Golden Gate to the Nature

Have you ever seen a what is under the rainforest? Don't worry just go to the last floor!! The new Academy building in the Golden Gate Park has a 4 storey Rainforest.In the Top floor you can see the birds and butterflies in the Tree branches,zoom down to the last floor  and watch the roots in water along with the piranhas above your head.

       The new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park

The building designed by Renzo Piano has a 2.5 acre living roof has1.7 million native plants.Apart from the 4-storey rainforest,there is  also an aquarium, a planetarium and the natural history museum.

Mr.Piano says '"This museum has always worked on three levels - displaying the collection, educating the public, researching the science. The spirit of this new building is to announce and enforce this complexity of function."

Lined with photovoltaic cells and recycled denim as insulation it is a true green building.Visitors even get a discount if they took  public transport to the park.

It will be wise thing to bring in more green elements even in building ordinary buildings like homes,offices etc.If you are about to build your home or design a building check out the green options available to you which can be incorporated in the new building.As for the existing ones,switch to power saving bulbs atleast.

 

Soul Search-N/A in Google

The Great Indian Shopper

According to the latest Mckinsey report,organized retail in India will occupy 14-18% of the total retail sector by 2015.Currently it accounts for around  5% only.But the retail boom will sustain provided if retailers will bring in new & innovative formats suiting the Indian consumer.

The report also gives insight the nature of Indian Shopper 

• least loyal to a single retailer,
• dislike for pre-packaged fresh foods,
• willingness to pay more for convenience and services but not a premium price for a brand
• demands ethnicity in apparel accessories.
• And, in the absence of quality control, information about the product and trust in retailers, brands serve as a proxy for all these factors.

It is evident that retailers should focus on creating value on a more functional basis than an emotional one.Even though the brand image of the retailer will help,I think it will be the Sales promos , good aisle space,great parking space will be the key factors.

Also note that Indian consumers are willing to shell out a couple of bucks extra for convenience and services,So its high time Big Bazaar to rethink its organized chaos strategy.Read Prof.Ray's view on this.

Brand China Banned

Beijing 2008 brought new attention ,respect for China as one of the emerging economy powerhouses.But Brand China has taken a heavy hit due to the Melamine Milk Scandal.4 infants have died and more than 50,000 have been affected in China. EU,Japan,East Asian countries and recently US too ordered to take of all Chinese food items including dairy products,toffees,instant tea etc off the shelves.Many countries have banned the import of Chinese food stuffs until further notice.

The root cause of the scandal  is still a mystery because almost every brand is affected.Many global brands like Heinz,Lotte have recalled their products while Starbucks & McDonalds in East Asian countries have replaced Chinese dairy products with others.Nestle,Oreo cookies have issued notices to the public assuring the safety of their food items.

Previously Chinese Toys were under fire due to certain toxic chemicals in the paint. Now the baby food scandal has done some heavy damage to the Made in China brand.

Once people lose faith in a brand it is very hard to regain it  simply because  of  the available alternatives. The local companies may regain their faith of the Chinese public but it will be a very long time before one can see White Rabbits again in US stores

Its Time Up for UPA

Another blast in Delhi-boy killed & many injured.Just another day and life goes on.

Exactly how many blasts should take place for the Government to wake up and smell the smoke? For God's sake Delhi is India's capital and this is third blast this month.Imagine what would happen if it were New York or Washington....US Bombers would have soaring the skies to bomb another country.

What is India doing about it. Our beloved Prime Minister is hugging Presidents developing International Relations saying that  all Indians love them.

Just because it happens everyday,they cannot be ignored.These incidents must be given high level of priority and stringent measures must be taken accordingly. Anyway,whether or not the nuclear deal is completed,it is sure that UPA's time is up and Mr.Singh will be going home after the coming elections.

Gimme My Change

Rupee is Losing value...no no  hold on- One rupee has lost value

The other day I was getting a pancard form over the counter and was waiting for my change Rs.1.The staff did not give the change ,he did not even say something about it.When I asked him,he gave me a surprised look   as if he did not understand what I was asking. When I asked him again,he and his colleague smiled at each other with a smirk.Finally he did give the change but told to the next person" What to do sir ? I have to deal with such people" Most of the bus conductors  in Bangalore often do the same thing and if asked"what sir ..you are bragging for just a rupee"This not only happens with public sector, my friend had a similar experience in Fabmall.

Its not that I am fixated with the change,I usually tell the auto drivers to keep the change if the meters worked properly, tip the waiters if  I eat out or to small boys selling in streets.But when I am getting a product which comes with a price tag ,why should I give the change when there is no specific service offered and they don't even bother to say something about it.

Does one rupee has so little value that nobody cares about it? Will they accept if I had given a rupee less? I don't think so......

T-Mobile G1 unveiled

The first ever Android powered mobile T-mobile G1 was  unveiled yesterday.The phone has got almost everything what other touch phones have.

But most importantly it has a open source software,so that it allows users to tune develop and add any application at their will. Google search,push Gmail & eye catching  Roadview using Google Maps make the phone even special for Google lovers.It even has a dynamic Compass!!! Like Itunes,Google has teamed up with Amazon.com to allow users  to download songs directly onto their G1's. 

From a marketing view the following caught my attention 

• The phone is priced at $179 which is cheaper than many touch phones in the market.
• The phone is said to hit the stores by Oct 22 which will help T-mobile to have a good holiday shopping season
• T-mobile is not the best service provider in the US as it does not cover the entire US .This might be a dampener
• The backside of the phone says Google while the manufacturer HTC is not seen anywhere on the phone.HTC touch is well recognized brand for its touch phones why  leave it? Seeing Google on a hardware also feels weird-will it be Google everywhere soon ?    

Well it has certainly got the attention,but I would say Apple has still got  time to correct its flaws in the Iphone,before any serious market competition.