Vande Bharath - Train experience

Travelled to Bangalore earlier this week. Having travelled innumerable times on Shatabdi earlier, the journey was more or less similar. The ceiling looks sleek and refreshing, so are the interiors. At the look of it, seems the makers have used high-quality materials which gives a (relatively) premium feel of travel.

Because of it’s build quality, the ride quality was far superior. The usual jerk that we face in normal trains was missing in this one, especially while crossing tracks, picking up speed or slowing down, etc. In a crude language, the ride was as different as an automatic vs. manual gear shift in a Car.  Food (and it’s quality) is almost the same as in Shatabdi. Except that morning b/f had a Kesari ( a typical south indian sweet). in the plate. The presentation in aluminium containers spoils the otherwise premium feel of the train, but I guess there are fewer options otherwise.

Assuming that these pax have the wherewithal to spend on discretionary spends, what if one can preorder food at an additional yet nominal cost? As a diabetic, I may want to skip the Kesari and order something else. A low-sugar tea pack instead of a normal one. This could be done while booking the tickets, or a reminder SMS could be sent 48 hours before the date of travel. Of course, various other products like mobile Chargers, earphones, etc. could be sold inside the train through a catalogue, with an e-brochure being sent along with the ticket by email.

The seats are quite thinner (like in an Indigo flight) yet comfortable. What was very un-Indian was the water bottle holder was placed near the footrest. In Shatabdi trains, it is placed near the food train which is indeed cumbersome But to place it near the feet - poor design.

The plugs for charging devices are now placed in each seat unlike one per row in Shatabdi. Except that is is located right below the seat! I mean, who even designs all this? For older people, especially senior citizens, this is going to be super difficult. Of course, the design team has made up for this with a slick tray for keeping a laptop, table or even a mobile phone for viewing / watching media. 

The train’s speed and other details are displayed on a digital screen. At many times during the trip, the train’s speed crossed 100 kmph. I am sure, that over time this will improve drastically, making the “Vande Bharath” a super fast and safe train to travel. The rest room has been designed well and looks classy, similar to an airplane. There is a handrail for passengers to hold, while seated or standing (as the case may be) and the entire cabin is more spacious than ever.

The automatic doors which are within the coach are now for ingress and egress to the main coach. Quite an international feel (though Metro rails already have it). I hope they integrate the doors with a QR code, so one can scan the same with their Aadhar biometrics and enter. We can get rid of the role of a TTE. Though humans will find ways to fool the system, I am sure this is just a matter of time.

To punish the haters, there is a video of the train’s inauguration done by Hon’ble Prime Minister at Bangalore on 11 Nov. ‘22, which runs in loop. 

The only negative - if at all, is that the train departs and reaches almost at the same time as the Shatabdi Express. Not sure if they would curtail any of them in the near term or would retain both. Also, to reach the station earlier than the Shatabdi - Vande Bharath departs at 5.50am from Chennai and the Shatabdi at 6am is a pain, especially to get a taxi / public transportation. This could be well overcome by aligning the Metro Rail which comes to the Chennai Central Railway Station.

Overall, very well done ICF and Indian Railways.

Vande Bharath.

Vande Maatharam.

Jai Hind. 

10 years in Madras - A recap

It was on this day 10 years back I returned to Madras (by then it was renamed Chennai) - where I have grown up all my life, after a long stay and various stints in Bangalore city since 2004. On 2 Aug. 2012 I joined Royal Enfield Motorcycles as General Manager – Business Development. Over the next 2 years, I would set up 160 dealerships across India for the niche motorcycle brand. I was also responsible for working closely with the Management and the Design Agency on-board to implement the new Retail identity of the brand, which included the new look and feel of the store interiors – from transforming the dealership as an automobile showroom to a lifestyle-led format. In those 24 months, I travelled extensively across India, as always Wed – Fri. every week, 40+ weeks a year, first flight out, last flight-in. I would have travelled more to Tier 2/3/4 towns, especially across Northern India where the brand had a brilliant parentage and was well received. Forget discounts on bikes, my first and second degree connections would just have one request – if deliveries can be shortened, from a usual 6-9 months to a little less than 3 months. Thanks to a supportive Sales Team, I guess we did manage to deliver a few such instances.

