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The Economic Times, , Saturday, 7 November 2015 * Former Cricketer Dilip Doshi to Nissan may Sue Ashok Leyland Bring 2 More Luxe Brands to If JV Disputes Not Resolved Our Bureau

Mumbai: After launching German lux- Legal counsellors have instructed top Nissan executives to preserve documents relating to the JV ury brand Mont Blanc in India, - er-turned-businessman Dilip Doshi is ok Leyland’s factories, which also make now entering the affordable luxury seg- Bharani.Vaitheesvaran some engines for platforms developed by ment by bringing Italian designer silver- @timesgroup.com Alliance Hits a Rough Patch the joint venture. With variants Dost ware brand Greggio and German porce- Strong and the latest rigid front suspen- lain brand KAHLA to the country. : Japanese carmaker Nissan is Nissan may sue Ashok Leyland if parleys to sort out differences sion model, Leyland has seen some suc- Realty Co Prateek Doshi’s firm, Entrak International, preparing for a potential legal dispute over platform-sharing, design and manufacturing fail cess in the segment. In its 2014-15annual `. will be the exclusive distributor for with joint venture partner Ashok Ley- report, the company said 100,000 Dost Raises 135 cr from The eight-year alliance between Nissan Stake in Ashok Leyland `791 cr Greggio and KAHLA in India. When land if parleys to sort out differences and Ashok Leyland has hit a roadblock trucks ply in India. Indiabulls Housing asked about the details of the business over platform-sharing, design and man- Nissan Vehicles Net loss for The joint venture resides in three sepa- as the JV reported mounting losses and FY 2014-15 model, Doshi said: “It is a relationship of ufacturing fail, according to sources and missed achieving business milestones Leyland Nissan rate companies for vehicle manufactur- reported RaviTeja.Sharma exclusive distribution between a princi- internal communication accessed by ET. 51% 49% ing, engine manufacturing and technolo- pal and us being exclusive distributor.” Legal counsellors from Nissan Motor The developments The JV resides by Ashok gy development. In the flagship Ashok @timesgroup.com Founded in 1844, KAHLA has a pres- Co, Japan have instructed top executives will not have an in 3 separate Leyland Leyland Nissan Vehicles, Leyland has a ence in 60 countries across the home, ho- of Nissan Motor India to preserve docu- immediate effect cos for vehicle Nissan 51% stake and Nissan 49%. New : Real estate developer Vehicles tel and restaurant sectors. Greggio of- ments relating to the loss-making joint on the manufacture manufacturing, Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles reported Prateek group has raised `. 135 crore fers designer silverware and brings venture and avoid oral or email conversa- of Ashok Leyland’s engine a net loss of `. 791 crore for fiscal 2014-15. from Indiabulls Housing Finance Italian craftsmanship to various brand- tions with executives of Ashok Leyland, popular truck Dost, a manufacturing Ashok Leyland also wrote off `. 214 crore as Company for its project Prateek Wis- ed articles of use in home and office. the country’s second-largest maker of product of the joint and technology impairment based on the value of its in- teria in sector-77 of Noida, said two “The market for these kind of products trucks and buses. venture development vestment in the joint venture. The compa- people with knowledge of the matter. is enormous in India. Our target audi- “This strict policy is important because `214 crore ny took another impairment charge of The Noida-based company will use Ashok Leyland also wrote off `. ence is anybody with a good taste and a any communications with (Ashok Ley- as impairment based on the value of its 157 crore in the September quarter relat- part of the money to complete towers sense of aesthetics, who will enjoy these land) could be used as evidence in the po- investment in the joint venture ing to its JV with John Deere. “Some in- under construction and the rest to products,” Doshi said. tential dispute involving AL,” a Nissan vestments take off, some don’t,” Ashok pay for land among other purposes, To begin with, Entrak is setting up the counsellor said in an email to vertical Leyland’s Mahadevan said. said one of the persons. The project first store in South Mumbai which will heads in the company’s India unit, which business milestones. Ashok Leyland’s popular truck Dost, a In 2008, Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles has a total of 20 towers, of which house both brands. The store — Greggio ET has accessed. These steps