creating a market for them in Mumbai. Trikaya Agriculture today is a success story.
Or, take the case of R Sriram of Crossword. An introvert, a college dropout, who does not believe in the institution of marriage. He tried his hand at advertising, market research and then journalism. Finally, he converted his passion for reading into a business — he started India’s largest book store chain Crossword.
And there are many such inspirational stories in this book. Each one is different and engaging.
The book is a non-fiction page turner. As Bansal herself admits, she was working with wonderful subjects — the entrepreneurs themselves — and that made her job easier. Nevertheless, she does an admirable job of getting the entrepreneurs to reveal all without any trace of embarrassment — that’s a rare quality. Bansal is an entrepreneur and a journalist herself. That’s an uncommon combination and it makes her uniquely qualified for an effort of this nature. The book is written in a chatty conversational style with liberal use of Hinglish. If you are looking for award-winning literary prose, this is not the book for you.
For me, Rashmi Bansal is a star (disclosure: she featured me in SHSF). Her efforts in documenting the stories of successful first-generation entrepreneurs in India have done more to inspire young wannabe entrepreneurs than anyone or anything else. SHSF has sold more than 200,000 copies (people in the book trade tell me that this is roughly how much a Harry Potter volume sells in India) in India and has been translated into eight languages. When the history of the entrepreneurial movement in India is written, her two books will be regarded as significant milestones.
CTD, just like SHSF, is a must read for all entrepreneurs, managers, students, and anyone interested in the new India.
I would definitely want my children to read it. It is inspirational stuff.
Source:Business Standard,Inspirational stories
Sanjeev Bikhchandani / May 26, 2010, 0:34 IST
Tags:Dosa Plaza, Connect The Dots, CTD, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, SHSF,wannabe entrepreneurs, prem ganapathy, su-kam, kunwer sachdev, Trikaya Agriculture, crossword, rashmi bansal,business Opportunities,
Connect the Dots (CTD) tells the stories of 20 regular people who became entrepreneurs and made a go of it.
While SHSF told the stories of 25 alumni of IIM Ahmedabad who had chosen to become entrepreneurs instead of employee managers, CTD makes it a point to focus on entrepreneurs who did not have a formal management education.
The message to young readers is clear — you don’t need to be from an IIM to build a successful company.
While some of the entrepreneurs the author has chosen to cover in her book are from privileged backgrounds, many are not. Some haven’t even done college, forget about an MBA.
There is nothing more inspiring than the story of a boy born on the wrong side of the tracks making it big against all odds.
Reading the story of Prem Ganapathy of Dosa Plaza, I could not help believing that India is a meritocracy or at least the land of opportunity for any enterprising person who is willing to work hard.
In 1992, a young lad of 17 leaves Chennai and comes to Mumbai with an acquaintance to explore opportunities. He gets abandoned at the Bandra station and, with no money in his pocket, takes shelter in a nearby temple, and then gets a string of small jobs in the kitchens of various eateries.
Being a Tamilian, he faces discrimination. However, he is enterprising and when he finally gets a customer-facing job — that of serving tea — he quickly begins to generate three times the business of the other tea boys because he is so good in handling customers.
He enters into a partnership to start a tea stall only to get duped by his partner after the business is successful. He is intelligent and learns from the experience. He then breaks out on his own and ends up running a successful South Indian food stall and learns the trade as he goes along.
This food stall grows into a chain of 25 Dosa Plaza outlets with a franchise in New Zealand and enquiries from other countries.
Or take the story of Kunwer Sachdev of Su-kam. Born into the family of an Indian Railways clerk who ran a string of small unsuccessful businesses on the side, Kunwer went to a Hindi-medium government school. From there, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went to college, and after some years of stopping and starting created Su-kam — India’s largest inverter company. Who says India cannot do well in manufacturing? That India has to be a services-led economy? That Indian companies cannot do R&D?
Samar Gupta’s Trikaya Agriculture tells us that there is still hope for Page Three people. Born into a privileged family, educated at Mayo College in Ajmer and living on Napean Sea Road, Gupta tried to do several things unsuccessfully. Much of his time, however, was spent partying hard. When his father died and he inherited the family farm, he got serious about growing exotic vegetables and creating a market for them in Mumbai. Trikaya Agriculture today is a success story.
