Forbes India (December 2015)

THE LIvE EvENTS ECONOMY • CAN FAASOS BUCK THE TREND?

Price rs. 110. december 11, 2015
























ALIBABA
FOUNDER
JACK MA

THE MAN
BRANDS
LOVE TO
HATE




















UNSTOPPABLE








HIS $200 BILLION EMPIRE IS BUILT ATOP A MOUNTAIN OF FAKES.
AND THERE’S LITTLE ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
PLUS: RANKING THE WORLD’S 73 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE









www.forbesindia.com

Welcome to the




IN DI A





Tablet Edition

editor’s note

The annual Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people is a key benchmark of global clout


The Pecking



Order of Power





ower has many dimensions. It is a difficult word
to define, more so when one has to consider
people from across geographies and from various
P disciplines—politics and government, business,
finance, philanthropy, religion and even crime. That is why the
annual Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people is a key
benchmark of global clout, listing some of the most important
political leaders, industrialists and influencers of our times.
To arrive at this year’s list of 73 of the world’s most powerful,
Forbes considered hundreds of potential candidates and
measured them across four key parameters: How many people
they have power over, how much money they control, whether
their power extends across multiple regions, industries or
aspects of life, and how actively they wield that power. These Best,
candidates are then voted upon by a panel of Forbes editors
to reach the final list. Not surprisingly, this year’s power list
comprises many who routinely grab international headlines,
control vast sums of money or wield enormous influence on Sourav MajuMdar
people. It’s a fascinating set. Russian President Vladimir Putin Editor, Forbes India
emerges as the world’s most powerful person for the third [email protected]
time in a row, followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, @TheSouravM
who’s up three spots from last year to No. 2. Merkel topples
US President Barack Obama, who slips one place to No. 3.
From India’s standpoint, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
who continues to receive rockstar receptions around the
world, is in the top 10 at No. 9. Despite political challenges
at home, Modi’s power and influence as a political figure of
global stature is on the rise, and his position in this year’s list
is evidence of that clout. The only other Indian in this list of 73
is Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, at No. 36.
Jack Ma, the subject of our cover story and the boss of the
$200 billion Alibaba empire, is at No. 22. Ma’s is a fairytale
rise, from being a schoolteacher to becoming one of the most
powerful internet billionaires in the world. But even as his
empire grows, he has battles to fight: His Taobao online
marketplace is also home to thousands of entrepreneurs who
sell counterfeits of some of the best-known brands in the world.
Ma has to strike a balance between continuing to be a credible
market for the world’s biggest and most respected brands
and staying an icon and a hero to the several small Chinese
business owners whose livelihoods depend on the market he
has created. How Alibaba plays out this balancing act may well
decide the fate of thousands of Chinese and also Ma’s empire.


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 3 3





Contents / December 11, 2015 ● Volume 7 Issue 26









ON THE COVER


POWERFUL
PEOPLE
24 | ALIBABA AND THE
40,000 THIEVES
Jack Ma can crack down on
fakes to be globally viewed
as someone who respects the
sanctity of brands, but chances
are that it will undermine his
Alibaba empire

34 | CHINA’S 100 RICHEST
Despite slowing growth, a stock
market bubble that burst and a
huge state debt, the wealth of
China’s richest has gone up by
20 percent

36 | A BRIEF HISTORY
OF POWER
The who’s who to have ever
appeared on Forbes’s list of the
world’s most powerful people



We value your feedback.
Write to us at: [email protected]
letters may be edited for brevity.
read us online at www.forbesindia.com
on the cover:
Photograph by chad Ingraham / redux
digital Imaging by: sushil mhatre

































russian President
vladimir Putin tops
Forbes’s list of the
world’s most
sasha morDoVets / Getty ImaGes powerful people

CÉDRAT







A FORCE OF FRESHNESS
















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December 11, 2015




40



























live music festivals and events have an immensely positive impact on the local economy

UPFRONT
58
COLUMN
20 | IS AMERICA IN DECLINE?
The arts and culture arc is a sharp contrast to the period
of advancement between 1865 and 1965
FEATURES

INTERVIEW
22 | ‘INDIA CAN BE A BIG PLAYER IN THE NEXT
civil aviation Minister ashok Gajapathi raju GENERATION OF THE CLOUD’
58: NIshaNt matta; 78: amIt Verma; 66: Joshua NaValkar; 76: VIVek Prakash / reuters
IBM Cloud’s senior VP Robert LeBlanc believes India is the next
46 big market after the US

58 | ‘WE WILL MOVE ON THE 5/20 RULE BY END-2015’
The draft civil aviation policy has the potential to revolutionise
Indian skies, says Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju

76 | EASE OF BUSINESS: INDIA’S RANK TO IMPROVE
SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2016
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das is satisfied with
India’s rise in World Bank rankings
faasos co-founders kallol banerjee (left) and Jaydeep barman
ENTERPRISE
40 | SETTING THE STAGE
56 The music festival ecosystem sustains artistes, audiences
and local economies. But can it sustain itself?

46 | THE INTEGRATED FOOD COMPANY
After initial hiccups, fast food chain Faasos is now the example
of a business model that balances scale and sustainability

50 | COME DINE ALL DAY
Restaurateur Anjan Chatterjee is stepping out of his comfort zone
The government has sought feedback on its draft civil aviation policy with a slew of casual dining formats


8 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

74 | REDUCING UNEASE
India climbs 12 spots in the Ease Of Doing Business Index, but 78
there’s still a long way to go to enter the top 50
CROSS BORDER
54 | EVERYDAY RENEWABLE ENERGY
Wal-Mart, long the bogeyman of the left, is deploying green
energy that’s good for the planet as well as its bottomline

60 | AMERICA’S NUTTIEST POWER COUPLE
The Resnicks have used marketing genius to evade lawsuits and
profit from water, pomegranate and now pistachios and almonds

72 | SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
Carbon3D is the latest hype-beast in 3D printing, but it has
the best chance yet to reinvent manufacturing

REAL ISSUE
56 | ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
The latest draft aviation policy plans to make flying affordable
MY LEARNINGS
66 | GERMAN ENGINEERING PRIMED FOR INDIA
Bosch Siemens’s Gunjan Srivastava reveals how a dual brand
strategy helped them crack the washing machine market in India
FORBES INDIA LEADERSHIP SERIES
68 | THE MAKINGS OF A LEADER
Three industry stalwarts share their insights on leadership styles

LIFE

RECLINER
78 | DESTINATION: KIWILAND
Exploring New Zealand’s stunning outdoors through the eyes
of mountaineer twins Tashi and Nungshi Malik New Zealand is one of the best trekking destinations in the world

86 | THE ARTFUL LODGERS 60
A Kentucky power couple’s attempt to save downtown Louisville
became a lesson in building mini-masterpieces for travellers

APPRAISAL
88 | CAR: MERCEDES-AMG G 63
How towering horsepower and audacious colours make
up inverted snobbery

90


98: Getty ImaGes




Stewart and lynda resnick, founders of The Wonderful company

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10 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

letters to the editor


Readers Say





Cost of luxury and buildings for the new generation
Refer to ‘Indians are willing to pay are just to show off the achievements of
if you give them quality’ (Issue dated their lifestyle to others when a ma-
November 13, 2015). I say ‘India is jority of infrastructure development
luxury’s next frontier’ only due to the projects are lagging behind. People
huge income gap between the rich and aren’t aware of environmental impact,
the poor. It is the mass home con- safety issue of transportation, medical
sumers that benefit India the most. emergency and the political impact of
Jonathan, on the web the haves and have-nots on society.
Samir K Dutta, on the web
Refer to ‘Indians are willing to pay
if you give them quality’ (Issue dated there’s still hope
November 13, 2015). If only the au- Refer to ‘The Ailing Giant’ (Issue
tomobile and other sectors learn a dated December 18). Yes, DLF will
bit from this article. The quality of rise again. No doubt about that.
the product should not be restricted Priyadarshini, on the web
to the design of the showrooms.
twitter.com/Forbes_India
Murty, on the web Refer to ‘The Ailing Giant’ (Issue dated
facebook.com/ForbesIndia December 18, 2015). [DLF] might be do-
showing off ing business from unlisted companies.
linkedin.com/groups?gid=1959962
Refer to ‘The Next Frontier’ (Issue dated Legacy is just for people to fathom.
www.google.com/+ForbesIndia November 13, 2015). Expensive condos Sandeep, on the web





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LeaderBoard













































































aperture a french policeman breaks a door to enter a church
Paris is in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on November 18,
to secure the area. Special forces raided an apartment
Burning in the area, hunting those behind the terror attacks that Getty ImaGes
claimed over 120 lives in Paris on November 13. The attacks
were the deadliest on France since World War II.

1 million


Approximate number
LeaderBoard leading winemaker Sula
of cases of wine
produced by India’s
Vineyards in 2014-15



SeAl the deAl
Big Reds


the most sought-after red wines are an
internationally established currency of celebration,
an extravagant appreciation of a partnership well
conducted, a favour duly noted, a relationship
worth toasting. Here are five that will light up a table
with instant pleasure recognition. - RIchARd NAlley

















































2004 2011 Colgin 2010 Petrus 2012 Domaine de 2011 Gaja Sori
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Unico ($525) Red ($695) John F Kennedy’s La Tache ($2,900) ($575)
Fewer than 7,000 One of Napa’s love for château A 12-bottle case First produced ARReN VINK FOR FORBeS; tOP: Getty ImAGeS
cases of Spain’s first cult wines, Petrus helped of 1966 la tache in 1970, this
gold standard are colgin consistently put this onetime sold at auction quintessential
produced a year— produces high Bordeaux earlier this year Nebbiolo
and that’s scores and high dark horse for more than will only improve
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(All wINeS cOuRteSy OF ANd AVAIlABle At SheRRy-lehmANN, SheRRy-lehmANN.cOm.)

DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 13

LeaderBoard





entertainment
Top-Earning

Dead Celebrities



life ends. business goes on. while these 13 stars 2. elvis Presley
slumber six feet under, up above they still pull in millions of $55 million
Singer, aCtOr
dollars in record deals, feature films and product placements. DieD: auguSt 16, 1977
(Swig of Bob Marley relaxation elixir, anyone?) These Age: 42
working dead are industrious—their aggregate afterlife CauSe: heart attaCK
pre-tax earnings in the last 12 months totalled $338.5 the King while alive—and still
undead royalty. the memphis
million. For more capitalism from the crypt, including our legend scored his 53rd top 40
album in august with Elvis Presley
complete methodology, go to forbes.com/deadcelebs. Forever, a compilation released by
- BY ZaCK O’maLLeY greenBurg the uS Postal Service along with a
commemorative stamp. most of his
money comes from ticket sales to
his graceland estate. among the
attractions: the annual elvis Birth-
day Celebration, home School Day
and the holiday graceland Lighting
1. Michael Jackson Ceremony, which this year includes
visits from trisha Yearwood and
$115 million Santa Claus elvis.
Singer
DieD: June 25, 2009
Age: 50
CauSe: OverDOSe/hOmiCiDe
the next year could be a thrilling
one for the King of Pop, as Sony is
exploring a sale of its half of Sony/
atv, the music catalogue it shares 9. Paul Walker
with Jackson’s estate (a collec-
tion including the rights to hits by $10.5 million
taylor Swift and the Beatles). a big aCtOr
spender might just buy out both DieD: nOvemBer 30, 2013
sides—possibly for as much as $2 Age: 40
billion—or Jackson’s estate may CauSe: Car CraSh
buy out Sony. Since he died, he has Walker died doing some after-hours
earned nine digits each year from racing in the midst of filming Furious 7.
music sales, a Las vegas Cirque Fans’ morbid curiosity about how he’d
du Soleil show and his half of the appear in the movie helped supercharge
music-publishing business. its box office performance: $1.5 billion,
the biggest haul in the popular franchise’s
history. his estate got an estimated $10
million from a slice of the movie’s back end.
11. Theodor
“dr seuss”
Geisel
$9.5 million
authOr, iLLuStratOr
DieD: SePtemBer 24, 1991
Age: 87
CauSe: naturaL CauSeS
10. BeTTie PaGe there’s plenty of green in those green
eggs. the wildly whimsical creations
$10 million of geisel are featured in merchandise,
mODeL
DieD: DeCemBer 11, 2008 movies and universal Studios theme-
park rides. and, in July, his estate
Age: 85
CauSe: naturaL CauSeS released a new rhyming tale, What Pet
Should I Get, which has already sold
the bad-girl pinup lends her 387,000 copies.
identity to ever growing fashion
lines (bridal wear and hand-
bags). up next: a vegas show
featuring a hologram of Page
performing one of her famous
striptease acts. hot damn.
14 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

ADele
+150 Million vieWs
British singer looks like a shoo-in to return
to the celebrity 100 after her video “hello”
notches a record 27.7 million views on vevo in
24 hours, beating out taylor Swift’s best tally
4. BoB Marley
$21 million
Singer
DieD: maY 11, 1981
Age: 36
CauSe: CanCer
not really a capitalist icon in life, he’s become quite the posthumous busi-
nessman thanks to the marley Beverage Co (maker of “relaxation drink”
marley’s mellow mood) and house of marley (eco-friendly headphones
and speakers). and with pot legal in four states in the uS, it probably
won’t be long before we see marley-branded ganja as well.