It was a revelation to see how the vehicle meant different things to different people. For a metro male, it was upgrading his lifestyle from a humble scooter or a motorcycle to a macho Royal Enfield; for a student who has just passed out his UG (or one in the making), it was a reward from his lovely family; for a groom-to be, it was a gift from his parents or in-laws to be; and in one such instance, the wife of a good friend of mine gave him a surprise on his 40^th birthday with a Thunderbird 350cc. Lovely memories that I carry from those times. 

We also set-up a first of its kind Royal Enfield showroom at the tony “Saket” locality in South Delhi at the Select Citywalk Mall. Technically, the store was located outside the mall precincts and there was a road dividing the two, so we got the best of both – passersby to the Mall as well as serious patrons of the brand.

For the record, Royal Enfield is the world’s oldest and continuous-in production automobile brand in the world, now over 120 years old. The brand, which was born in the UK found its home in India, at the erstwhile state of Madras in the late 1950s when a city based entrepreneur purchased the rights of the brand as well as to retail the machines – Made like a Gun – as its tagline goes, the bikes which were used in World War 1 & 2. Over time, the brand died a natural death with the advent of Japanese bikes as well as home-grown ones including Hero, Kinetic, Bajaj and TVS Motors. 

In the mid- to late 90s, the brand was on the verge of closure, which is when the new owner Eicher Motors acquired the cult brand to turn it around. They struggled for a few years, but eventually cracked the market and broke records. As per today’s report in the media, the company sold 55,555 bikes in July 2022 incl. exports while the domestic sales at the dealer level was 50,265 units. The company is expected to launch new models later this month. A decade back, the company would produce / bill to dealers around 11,000 units pm! The only thing that hasn’t changed then and now – the craze for the brand and it’s waiting period. 

My aunt, who bought me up since I was one-year old was diagnosed with a rare type of carcinoma in Nov. 2013 – Uterian, Ovarian cancer which is quite uncommon in India. Among women, it is the 7^th most common type of cancer worldwide and 8^th most common cause of death from cancer. Like millions, she too succumbed after fighting the disease for 4 years. Upon the discovery of her ailment, my fledgling retail career came to a standstill. There were days when I shuddered the thought of waking up the next day, wondering what to do without a proper job, a full time career, a sagging start-up I had adventured and piling debts and EMIs. Life moved on. And I survived all these years, to write this column today. 

Life moves on, will keep moving, just like the arms of a clock. But over these years, I have grown wiser, most probably, if anything. A proud Madrasi that I am, I am sure I will make my hometown proud.

The rise of Tier 2 towns

Have been on a pan-India tour for the past few weeks, visiting our stores, interacting with my colleagues, our valued franchise partners, mall managers, heads & ecosystem partners and of course, our esteemed customers. I must admit that my trips have been skewed to Tier 2 towns and by design. For, this is where India lives and spends. Over the past 24 months or so, we have witnessed a massive reverse migration from bigger cities to smaller towns, ever since the pandemic led lockdown began. Initially thought to be a short-term trend, things seem to have gained traction all across India for the past 1 year. So much so, that many employees across Industries and companies are now – literally demanding – that they be allowed to WFH with a hybrid model of physical presence at the office precincts.

One’s loss is another’s gain, they say. As a Retailer, I cannot complain!

The photo above was taken early June at Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow’s famed Phoenix Pallasio Mall on a weekday. The 1 million sq.ft. Mall has a dozen or so international luxury brands, 3 dozen+ international premium brands, over 50+ domestic brands and scores of regional brands in fashion and food. This mall is located pretty much in the outskirts of the town and has a neighbour closely, the 6-lakh sq.ft. Lulu mall which opens doors in Q2 FY22. Last week I was at Guwahati, Assam and our Franchise Partners says the state is about to get 8 new malls. At a Starbucks cafe in Bhubaneswar’s Esplanade Mall, I saw for the first time more tables filled with family crowds than anywhere in India! The foodcourts across Malls are overflowing as though there is a shortage of food in some areas (sic). 