Or, take the case of R Sriram of Crossword. An introvert, a college dropout, who does not believe in the institution of marriage. He tried his hand at advertising, market research and then journalism. Finally, he converted his passion for reading into a business — he started India’s largest book store chain Crossword.
And there are many such inspirational stories in this book. Each one is different and engaging.
The book is a non-fiction page turner. As Bansal herself admits, she was working with wonderful subjects — the entrepreneurs themselves — and that made her job easier. Nevertheless, she does an admirable job of getting the entrepreneurs to reveal all without any trace of embarrassment — that’s a rare quality. Bansal is an entrepreneur and a journalist herself. That’s an uncommon combination and it makes her uniquely qualified for an effort of this nature. The book is written in a chatty conversational style with liberal use of Hinglish. If you are looking for award-winning literary prose, this is not the book for you.
For me, Rashmi Bansal is a star (disclosure: she featured me in SHSF). Her efforts in documenting the stories of successful first-generation entrepreneurs in India have done more to inspire young wannabe entrepreneurs than anyone or anything else. SHSF has sold more than 200,000 copies (people in the book trade tell me that this is roughly how much a Harry Potter volume sells in India) in India and has been translated into eight languages. When the history of the entrepreneurial movement in India is written, her two books will be regarded as significant milestones.
CTD, just like SHSF, is a must read for all entrepreneurs, managers, students, and anyone interested in the new India.
I would definitely want my children to read it. It is inspirational stuff.
Source:Business Standard,Inspirational stories
Sanjeev Bikhchandani / May 26, 2010, 0:34 IST
Tags:Dosa Plaza, Connect The Dots, CTD, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, SHSF,wannabe entrepreneurs, prem ganapathy, su-kam, kunwer sachdev, Trikaya Agriculture, crossword, rashmi bansal,business Opportunities,
Monday, May 24, 2010
Birth World Offers Birth Support Services Franchises In India
Birth World to Launch Birth support services in Cochin
MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd has announced Launch of its first Birth Support Services Center in Kochi and announces expansion of 25 centers across India in the first year of operations
Birth world is Launching a innovative range of maternity and infant care services that specializes in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of Pregnant Women and infants .
Birth world services includes Birth spa which focus on Infant Massage Therapy and Birth academy for Child Birth education. It also provides other variety of pregnancy support services . It's like get together place for pregnant women, moms and babies, a place where they can relax and be pampered while simultaneously getting educated with the information and services they need. Birth world provides services for women still trying to get pregnant, and those in their postpartum months and offers almost everything a woman could need or want in respect to pregnancy. Birth World aims at making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers and not only giving birth to babies.
"Birth world will be the first Centre in India to provide scientific Infant massage therapy in a organised approach, with highly qualified Physiotherapists and Clinical child development specialist" Said ,Dr.M.A.Babu ,Managing Director of Medtree Healthcare Pvt Ltd. The state of the art facility at Panampilly Nagar, Cochin will be opened during the first week of June '10
Speaking on the Benefits of Infant massage training, Chief Program officer ,Dr.Surya Subhashini said Infant massage emphasis on mom's loving touch and through touch, babies learn the comfort of loving and of being loved. Infant massage also Relaxes ,Enhances Bonding, Aids Growth and Development. Promotes Communication and Improves Baby's Sleep.
Birth World , Wholly owned subsidiary of Med Tree Healthcare pvt Ltd Promoted by a group of NRI Doctors and Businessmen will initially extend their services to Cochin and has plans to set up 25 centers in India in the first of year operation through franchising. "A large portion of the investment of a center will done by the franchisee." Typically, the investments required for setting up a center is 15 lacs." MedTree has worked mainly in concept development, setting the standards and creating a brand.
Notes to Editor
About Birth World
Birth world has Comfortable Birth support facility for child birth education, counseling and Infant massage therapy. Freedom to move about and a very personal touch with warm hearts and caring hands, you will receive personal care from our staff of skilled professionals who understand the physical, emotional and cultural needs of mom and baby. From the beginning of pregnancy through birth and postpartum, the choices are yours, as you work with our team to create your own unique childbirth experience. Childbirth is truly a family event so we support and encourage your family to play an active role in welcoming your baby.