3. charles schulz 5. elizaBeTh Taylor
$40 million $20 million
CartOOniSt aCtreSS
DieD: FeBruarY 12, 2000 DieD: marCh 23, 2011
Age: 77 Age: 79
CauSe: COLOn CanCer CauSe: heart FaiLure
it’s the red carpet, Charlie Brown! he and the Liz’s fragrance business has more than a faint
rest of the Peanuts gang will appear on the whiff of decay around it. estimated uS revenue
big screen in The Peanuts Movie. Schulz’s heirs has fallen 17 percent in four years to about $45
(Bryan Schulz and Craig Schulz) co-wrote the million. her scents include White Diamonds, the
3D picture, and they hope the flick will help long-lived perfume line launched almost a quarter
reinvigorate the ageing brand. his family gets a 7. John lennon of a century ago. She gets a few million a year from
cut of licencing revenue, an ongoing marketing the residuals of classic films like Around the World
juggernaut that puts Charlie and Co on t-shirts $12 million in 80 Days and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? too.
and lunchboxes and in videogames. Singer
DieD: DeCemBer 8, 1980
Age: 40
CauSe: murDer
truly here, there and everywhere. the singer-songwriter
continues to share in the Beatles’ spoils—over 63 million
albums sold in the uS alone since nielsen started counting
in 1991—both in terms of recorded music and publishing.
Other ventures, such as the Beatles-themed Cirque du
Soleil show Love! in Las vegas, pad his coffin’s coffers, too.
6. Marilyn
Monroe
$17 million
aCtreSS
DieD: auguSt 5, 1962
Age: 36
8. alBerT einsTein CauSe: OverDOSe
$11 million She remains an
PhYSiCiSt international superstar
DieD: aPriL 18, 1955 five-plus decades after
Age: 76 her death. there’s a
CauSe: naturaL CauSeS macy’s clothing label
his likeness on apparel and posters is snapped with her name on it.
Likewise a lingerie
up by nerds the way jocks buy sports jerseys. line. monkey business
Plus, israeli tech company Fourier education
makes an einstein-branded tablet computer. the this is not.
$299 gadget comes with built-in sensors mea-
suring heart rate, humidity and temperature.
13. JaMes dean
12. sTeve McQueen $8.5 million
$9 million aCtOr
aCtOr DieD: SePtemBer 30, 1955
DieD: nOvemBer 7, 1980 Age: 24
Age: 50 CauSe: Car CraSh
CauSe: COmPLiCatiOnS “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye,” croons taylor
FrOm SurgerY Swift in her hit song ‘Style’. as her song shows, his heartthrob status iLLuStratiOnS: miChaeL Witte
mcQueen has been timelessly synonymous with remains intact. there are deals with Jockey and Dolce & gabbana, as
masculine cool, and his name and image are used well as a hair products line. he’s especially big in europe; in Prague
in ads for brands as tag heuer and Persol. a there’s the James Dean Bar (his estate gets a taste—a six-figure fee).
mcQueen-branded Porsche clothing line includes it has a vodka-and-fruit-juice cocktail named after him. a Dark ’n’
a $900 leather number. Stormy seems more appropriate.


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 15

Rs 1,150 cr

Contribution of the 2015 season of
the Indian Premier League (IPL) to
LeaderBoard India’s Gross Domestic Product,
according to KPMG Sports
Advisory Group.



the fAb 40 Last season’s Super bowl xLIx, in which the
Most Valuable most-watched tv event in uS history, with an
Patriots clinched a 28–24 win over the
Seahawks in the final moments, was the
Sports Brands average of 114.4 million people, peaking at 120.8
million as the game neared its conclusion.


this year’s forbes fab 40 isn’t an indicator
of what the top teams, athletes, businesses and events An average
of 28.3 million
are worth—instead, we’ve quantified how much the viewers, the
brand name of each, all by itself, contributes to its value. most in 18 years,
tuned in to watch
The formula we use is different for each category. For Duke defeat
the complete methodology, see forbes.com/fab-40. wisconsin,
68–63, for the
- MIChAeL K ozAnIAn 2015 men’s col-
lege hoops title.


Business event
rank Company brand value % change rank event brand value % change
($mln) since 2010 ($mln) since 2010
1 nike 26,000 143 1 suPer BoWL 580 38
2 esPn 17,000 62 2 oLymPiC summer gAmes 348 51
3 AdidAs 6,200 –15 3 oLymPiC Winter gAmes 285 206
nike owns the bas- 4 under Armour 5,000 843 4 FiFA WorLd CuP 229 91
ketball shoe market 5 sky sPorts 4,600 254 5 WrestLemAniA 170 nA
in the uS with a 95 6 mLB AdV. mediA 2,000 nA 6 nCAA men’s FinAL Four 150 67
percent share, includ- 7 yes 1,300 148 7 dAytonA 500 136 36
ing its Jordan brand 8 reeBok 830 –56 8 ueFA ChAmPions LeAgue 127 15
subsidiary; its stock
is up 41 percent 9 nesn 700 nA 9 CoLLege FootBALL PLAyoFF 106 nA
over the past year. 10 uFC 460 nA 10 WorLd series 101 –4


AthLete teAm
rank Athlete brand value % change rank team brand value % change
($mln) since 2010 ($mln) since 2010
1 tiger Woods 30.0 –63 1 neW york yAnkees 661 148
2 PhiL miCkeLson 28.0 180 2 Los AngeLes LAkers 521 nA
3 (t) LeBron JAmes 27.0 108 3 dALLAs CoWBoys 497 139
3 (t) roger Federer 27.0 69 4 neW engLAnd PAtriots 465 nA
5 mAhendrA singh dhoni 21.0 nA 5 reAL mAdrid 464 89
6 (t) usAin BoLt 18.0 nA 6 mAnChester united 446 65
6 (t) keVin durAnt 18.0 nA 7 BArCeLonA 437 157
8 CristiAno ronALdo 16.0 nA 8 BAyern muniCh 375 88 SuPerbowL: KevIn C. Cox / Getty IMAGeS; nCAA tyuS JoneS: LAnCe KInG / Getty IMAGeS; reAL MADrID: AnGeL MArtInez / reAL
9 rory mCiLroy 12.0 nA 9 Los AngeLes dodgers 373 nA MADrID / Getty IMAGeS ; ny yAnKeeS: JIM MCISAAC / Getty IMAGeS; PhIL MICKeLSon: Jeff GroSS / Getty IMAGeS ; uSAIn boLt:
10 FLoyd mAyWeAther 11.5 nA 10 neW york kniCks 361 nA

Puma is usain bolt’s chief sponsor; real Madrid and archrival
the sprinter’s deal is worth $10 million barcelona each took in $172
a year through the 2017 world track million in tv revenue during
& field Championships. the 2014–15 season, more
than any other soccer team
in any league worldwide. LIntAo zhAnG / Getty IMAGeS; SCott oLSon; toP: Getty IMAGeS




five-time major champion the yankees have generated
Phil Mickelson re-upped with more revenue every year
Callaway last year in a multiyear ($508 million in 2014) than all
deal for more than $10 million other baseball franchises since
annually to use its clubs, balls and Forbes began tracking team
bag during tournaments. finances in 1998.




16 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

6,000


The number of titles
LeaderBoard at its first physical store
Amazon Books is selling
that opened in Seattle
this month
BuSineSS liBrAry The 21st Century Case for Gold: A New
Information Theory of Money
Turning the By George Gilder
American Principles Project, free
Page on 2015 The famed technologist turns his formidable
mind to money and compellingly explains
how the perverted policies of central banks
health care fixes, central-bank smackdowns today are wreaking havoc. What gives this
absorbing treatise special force is Gilder’s
and the economics of LeBron James: Editor-in- tying the subject of money to one of the
Chief Steve Forbes selects (in no particular order) critical building blocks of high tech, Claude
his eight favourite books of the year—several penned Shannon’s information theory. in this vein,
Gilder’s analysis of the bitcoin phenomenon is especially helpful.
by current or former Forbes contributors.
Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective
Team Genius: The New Science of By Thomas Sowell
High-Performing Organizations Basic Books, $30
By Rich Karlgaard and Michael S Malone it’s a scandal that economist Thomas Sowell
Harper Business, $28 has not been awarded the nobel prize. no one
Any large company’s nightmare is being alive has turned out so many insightful, richly
ambushed by smaller, nimbler competi- researched books. His latest is another triumph
tors. How does a big organisation stay of crackling observations that underscore the
innovative and not get bogged down in ignorance of our economists and policymakers.
bureaucracy? Critical to sustained suc- His take on how culture, geography, politics and
cess, this book persuasively argues, is the social factors affect how societies progress—or
creation and use of teams, optimally of don’t—will rile those addicted to political cor-
five to nine individuals. The authors dig rectness but leave everyone else wiser.
through mountains of research to give
needed insights on putting the right team together and ensuring Reviving America: How Repealing
that it successfully completes its task. Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and
Reforming the Fed Will Restore Hope and
The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower Prosperity
By Robert Baer By Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames
Broadway Books, $15 McGraw-Hill Education, $26
published in 2008, this strange but im- i’ll take a cue from the Donald and trumpet
portant book is particularly relevant now. my latest, which will be released December
Baer, an ex-CiA agent, posits that iran is a 8. Candidates and policy-makers could
rising regional and global power and that do worse than to imbibe the principles
the best course for the uS is to appease espoused here!
the mullahs. Saudi Arabia, iraq and the
Gulf states are destined to become iranian
satrapies, while egypt will be an impotent The Power of Relentless: 7 Secrets
bystander. What makes this tome eerily to Achieving Mega-Success, Financial
notable is that it totally explains president Freedom and the Life of Your Dreams
obama’s actions in that part of the world, By Wayne Allyn Root
particularly this year’s capitulation to Regnery Publishing, $28
iran’s nuclear ambitions. Did obama read
this book? He could have written it. Consuming this engaging book by outsize
personality root is the perfect way to pre-
pare for making your new year’s resolutions.
Popular Economics: What the Rolling it’s telling that both Donald Trump and Ben
Stones, Downton Abbey and LeBron Carson have endorsed root’s opus.
James Can Teach You About Economics
By John Tamny Catastrophic Care: Why Everything
Regnery Publishing, $28 We Think We Know About Health Care
if you have kids or grandchildren attend- Is Wrong
ing college, give them this book over By David Goldhill
the holidays with the admonition: “Don’t Knopf, $17
waste your time taking economics cours-
es; read this instead. you’ll learn all you published two years ago, this offers a
really need to know and avoid cluttering thorough analysis of what ails American
your mind with wrongheaded concepts.” medicine. read it and you’ll be prepared Top: GeTTy imAGeS
Adam Smith would have applauded this when this issue explodes again after the
masterpiece. 2016 elections.



DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 17

1,000


Number of bikes that will
LeaderBoard available to the staff to get
be kept on Apple’s new
campus. They will be
around the area
CommerCiAl reAl esTATe


Apple’s Core
meadows and trees indigenous
to the santa Clara valley—such
as the apricot orchards Jobs
A sneak peek at the most anticipated business recalled from his childhood—will
headquarters ever fill four-fifths of the site, including
the secluded inner courtyard
two years after apple got the green light to build
a 175-acre campus on Hewlett-Packard’s hallowed former grounds in
one of the largest corporate
Cupertino, California, the ‘spaceship’ has (nearly) landed. Designed installations of solar panels on the
by Foster + Partners—helmed by legendary British architect Norman planet will enable Apple’s hQ to
Foster—the project will be complete in late 2016 at a reported cost run entirely on renewable energy
of $5 billion. No less an aesthete than the late Steve Jobs deemed it
“the best office building in the world”. From the drone’s-eye view:
- kATiA sAvChuk The building’s 12,000 employees
will need somewhere to nosh,
and this area—to become a
should the miles of jogging 58,000-square-foot eatery
and bike trails not suffice, surrounded by outdoor seating—
the campus will also include is just the spot
a 100,000-square-foot
fitness centre
































emory PeTersoN; ToP: GeTTy imAGes design hides some 2,400 parking curved. “it’s not the cheapest way

To rid the site of most visible
The 2.8-million-square-foot main
asphalt and keep the building to
building will be a perfect circle,
just four storeys, the campus’s
with every piece of glass custom-
spaces below ground. A
to build something,” Jobs told the
separate parking structure will
Cupertino City Council in 2011
hold another 5,900


18 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

29%


Increase in the number of Indian
LeaderBoard 2014-15—the highest jump in six
students in US universities in
decades, according to the
annual Open Doors survey
Path tO SUcceSS 1940
with the Japanese invading, his
Live Long and Prosper father packs up the family and flees
to hong kong. Dad dies from tuber-
culosis two years later; at 12 li starts
working in a plastic-watch-strap
company to support his family. “the
At 87 Li Ka-shing is the richest man in Asia, with great tug of war and the taste of
a net worth of nearly $35 billion, and one of the poverty—they are hardly memories
one can forget,” li says.
most powerful people in the world, but he began
life as a penniless war refugee. -lUISa krOll

1928
Born in chaozhou in china’s guangdong Province
to a school-principal father. 1950
he quits and starts his own business, making plastic toys,
later switching to plastic flowers. more than a decade later,
riots in hong kong depress property values, giving him the
opportunity to buy up commercial real estate on the cheap.


