MUSINGS

Case Study SUMIT Morro watched as his advisor Arun Kar loaded a cassette into the VCR. Arun was the consultant the Morro Group had hired to audit the performance of Galaxy, Sumit's six-month-old superstore in Mumbai. Arun clicked the button on the remote and said: "Okay, watch this." The video clip showed a young man walk into Galaxy. He heads straight for the toys section, does not browse much, finds the action figures shelf, picks out a Spiderman web shooter, briefly glances at the adjoining carton - 'Spiderman gear' - gives it a miss, and leaves the section. "That was six minutes," said Arun, as the man walked towards the cash counter. But, on the way, he pauses at the hair care section, browses awhile, ("That was nine minutes," said Arun) looks around, ("He is looking for sales assistance, but can't find any") then again makes his way towards the cash counter. He pauses, turns into the men's section, spends 22 minut...

dancing with strangers by rekha krishnan this case was published in the jan-mar 2002, Q102 issue of The Smart Manager. the case Reading the latest cover story on the Anthrax scare brought an irked look on Dr Anjan Mehta's pleasant face. Of late, newspapers and business magazines had intensified the debate on patents and pharmaceutical companies. The World Trade Organization's (WTO) approaching deadline on product patents in 2005 was overshadowed by the threat of global biological warfare. The Anthrax attacks in cities as far flung as Washington and Nagpur were but the beginning of a new world order. For years, India-based Nimax Laboratories had been waiting for the opening up of the $30 billion world generics market when nearly 60 blockbuster drugs would go off patent. The world wide biological attacks had shaken the concept of patent protection among government officials, especially in the US after the destruction of the World Trade Centre (WTC). As Anjan flipped thro...

case study Storm in a coffee cup Does the socio-economic mindset of the marketing manager drive the brand's image? Do trendy brands need trendy mindsets? Meera Seth S ubhash Nayyar had never expected this. Farzana Mistry, marketing head of the Cuppa Café (CC) business, was suggesting that she would resign. Startled and confused, he told her to hang on while he sat in his huge room and thought. At 52, he had settled in a comfort zone with his ideas and ideology. But the CC business under Farzana Mistry had suddenly whipped up a whole new set of arguments which Minot's traditional tea and coffee business could never have. The CC chain of cafes were doing great under her, and he was not about to...