Source:Cochin, Kerala, May 23, 2010 /India PRwire/
Tags: Birth World, MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd, Birth Support Service Franchise, Maternity and Infant Care Services, Birth Spa, Healthcare franchise, Maternity Hospitals Franchise,
MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd has announced Launch of its first Birth Support Services Center in Kochi and announces expansion of 25 centers across India in the first year of operations
Birth world is Launching a innovative range of maternity and infant care services that specializes in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of Pregnant Women and infants .
Birth world services includes Birth spa which focus on Infant Massage Therapy and Birth academy for Child Birth education. It also provides other variety of pregnancy support services . It's like get together place for pregnant women, moms and babies, a place where they can relax and be pampered while simultaneously getting educated with the information and services they need. Birth world provides services for women still trying to get pregnant, and those in their postpartum months and offers almost everything a woman could need or want in respect to pregnancy. Birth World aims at making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers and not only giving birth to babies.
"Birth world will be the first Centre in India to provide scientific Infant massage therapy in a organised approach, with highly qualified Physiotherapists and Clinical child development specialist" Said ,Dr.M.A.Babu ,Managing Director of Medtree Healthcare Pvt Ltd. The state of the art facility at Panampilly Nagar, Cochin will be opened during the first week of June '10
Speaking on the Benefits of Infant massage training, Chief Program officer ,Dr.Surya Subhashini said Infant massage emphasis on mom's loving touch and through touch, babies learn the comfort of loving and of being loved. Infant massage also Relaxes ,Enhances Bonding, Aids Growth and Development. Promotes Communication and Improves Baby's Sleep.
Birth World , Wholly owned subsidiary of Med Tree Healthcare pvt Ltd Promoted by a group of NRI Doctors and Businessmen will initially extend their services to Cochin and has plans to set up 25 centers in India in the first of year operation through franchising. "A large portion of the investment of a center will done by the franchisee." Typically, the investments required for setting up a center is 15 lacs." MedTree has worked mainly in concept development, setting the standards and creating a brand.
Notes to Editor
About Birth World
Birth world has Comfortable Birth support facility for child birth education, counseling and Infant massage therapy. Freedom to move about and a very personal touch with warm hearts and caring hands, you will receive personal care from our staff of skilled professionals who understand the physical, emotional and cultural needs of mom and baby. From the beginning of pregnancy through birth and postpartum, the choices are yours, as you work with our team to create your own unique childbirth experience. Childbirth is truly a family event so we support and encourage your family to play an active role in welcoming your baby.
Source:Cochin, Kerala, May 23, 2010 /India PRwire/
Tags: Birth World, MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd, Birth Support Service Franchise, Maternity and Infant Care Services, Birth Spa, Healthcare franchise, Maternity Hospitals Franchise,
Friday, May 21, 2010
Privatising & Franchising Indian Education
It is difficult to ignore the spicing up that India’s education sector is undergoing. Ubiquitous private coaching centers, front-page ads inviting franchise expansion of schools, and landmark reforms allowing foreign universities to enter India all underscore the changing face of a sector that could best be characterized as lackluster just a few years ago, especially for private entrepreneurs and profit-mongers.
With India’s burgeoning middle-class, mouth-watering demographics and fast-changing government regulation, however, this once boring sector has managed to captivate the attention of capitalists from all corners of the world. From small-town tuition centers to globally renowned universities, from shrewd corporate pundits to leisurely housewives, and from private-equity suits to social-enterprise tweeds, the race to have some sort of stake in the growth of India’s education industry has become almost fashionable.
This year, in particular, has seen a massive inflow of capital and interest into the education sector, with Reliance Equity Advisors’ recent announcement to snap up a 1 billion rupee stake in Pathways Global School, a K-12 education provider; Azim Premji’s decision to invest 2 billion rupees in Manipal Global Education, a education resource provider; and Matrix Advisors’ decision to buy 1 billion rupees into FIIT-JEE, a private coaching provider.
Kapil Sibal, India’s education minister, too, gave an emphatic slap-on-the-back to the sector by comparing its future potential to that of India’s now red-hot telecom sector a decade ago.