were neces- Ashok Leyland chief financial officer product of the joint venture, sources signed a deal with the Tamil Nadu govern- about 15 have already been delivered & KAHLA — will open this week. “They sary to ensure Nissan had “access to evi- Gopal Mahadevan, when asked about the aware of the developments said, declin- ment to acquire 380 acres near Chennai to to homebuyers. An email question- are complementary products and it’s a dence needed to prove its case,” the coun- possibility of a legal dispute with Nis- ing to be identified. locate the joint venture factories. The naire sent to Indiabulls HFC did not synergy to have them together,” he said. sellor wrote. san, said it would be inappropriate for The engine that goes into Dost is manu- promise was a `. 4,000-crore cumulative in- elicit any response. A spokesman for Products of KAHLA and Greggio start at The eight-year alliance between Nissan him to comment in the absence of the factured at the factory Nissan set up in a vestment and a minimum of 4,000 jobs. Prateek group declined to comment. `. 600 and `. 2,500, respectively. and Ashok Leyland to make light goods company’s JV partner. joint venture with French carmaker Re- The joint venture employs in hundreds Several builders in NCR have been He plans to set up Greggio and KAHLA vehicles such as vans and small trucks Nissan declined to answer ET’s queries. nault — the plant of Renault Nissan Au- now, and the engines manufacture and as- looking to raise money to finish con- stores in malls and premium retail areas soured as the joint venture reported The developments will not have an im- tomotive India. It makes 6-8 engines a day, sembly are executed across Ashok Ley- struction or even repay other expen- in cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Benga- mounting losses and missed achieving mediate effect on the manufacture of which are assembled into trucks at Ash- land factories and Nissan’s Chennai unit. sive loans they might have taken. luru, Hyderabad and Pune. “We have the experience from Mont Blanc and our ex- perience has taught us a lot of things. We know where we should go and where we APPLE WATCH IN INDIA shouldn’t,” Doshi said. Top Smartphone Cos Ramp Up SHORT TAKES 12 Things You Need to Know Stocks to Meet Diwali Demand TEXT: HITESH RAJ BHAGAT  With 2% Cess on Tickets, Flying will Get Dearer shipped 1.9 million smartphones NEW DELHI Flying is set to get expensive next each in September and October, up year, as the civil aviation ministry on Friday Getting Ready for Diwali Sales from 1.7 million in August and high- announced that the 2% cess on both domestic Local Manufacturing and Imports er than estimates by Cybex. “In India, it’s almost a mad rush. and international flight tickets will be imple- Company Aug Sep Oct It’s difficult for someone not from mented from January 1, 2016, reports Our Bu- Lenovo-Motorola 0.83 1.31 1.48 India to fathom how quickly such reau. The 2% cess on flights is part of the an- Micromax 1.26 1.53 1.06 large quantities can sell — that’s nouncement made by the government under Diwali,” said Vikas Agarwal, head 1 its new civil aviation policy, which was an- Xiaomi 0.28 0.28 0.34 of India operations for OnePlus. There are three editions and two sizes. To suit your taste, you can choose from different colour fluroelastomer bands, leather, loop and link bracelets. Practically, there is nounced last week. According to the policy, the The company increased imports 10- Apple0.17 0.01 0.39 fold in October from August and no difference in how the two sizes (38 and 42mm) operate – it’s a matter of preference. cess will be used to fund the viability gap fund- launched a new model, One Plus X, in ing for regional flights under the regional avia- One Plus0.01 0.04 0.1 India, a global first. “We have ensured 2 The entry-level Watch 3 Thanks to amoled 4 Each Watch tion policy. “We plan to start regional flights TOTAL 2.55 3.17 3.37 that India gets more stock and the Sport uses 7000 series alu- technology, the screen needs to be paired from April 1, 2016, and charging of cess from new phone comes to India before it’s minium and aluminosilicate blends into the case and with an iPhone to launched in the US.” glass. The mid-range Watch offers the richest blacks. January, which would ensure that we have In India, it’s almost a mad rush. It’s difficult for someone work – It works with money to pay VGF for flights,” said Aviation Imports by China’s Xiaomi surged uses sapphire glass and cold The 38mm version has a iPhone 5 and newer, not from India to fathom how quickly such large quanti- forged 316L stainless steel 1.34-inch display (272 x Secretary RN Choubey. The government esti- 21% over September, while Gionee’s running iOS 8.2 or ties can sell — that’s Diwali general manager for India, Timir Ba- while the super-premium 340 pixels; 326ppi) while newer. The pre- mates to collect about `. 