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Kotak Mahindra Bank – Low Cost Liability Banking Franchise (03-10-2024)
Why did KMB go for an outsider CEO ?
New PMAY rules will curb misuse, ‘trading of loans’: Mortgage companies (03-10-2024)
Indian mortgage lenders anticipate that new guidelines for the affordable home subsidy plan under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) will plug fund leakages and ensure benefits reach more end-users. The scheme will now offer a reduced total subsidy of ₹1.80 lakh over five years, aiming to curb misuse by builders and brokers.
MPC’s new members may stay with RBI’s view on inflation (03-10-2024)
On Tuesday, the government reconstituted the six-member MPC, appointing three new external members for a four-year term. The new members are Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya and Nagesh Kumar. Singh is director, Delhi School of Economics, Bhattacharya an independent economist, was formerly chief economist at Axis Bank, while Kumar is director and chief executive at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi.
Small finance banks, microfinance lenders cap loans to curb excess borrowing (03-10-2024)
Small finance banks and microfinance lenders are setting a cap of four live loans per borrower. This is a precautionary step to avoid defaults due to unsecured loan stress. The RBI has already raised concerns about rising delinquency levels and multiple live loans, prompting this move. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank follows this four-loan cap policy.
Ex-BJP MP Roopa Ganguly granted bail after arrest over night-long dharna at police station (03-10-2024)
Ganguly had staged night-long dharna on Wednesday in the premises of Bansdroni Police Station demanding arrest of the excavator driver and the release of a BJP leader, who was arrested in connection with Bansdroni accident case. Though Ganguly was arrested, the driver of the excavator is yet to be arrested.
Sterling & Wilson Solar Ltd. – Will the Sun Keep Shining? (03-10-2024)
Post Share selling happened in September end i.e 6.94% stake sale of SP group.
On 1st October SP group further pledged 1% holdings
47C9F881_5CB8_4E12_91BA_09A6A74099A7_150736.pdf (bseindia.com)
Avenue Supermart: a compounding machine? (03-10-2024)
Sharing a consumer insight on Dmart.
I stay in South Bangalore and have always been fascinated by the massive crowds in Dmart stores nearby. My parents prefer Dmart, but I generally prefer to go to the More store – similar distance but much, much less crowded!
In my experience, while on an average, the prices at Dmart are a tad cheaper than More, the difference though wont be more than 3% – 5%. Why then does Dmart do more than 5x the sales per sqft than what More does?
For the longest time, I have connected this user behaviour to 2 possible factors:
- Better branding/perception that Dmart is the lowest cost provider
- An average Indian loving a good deal more than anything else
But I myself haven’t been entirely convinced of the above, for 2 reasons:
- What about the premiumisation theme? Would people not be willing to pay slightly more for a better (read – running around with your cart in More vs. constantly being hit / apologising to my fellow shoppers in Dmart) shopping experience!
- If pricing was that critical a factor, how would you then justify the massive adoption of quick commerce and food delivery applications?
Then, a couple of days, we had a family friend and his mother visit us for lunch. While discussing they mentioned that they shop for groceries exclusively at Dmart and not at Star (which is just opposite to their home). Intrigued, I asked them to elaborate.
So, while they frequently visit Star for fresh fruits and veggies, their reason for buying all their groceries from Dmart was that they have observed that the rice/pulses/etc. that they buy from Dmart lasts much longer than that from Star, or any other store nearby store.
I am fairly certain that the above are commodity products where sourcing is pretty much the same for all key retailers. What then is the difference? Inventory Turns
This now makes so much more sense:
Lower Prices → Higher footfalls → Faster Replenishment → Fresh Inventory → Higher Footfalls → Lower Prices. A very strong flywheel!
Inventory turns, as it turns out may not be just a critical financial metric, but a very strong customer requirement as well!
Disclosure: I do not own any shares in Dmart / Amazon / Trent