While there is no denying the potential upside for investors in India’s education sector, it is worth considering the effect that massive entry of private capital into a traditionally not-for-profit sector can have on the Indian education sector as a whole and especially on parents, students and teachers.
First and foremost, the entry of a greater number of privately managed institutions will automatically translate into greater competition in the education sector, as more organizations compete for a limited number of students. Consequently, schools and colleges will no longer be able to rely on students filling their classrooms term after term, something that is common in high population-density areas with few private schools.
Instead, schools will have to lower fees, improve teaching quality, hire better teachers and use efficient technology as ways of distinguishing themselves from competitors and remaining operational. This is similar to what transpired in India’s telecom sector a few years ago, when private firms slashed costs, improved customer service and emphasized innovation to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
This operational model, which challenges the “recession-proof” tag that educational organizations in India have perpetually had associated with them, will transfer greater power to student and parents, for if a school cannot offer its students a cheaper and better educational experience than the school next door, it is most likely going to shut down.
Even for employees such as teachers, a greater sense of competition among educational organizations could spell better payment terms, training facilities and employment benefits. This is because the quality of teachers and education administrators will determine the success or failure of a school. Like it is for for-profit corporations, talent will be a rare resource and one which educational organizations are willing to invest in more intently.
Another benefit of the growing influence of private investments in the education sector is likely to be the bridging of the large gap dividing the resourceful private sector from the resource hungry education sector. As it stands today, education-focused organizations are largely cut-off from the talent, the innovation and the leadership that characterize for-profit companies in India.
Also, the potential for not just better principals or counselors but also for better education entrepreneurs—managers with an expertise in financial analysis and budgeting, strategy planning, human resources management and technology—is tremendous in India’s economy.
This vacuum in education management promises to be filled by private entrepreneurs who can utilize their business training and their vision for education reform more effectively. Corporate best practices like performance-based pay for teachers or inventory management of fixed assets like furniture or computers, which are everyday practices in educational organizations around the world, would also be better planned and implemented under guidance from the for-profit world.
There is only so much funding in India’s capital-starved economy that the government can provide to education ventures like schools and colleges. Eventually, like has been the case for power, infrastructure or telecommunications, financial support from the private sector will be crucial in leading the growth and progress of educational organizations in the country.
For this reason, the influx of greater capital into the sector should translate into its more comprehensive development and help convert the ‘education for all’ motto into reality. For instance, if public finances can target the development of rural education models and private funds can help growth in more urban areas, a greater number of educational institutes can become available for students.
The idea of private-sector investments in the education sector has its share of critics too and, often, for good reason. It can be argued that the private sector has little knowledge on the intricacies of the education sector as most private investors are neither trained in education management or non-profit work. Can such investors really improve the quality of education in India?
There is also the issue of the over-commercialization of education where profit-mongers ignore quality improvement and work on amassing more money. Finally, how easy is it for regulators to keep private institutes in check, ensure quality control and enforce policies?
Despite these drawbacks, the ability of students and parents to make independent decisions, discern education quality and aim for best quality per rupee spent should endear privately sourced investments to India. Also, there is no question that better training for teachers and education managers will have to take center-stage in efforts to improve quality and ensure policy enforcement.
In the end, the fact remains that for all the changes that private capital promises to bring into the education industry, perhaps the most challenging will be altering the age-old mindset of everyday citizens for whom education is simply a non-profit service, not a money-making business.
Tags:franchise expansion, entry foreign universities, tuition franchise, coaching franchise, Education Franchise, Training Franchise, English Franchise, India Education Sector,FIIT JEE,Manipal Education,
Source:Wall Street Journal,Mayank Maheshwari,Friday, May 21, 2010
With India’s burgeoning middle-class, mouth-watering demographics and fast-changing government regulation, however, this once boring sector has managed to captivate the attention of capitalists from all corners of the world. From small-town tuition centers to globally renowned universities, from shrewd corporate pundits to leisurely housewives, and from private-equity suits to social-enterprise tweeds, the race to have some sort of stake in the growth of India’s education industry has become almost fashionable.