1972
li lists his holding company,
cheung kong ltd., in hong kong.
Investors can’t get enough. really.
1979 the IPO is oversubscribed more
li becomes the first ethnic than 65-fold.
chinese to buy a
controlling stake in one
of the old British trading
houses, the then struggling 1986
hutchison whampoa. acquires a control-
ling stake in canada’s 1999 2006
husky energy. that Jackpot! Pledges to donate one-third
investment, plus his hutchison does of his wealth to the li ka
other assets, earn its largest deal Shing Foundation to support
him a spot on Forbes’ ever: Selling its education and health care
first ranking of the stake in telecom around the world. “we all
world’s billionaires a Orange Plc. know the importance of
year later. “my life has to german identifying the right capital
been filled with challenges. But I must say, fortune mannesmann investment. Social capital
has indeed bestowed many opportunities.” for nearly is the key.”
$15 billion.



2007 2010 to 2014
goes with his gut and invests in Facebook within five minutes li trims some chinese and hong kong investments
of hearing the pitch for the fledgling business. the social net- and looks to europe instead. In all, his companies amanDa eDwarDS / getty ImageS amerIcan newSPaPerS / gaDO / getty ImageS; Bettmann / cOrBIS; chrIS trOtman / getty ImageS
work scores a big valuation ($15 billion) despite scant revenue. spend more than $28 billion buying assets on that
“a person investing in technology will feel younger.” continent, including a water company, utility firms
and two mobile phone operators. “Businesspeople
in general shouldn’t have an overly narrow view
of their industry.”







2015
Perceiving that more of his attention is directed
overseas, the government-controlled media
questions his loyalty to greater china. li issues
a three-page response denying the allegations.







DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 19

thought leaders


rICh Karlgaard // INNoVatIoN rules


IS AMERICA IN DECLINE?





alfred kroeber’s 1944 book, too short a column! But let’s say this is
Configurations of Culture Growth, is a mixed. Contrast that with the 100-year
masterpiece in the field of anthropology. period in the US from 1865 to 1965, when
He was a 68-year-old professor at the arts and sciences were rapidly advancing.
University of California in Berkeley when
his 882-page book came out. Youth favours The bright spot
mathematicians and mobile phone app How about American companies? Here at
writers but not anthropologists. They last is some good news: They are advancing
have no way of bypassing the decades of in the world. Trump says America
reading and research and deep synthesis no longer wins. But America’s tech
it takes to become good in their field. juggernauts—Apple, Google, Facebook,
And so what did the great Kroeber Amazon and Microsoft—are so powerful
conclude after all his work? First, that Europe wants to block them or break
that individual geniuses in the arts and sciences tend them up. By market cap, as of late October, the US is home
to rise from advancing cultures, not declining ones. to the top ten companies in the world (Apple, Google,
The peak period of a culture is signalled by a spike Microsoft, Exxon, Berkshire Hathaway, General Electric,
in genius contributors in the sciences and the arts. Facebook, Amazon, Wells Fargo and Johnson & Johnson).
(We could add technology.) The best Greek tragedies Five of these are tech companies with strong momentum.
and comedies were written within a 100-year period The evolutionary pace of core technology is
when ancient Greece was at its peak. The peak in slowing a bit. The half-century run of Moore’s
Germany’s music culture lasted less than 200 years. Law is now being challenged by the cost of circuits
Of longer duration was England’s peak creative period manufactured on the atomic scale. We have no flying
in science and technology, which ran from about 1680 cars, supersonic airplanes or hyperloops—yet. Lack
to 1910. The decline in genius contributors after that of scientific progress is blunting technology at the
foreshadowed England’s decline as a global superpower. leading edge. Still, there’s so much catch-up work to
Second, that cultures advance when ethics and values be done, resulting in trillion-dollar opportunities, that
become understood and are deeply embraced and when we should merrily dive in. Energy, transportation,
competence is tested through competition. Cultures agriculture and health care are being transformed
decline when the opposite happens. Most cultures by digital technology. American entrepreneurs and
don’t fall by being conquered, not at first. They wither firms are in a great position to profit from this.
from an erosion of values, insular thinking and a lack Also in ascent are the world’s “supercities”, a trend
of competition. Not being robust from within or tested that ruffles nativists in every country. New York, Los
from without, cultures become weak without knowing Angeles and San Francisco-Silicon Valley increasingly
it. Or sensing they might be rotting, they cling to comic see themselves as islands in a global economy, less tied
book values, centralised authority and thicker walls of to the US. Are we living in a period of “peak nation”?
protective insularity as a means of stopping the decline. But for every rise, there’s a backlash. In Malaysia,
Using Professor Kroeber’s analysis, would you say the native Malays, many of whom haven’t kept pace
US is advancing or declining? Well, successive American with immigrants from China, India and Europe, are
presidents have sought to consolidate power. Not a good called the bhumiputra—sons of the soil. Ponder this:
sign. The two presidential candidates leading in the polls Much of Malaysia’s majority population holds victim
as of mid-October, [Hillary] Clinton and [Donald] Trump, status and enjoys affirmative-action benefits—and
have turned their backs on trade policies that freely not for being the minority but for not keeping up.
engage with the world. Another bad sign (have we lost Every country today has its bhumiputra. In the US,
our competitive confidence?). How’s the country doing they look to Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, respond thomas KuhleNbeCK for forbes
on the ethics and values front? Sheesh—do we want to to comic book values and demand more insularity.
go there? Clinton and Trump should avert their eyes. Their problems and pain are real. But Trump and
Conclusion: The American political system is in decline. Sanders offer solutions that will hasten our decline.
How about in the arts and sciences? Too long a topic, Rich Karlgaard is the publisher at Forbes


20 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015



interview


robert LebLanc


‘India Can be a Big Player in the


Next Generation of the Cloud’




IBM Cloud’s senior VP Robert LeBlanc says with the
second largest pool of programmers in the world, India

is its most important market after the United States

By Aveek DAttA












































nterprises across the globe problem of locally managing and While the US-based Amazon
are warming up to the storing data, the next generation of Web Services stole a march over
adoption of cloud computing, cloud computing is proving to be competitors in the first generation of
Ewhich is the practice of using about innovation on the cloud. In cloud-based services to become the
a network of remote servers hosted a world where services are going largest cloud computing company
on the internet to store, manage and increasingly mobile, the cloud seeks in the world, its American peer
to empower the smallest of businesses
and one of the oldest technology
Mexy xavier process data, instead of using a local to develop the right kind of apps firms in the world, IBM, seeks to
server or a personal computer.
dominate the second generation
(which are hosted on the cloud) and
While the first wave of cloud
of the cloud, which is based on
connect with potential customers.
computing was about mitigating the
22 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

innovation. And India will play a with venture capitalists, setting up surpass [that in] the US by 2018.
major role in its scheme of things. their business models and giving What is important for us is to
In an interview with Forbes them the right technology tools to establish a platform where we
India, Robert LeBlanc, senior vice start a business. For startups that believe the pool of developers exists.
president of IBM Cloud, said the come through this programme, we That is why we have announced
company will be ramping up the also offer some free credits to use a partnership with Accenture
footprint of its new generation cloud- our cloud services [Bluemix] for a [IBM also has partnerships with
based services in India. Excerpts: year. Traditionally, most of IBM’s other system integrators like Tech
enterprise clients in India have been Mahindra, Wipro and Infosys,
Q How important is India large public and private enterprises. wherein programmers of these IT
as a market for your cloud- However, with our applications firms develop apps for their clients
based services? and capabilities on the cloud, we using the Bluemix platform]. These
In the first generation of the cloud, can even look at small and medium programmers work on applications
people were looking to manage costs enterprises and offer them the that are used not only in India
by storing data on a public cloud and same capabilities and services that but across the world. We have
paying for what they used, instead only the big players had access to around 1,800 clients who use our
of building their own data centres, earlier. India has one of the youngest cloud-based services in India.
which were expensive. The flexibility working populations in the world
and agility that the cloud offers is and with smartphone penetration Q How do you react to the
very conducive to the next generation and the potential of 4G, India is a security concerns around storing
of cloud-based services, which are a very interesting market for us. data on the cloud, especially
platform for innovation. The cloud public clouds (where a service
is transitioning from being a money- provider makes resources, such as
saving tool to an enabler of disruptive THE NUMBER OF applications and storage, available
innovation. Think Uber, WhatsApp to the public over the internet
or Airbnb. So, if you think about PROGRAMMERS on a pay-per-usage model)?
it, the programmer developing an IN INDIA WILL A public cloud is more secure
application is the agent of innovation. than a lot of private clouds that
Our services like Bluemix make it SURPASS THAT companies run themselves. This is
possible for programmers to develop IN THE US BY 2018 for the simple reason that a public
a new generation of applications cloud that we run is controlled by
swiftly, taking advantage of things us end-to-end and we ensure that
like analytics and mobile. So, if it we have all the tools to ensure data
is the programmer that makes the Q In terms of adoption of security. If you look at most of the
difference, step back and think cloud computing, how do you data breaches that have happened,
where you will find the second- rank India among other global they have occurred in private clouds;
largest body of programmers in the markets where IBM is present? some of them aren’t even clouds,
world? It’s in India. And these Indian If you look at IDC [International Data they are just private data centres.
programmers are working for some Corporation] data, it places India in Very often, data gets leaked if
of the largest system integrators the top 30 percent as far as global one contractor or employee who
around the world and helping clients adoption of cloud-based services goes. has control over the entire system
transform. So India is in a prime That is pretty consistent with the size is compromised. We don’t have that
position to be a major player in the of the business that we see for IBM in system. There is still scepticism
next generation of the cloud. India. But when I look at some of our among some about the security aspect
specific services, like Bluemix, India of storing data on the cloud but that
Q What role will IBM be playing ranks second in terms of adoption is changing. Also, we don’t store all
in the next generation of cloud- after the US. It is logical that India is data in one place. We have acquired
based services in India? the second-largest market for Bluemix a company called Cleversafe, which
We’ve set up two data centres in as it has the second-largest population breaks up data into parcels and stores
India and also tied up with Nasscom of application developers in the world; them in different locations, so even if
to help build a platform for Indian and if that data is to be believed, the one data centre is breached, all you
startups, helping them connect number of programmers in India will get is just one piece of the puzzle.


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 23

powerful people jack ma





aliBaBa





and The





40,000





ThieVes








The world’s biggest online retailer
courses with an unprecedented torrent of
counterfeit and sham goods, and neither
the big brands, the Chinese government
nor US pressure can do much about it.
Jack Ma, the most powerful businessman
in Asia, can. But shutting down the fakes
would undermine his Alibaba empire


By MichAEL SchUMAN



e warned: Jack Ma, the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. There’s
man who oversees the no chance, he insists, of settling.
world’s largest online “I would [rather] lose the case,
B retailer and whom Forbes lose the money,” says Ma. “But we
ranks as the 22nd most powerful would gain our dignity and respect.”
person in the world, doesn’t like That is true if he means respect in
lawyers. Especially those attacking the eyes of the hundreds of thousands
the very underpinnings of the $200 of small Chinese entrepreneurs
billion empire he’s built. As rail-thin who’ve made a living on Alibaba’s
as ever, Ma almost leaps off the sofa online bazaar, called Taobao. To Ma,
in his Hangzhou office in China whose Chinese retail sites handle five
when talking about the fancy New times the volume of eBay—last year
York attorneys who have sued him $394 billion of, well, everything—these
for trademark infringement and sellers are his lifeblood. To the sellers,
trafficking in counterfeits on behalf Ma is a hero of capitalism, offering
of their client, Kering, the French them a path to the middle class. In
luxury goods conglomerate that owns the centre of this social compact,



