Forbes India - Dec 18, 2009 Issue

ISSUE DATE Dec 18, 2009

The Comeback Kid

Bajaj Auto, once the uncrowned king of India's two-wheeler market, was down in the dumps for over a year. With news about how the company had lost market share to rival Hero Honda and how its share price had fallen to a year's low, Rajiv Bajaj virtually shut out the world. But today, the 42-year-old managing director is coming out of his self-imposed exile from the limelight and with good reason. After a serious soul-searching, Bajaj launched a whole new strategy and it is beginning to pay off.

Rising From the South

Sun Network's Kalanithi Maran had his back against the wall just two years ago. A family feud with political overtones in Tamil Nadu state had come to threaten his media empire. It was under these circumstances that he launched a new business with a bold strategy: to offer direct-to-home with free set top boxes and very low subscription rates. Success in the market was quick to come and now Maran has to focus on making money from the venture.

Pure Water, Dirty Linen

For two decades, Eureka Forbes had enjoyed the pride of place in the water purifier market. Even when Hindustan Unilever launched its Pureit on a limited scale in 2004, its dominance was not threatened. But now, HUL is giving a fillip to Pureit with a plan to bring some disruptive changes in the industry. That the battle is heating up is most evident in the advertisement war between the two companies.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

That India's Project Tiger has not been able to stop the poaching of striped wonder in the last three decades is pretty well known. But a realisation in very high circles that it is poverty that pushes villagers to cooperate with the poaching trade has led to a new strategy. Now the same people have been roped into protect the wild life. There is still hope that the tiger will make a resounding comeback.