Promoting India Latin America Collaboration

Building fashion empires of their own

September 25th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, Brazil, BRICs, India
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International Herald Tribune

Some insiders believe that Indian brands, which already have a majority share of the country’s luxury market at their fingertips, are more attractive to investors than local designers in other emerging economies.

“Why smaller versions of the European conglomerates?,” asks Akshaya Chauhan, a director of the Fashion Design Council of India, who believes that nascent Indian conglomerates have every reason to dream big and try to match the scale of LVMH one day.

Unlike in Russia, China or Brazil, fashion consumers in India continue to favor traditional or fusion dress over imports. That gives Indian brands an edge over international luxury brands, Chauhan said, adding, “The average discerning consumer will take time before graduating to wear all-Western clothes.”

Anil Chopra, vice president for Lakme, the beauty company that sponsors Lakme Fashion Week, has seen more deep pockets sitting in the front rows of Mumbai’s fashion shows than ever before.

“Over the last two to three years, there has been a high degree of interest from potential investors in the Indian fashion business,” Chopra said. “Some are purely private equity funds, while others have been more strategic in nature, who will bring in expertise in the processes, contacts and so on.”

Mass- and mid-market Indian apparel retailers, like the Pantaloons chain and Reliance Industries, have recently spun off companies dedicated to acquiring new fashion brands. Their respective subsidiaries, Future Brands and Reliance Retail, are reportedly looking for local brands to develop.

Meanwhile, designer brands on the catwalks of New Delhi and Mumbai have already caught the eye of Sanjay Kapoor, managing director of the holding company Genesis Colors. This summer, Genesis was injected with an investment of 1.1 billion rupees , or $24 million, from a private equity consortium led by the U.S. firm Sequoia Capital Fund.

“Mr. Kapoor has invested in local brands, like Satya Paul and home-grown designer Deepika Gehani, with the goal of turning small-scale family businesses into commercial enterprises,” said Bandana Tewari, fashion features editor at Vogue India.

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Meet the giant-killers in soccer

September 21st, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Arts, Culture and Society, Brazil, Latin America
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Express Buzz –

JULIO Cesar,Lucio,Luis Fabiano,Ronaldinho,Robinho! No prizes on offer for guessing. Not even for Lionel Messi, Riquelme, Carlos Tevez. The entire world knows that they are gems from the lustrous footballing fields of Brazil and Argentina respectively.

But Johan Fano and Piero Alva Niezen or Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Valdez of Paraguay or Jaime Robles and Ronald Raldes of Bolivia? Well, indeed the biggest prize could be on offer. To give it away, they belong to Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia respectively. Not just that, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have been having a tough time in containing them and a host of other talented players from these less acclaimed nations in terms of soccer silverware.

Brazil are the only five-time World Cup winners — 1958, 1962, 1970 during the Pele, Vava, Didi, Garrincha, Tostao, Jairzinho era and, later, in 1994 with Romario, Bebeto and Dunga around. Their last triumph was in 2002 with Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho at their best.

Argentina won it for the first time in 1978 during the Daniel Pasarella and Leopaldo Luque era. The Diego Maradona period brought them success in 1986. Uruguay won the World Cup twice in 1930 and 1950.

Collectively, these three nations have won the World Cup on nine occasions to match Italy (4 times), Germany (thrice), England and France (once each) to make it South America 9, Europe 9 of the 18 World Cup tournaments played so far.

One would naturally expect the South Americans to have a cakewalk during the continental qualification phase of the World Cup. But year after year, nations which send shivers down the spines of aspirants from Europe, challengers from Africa and participants from Asia at every World Cup finals, struggle to eventually make the grade.

South American countries like Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia appear unfazed by their presence of their illustrious rivals. In fact, they do scrape away a lot of lustre from their reputations with truly gutsy and brilliant performances.

Brazil, Argentina? Bring them on. Long live South American soccer!

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Cultural similarities: India and Latin America – Polychronism

September 20th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, India, Latin America
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Continuing on the theme of cultural similarities, one other cultural trait that is shared in these 2 regions is polychronism (From the Greek – “poly” – many, “chronos” – time), as coined by the anthropologist Edward Hall.

In polychronic cultures, time exists to serve people – and not the other way around. No trains show up at 1402 hrs and no meeting lasts for exactly 25 minutes. Time is seen as a renewable resource and people can always ‘make more time’ for you. One of the outcomes is people tend to over commit – e.g. senior government officials can have 5 or 6 people show up outside their office between 11hrs and 11:30hrs. Wait times for appointments are to be expected – 10 to 30 minutes is routine, even longer if meeting a someone at a senior level in an organization.