24 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 25

powerful people jack ma




however, is an unacknowledged truth: The world’s
The Alibaba juggernaut has been
constructed to a significant degree
on illegal, counterfeit products. mosT
The scale of the fakery is
enormous—at any given time, Taobao powerful
offers millions of suspect goods for
sale, from handbags to auto parts,
sportswear to jewellery. When Forbes people EditEd By dAVid M EwALt
searched for listings on Taobao with ANd KAthryN diLL
the word ‘Gucci’ and set the preferred
price range under 300 yuan, or less Forget about the 1 percent. The 73 men and women who are
than $50, well below the price of real featured on our annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful
Gucci products, 30,000 results popped People are the 0.00000001 percent—the global elite whose
up. The sellers of four of the items actions move the planet. To compile the list, we consider
on the first page confirmed in online hundreds of candidates and measure their power along four
chatting that they hire factories to dimensions: How many people do they have power over?
produce these wares using the original How much money do they control? Does their influence
design. A large number of the rest are extend across multiple regions, industries or aspects of life?
of designs similar to those of Gucci How actively do they wield their power? A panel of Forbes
products, with slight alterations, editors then vote on each candidate to make the final cut:
such as the replacement of the letter One member for every 100 million people on earth.
‘G’ in a handbag’s pattern with ‘D’.
NetNames, a firm that helps brands
fight online counterfeits, says that its
clients believe as much as 80 percent
of the merchandise sold as theirs
on Taobao is fake. That’s backed up
by Dan McKinnon, head of global
brand protection at sneakermaker
New Balance. Since the Boston
company has no authorised dealers
on Taobao, McKinnon figures that at
least 80 percent of the supposed New
Balance products sold over the site
are counterfeit or suspicious. Alibaba, 1. Vladimir puTin 2.
anGela merkel
for its part, won’t hazard an estimate. President, russia ChanCellor, Germany
In some ways, it can’t afford to. AGE 63 AGE 61
Ma pulled off the world’s biggest Russia geRmany
IPO last year on the New York
Stock Exchange, raising $25 billion.
Alibaba’s revenue more than
doubled over its last two fiscal years
to $12.3 billion, while net income
nearly tripled, to $3.9 billion. Ma is
personally worth $21.8 billion. What
would happen if Alibaba eradicated
fake goods from its shopping sites—
if that were even possible? Harley
Lewin, a veteran intellectual property
lawyer at McCarter & English, has
an opinion: “They’d go broke.” 3. 4.
Barack oBama
pope francis
Ma has no interest in that President, us PoPe, roman CatholiC ChurCh
outcome. But he also has incentive AGE 54 AGE 78
Vatican city state
us
26 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

to get ahead of the narrative prior to are not happy, but I also say that’s an early investor in Alibaba. As did
executing Alibaba’s audacious next your business model. You have to Japan’s Masayoshi Son, founder
phase: Moving from a giant in China check your business model, too.” of Softbank, and Goldman Sachs.
to retail dominance worldwide. The ascent of Jack Ma and China Ma has proved equally adept at
That requires building trust with itself are inextricably entwined. In handling the Chinese government,
consumers everywhere—trust that 1999, the former English teacher which still wields tremendous
could be undermined by a buyer- founded Alibaba with 17 colleagues influence over the fate of private
beware reputation. “Jack Ma has in his apartment in Hangzhou. His business. When China’s President Xi
made a lot of money,” says William first venture was the business-to- Jinping visited the US and the UK
Forsythe, brand-protection manager business site Alibaba.com, which recently, Jack Ma was with him.
at the North American unit of connects companies in the US and Accusations of rampant fakes
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor. elsewhere with suppliers in China. dogged Alibaba and Taobao from the
“But if he is going to have a market- Then, in 2003, he launched Taobao. beginning, with Ma all along asserting
place that has a global footprint, he As China grew into the world’s he was taking a tough stand. But
needs to put a system in place to second-largest economy, Taobao, as the site grew, so did complaints
protect international trademarks.” which translates to “search for from established brands, and in
That’s the riddle for Ma: Can treasures”, became the country’s 2008, the Office of the US Trade
he crack down on fakes enough premier internet shopping site. Some Representative placed Taobao on
to be viewed globally as someone 50 percent of Chinese online retail its list of Notorious Markets, joining
who respects the sanctity of brands flows through Taobao, according the likes of Baidu and PirateBay.
sold on his sites—but not enough to consulting firm iResearch. Counterfeiting in China is noth-
to sink the small-time sellers Ma himself lacked the standard ing new. Back in the 19th century
who remain his rice bowl? traits that help businessmen get American merchants would have
The longer Ma talks, the more it’s ahead in Communist China—political cheap copies of paintings made
clear where his sentiments fall. The connections or an elite education. in Chinese workshops. But the
second-richest man in China thinks He barely made it to college. Yet he counterfeiting programme got
the very idea of luxury retail—selling had the good fortune to cultivate exponentially worse after China began
belts and accessories and the like for high-profile business leaders at an its historic shift toward free-market
thousands of dollars—is inherently early stage. While serving as a junior capitalism in the 1980s. In fact, Ma
absurd. “How can you sell Gucci or staffer at a government ministry, sees his issue with bogus goods as a
whatever branded bag for so much he was assigned to give a tour of direct outgrowth of China’s econom-
money? It is ridiculous,” he says. “I the Great Wall to Jerry Yang, co- ic ascent. As the slumbering giant
understand the branded companies founder of Yahoo, which became woke up, factories making all sorts
LARRY PAGE
kEEPinG oRdER AT homE For years, Google’s
India’s populist PM presided over 7.4 percent GDP growth in his first year co-founders were listed
in office, and raised his profile as a global leader during official visits side-by-side, but separating
with Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. A barnstorming tour of Silicon Valley the two—Page is now CEO of
reinforced his nation’s massive importance in tech. But governing 1.3 billion the newly formed Alphabet
while Brin is president—
people requires more than shaking hands: Now Modi must pass his party’s uncovers a big differential
reform agenda and keep fractious opposition under control. in their relative power








5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Xi JinpinG Bill GaTes JaneT daVid narendra larrY paGe mario li keqianG
General Co-Chair, Yellen cameron modi Co-founder, GooGle draGhi Premier,
seCretary, Bill & Chair, Prime Prime AGE 42 President, China
Communist melinda federal minister, uK minister, us euroPean AGE 60
Party of Gates reserve AGE 49 india Central China LaRRy Page: setH Wenig / aP
China foundation AGE 69 uK AGE 65 BanK
AGE 62 AGE 60 us india AGE 68
China us italy

gOVeRnment & POLicy PHiLantHROPy & ReLigiOn Finance & inVestment Business cRime & teRROR


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 27

powerful people jack ma




of consumer goods sprouted from was charged with any wrongdoing. alone in 2014, from 2,731 different
the country’s rice paddies. Since the That same year, Alibaba shut down shops. (An Alibaba spokesman
government paid little attention to a passel of counterfeiters on the counters that the Kering complaint
protecting intellectual property—and site, sparking a protest by hundreds “has no basis”.) In an October study of
the Chinese public developed a get- of people organised by the sellers marketplaces globally, the Trademark
rich-quick fervour—China became outside of Alibaba’s headquarters. Working Group, whose 25 anonymous
a haven for the production of fakes. “We are probably the only company members include several major
According to the US Department of in China [where] senior management US companies, identified Taobao
Homeland Security, nearly $1.1 billion takes responsibility,” Ma told as “still the largest online platform
worth of counterfeit goods from China Forbes in his first interview after the for the sale of counterfeit goods”.
and Hong Kong were seized entering scandal. “People think, ‘Jack, you Even the Chinese government,
United States in fiscal 2014—88 do too much’. I mean, too drastic. which usually turns a blind eye to
percent of the total it uncovered. But I believe China needs this.” counterfeiting, has pressed Ma to
Alibaba faced down a big scandal Alibaba began working more tackle the problem. In January, the
in early 2011, when it was revealed closely with brands to tackle State Administration for Industry
that some 100 Alibaba sales-people counterfeits, and that was enough to & Commerce, a government regu-
knowingly set up fraudulent sellers convince the US Trade Representa- latory agency, released a survey it
who accepted payments for but tive’s office to remove Taobao from its had commissioned that revealed that
never delivered popular consumer blacklist in 2012. But the company’s only 37 percent of the goods it ex-
electronics like laptops and flat-screen steps weren’t enough for a host of amined on Taobao were authentic.
monitors. Ma gathered his senior Western brands. Kering first sued Then the agency posted to its website
executives in a bar in Hangzhou for Alibaba for trademark infringement notes from a 2014 meeting it held
some soul-searching, along with an and trafficking in counterfeits in 2014, with Alibaba executives in which it
investigation into what happened. but withdrew the complaint after reportedly criticised the company’s
The take was small, maybe $2 million, the two companies agreed to discuss anti-counterfeiting efforts and other
but it involved more than 2,300 fake a settlement and a plan to combat business practices. Alibaba, the report
storefronts. “The company was at risk counterfeiters. Within less than a charged, was facing a “credibility
of developing a culture of pursuing year, however, the talks had gone crisis” as a result. Alibaba contests
short-term financial gain at all cost,” nowhere, and Kering decided to sue these studies. During an earnings
said Savio Kwan, the lead investigator. Alibaba again. The second lawsuit call with investors, Joe Tsai, its vice
Alibaba.com’s CEO, David Wei, and alleges, among a litany of complaints, chairman, lambasted the product
Elvis Lee, its COO, left in the wake that 37,000 counterfeit Gucci bags survey for being “flawed” and
of the scandal even though neither were sold on Taobao in one month “based on arbitrary methodology”.
The government eventually yanked
LonG LiVE ThE kinG the meeting notes from the web.
At 85, the world’s third-richest man shows no signs of slowing down. In August, his Though Alibaba claimed victory, it
Berkshire Hathaway unveiled its biggest acquisition ever, a $37.2 billion deal for industrial also agreed to cooperate with the
equipment maker Precision castparts. Berkshire’s massive reach (2014 sales: $195 billion) agency to better combat fakes.
includes businesses making everything from railroads to underwear—and the Oracle of Juanita Duggan, CEO of the
Omaha remains one of the world’s most respected experts on both making money… and
giving it away. American Apparel & Footwear As-








13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
warren salman Bin carlos slim francois Jeff Bezos ali hoseini mark Jamie dimon BenJamin
BuffeTT aBdulaziz helu hollande Ceo, khamenei zuckerBerG Ceo, neTanYahu
Ceo, al saud Chair, GruPo President, amazon Grand Ceo, JPmorGan Prime
BerKshire KinG, saudi Carso franCe AGE 51 ayatollah, faCeBooK Chase minister,
hathaway araBia AGE 75 AGE 61 us iran AGE 31 AGE 59 israel
AGE 85 AGE 79 mexicO FRance AGE 76 us us AGE 66
us saudi aRaBia iRan isRaeL


gOVeRnment & POLicy PHiLantHROPy & ReLigiOn Finance & inVestment Business cRime & teRROR


28 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

sociation, an industry group that of our business model as the price of counterfeits pulled from the
represents many brands victimised of collaboration,” wrote Pelletier. site—tens of thousands that day
by Chinese fakes, says her organisa- alone. Other software can compare
tion had been in intensive talks with here’s a war room at Alibaba’s snapshots posted by sellers on their
Alibaba over ways the Chinese com- headquarters, a campus of stores’ sites against official photos
pany could better protect brands, only T glass-and-steel office towers of the original goods in a quest to
to face resistance. “We’ve been going on the outskirts of Hangzhou housing uncover illegal replicas. Shao claims
around and around in circles with 16,000 employees. Three floors down the company removed 100 million
them, and we were going nowhere,” from Ma’s office, a large, flat-panel infringing products from Taobao
Duggan says. Fed up, her group screen shows a map of China, flash in the past year alone, up from 14
wrote the US Trade Representative points popping up every second million in 2010. Ninety percent of
an official letter in April, accusing or two. In a country notorious for those were found by Alibaba’s own
Alibaba of being “either not capable its cyber-espionage, particularly team, he says. “We are proactively
of or interested in addressing this when it comes to business and trade discovering these problems and
problem”. It’s now campaigning secrets, Alibaba is spying on itself. solving them,” Shao says.
to have Taobao return to the US More specifically, it’s operating Even with advanced anti-fraud
government’s Notorious Markets list. what is likely the largest private task software and 2,000 sets of eyes,
In a letter to the US Trade force in the world devoted to fraud- Alibaba is still playing the world’s
Representative, Alibaba’s vice ulent merchandise—2,000 strong, all biggest game of Whac-A-Mole.
president of international government of them employees of Alibaba, which Some 100,000 new Taobao shops
affairs, Eric Pelletier, responded that spent a combined $160 million in 2013 are approved each day, and Shao
it wants to cooperate with Duggan’s and 2014 on this effort. Head count says Alibaba can’t always know what
trade group but that many of its is up fivefold since 2011. If we’re to they’re up to until they start sell-
demands were “unreasonable and judge Ma by his actions rather than ing. “We are far from perfect,” Shao
unworkable”. Most tellingly, Alibaba just words, this is the place to start. admits. That’s why Alibaba has also
said that acceding to the footwear “If I say no tolerance of counterfeit expanded its war into the real world.
association’s wishes would force products,” he says, “then we mean it.” Two years ago, Alibaba increased its
changes in its business model. “It is Ma’s minister of defence is Polo cooperation with China’s police to
unreasonable to demand that Alibaba Shao, a 20-year veteran of China’s help track down the people making
Group change fundamental aspects police, who excitedly shows off the
“big data” computer system Alibaba iPowER
chRiSTinE uses to sniff out counterfeits. The Apple stock hit an all-time high in April,
LAGARdE map’s flash points denote Taobao and the $234 billion-in-sales company is
Lagarde is a arguably the most important consumer
steady hand transactions based on attributes such electronics company in the world. But
at the rudder as a suspiciously low price, poor photo Cook lacks his iconic predecessor’s
of the world’s quality and the length of the product
economy, and famous “reality distortion field,” and
proved her cool description. Transactions flagged as small cracks are starting to appear in the
during recent suspect get a follow-up look before a house that Steve Jobs built. Critics say
crises like the decision is made to take them down. the company is stalling on innovation,
Greek credit and worry that sales are flagging on new
crunch The system tallies the number products like the Apple Watch.








