IndiGo’s take off, and the business plan behind it.

IndiGo Airlines http://www.topnews.in/companies/indigo-airlines

The Indian airline industry is cutthroat. The top five airlines, Indian, Kingfisher, Jet Airways, IndiGo, and SpiceJet are in a constant fight for market share. The fierce battle escalated last year when India’s once top airline, Kingfisher fell from first place to last in a matter of months thanks to financial woes. Kingfisher’s drop created a vacuum, and allowed for an unassuming rival to take its place. IndiGo, the newest of the five swept into the number one position, and its executives say they owe their new found success to their rigid business plan.

IndiGo’s founder Rahul Bhatia beat out industry veterans http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/indigo-in-most-promising-companies/1/18666.html

IndiGo has stuck faithfully by a low cost model, something its competitors moved away from years ago. The airline offers the bare minimum in terms of services, but also the lowest rates. This appeals to the Indian markets as most travelers aren’t very well to do, and distances are fairly short. Clients don’t seem to care too much about the journey, but merely getting there safely.

The new leader offers just that. It boasts a record for the most on-time flights, and arguably the best safety rating in the country. IndiGo was also quick to move into routes abandoned by Kingfisher, as it added a staggering one plane per six weeks to its fleet.

First mover advantage clearly plays no role in the Indian airline market. Customers will go for whatever option is cheapest and ensures a hassle-free journey, and IndiGo has unmistakably gotten that down to a science.

Spark: Indigo Sticks to the Basics

Xi’s in control. 

Xi Jinping stands with China’s next leaders http://www.bbc.com/

Next March, when Xi Jinping is appointed China’s President, he will face a very different set of issues than his predecessor, Hu Jintao. Chinese economic growth rates have slowed for seven quarters, and faltering western economies mean a weaker demand for China’s exports. These problems were addressed in Andrea Duarte’s blog post “China: Should it Keep Growing?“

Deng Xiaoping, China’s original champion of reform
http://topics.time.com/deng-xiaoping/pictures/

Mr. Jinping will also have to tackle calls for freedom from his people and the global community.

I firmly believe that China’s economic and social issues are tightly connected. To set the nation back on track, leaders must further open markets, and allow greater freedom of speech. An increased flow of ideas will help China innovate and rely less upon its manufacturing sector. This was done with radically beneficial effects in the 70s and 80s with Deng Xiaoping as president.

I disagree with Andrea’s concerns for China’s large population. This factor is more a positive than a negative, as it provides a large group of buyers for the nation’s goods, and an enormous workforce.

If the new leaders can let go of stubborn and outdated regulation, China has the potential to overcome challenges and retake its place as an undisputed economic powerhouse.

Spark: Andrea Duarte’s post and The Man Who Must Change China

Thank you Kyle for your thoughtful response!

EasyDay, a multibrand retailer partly owned by Walmart already has 170 stores in India http://www.bharti-retail.in/

The dilemma of multibrand stores.

Street-side vendors and small family owned businesses are pretty iconic in India, but many fear that this may dramatically change after the federal government passed legislation on September 20^th.  Aimed at boosting India’s faltering economy, the new laws opened up the market to multibrand retailers such as Walmart.

This change has sparked mass protests and strikes across the country as business owners and their employees feared going out of business.  India’s battered farmers are also concerned that they will fetch less for their goods with the new regulations.

Supporters of the opposition party burn an effigy of the prime minister in protest of the new legislation. telegraph.co.uk

I feel that although there are downsides to this legislation, the introduction of these stores will do more good than harm for India. They will help lower food prices that have soared over the past few years in a country that struggles to feed its population, and bring much needed foreign investment.

My observation is that the Indian culture is one rooted deeply in tradition and therefore a lot of the backlash could be because people fear changes to their outdated way of life. India cannot protect its markets from competition and modernization forever, and now looks like as good a time as any to open up.

Spark: India set to allow foreign supermarkets to open stores