People tend to do many things simultaneously. It is not necessary to finish one task before starting on the next one. One of the places to see this in action is during a hotel check-in – usually at a locally owned establishment, not typically at a foreign-owned star hotel. A receptionist will process 3 or 4 check-ins at once. Also, it is not necessary to finish an appointment with one person before taking on other comers. 1-on-1 business meetings can be interrupted to take/make personal phone calls; 5 or 10 minutes (or more!) can pass before the meeting is resumed. Meeting agendas are not typical – even if prepared, meetings can deviate wildly from them and “go all over the place”.

If 2 people are having a conversation, other persons overhearing or passing by can jump right in. It is not seen as an interruption.


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Argentina and Uruguay’s tango row

September 17th, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Arts, Culture and Society, Uruguay
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BBC NEWS | Programmes |

One of the great Argentine icons, alongside footballer Diego Maradona and the former first lady, Eva Peron, is the tango singer, Carlos Gardel.

Pictures of him with his slicked-backed hair and perfectly tailored suits adorn many Argentine bars and restaurants and you will often hear his songs played by Buenos Aires taxi drivers on the all-tango radio stations.

He was an early playboy, an international superstar who came to a tragic and premature end in a plane crash in Colombia in 1935. Gardel is to Argentina what Frank Sinatra is to the United States or Edith Piaf is to France.

So while driving through northern Uruguay recently, I had to take a second look when I saw a sign pointing to Carlos Gardel’s birthplace and museum.

How cheeky can you get? It is like Canadians saying that Sinatra was not really born in Hoboken, New Jersey, but in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Or the British claiming that Edith Piaf really hailed from Basingstoke in southern England.

Gardel is as Argentine as a big lump of juicy steak being barbequed by gauchos out on the pampas. But not according to the Uruguayans, and they have the evidence to prove it – or so they say.

[T]his dispute goes to the heart of Argentine and Uruguayan national identity.Tango is not just a style of music and dance – it is the beat to
which both nations evolved from their immigrant roots. It matters.

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In South America, Gauchos Still Ride Tall in the Saddle — and So Can You

September 15th, 2008 Posted in Argentina, Arts, Culture and Society, Tourism, Uruguay
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WashingtonPost

Even Charles Darwin was smitten by gauchos.

Notes from his 1833 expedition to South America excitedly describe a rare breed of cowboys discovered riding the open plains, “long, black hair curling down their backs . . . daggers at their waists” and weather-beaten guitars in tow.

For centuries, the itinerant gauchos roamed the South American countryside, toiling on ranches, serenading small-town women and inspiring folk legends about their footloose way of life.

Now, growing numbers of working farms, known in Argentina and Uruguay as estancias, are offering modern-day explorers the chance to experience the gaucho lifestyle for themselves, with a few contemporary comforts thrown in.

“The original gauchos were just wanderers,” Castro explains in Spanish,
lifting a gate to let the cattle back out to pasture. “They didn’t have
a home.” The herd streams past and recedes into the plains. Beyond, a
sea of scruffy grass rolls to the horizon.

It was on lonely plains such as these that, in the early 1700s, the
gaucho was born, the progeny of Spanish colonists and local Indians.
The mixed-race gauchos played Spanish guitars but wore ponchos; they
smoked tobacco but also sipped mate, an indigenous tea brewed from a
pampas shrub.

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The Wonders of Peru

September 13th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, Peru, Tourism, Videos
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Great show on the Travel Channel at the invitation of former President Alejandro Toledo. Brilliant marketing move for tourism. Parts 1, 3 and 5 of this show follow.

In 2002, I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, watched the Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) celebrations at Sacsayhuaman, outside Cuzco, and went trekking in the Cordillera Blanca around Huaraz. Spectacular! I highly recommend a visit.

YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image

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Cultural similarities: India and Latin America – High power distance

September 11th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, India, Latin America, Philosophy and Culture
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In a previous post, I’d outlined a list of culturally similar values that exist across India and Latin America. One of these is high power distance. Power distance is how cultures deal with status differences among people and the access to power that comes with those differences. In other words, how cultures or societies view inequality?

