Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2013

It’s Time to Shun Berlusconi

Italy’s High Level of Government debt makes it Vulnerable to a Worsening Sovereign debt crisis. Can Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, who is Currently Facing Sex & Power abuse Charges, save Italy from a free fall?

While the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been extremely successful in organising his famous “Bunga Bunga” parties (which he denies of and is currently facing sex & power abuse charges), the 74-year-old TV magnate-turned-conservative politician has totally failed when it comes to handle the Italian economy which has been struggling to gain momentum following the 2009 recession that forced the value of its economic output to shrink by 6.7% (Q1 2009).

A closer look at the numbers and one can easily sense the real trouble. First, at 130%, the debt-to-GDP ratio of Italy is surpassed by no other eurozone nation (except Greece and Ireland, which have already opted for EU-IMF bailout package). Second, its anemic nominal GDP growth rate of 1.23% per annum over the past decade makes it the second slowest growing economy in the euro area after Portugal (Portugal’s growth rate has averaged only 1% during the past ten years). If this isn’t enough, Italy’s recovery has already started losing momentum as GDP growth slows to 0.1% (q-o-q) in Q1 2011 from 0.3% in Q3 2010, the weakest performance over the last one year.

In fact, several economists expect the Italian GDP growth to slow to 0.6% in 2011 from 1% in 2010 as major fiscal consolidation at the domestic level, as well as in most of its European trading partners, weighs on demand. While fiscal tightening across Europe is set to dampen demand for key Italian exports as four of its five biggest trading partners (Germany, France, Spain and UK) are in Europe, private consumption (which comprises over 50% of Italy’s GDP) too is expected to remain under pressure considering high unemployment, subdued wage growth, and tight credit situation in the country. Softer domestic and export sales could even prompt some companies to stop hiring and slim workforces. This, combined with public sector job cuts, is set to put upward pressure on the unemployment rate, which is already hovering at 8.7% at present.

Further, the economy lacks one of the most important components of all if growth is expected to be sustainable – the gross fixed investment, which has once again started falling after growing at a healthy rate of 4.6% during first quarter of 2010. In fact, the rate of gross fixed investment is expected to deteriorate further as the weak economy erodes profit margins and puts downward pressure on capacity utilisation. What’s more? Moody’s Analytics anticipate the growth in gross fixed investment to come down to literally zero by Q3 2011.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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Saturday, September 8, 2012

“2010 has been Audi’s most successful year in India”

Michael Perschke, who took over Benoit Tiers, as the head of Audi India’s operations in July this year talks exclusively to B&E on how the three pronged strategy has helped them increase Audi’s market share in India

Audi India witnessed a change of hands in July this year as 42-year-old Michael Perschke took over as the head of the luxury car brand in the domestic market. He succeeded Benoit Tiers (promoted to Head of Audi in France) who started India operations for Audi in 2007. Perschke, who hails from Germany, began with Audi AG in 2008 and has worked extensively in Europe and Asia. Interestingly, his earlier stint in India was as General Manager for Audi’s rival Mercedes-Benz between 1997 and 2000 when he was in charge of network development and regional sales. Here, in a candid conversation with B&E, Perschke shares his deep insights about the company’s rapidly growing India operations and how it is gearing up to fight the onslaught of other luxury car makers.

B&E: Audi has always been a surprise package and has proved to be an eclipse for the other luxury car makers across the globe. How has been the experience when it comes to India?
Michael Perschke (MP): Audi is currently one of the fastest growing luxury car brand in India, with an impressive year-to-date growth of 63%. In fact, 2010 has been Audi’s most successful year in India. We have clocked a total sale of 2,178 cars during January-September 2010, recording an exceptional growth over 2009 when we sold 1,333 units during the same period. We have also surpassed our last year’s annual sales of 1,658 cars. This exceptional sales performance has led to the revision of our annual sales target from 2,300 to 2,700 units for 2010. We are confident that the consistent growth that we have been witnessing will ensure that Audi India achieves its goals for the year.

B&E: So, what was it that actually helped Audi increase its market share as well as profitability in India?
MP: Audi India operates on a three pronged strategy. First, to spread awareness about Audi’s brand image and products among its target audience. Second is to offer its customers an energetic product line and service offering and third, to establish an efficient infrastructure and strengthen its dealer network across metro and non-metro cities. It’s actually this three dimensional strategy that has worked for Audi in India. Currently we are present in 13 locations across India, with showrooms in Mumbai (West), Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Pune. In fact, this year we have already opened new showrooms in Jaipur, Mumbai (West), Kolkata and Bengaluru, while Chennai and Ludhiana are on the horizon. Further developments include Lucknow, Coimbatore and Nagpur. We are also offering support to our customers in locations where we are not formally present at the moment through our customer care initiative – Audi Top Assist – a 24x7 road side assistance programme which includes our nearest located dealers. After-sales support too is provided by the nearest Audi authorised workshop and the same is communicated to the customer at the point of sale. Our innovative customer-centric approach, attention to detail and superior after-sales services differentiate us from competition and creates experiences for our customers that are in sync with our brand values globally.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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