1,500 crore through VIKAS AGARWAL, Head of India Operations for OnePlus ran Acharyya, said the company had Watch Edition case is made the 42mm version has a loaded Watch app the 2% cess on tickets. imported 210,000 devices just over from 18-carat yellow or 1.54-inch display (312 x helps you pair with  the past 10-12 days, compared with rose gold. 390 pixels; 326ppi). and setup the Watch. Eicher to Set up New Gulveen.Aulakh stocks to India. 240,000 in all of September. No. 4 Le- Plant, Q3 Net Up 54% @timesgroup.com “We are experiencing a very strong novo-Motorola brought in 1.48 mil- 5 The Watch is a great 6 Yes, you can make 7 The bands can be growth in demand for all our prod- lion units in October, increasing con- activity tracker – not just or receive phone calls on easily swapped out in a NEW DELHI Eicher Motors will set New Delhi: Top smartphone makers ucts during the festivals and our fac- sistently month on month. because it tracks your the Watch – as long as it’s minute, thanks to a strap up a third motorcycle manu- Apple, Samsung Electronics, Micro- tory is aligned to meet this growing The quarter starting October marks steps (all activity trackers paired with a phone. It release button on the facturing plant near Chennai, as max Informatics, Lenovo, Xiaomi demand,” a spokesperson for South the period of peak sales in the Indian do that) – but because it has a built in microphone underside. Even the link and OnePlus have ramped up stocks Korea’s Samsung said, declining to smartphone market, owing largely to the maker of the iconic Royal En- can track what type of and speaker and you bracelet can be adjusted for anticipating heavy demand during share numbers. Diwali. Analysts said the quarter activity you’re doing – can hand-off calls to the size without having to go to field bikes aims to double production to 9 lakh the festive season, starting with Di- Sources said the company has in- makes up 33% of total smartphones such as exercise and stairs phone when you need to. a watch shop or jeweller units a year by 2018, managing director and wali next week, a period that ac- creased shifts at its production facil- sales in a year, making it the most crit- counts for as much as a third of an- ity in Noida to meet the expected ical time for handset makers. chief executive Siddhartha Lal said, reports 8 The control scheme 9 The taptic engine nual sales in India. surge in demand. Samsung even Tina Lu, a senior analyst at Coun- Nabeel A Khan. Investment in the proposed is touch plus a side button can deliver different Smartphone imports and local pro- launched two affordable smart- terpoint Technology Market Re- plant at Vallam Vadagal, close to Oragadam and the digital crown types of vibration to your duction combined rose 12% sequen- phones this week. search, said that smartphones where it already has a facility, is part of a cap- (which you can rotate and wrist for different alerts tially in the July-September quarter Imports by Apple, Samsung’s key ri- launched during the festive season click). There are also a and notifications – these ital expenditure plan the company will an- to 28.3 million in the world’s third- val in the premium segment, surged to generally have a 20% longer shelf couple of gestures: swipe range from a light tap to nounce next quarter. Eicher Motors posted a largest market, according to Coun- 390,000 phones in October from about life and better recall due to the pro- down for notifications, up a nudge or long vibration. nearly 54% increase in quarterly net profit, terpoint Technology Market Re- 10,000 in the previous month. The Cu- motions and incentives associated for glances. helped by strong demand for its Royal Enfield search. Shipments for the brands, ex- pertino-based smartphone maker is with the product. 10 motorcycles. Lal said its performance in the cluding Samsung, climbed more clearly banking on the festive season to While imports and local production Inside, there 11 You should than 6% in October alone, Cybex Ex- push sales of its new iPhone 6s, iPhone of No. 3 Intex and No. 5 Lava reduced is an accelerometer, past quarter was the best ever. For the quarter typically expect to im said. 6 and other popular models. in October from September’s levels, gyroscope, heart rate charge it every night through September, the company posted a net While this stock build-up is typical Micromax, India’s No. 2 smart- according to Cybex, the companies sensor, Bluetooth, WiFi `. `. – the relatively small profit of 285.8 crore, compared with 186.1 for this time of the year, experts said phone maker, clocked 5.5 million said they had started to stock up and memory storage. battery and multiple crore a year earlier. Total income from oper- it’s of greater significance now for smartphones in the August to Octo- from August. “Due to the Chinese It doesn’t have GPS, functions mean that it ations jumped over 37% to `. 