22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.
Jack ma chrisTine laGarde JeffreY reX lloYd Tim cook akio charles &
Chair, manaGinG direCtor, imf immelT Tillerson Blankfein Ceo, aPPle ToYoda daVid koch
aliBaBa AGE 59 Ceo, Ge Ceo, eXXon Ceo, AGE 55 Ceo, toyota Ceo & evP,
AGE 51 franCe AGE 59 moBil Goldman us AGE 59 KoCh cHRistine LagaRde: getty images
China us AGE 63 saChs JaPan industries
us AGE 61 AGE 80, 75
us us






DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 29

powerful people jack ma




and distributing counterfeit goods. brands] have to work together with before submitting them to Alibaba.
The police have assigned two officers us instead of killing the soldiers.” The operation has successfully
to the Alibaba headquarters and are Since New Balance joined the scrubbed 130,000 counterfeit list-
jointly developing software with the “good faith” programme, Dan McKin- ings from Taobao. The programme
company to identify the sources of non says, taking down suspect is a “great partnership,” says Bob
counterfeits, based on Ma’s data. Man products has become much more Barchiesi, the coalition’s president.
Niu, director of the economic-crime efficient, with thousands of listings The project is now up to 26 brands.
investigation division of the public being removed. But he calls that “a “People have expectations that [Ali-
security department in Alibaba’s drop in the bucket”. McKinnon claims baba] should be handling this right
home province of Zhejiang, says that that at any given moment there are away. But it is a learning curve.”
he rounded up 300 suspects in 160 an average of 130,000 listings of New Nissan’s William Forsythe is less
counterfeiting cases with the aid of Balance products on Taobao that he impressed. He wraps his brand vigi-
Alibaba just since mid-summer. deems to be counterfeit or highly lance in the cloak of safety concern:
Alibaba has for years had a process dubious. Alibaba’s executives “want Specifically that counterfeit auto
by which brands can file take-down the brands to be happy, but they don’t parts, sold over Alibaba’s platforms,
requests when they spot fakes, but want only the brands to be happy,” he may hurt Chinese consumers—and
brands grumbled that it was too says. “They want the users to be happy make their way into body shops
confusing, the necessary paperwork and the consumers to be happy.” and automotive stores in the US.
too burdensome and Alibaba’s Duan Gang, assistant to the CEO “They are counting the money with
response too lethargic. So in July, of Chinese apparel company Trendy their left hand,” says Forsythe, “and
Alibaba opened an English-language International Group, says the number covering their eyes with their right.”
website through which brands can of shops peddling counterfeits of its
file take-down requests; previously Ochirly-branded clothing dropped libaba needs to deal with
the platform was not entirely in by two-thirds to 5,000 since it began three constituencies: Brands,
English. Since April, brands with a working more closely with Alibaba in A sellers and, of course, the
strong record of accurately spotting October 2014. The Washington-based end buyer. “One fake product is going
counterfeits have been allowed International Anti-Counterfeiting to make us lose five customers,”
into a “good faith” programme with Coalition signed a memorandum says Ma. “If we don’t control that,
simplified and speedier processes of understanding with Alibaba in the more customers we lose.”
to help pull fakes more quickly. 2013 to develop a special project to To ostensibly protect them,
Alibaba says the programme reduces remove counterfeits from Taobao. The Taobao has an enforcement sys-
the time it takes to remove a listing coalition hired two analysts and one tem: Merchants are penalised with
from three to five days to one to attorney to review complaints from “strikes” and “points” for various
three days. That’s still a far cry from the then 20 brands in the programme transgressions. Selling counterfeits
eBay, which says that it handled 92
percent of the complaints it received BiG mouTh, BiG REAch
within 12 hours in 2014. “We are The world’s biggest media mogul isn’t shy about using his influence to make his personal
very open to partner,” Ma says. “We opinions heard—and between outlets like the Wall Street Journal, the Sky News network,
are the military fighting against book publisher HarperCollins and broadcasting giant 21st Century Fox, he’s got the
attention of nearly everyone on earth. Fox and News Corp now have a combined market
the counterfeit terrorists. [The cap in excess of $70 billion, and Murdoch boasts a fortune of $13.1 billion.








30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38.
serGeY Brin li ka-shinG douG JaY Y lee larrY fink ruperT mukesh dilma elon musk
Co- Chair, mcmillon viCe Chair, Ceo, murdoch amBani rousseff Ceo, sPaCeX,
founder, hutChison Ceo, samsunG BlaCKroCK Chair, Chair, President, tesla,
GooGle whamPoa wal-mart AGE 47 AGE 63 news relianCe Brazil solarCity
AGE 42 AGE 87 AGE 50 south Korea us CorP industries AGE 67 AGE 44
us honG KonG us AGE 84 AGE 58 Brazil us
us india


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30 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

earns a “strike”, and after three defect, then pass them out the back been as simple. She complains
or four “strikes”, Alibaba shuts door to Zhai. Some counterfeiters Alibaba is now forcing her to
the shop. However, the confusing also collect discarded fabrics, leather submit stacks of paperwork to
system gives a seller ample and other raw materials, ship them challenge the company’s penalty.
opportunities to stay in business. to their own factory, hire workers But Zhai’s first store continues to
For instance, unless a seller from the official manufacturer and market as many fakes as ever.
accumulates too many points in a assemble these pieces into replicas C Di, 28, has endured less pressure
year, his record is eventually wiped of the real thing, which Zhai says she from Alibaba. She readily admits
clean, allowing all but the most overt also sells on Taobao. On a good day, that she copies designs from major
wrongdoers to keep their stores she can rake in $11,000 in sales. luxury brands like Gucci, Fendi
open. Those who get banned can Zhai’s counterfeits should be easy and Ferragamo, then hires a factory
just re-register their stores under a to spot. They are exact copies of the in China’s Guangdong province
different name and resume their sales. original, complete with brand logos, to manufacture the handbags for
The Chinese merchants who yet she sells them at discounted prices her. Di opened her Taobao shop in
hawk counterfeits on Alibaba’s and states on her Taobao storefront 2013 and began making so much
platforms concede that the company that they are not official goods. money that she quit her job as a civil
is getting tougher—but not enough Yet Alibaba has done a poor job of servant. Each month, Di sells some
to discourage them, and they still stopping her. Soon after she began $30,000 worth of rip-offs, bringing
market their illegal goods with near selling these items in 2010, one of her her more than $1,500 in income.
impunity. Take, for instance, S Zhai, suppliers got nabbed, and Alibaba shut Nevertheless, Di has been penalised
30, who operates two Taobao stores down her first shop. But a few months by Alibaba for intellectual property
selling counterfeit handbags and later, she was able to reopen under infringement only once—the company
clothes from brands, including Prada, the same registration and shop name. asked her to stop selling a near-replica
Fendi and Balenciaga. Her products After buying Alibaba employees some of a Ferragamo bag. Granted, she has
come from the very Chinese factories nice dinners and gifts, it lifted the gotten smarter at avoiding detection
that manufacture the authentic items. ban, and she went back to selling the by tweaking the designs to make her
Quality control officers yank handbags exact same counterfeits. (An Alibaba products appear slightly different
and other goods made for the brands spokesman says the company has a from the originals. But some of her
off the assembly lines for some sort of policy of “zero tolerance on fraudulent wares are still obvious copycats.
activities by our employees”.) Despite She recently offered a Michael Kors
RiSinG Sun her record, Zhai says, Alibaba handbag with the interior clearly
Japanese prime ministers come and go salesmen have offered services to covered with the company’s logo. In
so often that they usually don’t climb help promote her site.
very high on our list. But Abe is now Five years passed michAEL BLoomBERG
finishing the third year of his second before Alibaba caught The former mayor of New
(non-consecutive) term. His economic York City has said he won’t
policies—dubbed “Abenomics”—have up with her again. In seek higher office, and
slid down our ranks as a
pumped billions of dollars into the world’s mid-2015, her second result, but he still runs a $9
third-largest economy. And although the shop was shuttered. billion-in-revenue financial
remedy isn’t working quite as well as he’d This time, reopening information and news
like, he was re-elected as head of Japan’s provider
ruling party in September. its virtual doors hasn’t








39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46.
khalifa Ban ki-moon shinzo aBe dinG park michael BloomBerG Jim YonG kim kim JonG-un
Bin zaYed seCretary Prime XuedonG Geun-hYe Ceo, BloomBerG President, suPreme
al-nahYan General, minister, Chair, China President, AGE 73 world BanK leader, audRey PORee / aBaca PRess / neWscOm
President, united JaPan investment south us AGE 55 north
uae nations AGE 61 CorP Korea us Korea
AGE 67 AGE 71 JaPan AGE 55 AGE 63 AGE 32
united araB south China south north
emirates Korea Korea Korea

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DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 31

powerful people jack ma
























founTAin of fAkES: A recent search for
Prada products on Alibaba’s Taobao online
mall turned up 27,700 items with a maximum
price set to 300 yuan ($47). This, for a
brand that sells handbags north of $1,000.
her product description, she openly about all the people, their rights.” Granted, not all are counterfeit. Plenty may
declared that the factory that made The us-first attitude is encoded in be mislabelled items or used Prada or mere
the handbag got fined for infringement Alibaba’s filings with the US Securities “inspirations”. But the seller of the $23 purse
above says in the description that it’s a replica
of Michael Kors’s intellectual & Exchange Commission. In one
property. “Taobao has its own rules,” document for its 2014 initial public
she says. “A veteran seller would offering, Alibaba insisted that “we obsessed with it. Domestically, the
know how to better avoid risks.” maintain a ‘no tolerance’ policy with easiest path for Ma is to maintain the
Zhai and Di may be crooks to the regard to counterfeit and fictitious status quo. Internationally, the most
likes of Gucci and Nissan, and millions activities”. But the next sentence prudent course is to demonstrate
of customers. But Ma’s great pride is reads: “Because many sellers doing seriousness on this issue. It’s classic
to have provided an opportunity for business on our marketplaces depend Chinese political thinking, seeking
millions of poor Chinese to start their on us for their livelihood, we have a harmonious resolution, only this
own businesses. He feels responsible generally eschewed a ‘shoot-first, time it’s among business interests.
for all those Taobao sellers—the little ask questions later’ approach to And remember the fate of the
guys—striving to lift their fortunes in handling complaints” from brands. original Ali Baba of “open sesame”
a still-poor China. And if upholding Ma is too powerful, too rich and fame. He, too, had trouble with a
intellectual property rights comes too in-demand for even the angriest band of thieves. He, too, had to deal
second, well, so be it. “It’s not white of brands to arm-twist him to change. with all sorts of divergent constitu-
and black,” Ma says. “If you just And while millions of customers encies—the greedy brother, the
say, ‘Take that down,’ it is unfair are, in theory, getting ripped off by loyal slave and the angry thieves.
for that guy [the seller]. We have to Taobao’s sellers, millions more are In the end it was Ali Baba who
also protect these guys, not only the in on the racket, getting a cheap wound up with all the gold.
branded businesses. You have to care way to project luxury in a country With reporting by Jane Ho









47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
iGor sechin ma huaTenG aBdel el-sisi haruhiko masaYoshi enrique ali al-naimi aleXeY lakshmi
President, Ceo, President, kuroda son pena oil minister, miller miTTal
rosneft tenCent eGyPt Governor, Ceo, nieTo saudi araBia Chair, Chair,
AGE 55 AGE 44 AGE 61 BanK softBanK President, AGE 80 GazProm arCelormit-
russia China eGyPt of JaPan AGE 58 meXiCo saudi araBia AGE 54 tal
AGE 71 JaPan AGE 49 russia AGE 65
JaPan meXiCo india


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32 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015



powerful people cHINA’S RIcHEST














Urumqi 1

Shenyang 1
Liaoyang 1
china’s 100 Richest Beijing 22 Langfang 1


In the past year, China has faced slowing growth, a stock Baoding 1
market bubble that burst and the overhang of huge state debt, Longkou 1
but the fortunes of its wealthiest still surged. The 100 richest Binzhou 1 Weifang 1
people are worth a combined $450 billion, up 20 percent
from 12 months ago. But there’s upheaval in the ranks: Our
latest compilation includes 16 first-time members along with Lianyungang 1
one returnee, meaning that close to one-fifth of last year’s
group didn’t make the cut this time. For our expanded list of Taixing 1
China’s 400 richest, see www.forbes.com/china-billionaires/ Nanyang 1 Nanjing 1 Jiangyin 1
Zhangjiagang 1
Danyang 1 Shanghai 11
Wujiang 1
By russell Flannery Wuhan 1
Chengdu 4 Hangzhou 7 Ningbo 2