High power distance means many levels in the org chart

High power distance means many levels in the org chart

High power distance cultures tend to view inequality as normal or natural. Just as some people are more beautiful or more intelligent than others, some people have more power – and the influence that comes with it. Those with power will do everything possible to show or heighten it, and not share it . At the same time there’s an expectation for a corresponding benevolence to be shown to the underlings. What are some behaviors that manifest this cultural value?

At the workplace – 1) ‘The boss is always right’; it is not okay to openly disagree with the boss; doing favors to please the boss is good 2) Subordinates are not expected to take initiative but wait for instructions from superiors; bosses are expected to check up frequently on the work of subordinates 3) Bosses make decisions and that decision is final- if there is a problem ‘proper channels’ have to be utilized to have the decisions overturned 4) Differences between bosses and subordinates are clear – they will sit and eat separately in the company cafeteria; not socialize together; use different vehicles (in keeping with their differing places in the organizational hierarchy – e.g. BMW 5 series vs. Hyundai Accent, a company vice-president is not expected to show up to work on a bicycle, however environmental his leanings.

Outside the workplace – ‘status-consciousness’, behaviors include wearing designer clothes (Armani/Dior), using branded consumer goods (paying 2 to 3 times U.S. American or European prices to have an iPhone), sending children to the right private school/university, belonging to the right club etc.

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More Italian dons

September 8th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, India
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Business Standard

I don’t know what it is about all things Italian that so fascinates us in India — maybe the oft-touted similarities between our way of thinking, maybe the halo of the Roman Empire, and perhaps, the fascinating ambience of the country.

Whatever the reasons, there has been a recent rash of Italian designer stores (clothing, accessories and shoes) being launched in the metros, Italian “plug-n-cook” kitchens are catching on, and Italian fashion seems to be closing in on haute couture.

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Lorena Rojas: ‘I’d love to do a Bollywood film’

September 5th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, India, Mexico
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India Buzz-Entertainment-The Times of India

“I have tried a bit of Indian food and it’s not very different from Mexican food. I love the food here,” she giggles. “I’m obsessive about exercising, because I think about eating food all the time! So before coming to India, I exercised a lot so that I could be a glutton here. I’m a big foodie.”

This is Lorena’s first visit to India, but, she says, she plans to “see all the places India is famous for, eat the food and yes, watch some movies.” That’s because she hasn’t seen any so far. “There, in Mexico or Miami, not a lot of Bollywood or Indian entertainment stuff is available. The same happens with Mexican stars. A lot of people in India, I’m sure, don’t know the most famous Mexican superstars,” she explains.

It was the “magic of TV” that made Lorena want to be an actress. “Since I was little, I’d sit in front of the TV and imitate the actresses. In Mexico, TV is more popular than the movies. I’ve done some movies too, but I enjoy TV. The world of movies is very different.”

Would she like to do a Bollywood film? “Sure! I’d love to work in a Bollywood movie, but the script has to be really strong. And I don’t mind singing and dancing here, because I’ve done all that in Mexico,” she says brightly.

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Brazil’s New C-Class

September 4th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, Brazil
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Latin Business Chronicle


The main positive consequence of the country’s recent development is
the growth of its middle class, which for the first time in history
includes the majority of Brazil’s population. The addition of more
than 20 million people – 11 percent of the population – from SES level
D into SES C officially transitioned them from “non-consumers” to
“consumers.” If the band keeps playing the same tune, another 10
million are expected to join the party in the next three to five
years. This migration is creating a gigantic consumption class, avid
for mid-level and even high-ticket items to which they rarely had
access in the last decade.

Demographics are also changing the profile of Brazilian consumers. The population growth rate now stands at a record low of nearly 1.8 percent annually, and life expectancy has risen to more than 70 years. As a result, Brazil is now a ‘country of adults,’ where two-thirds of the population are of working age, generating and spending wealth, and at the same time sustaining the third of Brazilians who are too old or too young to work. If these demographics continue, in one or two decades this productive class will retire with time and money to spend on products and services launched specifically for them – a trend that many companies have already noticed. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) estimates that the revenues of currently retired Brazilians reached $10 billion in 2006.

Another notable trend is the growing number of people living alone and married couples without children, as Brazilians delay both marriage and the birth of their first child. IBGE estimates that “one-person households” will grow from 8 million to 12 million in the next four years, and that the number of couples without kids will grow at 7 percent annually, reaching 14 million households in 2014.

As these changes occur, industries see opportunities in a number of segments, from credit cards and electronics to cosmetics, tourism, food & beverage, and entertainment.

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