This kind of retail upswing in Tier 2 towns is unprecedented at best. As I celebrate by silver jubilee in Retail this year – 25th year since I started scooping ice-cream in 1997, I have seen multiple waves in retail. The first one was around 2001, when modern retail hit the streets. Around 2008, we saw a Mall boom, primarily led by the Metro cities and Tier-2 asking for department store chains like Central, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Westside among others. Around 2014, the retail growth hit a peak with several unstructured malls (zoning wise) either shutting shop or turning coats to become a commercial (offices) dwelling. Since 2017, things swung back to action, especially after the introduction of GST, much to the surprise of economic critics and experts.

We live in a pandemic world – I don’t call it a post pandemic one – because the virus is just here to stay in some form or the other. Just that we humans have become more resilient. Every 6-8 weeks, the Media Industry fuels scare with new statistics, but consumers have been dodging these overtures since Sep. ’21. This shall continue for a while and eventually pass by. But the growth of Tier 2 markets is here to stay for sometime. One big reason for this is that there is money in the pockets of the aspirational middle class. Monsoons have been good for the past 2 years, so has been Agri-production. Oil crisis has been surging ever since the Ukraine-Russia conflict began. But India and Indians have adjusted. The statistic compilation on inflations seems to read otherwise, but that’s more theory I guess. The jobless have remain so by choice, not because there is a lack of opportunity.

While a small group of people were throwing stones and torching trains at Patna Railway station last week, I saw several hundreds of youth at retail stores and malls working earnestly for a better today and tomorrow for themselves and their families. Real estate, residential and empty plots - especially if it is of any indication, then the smaller towns seem to be a better bet in terms of wealth creation. The surge in Tier 2 markets across India seems to be unstoppable, atleast in the Retail sector, one that is integral to me personally and professionally. The rent for retail stores matches metro cities by 1:1, sometimes 1: 1.5 or even more. The challenge is supply (of spaces) and not demand. This will settle down soon, as well.

 

My travel travails and why I love them

After a long while, I travelled all through the week and in one of the most favourite parts of the country – Northern India. Though the summer was a killer, I enjoyed every moment being there – doing what I love the most in life – observing consumer behaviour at high streets and malls, interacting with our customers, staff, franchise partners, mall owners and the entire ecosystem. Some great food all along – wholesome North Indian stuff was a bonus. 

View of the New Delhi railway station

This is my 25th year in Retail and I’ve been travelling almost 45 weeks a year, 3 days a week for over 15 years now, mostly on work. Though it’s mostly just one Boss to be accountable to, managing a fairly young & a cross-functional team and being a part of a mature, mid-sized organisation is quite a challenge. Here are some quick learning that I have acquired over the years. While all of them may not be doabe by everyone, am sure some of this could be useful to a few discerning ones;

The itinerary

This is the most important part of the journey. I have always believed that the journey is as important (and exciting) as the destination, its quite important that one plans their journey time-table, including the choice of flights / trains / local accommodation. A poorly planned itinerary is the beginning of chaos to come during the trip. 

A shirt holder that I make the best use of

The right luggage

While there is no secret to packing the right quantity and quality of luggage, let me tell you it always is a science and an art. A fairly planned set of clothes – 2:1 ratio of shirts to trousers usually does the work, whether casual or formals. Extra sets of inners always helps, just in case of an emergency. 

Meeting schedules

This is one area where things can go awry – due to a client or a business partner not turning up in time or the most common reason in India for getting late to meetings – bad / congested roads + traffic snarls enroute the meeting place. It really helps adding a 15-30 min cushion ahead of the next meeting including the travel time. If you end up early (to the meeting), there are anyway enough emails and messages on WhatsApp to respond to.

When in the North, do like the locals!