Wenzhou 1
Changsha 2
Xiamen 1
Fuzhou 1
Anshun 1
Jinjiang 3

Guangzhou 6
Puning 1
Foshan 3 Shenzhen 10
Hong Kong 8














56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64.
roBin li aBu Bakr hillarY michael dell John saTYa sTephen Ginni Bill clinTon
Ceo, Baidu al-BaGhdadi clinTon Ceo, dell roBerTs nadella schwarz- romeTTY founder,
aGe 47 leader, isis Presidential aGe 50 Chief Ceo, man Ceo, iBm Clinton
cHINA aGe 44 Candidate, uS JustiCe, us miCrosoft Ceo, aGe 58 foundation
IRAQ united states suPreme aGe 48 BlaCKstone uS aGe 69
aGe 68 Court uS GrouP uS
uS aGe 60 aGe 68
uS uS

GOVERNMENT & POLIcy PHILANTHROPy & RELIGION FINANcE & INVESTMENT BuSINESS cRIME & TERROR


34 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

1 wanG Jianlin BeiJinG 26 liu yonGhao ChenGdu 51 sit kwonG lam honG KonG 76 liu zhonGtian liaoyanG
$30 Bln  real estate $4.9 Bln  aGriBusiness $3 Bln  oil, transPortation $2.55 Bln  aluminum ProduCts
2 Jack ma hanGzhou 27 li heJun BeiJinG 51 yu yonG shanGhai 76 shen GuoJun BeiJinG
$21.8 Bln  aliBaBa $4.8 Bln  renewaBle enerGy $3 Bln  mininG inVestments $2.55 Bln  retail
3 ma huatenG shenzhen 28 zhanG JindonG nanJinG 53 JianG Bin weifanG 76 sonG zuowen lonGKou
$17.6 Bln  internet Portal $4.75 Bln  aPPlianCe retailer $2.95 Bln  aCoustiC ComPonents $2.55 Bln  aluminum, diVersified
4 lei Jun BeiJinG 29 lu zhiqianG BeiJinG 54 wanG chanGtian BeiJinG 79 hui lin chit JinJianG
$13.2 Bln  smartPhones $4.7 Bln  ConGlomerate $2.93 Bln  tV, moVie ProduCtion $2.5 Bln  hyGiene ProduCts
5 wanG wenyin shenzhen 30 tonG Jinquan shanGhai 55 chen Fashu fuzhou 79 li li  shenzhen
$12.1 Bln  mininG, CoPPer $4.6 Bln  real estate $2.92 Bln  mininG, hyPermarKets $2.5 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals
ProduCts
31 lianG wenGen ChanGsha 56 che JianXinG shanGhai 81 wanG wenJinG BeiJinG
6 roBin li BeiJinG $4.4 Bln  ConstruCtion equiPment $2.9 Bil  furniture retailinG $2.45 Bln  enterPrise software
$10.4 Bln  internet searCh
32 wanG wei shenzhen 56 lin XiuchenG Xiamen 81 zhou chenGJian  shanGhai
7 he XianGJian foshan $4 Bln  PaCKaGe deliVery serViCe $2.9 Bln  eleCtroniCs $2.45 Bln  aPParel retailer
$9.3 Bln  home aPPlianCes
32 wanG wenXue BeiJinG 56 simon Xie hanGzhou 83 chen Jianhua wuJianG
8 hui ka yan GuanGzhou $4 Bln  real estate $2.9 Bln  online Payment serViCe $2.4 Bln  ChemiCals
$8.7 Bln  real estate
34 huanG rulun BeiJinG 59 he qiaonv BeiJinG 83 wanG XinG BeiJinG
9 liu qianGdonG BeiJinG $3.95 Bln  real estate $2.85 Bln  landsCaPe $2.4 Bln  eCommerCe
$7.8 Bln  eCommerCe arChiteCture
35 panG kanG foshan 83 wu GuanGminG danyanG
10 william dinG GuanGzhou $3.9 Bln  soy sauCe maKer 59 huanG wei hanGzhou $2.4 Bln  mediCal equiPment
$7.5 Bln  online Games $2.85 Bln  diVersified
36 qiu GuanGhe wenzhou 83 XionG XuqianG ninGBo
11 Guo GuanGchanG  $3.8 Bln  aPParel retailer 59 tse pinG honG KonG $2.4 Bln  real estate
shanGhai $2.85 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals
$7.3 Bln  ConGlomerate 37 sun piaoyanG  87 JianG wei anshun
lianyunGanG 62 Fu liquan hanGzhou $2.3 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals
11 zonG qinGhou hanGzhou $3.7 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals $2.8 Bln  surVeillanCe
$7.3 Bln  BeVeraGes equiPment 87 liu zhiqianG GuanGzhou
38 li shuFu hanGzhou $2.3 Bln  ConGlomerate
13 lu Guanqiu hanGzhou $3.6 Bln  automoBiles 62 huanG shih tsai 
$7 Bln  ConGlomerate shenzhen 89 du JianGtao BeiJinG
38 Frank wanG shenzhen $2.8 Bln  real estate $2.25 Bln  ChemiCals
14 wei JianJun BaodinG $3.6 Bln  drones
$6.4 Bln  automoBiles 62 ke zunhonG ChenGdu 90 cai kui ChenGdu
40 zhanG shipinG Binzhou $2.8 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals $2.2 Bln  real estate
15 zhanG zhidonG shenzhen $3.55 Bln  aluminum ProduCts
$6.3 Bln  internet media 62 li zhonGchu BeiJinG 91 zhou yahui BeiJinG
41 lu XianGyanG GuanGzhou $2.8 Bln  software $2.18 Bln  online Games
16 chan laiwa BeiJinG $3.5 Bln  automoBiles, Batteries
$6.2 Bln  real estate 66 lu FenG shanGhai 92 ma XinGtian PuninG
41 pan zhenGmin shenzhen $2.75 Bln  finanCial information $2.15 Bln  PharmaCeutiCals
17 Jia yuetinG BeiJinG $3.5 Bln  eleCtroniCs
$6 Bln  online Video 67 huanG wenJi JinJianG 92 shen wenronG zhanGJiaGanG
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DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 35

the world’s most Powerful PeoPle


A BRIEF HISTORY OF POWER




One hundred forty-seven people have appeared on Forbes’s list of the World’s
Most Powerful People since we started tracking them in 2009. Among their ranks
are heads of state, masters of industry, philanthropists, criminals and even a few
TV hosts. Here’s a look back at the people who mattered the most.


POWER OUTAGES
Some stars shine bright and HAIL, HILLARY
burn out fast. Thirty-seven The presumed
people appeared just once Democratic nominee for
on our list before dropping President isn’t new to the
out of the ranks, including list: She’s appeared three
WikiLeaks founder Julian times in the past during
Assange, Brazilian energy her tenure as Secretary
magnate Eike Batista and of State, ranking as high
then Turkish Prime Minister as No. 16 in 2011.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.






















































36 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

RISING STAR ON THE RUN

Michael Dell’s $19.1 Once ranked the 50th most
billion personal powerful person in the world,
fortune makes him a Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar also
force to be reckoned belongs to another prominent list:
with—but it was Interpol’s most wanted. The leader
his company’s $67 of Indian organised crime network
billion acquisition of D-Company is believed to have ties
EMC, announced in to al Qaeda and has been linked to
October, that helped terrorist attacks, including 1993 and
the tech titan make 2008 bombings in Mumbai.
his debut this year at
No. 59 on our list.



BASTA, EL CHAPO!
Joaquin Guzmán Loera once
controlled the billion-dollar Sinaloa
drug-trafficking cartel and ranked as
high as No. 41 on our list. Currently
on the run, ‘El Chapo’ escaped a MEA CULPA, CARL
maximum security Mexican prison in
July but is presumed to be injured. Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn
With police closing in, he doesn’t yet strikes fear into the hearts of Wall
warrant a return to the list. Street power players and, in October,
made politicians quake when he
launched a $150 million super PAC to
promote tax reform. Considering that
he also has a $21.7 billion personal
fortune, he probably should have
joined these ranks sooner. Julian assange: JOHn sTillWell / aFP / geTTy images; Hillary ClinTOn: Daniel aCker / BlOOmBerg; miCHael Dell: simOn DaWsOn / BlOOmBerg; JOaquin guzman lOera: susana gOnzalez / BlOOmBerg; DaWOOD-iBraHim-kaskar: aP; Carl iCaHn: geTTy images;










































DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 37

the world’s most Powerful PeoPle



























ALL-STARS
Due to wealth, position or ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID
influence—or, in most cases, all A few notable nominees receive
three—22 power players have consideration almost every year but never
appeared on every edition of this make the list. Among them: Inditex founder
list, including Barack Obama, Bill Amancio Ortega (pictured above) and Ikea
Gates, Bernard Arnault, Michael founder Ingvar Kamprad. Despite their
Bloomberg and Vladimir Putin. vast personal wealth ($78.1 billion and $3.4
But only one woman has always billion, respectively), these retail moguls
made the cut: German Chancellor don’t exercise enough of their power and
Angela Merkel. influence to make the final cut.














































38 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

PRESCRIPTION
FOR POWER
UNITED STATES 47
CHINA 17 To compile this list, Forbes examines
JAPAN 9 hundreds of candidates from various walks
INDIA 8
FRANCE 6 of life all around the globe and considers
GERMANY 5 the number of people over which they
RUSSIA 5
BRAZIL 4 have power, the resources they control,
PAKISTAN 4 the spheres where they’re active and the
SAUDI ARABIA 4
SOUTH KOREA 4 intensity with which they wield their power.
UNITED KINGDOM 4 A panel of editors winnows that list to a
ITALY 3
MEXICO 3 final 73 members—one for each 100 million
AUSTRALIA 2 people on earth.
NORTH KOREA 2
ARGENTINA 1 EditEd by david M Ewalt and
BELGIUM 1 Kathryn dill. dEsign by david lada.
CANADA 1
CHILE 1 POSITION OF INFLUENCE
EGYPT 1
HONG KONG 1 Our listees represent 36 different countries,
IRAN 1
IRAQ 1 but the world’s largest economies still
ISRAEL 1 dominate the list.
LIBYA 1 GOVERNMENT & POLICy
NIGERIA 1
NORWAY 1 BuSINESS
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 1
PORTUGAL 1 fINANCE & INVESTMENT
SWITZERLAND 1
TAIWAN 1 PHILANTHROPy & RELIGION
TIBET 1
TURKEY 1 SPORTS & MEDIA
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 1
VENEZUELA 1 CRIME & TERROR











































DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 39 amanCiO OrTega: CaBalar / eFe / neWsCOm; angela merkel: geTTy images

The Supersonic Festival
has attempted to
create a more eclectic
electronic music lineup

EntErprisE


livE EvEnts and music fEsts


Setting The Stage




The music festival ecosystem sustains
artistes, audiences and local economies.
But can it sustain itself?


By AngAd Singh ThAkur & PrAvin PAlAnde



he sleepy, upmarket property (IP)-driven events in
Koregaon Park area in particular. Just last year, the total
Pune doesn’t seem like number of organised events in India
T the ideal venue for a grew from 3,631 in 2013-2014 to
music festival. Its quiet, tree-lined 4,233 in 2014-15, according to a white
streets appear better suited to house paper compiled by industry body
the famous Osho Ashram that lies Event & Entertainment Management
hidden among them, than to play Association (EEMA) and Ernst &
host to raucous music lovers. Young. (IP events are the intangible
But in 2010, Sahej Bakshi, best assets owned by promoters who own
known for his solo project Dualist the rights to the event, which is, in
Inquiry, played his set at the after- this case, their intellectual property.)
party of the NH7 Weekender’s closing
ceremony there, to a crowd of 2,000- Different iDeas, similar Goals
odd people. “I was super excited, “The idea for NH7 came when I was
jumping all over the stage, doing these managing Pentagram [the band led
ridiculous hand-waving dance moves,” by Vishal Dadlani] and they were
Bakshi recalls. The artiset, whose booked to perform at the Glastonbury
set usually consists of electronica Festival [in England],” says Vijay Nair,
music with guitar influences, had CEO, Only Much Louder (OML),
broken onto the scene only recently. which runs the NH7 Weekender.
And although he had performed at The experience at Glastonbury left
clubs and smaller venues, this was an indelible impression on him. “To
particularly exhilarating. Five years see so many people come together,
and scores of festival performances so many bands, the sheer beauty
later, both the crowd and the festival, of it was overpowering,” he says.
then at a nascent stage, now seem It wasn’t an egalitarian non-profit
relatively small. But back then “it was enterprise either. The festival, which
a huge deal for me,” says Bakshi. is held annually in Somerset, England,
The same could be said for that reportedly managed to sell all its
weekend’s subsequent impact on 135,000 tickets within 25 minutes
live music festivals in India. Though last year. “The economy of the place
not the first event of its kind, the runs on this festival,” says Nair.
inaugural edition of the NH7 Bacardi Besides the impressive spectacle and
Weekender marked the beginning the economics of the festival, there
of what would become India’s was one other thing that stood out
largest multi-genre music festival. for Nair. “You don’t build a festival
This coincides with the rise in the with just one kind of music.” asHisH parmar
popularity of and demand for live Contrariwise, the first festival
events in general and intellectual to make the concept of ‘live music


