They have done a soft launch for wearables with no big marketing in the initial phases to see the consumer/customer response. The spend is bound to be higher as it is a hardware + software business. I guess they are trying out things (btw InMobi has changes its business model a number of times!)

Could you please highlight how does the Alexa rank come into picture for Lycos as they are a digital advertising play. People would not come and visit their site like a search engine or e-commerce company?

– What will happen to the existing battery manufacturing companies ? Can Tesla Battery throw them all out ?
Batteries are being developed by all and sundry, Tesla , Research universities as well as the Japanese. So like atom bomb or the calculus, a lot of people would hit a breakthrough around the same time.

• Electric Vehicles will have 100x fewer moving parts than today’s gas based ones”, which will put some of the auto-ancillary companies out of business
  It’ll be a slow death, since battery technology would have a evolution rather than revolution. Even then there are lots of places & Industry where internal combustion engine would be to be present, viz. Mining & Pakistan (or Bihar).. So people will have lots of warning.

• Which conventional energy companies will be most impacted by Solar power disruption ?
  The nuclear power industry & it’s manufacturers would be the first casualty of plentiful (if not necessarily cheap) solar power. As a side note, Saudi Arabia, Libya & Egypt & neighbours would be greatest beneficiary.

• With new business models like “Car-as-a-service”, they may be far fewer cars bought in future and how would that impact all car manufacturers?
  It seems to me that people .. sorry MEN get a car (or any vehicle be it an animal) to move. They like to own the thing not for the utility but for the assurance that they can move without somebody else’s help. Even now, Uber is making it quite cheap & easy to move around, yet nobody thinks of examining the economics and evaluating if their locomotion needs can be fulfilled without them owning a car.

• With self-driving cars, what kind of technology companies will emerge as the leaders ?
  The companies that make cars duh. As for who’ll have the technology, you can’t say. It can come from evolution or revolution, unlike batteries here algorithms matter more and somebody could get that in his dream.

The reason auto companies are not investing & focussing in self-driving technology is because they see it as a computing problem, not a transportation problem. As and when their customers demand self-driving technology, they’ll license it from Google/Apple/MS/Whoever has the tech.

Hi Varadharajan,

Thank you for the update. While the management seems to be quite intent on growing the business, you are correct that there is no moat. In fact, I never got into ITF thinking there was any moat. However, a home grown fashion retail brand with decent quality is something I feel will do well. At the same time, I was a little ticked off by the management not responding to my queries, both through email and through physical post. They also haven’t sent me a physical copy of the AR as I had requested. However, I do realize some managements are just not responsive, though this does not mean they are not working to maximize shareholder wealth.

Can you please explain to me what you mean by adding inventory to increase margins? I do not understand how the margins are increased by adding to inventory (and hence WC). Can you also explain to me how this is tied to the Accounts Receivable? It seems to be they are using the QIP money to do exactly what you’re saying, apart from setting up new stores. Does not seem a very efficient use of the capital, according to me. However, from recent disclosures and news I have come to know that some PE funds are still picking up shares around the 600 mark (Malabar Fund being one that picked up a big chunk around 600 a few weeks ago), so maybe the management does have plans to rectify this aspect in the near future.

I apologize if I sound quite uninformed about these concepts, but I try as much as I can and learn from individuals like yourself.

Regards,

Tushaar

With Waluj Plant approval coming in as reported by ET, is there a case for re rating?

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