Shopping Marts

I am currently in the midst of shopping for furniture and all sorts of goods for my house - so i have had the chance to check out all the new shopping marts that have come up in Delhi - Reliance Mart, Lifestyle, Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, & Shoppers Stop.

Big Bazaar and Reliance Mart are the new Walmart's of India - they are awesome. The stuff is really really cheap and there is a wide assortment. In the mall in Faridabad that I went to, Reliance Mart covered the entire ground floor. The store not only had a pharmacy, grocery store, personal care, home goods but also furniture and electronics. The store was sparkling clean with plenty of room to move around. Goods were not stuffed - but very neatly displayed. There was even a car on display for sale! But even better than that - was for Rs. 20 you could get GolGuppa's made from Bisleri water - now that was the real treat.

Shoppers Stop and Pantaloon to me are more akin to a Target. They have very nice stuff. Unfortunately, the only problem was that I bought a Salwar Kameez from Pantaloon - and to my dismay everyone knew where it was from! And half of the people had bought something similar. So if you are looking to be unique - this would not be your best bet. But again the prices are quite reasonable and I would say the stuff is quite good quality.

Lifestyle is another option. They have quite a large home shopping center - ie. furniture and other stuff that you would require for a house. It is a combination of a Target + Lowes. They have modular kitchens, showers, tiles etc to select from. Honestly going there the first time is very overwhelming.

With all these stores, the choices available are mindblowing.

The Restaurant Saga Continues

Just thought I would update you all on the restaurant SAGA, since we went there two days ago. We, of course, asked to be seated outdoors - but to our dismay - they would not be able to serve us liquor there. OK, I still don't drink - so it really would not have mattered to me - other than the fact that it is nice to sit outside on a cool night. But my, my what a high cost for all of the regulars to pay - and how much business must the bar lose. Well, I guess rules are rules, and here is one instance I guess that the law is winning out and so is that bloody belligerent customer. It is good to see law and order restored ... and that if you are in the wrong - you better not take on a panga with your customers!

Usage of the Internet in Daily Life

I have been dealing with lots of trade - folk lately and it always interesting for me to understand if they use the Internet and how they use it. I just am searching for bids for installation of ACs in my new house in which I asked the gentleman to email me the quote. So after three tries of trying to write my email ID, the gentleman quickly put his assistant on the phone to take my email and promised to send it promptly. The email arrived but with no attachment of the quote – so I called the vendor back. He said – "Maam – I think that it will be simpler for me to just get it sent across to you. (Send it across - meaning physically). What is your address – it will be there in an hour or two." So that was that – and my quote arrived on paper a couple of hours later.

I have also been dealing with Architect and a relatively small company that is making my furniture for me. The good news is that they all have INTERNET access and all have email. What is difficult is the communication and constant back and forth discussion. It has been mainly used to send across a quote, a document or a picture. But in terms of dicussion, one just picks up the phone. There is none of this email back and forth.

I have also been watching the younger generation and their usage of the net. There is definitely a lot of entertainment content being used – ie. Downloading songs, playing games online, email, using Facebook and Orkut and ofcourse going to Youtube. Most of the kids in our house use the Internet every other day. And for about 30 minutes or so. Even in the house where I am staying, even though we have WLAN, we do not keep it on all the time. We turn it on when we want to access the NET. It is not part of the daily obsession to wake-up and check emails!

I can already see a lot of iPhones in Delhi although it has just been released a couple of months ago. I was at the Intercontinental Hotel speaking with the shift manager and asked him a question. He quickly whisked out his iphone to get me the answer. This seems to be quite the norm – with people using the mobile more frequently to access the Internet and search for quick information.

I was also impressed when interviewing for my assistant that most of them use the Internet regularly from home. Most of them use it for email. They all also applied for the job - using one of the websites were we had posted the listing. Couple of them had even searched for company information to prepare for the Internet. So, all in all, in the Metro there is a familiarity, usage but not an obsession with being online.

Buying in Delhi, Oh My!

I just purchased a small apartment in Saket in Delhi. It is a small apartment with the ground and basement, or what is referred to as a duplex. Given that this was the first time for me to buy in India – it was quite an interesting experience – since the real estate sector in India is quite unorganized! There is no concept of MLS Listing or such - where you are able to view the entire inventory of what is available in the market or registered real-estate agents.

First and foremost in terms of difficulty is the lack of availability of data to understand what prices are in a particular region. Then there are no places that you can go to see prior transaction sales – or registered prices – and even if there were – given the high variability in black and white monies, it would be hard to understand what the prior sales prices are. There are a few Internet sites that are currently offering listed prices summary.