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 41

EntErprisE livE EvEnts and music fEsts




and the essential appeal of EDM.
Globally, few other events
exemplify this appeal better than
Tomorrowland, the gigantic electronic
music festival that is held in Belgium
every year. Last year, to celebrate
its 10th anniversary, the festival
reportedly sold 360,000 tickets in
under an hour. The FICCI-KPMG
Indian Media and Entertainment
Industry Report for 2015 drew a
comparison between Tomorrowland
and Sunburn, estimating Sunburn’s
2014 ticket sales to be 140,000. The
comparison drew a sharp contrast
between the revenues of the two
festivals. The report estimated
Tomorrowland’s revenues to be 104.5
million euros (About Rs 748 crore).
vijay nair, CeO, Only Much louder, which runs the nh7 Weekender
against Sunburn’s Rs 12.2 crore.
festivals’ popular in India was based a shopping area. Importantly, says Low ticket prices are the primary
almost completely on one, hugely Singh, the quality of the experience reason for this large gap in revenue
popular musical genre. Sunburn, had to be at par with the best in the numbers. Consider that in order
arguably the first music festival of world. “By this time people had access to clock Rs 748 crore in revenues,
its scale to be held in India, was to international content, and they Sunburn would have to sell around
built under the broad umbrella of knew what music festivals abroad 8.5 million tickets at the same prices.
electronic dance music (EDM). are like. You couldn’t cheat them.” This also means that hypothetically,
Sunburn was conceptualised This was also one of the reasons why the festival would need to grow at
by Shailendra Singh along with it took Sunburn five years to break about 50 percent annually for the next
six employees of his media and even, he says. In 2007, when the first ten years to achieve these numbers.
entertainment company, Percept, Sunburn festival finally got underway, This is not to suggest that ticket
and a consultant. Among these seven, it managed to pull in a reported 10,000 prices have necessarily obstructed
at least two now hold important people on the New Year weekend. growth: In fact, the EEMA/Ernst &
positions in the rapidly growing IP Like many people his age, Bakshi, Young white paper suggests that the
economy: Nikhil Chinapa (former then a student at the USC Thornton organised events economy in India
VJ and currently the festival curator School of Music at the University of has grown from Rs 2,800 crore in
for Vh1 Supersonic) and Devraj Southern California in Los Angeles, 2011-12 to Rs 4,258 crore in 2014-15.
Sanyal (MD and CEO at Universal California, found himself at Sunburn CA Media, a private equity firm
Music Group, South Asia). in 2008. “Till that time, I was quite that has picked up a 49 percent stake
“Even back in 2005, it was clear intent on remaining in the States, in OML is bullish about the sector’s
to us that the demographic changes but just seeing Indian kids like me growth. “We look at markets driven
in India meant that we were going performing on stage was a really by the youth. We invest in IP-based
to have a huge population of young revolutionary experience for me,” he properties in this space and the
people with nothing by way of says. The fact that he could identify live space is the biggest example
entertainment except Bollywood with the people on stage compelled of the tremendous growth that the
and cricket,” says Singh. It took five him to return to India, says Bakshi. market is seeing,” says Vivek Raicha,
months for him and his team to set This relatable quality, many say, is head of investments, CA Media.
up the event. The festival had to be what makes EDM such a universally
“50 percent music and 50 percent attractive model to base an IP the new, olD players
lifestyle”, he says. This meant that property on. “It has no lyrics, so no This upswing saw the entry of a large
one feels conscious about not knowing
amit vErma beside the stages that would host enough about the music,” points out in 2013. Although Viacom18 (part
media conglomerate into this space
the visiting artistes, Sunburn would
Singh. Sunburn, he believes, tapped
include activities ranging from
of Network 18, publishers of Forbes
volleyball to bungee jumping and even
into the demand for live entertainment
India) had dabbled in the business of
42 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

live events, they bet really big on it in THE NUMBER an immersive cultural experience.
2013 with the launch of the Supersonic OF ORGANISED Although they haven’t scaled up,
Festival. “Strategically, the decision primarily by virtue of their format
was clear,” says Jaideep Singh, senior EVENTS IN INDIA which depends heavily on a unique
VP & business head at Viacom18’s GREW FROM 3,631 venue, these festivals are successes in
Integrated Network Solutions. “We their own right. And they’re not alone.
were not entering the live music space IN 2013- 2014 TO In September this year, Universal
to appeal to a few thousand people.” 4,233 IN 2014- 15 Music Group bought a 50 percent
A significant driver of this effort stake in Enchanted Valley Carnival
was Nikhil Chinapa, who had by (EVC), a music festival held in
now moved to Viacom18. Supersonic Aamby Valley City near Pune, for
was built on the lines of Sunburn, on 59th on the British monthly DJ Mag’s an undisclosed sum. “We want to
the back of Chinapa’s experience in list of the world’s “Top 100” DJs. create a unique festival that will
creating stellar festival lineups. While Percept, OML and Viacom18 welcome people who want to try
both the festivals have largely relied and their respective flagship events something different both in terms of
on the tried-and-tested formula of make up a majority of the music experience as well as music. We plan
bringing global EDM stars to Indian festivals that are held in India to do a three-day camping festival
shores along with a mix of lesser today. This is thanks to the spin-offs at a reasonable price,” says Sanyal
known Indian and foreign talent, that take their festivals to places of Universal Music Group. This
there is some divergence between like Shillong (NH7 Weekender), December, the festival will feature
the content these two have on offer. Daman (Sunburn) and sometimes artistes like Fatboy Slim and DJ Tiësto.
Sunburn has focussed on EDM, even beyond Indian borders.
while Supersonic has attempted to While these three big labels GalvanisinG the troops
create a more eclectic electronic dominate, there are several other Consequently, the events continue to
music lineup. It has, for instance, noteworthy music festivals that dot grow, both in size and number. The
hosted Pretty Lights and more India’s musical landscape. Ziro, a EEMA/Ernst & Young white paper
recently Skrillex, both of whom don’t festival in Arunachal Pradesh, brings estimates the number of organised
necessarily fit the narrow definition together independent acts from events, of which music festivals and
of a mainstream EDM artiste. across genres to the eponymous events are a major part, to grow from
Both these approaches have small hill town in which it is held. 4,233 in 2014-15 to 5,329 in 2015-
yielded results in terms of drawing Some other notables are Magnetic 16. Significantly, they continue to
audiences. However, there remain Fields, which is held at Alsisar Mahal provide a fertile breeding ground
concerns about the sustainability of near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and for upcoming talent. “You play at a
a model that is based on drawing big the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. festival primarily because you can
stars who demand substantial pay These festivals go beyond music and play to a much larger audience,”
cheques for performing in India. attempt to provide audiences with says Udyan Sagar, a DJ who goes by
Although Supersonic, which is the name Nucleya. While audiences
a direct competitor of Sunburn in at clubs and smaller gigs may be
Goa, was Viacom18’s flagship event, familiar with an artiste’s music, music
it was followed by a number of other festivals allow artistes to reach new
launches. These included a whole audiences, he says. And that’s not all.
gamut of genre-based music festivals. According to Tej Brar, artiste
“It is Bollyland (a music festival manager at OML, about 75 percent
based on Bollywood music) that is of an artiste’s revenue comes from
going to be huge in the live space. live events, while the remainder
We want to take Bollyland across the is generated by endorsements.
globe as the audience for Bollywood Record sales, the original barometer
music and EDM is increasing,” says for an artiste’s success, have now
Mohamed Morani, director, Cineyug, become a peripheral statistic in
an event management company terms of revenue generation.
that works with Viacom18 to create From being the single largest
Bollyland. This October, DJ Chetas revenue stream in the past, record
who came into the limelight because sales, or more commonly, song mExy xaviEr
of his gigs with Bollyland, was ranked Shailendra Singh, joint Md of Percept limited downloads are increasingly used as



DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 43

EntErprisE livE EvEnts and music fEsts




a marketing tool. “What I realised contribution that these festivals can
was that putting up a payment have on the local economy, there
gateway would be a hindrance to is scarcely an industry more prone
my music’s popularity,” says Bakshi. to government interference. “The
Instead, and this is commonplace for government doesn’t even consider
most artistes today, Bakshi decided music tourism to be real,” says Singh.
to give away his music for free, in The malaise lies not only in the
exchange for the listener’s email convoluted processes for licences,
address. This enabled him to get but also in the arbitrary nature of law
his fans to attend his performances enforcement when it comes to these
instead of making a small amount events. “A policeman can just walk
of money from legal downloads. up to your festival and shut it down,”
“It has been a good strategy to sort says Nair, who has consistently
of galvanise the troops,” he says. been advocating a better system of
On the face of it, the future of the approvals for festival promoters.
sector looks bright. The demand for There is some hope though, says
live music events and festivals is being Nair. In early September, the Delhi
driven not just by big foreign artistes government announced that it would
but also by homegrown talent like Jaideep Singh, senior vP & business head, have single-window clearance for
Bakshi and Sagar. Besides, few sectors integrated network Solutions events in the city. He hopes that
are as perfectly aligned to benefit from the other states will follow suit.
India’s much-touted demographic (which is held in the open Black Rock Besides, music is a continuously
dividend as this, say experts. desert in Nevada) all take place at a evolving business. While the IP events
Probe a bit further though, and significant distance from large cities. space, fuelled by India’s insatiable
some shadows begin to appear. The demand for entertainment has
basic unit used to measure the success enDinG on a hiGh-note continued to grow, experts suggest
of a festival is flawed, says Nair. The As a result, these festivals, across that the sustainability of the business
attendance is “absurdly” calculated the IP events space, contribute models will define its future course.
by counting the number of people significantly to the local economy. A Meanwhile, as the season gets
attending each day, he says. This notable example in this regard is the under way, the music festival
leads to inflated numbers as the same Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). “We machinery is gearing up for another
person attending a festival over three did a straw poll of a cross-section of quarterly cycle. (The music festival
or four days will be counted as three businesses in Jaipur,” says Sanjoy Roy, season in India extends from October
or four different people. Nair believes MD, Teamwork Arts, which organises to March.) “I performed in Shillong,
that not only is this misleading, it is the JLF. Teamwork Arts, which also then in Kolkata and I’m also going
also a hazard for first-time promoters hosts smaller music festivals like to play at a college in Pilani. Then
who make their calculations based Sounds of Freedom, found that the you spend two days at home, and
on these numbers and are later JLF helped bring in an additional Rs it begins again,” says Bakshi.
unable to meet their revenue targets. 20 crore into the local economy. The artistes aren’t the only ones
“The NH7 Weekender in Pune Despite the evidently positive involved. It takes more than a village,
draws about 28,000-30,000 unique or a workforce of about 5,000 people
visitors over the weekend,” says to set up a festival like Sunburn, says
Nair. “I could tell you the number THE DEMAND Singh. From fire safety and crowd
is 90,000 by the same logic.” control, every eventuality has to
Moreover, organisers uniformly cite FOR LIVE MUSIC be accounted for while setting up
the lack of venues in metro cities as the EVENTS IS a music festival of that scale, not to
number one challenge for the industry, BEING DRIVEN mention the elaborate stages and all
says the FICCI-KPMG report. that goes with them. The financial
But while this may hold true for BY BIG FOREIGN aspect of the business isn’t very typical
standalone events, it is not necessarily ARTISTES AND either. “Basically, our balance sheet
mExy xaviEr so for music festivals. In fact, the HOMEGROWN Nair. It is imperative then that firms,
begins from zero every year,” says
largest music festivals the world over,
TALENT
from Glastonbury and Tomorrowland
not unlike some of the artistes that
to Coachella and Burning Man
they sign on, end on a high note.
44 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015



EntErprisE


faasos


The Integrated


Food Company




By building a model that spans aggregation, delivery
and sourcing, Faasos may well have succeeded in

striking a balance between scale and sustainability


By AngAd Singh ThAkur

ince the launch of their The food on-demand tag that
first restaurant in Pune it uses to define itself essentially
in 2003, Jaydeep Barman means that Faasos uses a network
S and Kallol Banerjee, co- of delivery centres (DCs) to deliver
founders of Faasos, a “food on- food to customers, around 97 percent
demand” company, have frequently of whom use its app to place orders.
been asked about the origins of its This fact by itself is unremarkable
name. In previous interviews and in a business cluttered with app-
other interactions, the duo has come based services. But add the scale of
up with a few explanations for it, Faasos’s growth and the sustainability
including the assertion that it is an of the model its co-founders have
acronym for ‘Fanatic Activism Against created, and the venture stands out.
Substandard Occidental Shit’. Today, the company, which had
This definition, though, was six outlets in Pune in 2011, is present
retrofitted. Its name, oddly enough, in 15 cities, through its 160 DCs. It
was taken from that of the African services between 15,000 and 18,000
nation, Burkina Faso. “We had orders every day, and is adding
read that it meant ‘The Land of the about 15 DCs every month. Barman
Incorruptible’. That sounded nice,” claims that they will be available kallol Banerjee (left)
says Banerjee. They proceeded to in about 25 cities by the end of this and Jaydeep Barman,
dispense with Burkina since Faso year and they hope to be in 50 by the co-founders of Faasos
sounded like fast food, which was the middle of 2016. That would entail
intended theme. “We also had our more than doubling the number of But Barman denies that inference.
designer present at the meeting and DCs to 350-400 in less than a year. “We’re not a QSR chain,” he says. This
he suggested that we add an ‘a’, since These fantastical growth numbers is not to say that it never was one.
he needed five letters in the name would border on the absurd were
to design the original logo.” (It was it a quick service restaurant (QSR) Autopilot
called Faaso’s but was rebranded in chain. For one, QSRs require high Founded by IIM-Lucknow classmates
May this year to drop the apostrophe.) capital expenditure. They also Banerjee and Barman, Faasos began
This short sequence of events is function on low margins, and it is as a restaurant in Pune, specialising
in many ways symptomatic of their usually a steep uphill climb towards in kathi rolls. In the early 2000s,
approach: The ability to quickly profitability for most QSRs. while they were working at an
determine what is and isn’t important, Owing to its delivery-centric e-learning company called Brainvisa
and to dispense with whatever isn’t. model, one would be inclined to Technologies, the two had often
It has, at least in part, aided Faasos’s assume that Faasos is a QSR. And talked about opening a restaurant
evolution from a delivery-centric with 160 outlets, that would make together. “I basically wanted to
restaurant chain to its present avatar it one of India’s largest homegrown start it because I missed the Kolkata
of a food technology company. QSR brands, which is no mean feat. kathi rolls in Pune,” says Barman.