3,122.5 crore. smartphone makers seeking to ber period, said Chief Marketing Of- Autumn festival that takes place in but it can pull GPS will be out or juice in Earnings before interest and tax rose to `. 404.9 strengthen their presence in a rapid- ficer Shubhajit Sen, who added that October first week, we planned out information from the about 12 to 14 hours. ly expanding and intensely competi- the company’s numbers in October supplies a few weeks in advance,” crore from `. 248.9 crore. connected phone. tive market, among the few still were much better than August.ý said Navin Chawla, senior vice presi- 12  growing at this pace. Chinese star- Company officials who did not want dent and head of product at Lava In- Watch Sport 38mm starts at `30,900 while 42mm starts at `34,900 Apple Hotel Leela’s Q2 Loss tup OnePlus has even diverted global to be identified added that Micromax ternational. Watch 38mm starts at `48,900 while 42mm starts at `52,900 The 38mm Watch Narrows to `. 55.8 cr Edition starts at `8,20,000 and the 42mm Edition starts at `9,90,000 MUMBAI Hospitality firm Hotel Lee- laventure has reported a standalone net loss of `. 55.8 crore for the sec- ond quarter ended September 30, For Abof’s Prashant Gupta, E-comm Is a Marathon 2015, compared with a loss of `. 160.2 crore during the same period last year, Our Bureau reports. Standalone total income rose to `. 164.6 CHILDHOOD LESSONS Ability to adapt to new conditions, cities, social norms, language and culture has helped the chief executive crore during the quarter, up 4.5% from the year- He also moved away from a family tra- picked up during his consulting years ago period. The company is pursuing, with JM PROFILE dition when he decided to study at IIT helped. “Deeper conversations, fact and Financial Asset Reconstruction Company, a via- Delhi rather than take up chartered ac- Different Strokes logic-based arguments, less of opinions ble debt restructuring package with certain countancy like his father and two sib- and emotion made them realise that we lings. “It was my first departure of sorts Forty one-year- were taking investor-centric view and concessions on interest and repayment terms. [email protected] from a family of CAs. I decided on IIT old Prashant From a job as a not just offering another counter opin- Pending approval for the same, it has not been Delhi because my parents were posted Gupta is programmer with ion,” said Gupta. providing for interests on the debt assigned to Mumbai: It took just a two-line email there,” he said. responsible for India’s biggest software Working with Birla, one of his two role ARC. Had the company provided for the in- from Aditya Birla House, asking wheth- Moreover, he decided to stay put in In- the textiles-to- exporter TCS in the models in India Inc, the other being Zai- terest, the loss for the quarter would have been er he would like to be part of the chair- dia rather than trudge the well-treaded telecom mid-1990s to working nulbhai, helped him weed out the chal- higher by `. 119.6 crore. During the quarter, the man’s office, to induce Prashant Gupta path of heading to the US for his mas- conglomerate’s with McKinsey, one of lenges. “A thorough gentleman, people- to move on from his role as senior part- ters. After a two-year stint at Tata Con- oriented, good listener and always asks company entered into an agreement to sell its e-commerce the biggest advisory ner with McKinsey India. Five years on, sultancy Services, a second attempt at fashion venture the right questions,” said Gupta of Birla. hotel in Goa for `. 