So I had to rely on friends and family, brokers and ofcourse my own research. Some Internet sites are quite good for data collection. The only downside is that unlike an MLS listings in the US – the same property may be listed multiple times, most are listed by brokers, there are limited pictures and descriptives and the listing are nowhere near exhaustive.

I used 99Acres.Com quite a lot in my home search. IT was a GODSEND. I also used Makaan.com and Sulekha classifieds. I was not pleased with either of these last two. 99Acres.com not only afforded me the ability to see properties available in different areas of South Delhi but also understand what areas are in my budget. By quickly creating a spreadsheet of listed prices in South Delhi from several different sites and speaking to friends I quickly learned that South Delhi is very very expensive with the top areas fetching upwards of $1000 sq/Ft for an apartment. The price that you will pay for an apartment in South Delhi is more expensive than most large cities in the US – ie. Chicago or Boston.

When you scan the classified listings, it is mindblowing with Houses in Vasant Vihar listed for for $4 – 5 Million. I was shocked. The last couple of years have seen a doubling of prices every year. And even in the slowdown, there has been some prices declines – but most people living in South Delhi believe that Delhi is Delhi, and South Delhi is South Delhi – and will be mostly immune to the downturn. Aaah – I remember the same being said for Manhattan – and look at it now. I think that prices will adjust ... but thats just me!

It is really a question of availability in Delhi. Delhi is expected to be the third most densely populated metro bu 2025. The third – after Japan and then Mumbai. From my own experience when I narrowed in on Saket area due to its affordability and close proximity to my sister’s in laws family) – the broker was able to show me 4 -5 flats in my price bracket. That’s it. That was the inventory that my broker had. Since all flats are not listed – there may have been more. There is a lot of information asymmetry and hence you may need to work with a few brokers to see all the inventory. My fourplex – which was completed only a few months ago – Is fully sold – with the last flat sold only last week.

In South Delhi, it is mostly houses that are being converted into apartments 0r what is referred to as builder floors. These are mostly constructed by lots of small small developers. And if you have seen Khosla Ka Ghosla – you really do feel like you are in a movie - when you are buying a house. You need to have an excellent broker with a good sense of the market trends and negotiating skills. Negotiating is also nothing like putting in a formal offer – it is all done face to face – and everything is agreed, with brokers on both sides skillfully managing expectations and trying to conclude a deal. Honestly, the whole experience for me was like a movie scene – but one in which there is no director – but lots and lots of actors. The entire negotiation for the purchase of my apartment was concluded in one meeting with the developer and in two hours flat. You need to go in knowing what is your walk away price and be ready to close a deal. I was ofcourse given 5 days to check all the paperwork (this is again a nightmare – you need an expert here!).

All in all, I am happy I bought in South Delhi. But if I had known how complex it would be – I may have opted for a developer flat from a large builder in Gurgoan after all. Gurgoan and Noida are the more straight forward ways to go.

Here is where the action is in Delhi:
· Tier 1: JorBagh, SunderNagar ( the prices here are so high – that one can only dream)
· Tier 2: Vasant Vihar ( don’t even think about this area unless you can think > $800 Sq. Ft)
· Tier 3: Pansheel Park, NitiBagh, Hauz Kaus, Safderjung Enclave, New Friends Colony
· Tier 4: Greater Kailash, Defence Colony, Vasant Kunj ( Prices > 300/Sq Ft)
· Tier 5: Saket, East of Kailesh (Prices > $200 / sq ft)
· Tier 6: Chittaranjan Park, Shivalik, Kalkaji, Sarita Vihar (Prices > $150/sq ft)
· Tier 7: Josola ( Up & coming area and hence not very well developed)

My first sms breakup

It is no shock that Mobile phone usage in India is mindblowing. It seems that everyone has a Mobile Phone - from the driver, to the maids, to the autorickshaw drivers to the small roadside street vendors. With 30% mobile phone penetration overall , or 300M or so users, it is low compared to other countries - but in the metros it seems to be all about mobiles. To put the number in prespective, India has already overtaking the US in absolute terms of users, ranking it #2 in the world next to China.

So with all these mobile phones around - SMS is also a big phenomena. I will come back to all the junk SMS that I recieve on a daily basis - but generally speaking the educated class is quite familiar with SMS and uses it quite frequently as a means of keeping in touch. And for those that cannot read/write and also for the rest of us that are too lazy to type - there is also voice SMS. Voice SMS is just like leaving a message - but really much better - you don't have to hope that the other person will NOT pick up. And I ofcourse got an junk marketing SMS only two -three days ago from AIRTEL ( my mobile carrier) - that I too can send voice SMS for only 75 paise/SMS ( about a 1.5 cents) by just putting * before the number. It is really quite simple.