46 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

two managers were allowed to run
the earlier restaurants (though the
restaurants eventually came back into
the fold) while Barman and Banerjee
began expanding the franchise. The
brand’s purple and yellow signage
began popping up in Pune, Mumbai
and later in Bengaluru. A typical store
consisted of a kitchen and a small
standing area that would sometimes
have a table or two, but was usually
bare. The focus was clearly on
delivery. The chain quickly grew from
six outlets in 2011 to over 50 in 2013.


EntrEprEnEurs-in-Arms
The number of outlets was a fair
measure of its growth because even
till 2013 Faasos was run as a QSR
chain. In the early years, the food
would be prepared at the front-end
kitchens, but as the company grew,
the supply chain had to be simplified.
The first three cities in which Faasos
then operated all got a central
kitchen which would supply food to
the outlets. But Barman concedes
that although it was expanding, the
company was still on shaky ground.
Two significant events took place
in late 2011 that began the process of
consolidation. First, Faasos received
an investment worth $5 million (about
Rs 33 crore) from Sequoia Capital in
October 2011. Following this, they
announced the Faasos Entrepreneur
So, in 2003, he quit his job and they Barman was getting impatient. “I was in Residence (FER) programme.
launched their first restaurant. the most broke that I have ever been,” “We were basically very
While setting it up, “we did he says, laughing. By expanding in lazy,” says Barman. “We wanted
everything that we thought we the face of early failures, they had to find people who would run
should be doing,” says Banerjee. They found it hard to come by additional it as their own company.” The
hired good cooks, set up a quality capital. So Barman left for INSEAD programme requirements were
facility with a glass facade, which in France to pursue his second fairly straightforward. It needed the
was something of a novelty then. But MBA and Banerjee followed a year applicants to be entrepreneurial,
with no experience of working in the later. Faasos was put on autopilot not look for instructions and love
food and beverages sector, they were with two people managing it. their customers, he says. “We were
in for an unpleasant surprise. In the It was only in 2010 when Barman looking for younger versions of
first month, their restaurant’s sales quit his job as an associate partner ourselves,” says Banerjee. Essentially
were lower than the electricity bill. with McKinsey in London and professionals who had graduated from
The next few years weren’t easy returned to India did the Faasos story business school not very long ago and Joshua navalkar
either. Although they managed to resume. Banerjee too returned from had just begun to realise that some
add four more restaurants by 2006, his Bosch stint in Singapore. The of their jobs could be very dull. They


DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 47

EntErprisE faasos





A food on-demand
company, Faasos is
present in 15 cities,
through its 160
delivery centres



































received over 400 applications, out of believes, only began to show earlier (QSRs) to the other occupied by food
which they chose eight applicants. this year, following a funding round aggregators and delivery services,
Seven of these eight people have led by Lightbox Ventures and Sequioa including the likes of Zomato and
continued working with Faasos Capital, in which Faasos raised Foodpanda. They run highly scalable
and have carved out departments $20 million (about Rs 132 crore). models that entail tying up with
of their own. “We all began at restaurants and offering their food on
the operational level, but we mobilE, AgilE, tActicAl the platform. But, “we are very happy
quickly began taking up larger The constant streamlining of the being food-first,” insists Barman.
responsibilities,” says Revant Bhate, supply chain ensured that it was While food aggregators simply
one of the seven original entrants. technologically well integrated connect the user with food providers,
Bhate was involved in developing with the back-end. Several vendors or handle delivery, Faasos, because
the back-end of the company and worked in tandem to supply the of its food-first approach, had
now also heads marketing. “Since DC with different products that get the advantage of being both the
we were a small company, everyone put together and dispatched from provider and the facilitator. “It
ended up doing everything,” says it. In effect, every DC became an is the only scaled up food tech
Bhate. The roles have become more independent fulfilment centre. business that has full control on the
defined as the company has grown. With this set-up in place, at a time customer experience,” claims GV
“Although in terms of numbers when food aggregators were looking Ravishankar, managing director,
our inflection point came about a year at ways in which they could integrate Sequoia Capital India Advisors.
back, I think the real inflection point their platforms with restaurants,
for the company was when we hired Faasos went ahead and did just that. too littlE or too much?
It is clear then that Faasos has
Only, it owned and controlled every
the eight entrepreneurs in residence,”
courtEsy: faasos says Barman. The decision of hiring part of the process. “Mobile changed managed to seamlessly integrate
the technology with the physical
everything,” admits Barman.
through the FER programme enabled
The change enabled Faasos to
process of bringing the food to a
them to add seven new co-founders
consumer’s doorstep. However, this
go from one end of the spectrum
to the company. The results, he
48 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015

streamlining has its shortcomings, fully integrated supply chain. data to find the least repeat ordered
particularly when it comes to the Whether or not it will be able to items on its menu. “It doesn’t matter
number of food items on offer. The strike a balance between quality how much we love the products,
problem is, and its founders admit and scale remains to be seen. we slash the bottom 10 percent off
that it has always been, variety. While variety is a concern that the menu regularly,” says Barman.
“Ultimately, it is about the food. applies specifically to Faasos, there are The results seem impressive.
While an integrated platform can also larger concerns about the startup “A DC breaks even in six months,”
bring reliability, taste, quality, value, ecosystem and food-related ventures says Barman. He also claims that
etc, it may struggle to bring variety,” in particular. The recent news of large they have managed to increase
says Anand Lunia, founding partner lay-offs in companies like Zomato and their revenues by 400 percent over
at India Quotient. His venture TinyOwl has given way to speculation the past year. “Next year will be
capital firm has invested in, among a about the viability of some of their our $100 million (revenues) year,”
number of other ventures, Hola Chef, business models. But Barman insists he says. Although Faasos did not
a food delivery startup that offers that Faasos’s strength lies in the fact share its present revenue numbers,
new menus daily from local chefs in that it works on a sustainable model, a back-of-the-envelope calculation
Mumbai and Pune. Customer fatigue an integrated one which allows it to suggests that even with their lower
can be a consequence of a limited have margins upwards of 50 percent, claim of 15,000 daily orders, with
menu, he says. However, he insists he says. In fact, he claims that the an average order value of Rs 250,
that such things can be solved by company is already on the verge of Faasos’s annual revenues may be in
data analytics and personalisation, breaking even, and will do so by 2016. the region of Rs 130 crore already.
and says, “If anyone can do it, Faasos There exist several companies
will probably be one of the first.” within the food space that have come
In order to address the variety up with different delivery models.
crunch, and to improve scalability, FAASOS SERVICES From larger players like Foodpanda
earlier this year, Faasos added curated 15,000 TO 18,000 and the embattled TinyOwl, to
items to its menu. It allows its food ORDERS DAILY. IT’S smaller ones like startup Swiggy, they
curators to commission kitchens to all focus on different aspects of food
provide food through its platform. ADDING ABOUT delivery. But, “only very small chains
“We have a team of curators in every 15 DELIVERY with about five restaurants have the
area that goes around looking for kind of fully-integrated infrastructure
good food,” says Barman. Instead of CENTRES EVERY that Faasos has,” believes Prashant
charging a commission, they price MONTH Mehta, partner at Lightbox Ventures.
the product after factoring in the “None of them has been able to
margins for the kitchens and the achieve this kind of scale,” he says.
incremental cost of actually cooking The investment led by Lightbox
the food, explains Banerjee. rEplAcing thE rEfrigErAtor Ventures and Sequioa in February this
This simple process now lies at the Finally, and perhaps most year and the subsequent growth have
heart of its expansion spree. Curation importantly, the one aspect of ensured that Barman and Banerjee
enables it to set up the supply chain Faasos’s model that has enabled continue work on their stated aim of
and bring the best of local food to its consistently rapid growth is its replacing the refrigerator of the young
customers. The shift to becoming increasingly inexpensive DC. It now Indian professional with Faasos. It
a food on-demand platform means costs the company about Rs 15 lakh still sounds like an odd name, and
that in the cities that it has opened to open a DC compared to Rs 40 there’s little doubt that they will
recently, Faasos doesn’t even serve lakh earlier. Since they don’t serve have to repeat their Burkina Faso
its signature rolls. This ensures that as QSR outlets any longer, the DCs story a few more times. Especially
it can quickly replicate its model do not need to be located in very following their recent marketing
in a new city without having to visible areas, which helps save on spree, which included two television
replicate the supply chain for its rental costs. They don’t even have commercials that project Faasos as
original products. “Eventually, we to look like outlets. “In fact the last the answer to the universal question:
want about half of our revenue to 50-60 outlets that we have opened ‘Aaj khaane mein kya hai?’ (What’s
come from curation,” says Banerjee. cannot even be found because they there to eat today?). As long as
However, with curation, it have no Faasos signage on them,” they remain agile and flexible with
would seem that Faasos might says Banerjee. The optimisation their model, they should have the
cede some control on its otherwise doesn’t stop there. Faasos uses its answer more often than not.



DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 49

EntErprisE


spEciality rEstaurants


Come Dine All Day





Anjan Chatterjee, of Mainland China and
Oh! Calcutta fame, is trying to stay ahead of the
curve by stepping out of his comfort zone. Leading
the charge is his son, the disruptor-in-chief


By Anshul DhAmijA & DeBojyoti Ghosh

n the last week of September, 20 empire to. The company’s two-
senior managers of Speciality decade-old flagship brand Mainland
Restaurants Ltd, the company China, which has 53 outlets across
I that runs well-known fine- 23 cities in India, has already gone
dining restaurant chains Mainland global with a restaurant each in Dhaka
China and Oh! Calcutta, were in (Bangladesh) and Dar es Salaam
London for an off-site. And for good (Tanzania) and another waiting
reason. By the end of this financial in the wings at Doha (Qatar).
year, Speciality Restaurants is all Many diners had been complaining,
set to open its Bengali restaurant of late, that Mainland China had
brand Oh! Calcutta at St James’s, a become highly commoditised in
tony locality in central London that its offerings. For them, Chatterjee
is also home to St James’ Court, a is rebranding select outlets into
luxury property of the Taj Group, Asia Kitchen by Mainland China
and Chutney Mary, London’s to offer them a pan-Asian cuisine
well-known Indian restaurant. menu. The move couldn’t have
Chatterjee and his team have met come at a more appropriate time.
London mayor Boris Johnson Dishes from the food-streets of
who is said to be “very excited and Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand,
enthusiastic” about the project. Singapore, and Hong Kong as well
The 20 executives also visited as a live kitchen format are being
Scotch distilleries in Scotland. On introduced to give the rebranded
their return from the day trip, they restaurants a distinctive look and feel.
were treated to a home-cooked Chatterjee is also keeping a
meal of Shorshe Macher Jhol (a hawk’s eye on international dining
curry of hilsa cooked in mustard trends that are slowly catching up
paste), Bengali fish fry (fried hilsa), in India. “The other big thing that is
Bengali chicken curry and steamed happening is that from fine dining All in the family:
rice—all of which was prepared by we are getting into all-day dining Anjan (left) and
Avik Chatterjee
Anjan Chatterjee, the managing restaurant formats [like bistros,
director of Speciality Restaurants. bars, and quick-service restaurants].
“Unless you are a foodie yourself You can’t make a Mainland China afoot to open more all-day dining
you will never understand the pain an all-day format,” he says. formats where the beverage section
points of a foodie and understand how In the last 24 months, Speciality (in particular alcohol) would take
to feed people. Otherwise you can’t be Restaurants has added a slew of centrestage. One such concept cooking
in the food business,” says Chatterjee. casual all-day dining formats like in the oven is a micro-brewery.
London is just one among many Hoppipola, Mediterranean restaurant These developments at Speciality
global cities that the 55-year-old is Café Mezzuna and a Chinese quick- could be a reflection of the company’s
looking to expand his restaurant service eatery Zoodles. Plans are also jaded financial performance.


50 | FORBES INDIA DECEMBER 11, 2015