Food / Drinks – the lure

Any business trip is incomplete without a fair dose of local cuisine. After all, what’s the point in sweating out so much if you don't eat well during the journey. But then, I can tell you out of experience, it always, almost always helps to avoid over-eating during business trips, especially if you like loaded stuff or spicy outings. Alcohol, while is an extension of our night life and leisure, may put you out of the best that one can appear, especially in front of the most important people you’re set out to meet the next day. Abstinence during the business trip is among the best though a bit of indulgence is not a bad idea.

Emails & Calls

One thing to keep in mind is when we travel, there could be chances that we miss reading & replying critical emails as well as end up skipping regular review calls / VCs. One trick that has always worked for me is to keep clearing emails while on the move, that is from one meeting to another. That way, the email box always remains light and we are looped in most of the time. While its important to reschedule regular review calls or VCs during the trip, it also helps to have it first thing in the morning, right after breakfast, in the same hotel room, to ensure privacy and quietness which one may not get while on travel. 

Sleep & Rest

This is most important part of the entire journey and the least focused one. Most of us get very groggy (or smashed) when we wake up the next morning because of our “other priorities”. As I said before, it does help to avoid a heady dose of food / alcohol which can put your resting time out of zone. But there is a trick which I have been learning over time. Even when not travelling, I am conditioning my body to sleep for 6 hours – call it yoga or what you will. But a good 6-hour sleep during the night will go a long way in having a very productive day.

Lastly, make time for yourself. For making calls to the family and close friends, laughing off silly jokes and forwards, reading stuff you like, taking photos and writing or posting on social media, doing fun things and to just stay still to see the sunrise and breathe well during the business trip. All work and no play make Jack & Jill dull. So go there and make the best of a business trip next time.

Happy New Year

I was among those millions in India who would end up waking up groggy on the 1st of Jan. for a few years every year between 2005 – 2012 or so. The rave parties, get togethers and the whole joy and excitement of welcoming a brand New Year was palpable. From buying new clothes to a trimmed hair cut and what not, there was so much consumer spending around Christmas and New Year. With homes getting a tad bigger, households getting more liberal, party venues moved from hotels and public places to living rooms, esp. in the high rise apartments. Shouting “Happy New Year” from a balcony and wishing strangers was absolutely acceptable on that night (and the next morning!). Many years later I realised how stupid the whole thing was. Been a few years since I attained my “buddha” moment from being a budhu.

The 1st of Jan. is celebrated with fanfare globally, for it marks the dawn of a new chapter in the lives of people in many countries. For them, it’s the starting of a new Academic year for children, a new Financial year for businesses and a new year, with a change in season to embrace the goodness of nature. Lastly, it is also celebratory right after Christmas, a festival revered and celebrated by over half of the world. So, yes for them it makes a lot of sense.

Retailers worldwide run huge sale campaigns right from end-Nov – the Black Friday Sale all the way up to Cyber Monday Sale which has caught up in the past 20 years. People change their cars and bikes, deck up their houses, paint the inner and outer walls as spring & summer season beckons and shop for new clothes to suit the weather conditions. Many professional change jobs and several others retire around December. The entire construct is so different in these countries and has been that way for them. Works well too, I guess. 

However, India and Indians have embraced this trend almost meaninglessly as we try to ape the West in several ways. As long as we imbibe the good – such as environmental awareness, climate change, gender pay-gap among other things, it’s okay. But to celebrate someone else’s new year and go ga-ga about it – has become a weird trend.

For many years now, I celebrate “New Year” twice in a year – one on the 1st of April as the professional year begins. It’s also the change of academic year for my kids, so that’s a reason to cheer and motivate them to do better. A sought after time in the year for employees to look forward to a hike in Salary, expect a Bonus and perhaps, even a job change for many. The second is the New Year celebrated within our community – Ugadi – that phase of the Spring season based on the Lunar Calendar. At a personal level, it’s about offering obeisance to the Creator Lord Almighty and wearing new clothes, but nothing much beyond.