This year, in particular, has seen a massive inflow of capital and interest into the education sector, with Reliance Equity Advisors’ recent announcement to snap up a 1 billion rupee stake in Pathways Global School, a K-12 education provider; Azim Premji’s decision to invest 2 billion rupees in Manipal Global Education, a education resource provider; and Matrix Advisors’ decision to buy 1 billion rupees into FIIT-JEE, a private coaching provider.
Kapil Sibal, India’s education minister, too, gave an emphatic slap-on-the-back to the sector by comparing its future potential to that of India’s now red-hot telecom sector a decade ago.
While there is no denying the potential upside for investors in India’s education sector, it is worth considering the effect that massive entry of private capital into a traditionally not-for-profit sector can have on the Indian education sector as a whole and especially on parents, students and teachers.
First and foremost, the entry of a greater number of privately managed institutions will automatically translate into greater competition in the education sector, as more organizations compete for a limited number of students. Consequently, schools and colleges will no longer be able to rely on students filling their classrooms term after term, something that is common in high population-density areas with few private schools.
Instead, schools will have to lower fees, improve teaching quality, hire better teachers and use efficient technology as ways of distinguishing themselves from competitors and remaining operational. This is similar to what transpired in India’s telecom sector a few years ago, when private firms slashed costs, improved customer service and emphasized innovation to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
This operational model, which challenges the “recession-proof” tag that educational organizations in India have perpetually had associated with them, will transfer greater power to student and parents, for if a school cannot offer its students a cheaper and better educational experience than the school next door, it is most likely going to shut down.
Even for employees such as teachers, a greater sense of competition among educational organizations could spell better payment terms, training facilities and employment benefits. This is because the quality of teachers and education administrators will determine the success or failure of a school. Like it is for for-profit corporations, talent will be a rare resource and one which educational organizations are willing to invest in more intently.
Another benefit of the growing influence of private investments in the education sector is likely to be the bridging of the large gap dividing the resourceful private sector from the resource hungry education sector. As it stands today, education-focused organizations are largely cut-off from the talent, the innovation and the leadership that characterize for-profit companies in India.
Also, the potential for not just better principals or counselors but also for better education entrepreneurs—managers with an expertise in financial analysis and budgeting, strategy planning, human resources management and technology—is tremendous in India’s economy.
This vacuum in education management promises to be filled by private entrepreneurs who can utilize their business training and their vision for education reform more effectively. Corporate best practices like performance-based pay for teachers or inventory management of fixed assets like furniture or computers, which are everyday practices in educational organizations around the world, would also be better planned and implemented under guidance from the for-profit world.
There is only so much funding in India’s capital-starved economy that the government can provide to education ventures like schools and colleges. Eventually, like has been the case for power, infrastructure or telecommunications, financial support from the private sector will be crucial in leading the growth and progress of educational organizations in the country.
For this reason, the influx of greater capital into the sector should translate into its more comprehensive development and help convert the ‘education for all’ motto into reality. For instance, if public finances can target the development of rural education models and private funds can help growth in more urban areas, a greater number of educational institutes can become available for students.
The idea of private-sector investments in the education sector has its share of critics too and, often, for good reason. It can be argued that the private sector has little knowledge on the intricacies of the education sector as most private investors are neither trained in education management or non-profit work. Can such investors really improve the quality of education in India?
There is also the issue of the over-commercialization of education where profit-mongers ignore quality improvement and work on amassing more money. Finally, how easy is it for regulators to keep private institutes in check, ensure quality control and enforce policies?
Despite these drawbacks, the ability of students and parents to make independent decisions, discern education quality and aim for best quality per rupee spent should endear privately sourced investments to India. Also, there is no question that better training for teachers and education managers will have to take center-stage in efforts to improve quality and ensure policy enforcement.
In the end, the fact remains that for all the changes that private capital promises to bring into the education industry, perhaps the most challenging will be altering the age-old mindset of everyday citizens for whom education is simply a non-profit service, not a money-making business.
Tags:franchise expansion, entry foreign universities, tuition franchise, coaching franchise, Education Franchise, Training Franchise, English Franchise, India Education Sector,FIIT JEE,Manipal Education,
Source:Wall Street Journal,Mayank Maheshwari,Friday, May 21, 2010
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