725 crore, and the sale is ex- firms, Gupta took the 41-year-old is responsible for the tex- the Common Entrance Test for manage- Abof as its another unlikely turn After two years, as per plan, he was pected to be completed by December 31, 2015. tiles-to-telecom conglomerate’s e-com- ment studies saw him join IIM Ah- made in-charge of the group’s e-com- president and as he moved to head merce fashion venture Abof as its presi- medabad batch of 1999 along with Nee- merce fashion portal, abof.com, which chief executive the advisory team at  Sobha Europe to Build dent and chief executive. raj Aggarwal, now managing director of sells about 55 brands, including those of “I see Abof emerging as the most ad- Boston Consulting Group India. Aditya Birla Group the parent group. The group’s study Home Projects in London mired player in online fashion within “Always sharp, efficient, with clarity of Gupta moved showed that fashion was one-third of In- MUMBAI Sobha Europe is looking to the next three years,” said Kumar Man- thought, he took decisions that mat- away from a family With a gold dia’s e-commerce industry and could build residential projects in central galam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla tered,” said Aggarwal of Gupta. tradition when he medal and a touch $15 billion by 2019-20. Group. “Prashant has the right profile “Last year, we discussed that although London and has identified six rede- decided to study at IIT degree, and exposure to lead this fast-paced new acquisition may look the best way to en- velopment projects in the city for Prashant Gupta decided to Delhi rather than take Prashant Gupta generation business.” up chartered ter the segment, there was nothing this, Raj Chinai, managing director of Sobha stay put in India than trudge joined McKinsey From a job as a programmer with In- accountancy like his worth buying. Some were either dead or Group told ET’s Kailash Babar. Sobha Europe is dia’s biggest software exporter TCS in the well-treaded path of in 1999 and too expensive, so we decided to start heading to the US for hisa father and two worked there a joint venture between Sobha LLC and a UK- the mid-1990s to working with McKin- PRASHANT GUPTA from the ground,” said Gupta. siblings till 2010 end based group. Sobha LLC, which is owned by sey, one of the biggest advisory firms, masters Rolled out about a fortnight ago, unlike Gupta took another unlikely turn as he its competitors such as Jabong, this por- PNC Menon chairman emeritus and founder of moved to head the advisory team at Ad- tal will not give discounts and will dis- Sobha Ltd, has operations in Dubai and now itya Birla Group. They were in the same marketing team more,” said Aggarwal. notice period. No coaxing made him play a curated collection rather than a plans to expand its footprint in central London. But adaptability is something that he at IIM-A and Gupta was always ready for With a gold medal and a degree, Gupta change his decision and the email from lot of options. With its niche target and Sobha LLC and Shobha Ltd are two different had learnt from childhood, said Gupta, challenges, which included writing and joined McKinsey in 1999 and worked Aditya Birla Group the next day came at select portfolio, it is not expected to entities and have no connection with regards since he shuttled between different directing a play in their inter-class com- there till 2010 end. “It was the best fin- just the right time for him. clash with Trendin.com, the online to business operations. The group currently branches of the central government-run petition. Aggarwal had a role, too, in the ishing school, but after a while living out His initial 18 months in the chairman’s store of group firm Madura Fashion & school chain Kendriya Vidyalaya as his play, which was about parent-child rela- of suitcases meant no face time with my office entailed creation of a SWAT team Lifestyle that sells brands such as Louis has two projects in Dubai — District One, a pre- father was in a transferable job with the tionship. Despite being surprised at the just-born son and wife,” he said. of six members who would advise Birla Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter mium luxury development and Sobha Hartland corporate affairs ministry. “It built an ‘atypical’ artistic trait in his friend, they He spoke to the then India head for on his investments and strategies. For England and People. mixed-use freehold development. It is also ability to adapt to new conditions, cities, won the competition. “He was shy, would McKinsey, Adil Zainulbhai, and said he someone with a shade over a decade’s ex- “If this is a marathon and at least a 20- planning to expand operations in other parts of social norms, language and culture. It cede ground to the others and I had my wanted to look at other opportunities perience it was not always smooth, deal- year game, then we are not late in join- United Arab Emirates (UAE). was both challenging and fun,” he said. doubts on his human dimensions, but no that were hectic and gave a five-month ing with business heads. But traits ing the race,” said Gupta.