On the professional side, it’s a very important day to look forward to. The run-up begins usually 45-60 days in advance, with the making of the coveted “Annual Business Plan” (ABP), reworking on it several times and finally making the entire team buy in to your vision for the business – right from the Board and Top Management till the lowest cadre employee in the system. While the more organised Corporates and large companies go through this almost ritualistically, several mid-sized companies and SMEs usually tend to ignore the importance of “Strategic Planning”. When I say this, it’s not just about a dream number to achieve – be it any business. Rather, a methodical and practical way to build up the entire narrative – either top-down or bottom-up like a pyramid. But this is just so important, so we know what to do with the next 365 days. That’s a lot of time to achieve any business goal, honestly. 

The first day and the first few days of the new Financial Year is so important towards clear goal setting and creating measurable plans to execute them. While completing the ABP well in advance helps – one gets 365 days to achieve it, even starting off the process in early April is not bad at all. But not having a clear plan for every working day of the year is so important.

It’s better to have a clear plan, try one’s best to achieve it and still, fail to do so, rather not having a plan at all. I have seen several leaders grappling with business challenges through the year – one of it being unplanned on the way forward. 

Here’s wishing you all a healthy, wealthy prosperous FY 22-23 ahead. Cheers & Good luck. 

My trysts with Ad-film making

Yesterday, I completed making my 12^th Ad film, this one for my current employer Specsmakers. Though I always had a liking and flair for commercial cinema, the most I have come close is to write movie reviews. Never in my life did I imagine I would be part of 12 Ad films for 2 brands, one an established one with a great market presence and another, a budding consumer brand. Whichever way, it’s been a great learning experience.

It all began in 2020 during the peak of the first ever lockdown which was an outcome of an unknown viral disease which was popularised by its medical name SARS Novel Coronavirus, moniker name Covid-19. The country was shutdown for over 3 weeks since 27 March and the rest of the world was no different including Europe, Australia and everything in between, save for the US where the former President and many others reckoned that such a didn’t never exist – living in denial for long. 

I read newspaper reports of silly family arguments which led to extreme cases of domestic violence all the way leading up to suicides and divorce. The reason – disagreement to share household work. These were young couples, most of them who had not even crossed their 10^th wedding anniversaries. From a nervous breakdown due to not stepping out of home or socialising to concerns of job loss or loss of income, people were getting more depressed than ever. During late May, my septuagenarian parents tested positive for Covid-19. I took them to the Govt. approved medical isolation centre and dropped them off – eyes swollen and with an eerie feeling, whether I would see them ever after. To all our surprise, they both were discharged on the 3^rd day after a basic treatment even as the Govt. had to fill their beds with more deserving patients.

That’s when it stuck to me that I should do an AD film which would go on TV to showcase how Senior Citizens in India (and worldwide) went about doing their own things while the younger generation was complaining. The result was a TVC shoot feat. Pandmashree Dhananjayans, the ace dance couple from Chennai who popularised Bharatnatyam dance form world over. The couple shot for 8 hours, showcasing household work and enjoying Levista coffee & their own company! In a few months, we shot 3 Ads for Levista coffee to celebrate the association with Chennai Super Kings. The Ads which were played exclusively on TV channels and on Youtube went viral, garnering mass appeal and great brand presence. Later, we did 2 more ADs to celebrate the festival spirit and festivities as well as accepting WFH and moving on.

In 2021, when I joined Specsmakers, we shot 2 Ads, one of which was an industry first. The lead actor prompted people to buy a new pair of specs as part of their festival shopping which had some serious positive impact on our Deepavali Sales. The other one was two friends discussing about affordable specs continues to garner more and more respect for the brand.

And over the last 2 days, we shot six TVCs – yes, six of them in a tightly planned and executed schedule which wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation, strategic planning and execution of the Director and his capable team members. While all the 12 Ads have been directed by professional Ad film makers of high repute, I must say that I was actively involved in evolving the concept, writing the script, being at the shooting spot and making on-the-spot corrections and improvisations and of course, to plan their broadcast appropriately so the respective brands got their desired and deserved visibility and promotion.  Needless to say, never tried to ghost-direct the scenes while leaving all creative liberties to the Director, Camera & Lighting team, Costume Designers and the Actors.