So when my designer decided one fine day to just quit on me - there was no phone call - just an SMS saying that she is sorry that she will not be able to finish the job since her workers have already left for Diwali and that she is really tied up with other jobs. Just like that with an SMS - she decided to quit on me. No phone call or anything. Since most of the stuff works on word of mouth - there are really no contracts or anything like that. YOU work on a trust based system. Since, we were both referred to each other through a common friend - there was no question of not trusting the other person to deliver. But I guess I was dead wrong. But I guess what bothered me the most - that she did not call to discuss with me what are the options - NOTHING. Just an SMS out of nowhere. The unprofessionalism of the whole thing. AND not to mention that the entire process has set me back by more than one month.

A highly specialized society

I don't know about you but when most of us think about India - high efficiency and high degree of speciality do not really come to mind. But more and more I am finding out - that this is really the case. I think that it became obvious to me when I went to two different salons for beauty treatments .. yes .. the torture that we must through as women. Ok - I am totally bullshitting here - cause anyone that knows me - knows that I love to go to spas.

So what was so different about the Indian experience - the high degree of efficiency and super specialization. Take for example - when I went to get my roots touched up - there were I kid you not - four different people to take care of me. Ofcourse, there was the colorist - now he is the one at the top of the food chain here since his is the time that was the most precious and needed to be optimized. There was a helper that he could shout out to mix the color, another to get me coffee (miost important) and another to wash my hair. But my colorist had to also double as a stylist so he had to blow dry my hair - so ofcourse there was another assistant to hold the hair-dryer while he worked on my tresses. I must say the result was fabulous and the time saving was mind blowing. All in all, in the one hour I was there - the color expert - had to spend no more than 10 or 15 minutes with me!

Ok .. still not convinced. I also have gone to get a facial, a pedicure and a manicure. In the US, you may have gone to one of the Chineese run salon - which are pretty efficient I must say. But this was the best. Again, my master treatment giver - never left my side - whether it be she needed a hot towel, a change of water or any other tool. She was with me the entire time - with many lackeys running around for her getting her whatever she needed. Sometimes, it can feel a bit disruptive - but boy are things fast.

I guess that there are some positives to having a lot of labor that one can have the right level of person for the right job.

The State of the Internet in India

I will try to summarize what I have gathered about the state of the Internet from the TIE sessions that I have attended in the last few days. Since my venture is focused of NEW MEDIA - these were the sessions of keen interest for me. Please don't quote me .. as I write what I heard and have not verified any of the information.

• The number of Internet Users depending on whom you believe is somewhere in the range of 30 - 100M. Quite a large range, but noone really knows for sure.
• The inflection point for the Internet is about 80M based on learnings from China. This number was thrown around at a couple of different sessions. This is when the Internet becomes an attractive medium for advertisers. Internet usage is still in its early days in India. In the next 18 - 24 months, it is expected that India will reach the inflection point.
• Access to the Internet via the mobile will also continue to grow - again we expect the mass numbers to be in the next few years as we have better browsers, Querty keypads and cheaper phones.
• Only the #1 and #2 sites will be profitable in a specific category or horizontal sites. Niches / Verticals are the way to go.
• Reliance stated that ZAPAK has 4M registered users and is doing over $2M USD in advertising. Advertising is picking up on the Internet. The overall rate of advertising in India is growing at 18%. The growth of Internet advertising is double or triple this number.
• Growth of BB users will happen via mobile (ie. 3G or wimax) - it is highly unlikely that this will be the landline phenomena that we are used to in the US. Although, the IT minister did promise that in the next couple of years that the Internet connectivity will be available at the village level.
• There was some concern about the content on the Internet. Currently there is no killer application. It is thought that Entertainment will be the key driver not E-commerce. There was a lot of debate about local language content being one of the key drivers of growth. Currently, there is not enough compelling content for the masses.
• In terms of areas of investment, it seems that education sector and the favorites web2.0/KPOs was mentioned many many times. Sequoia invested $18M or so in TutorVista and still feels that there is tremendous headroom in this sector. Also, according to Educomp (the market leader) - that the market is fragmented with no player with more than 2% market share. Growth in population, usage of technology and the fact that usually education is recession proof will provide many new areas of growth.
• Another areas rasing eyebrows is what is know referred to as the CtoG and the GtoC sector. Big brother is everywhere and the Internet will be no exception. There will be lots of opportunity in the Government to Consumer segment.
• Raising VC financing will be tough. It will be a must-have to have a product and a well defined revenue model. It will be the survival of the best and brightest.

And on a totally unrelated note, India is now the 5th largest market for Louis Vuitton Goods after #1 -Japan, and #2 - France. It just goes to show that there are plenty of people that can afford Luxury goods. From this I can only extrapolate - that there are plenty of people at the top of the pyramid avialing of services such as the Internet .. but know how to get to those at the bottom of the pyramid.