Last but not the least, I also ended up acting in an AD film for Quick Heal anti-virus products which was released earlier this week. Though I desired to take up modelling 25 years back, it finally happened now! 

My most important learning from the creation of these Brand assets – either being behind the camera or in front of it, something for which I have not been formally trained, is that one can excel in any field of their choice including film-making, whether short form or long and at any age in their lifetime, provided we give our best to sincerely learn the techniques from scratch with dedication and latch on to the one who teach us. 

Practical experience that I have gained watching innumerous commercial feature films all these years have also helped me to appreciate the detailing and importance for nuances which have often come out at the sets and on the spot much to the surprise & delight of the crew!

Brands are timeless, Khans are not

If you have been following all the chatter on social media and top brand / advertising journals and magazines, the buzz is about the recent TVC feat. Shah Rukh Khan for Thums Up and the upcoming new TVC feat. Salman Khan for Pepsi. That the two have swapped their roles for their previously endorsed brands is one thing. But are they even relevant in today’s times is another. The last hit film of SRK was over 12 years back. I mean, a Box Office hit, that is. Salman, on the other hand is up with a new movie every 2 years for ID festival and gets attention across the world, though mostly from the hinterlands of India. While the collections in the first week of the film’s release have been ranging upwards of 100 Cr, 200 Cr & 300 Cr for Salman, that’s not the case for SRK, unfortunately. His core audience, the 90s kids are now having kids who are in their teens or twenties. The moustache-less handsome young man that SRK was faded away many moons back. His demeanour and confidence of Chak De! hasn’t been revisited by the ace actor ever after, for reasons best known to him.

So why would multi-nationals Pepsi & Coke risk their brand image with the Khans? 

After all, Brands are timeless but the Khans are not…

Ask any kid in their high school age group of today and there is a lean chance they would have watched DDLJ, HAHK or DTPH. If you are even wondering what these acronyms mean, you belong to a different era altogether. In the early to mid-90s, SRK endorsed Pepsi and took it across the country – from Board rooms to class rooms, office canteens to Tech Parks and beyond with his “Dil Maange more” campaigns alongside Sachin Tendulkar. On the other side, macho man Salman pounced with “Taste the Thunder” alongside ThumsUp, an Indianized cola drink which is supposedly more popular outside the metro cities. Over time, the two heroes and the other Khan, Mr. Perfect Aamir, endorsed the three cola brands including Coke among themselves. And then came the young crop of actors & sportsmen, mostly cricketers who took over and lead the campaigns.

In 2022, after many years of association with their preferred soft beverages, Salman and SRK have reversed their roles, moving in to the opposite camps, much to the surprise of their fans. The Ad-Industry and Brand veterans are divided in their views too. Salesmen of both companies are a confused lot, for having seen their current Brand Ambassadors in competitive camps earlier. The shopkeepers, mostly kirana owners are clueless how these things work. For the common people on the road, it’s yet another marketing gimmick by multinational companies spending crores of rupees to drive sales. 

The verdict is clearly divided.

Why would SRK, who has always been known for his soft image, even in his recent outings like “Love you Zindagi” portray a more mean image with his latest campaign? See the Ad here.

And with Antim, Salman proved to be the most macho among Bollywood heroes (perhaps after Dharam garam) and remains a bachelor at 57 years of age alongside SRK – yes, that’s correct. In 2025, they both would turn Senior Citizens! 

Why have the best of Marketing minds in Pepsi and Coke chosen this path? Have they run out of options in today’s sporting and entertainment fields? Absolutely not. Do they still believe SRK & Salman draw their own crowds and fan following? Perhaps yes. A big yes, at that. 

Salman’s fanbase is far wider than that of SRK’s. That could be a reason why Pepsi has now onboarded Salman, so they get to target the more mature audience, supposedly. On the other hand, SRK’s core fanbase has now entered their 40s and 50s, some in their 60s too. Perhaps, ThumsUp with Rum is a great combination. Also, ThumsUp could now be vying more familial attention. Maybe not. 

All said and done, Khans age, brands don’t. They will outlive this campaign anyway.