BondsIndia - Demystifying Fixed Income for Retail Investors

 

BondsIndia is a new age fintech start-up that aims to digitise and democratize the Indian bond markets. Started in early 2020, BondsIndia is the country’s first online fixed-income portal whose primary focus remains to simplify the bond markets for retail investors by educating and advising them at each step.
 
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India mission, BondsIndia provides a reliable online platform that makes bond markets accessible to the retail participants at a competitive and transparent pricing. BondsIndia is the only platform, having tech integration with Indian Clearing Corporation Limited (ICCL) to provide real-time online trade settlement facility. Its end-to-end integrated platform and cutting-edge technology provides real-time market information and investment advisory in the fixed-income markets. BondsIndia.com platform is designed for the new digital India.
 
Bonds are considered as relatively safer investments, bringing stability to the portfolio and one must consider the fixed-income instruments while diversifying the portfolio as they offer a predictable income stream, paying clients a fixed amount of interest once or twice. In order to provide its users with a vast variety to choose from, as bondsindia is not just limited to corporate bonds, tax-free bonds, 54EC bonds, government bonds, and fixed deposits. Moreover, its dynamic platform brings all the latest updates from the finance industry to plug into.
 
Carrying a blended experience of over 30 years in the fixed-income markets, along with in-depth knowledge of technology, founders Mr. Ankit Gupta and Mr. Puneet Aggarwal envisioned BondsIndia as a disruptor in the domestic bond markets. They aim at educating and transforming the retail participation in Indian fixed-income markets. BondsIndia empowers the retail investors with transparent information about where the market is heading.

“We aim to provide retail investors to safely earn a higher rate of return on their savings as compared to investing in other asset classes in a transparent and educative manner. We envision making the investment process seamless. In short our funda is simple: Simplify the Bond Market, make it accessible to retail customers!”

                                                                                                                                                                 Mr Ankit Gupta , Co-Founder 

“Retail investors have always been the inconsequential leg of the bond market. They have been deprived of fair and equitable treatment due to the market dynamics. We at BondsIndia want to provide them with an equal opportunity to access the market and bring about stability and diversity to their portfolio.”

                                                                                                                                                             Mr Puneet Aggarwal , Co-Founder

BondsIndia promotes economic development as it works as a medium to channelize the money from retail investors to the companies in need of funds and thereby reducing asset liability mismatch for banks. Thus, creating a win-win situation for both, Indian corporates and investors. It makes portfolio diversification a seamless experience for the investors. BondsIndia is the one-stop destination for fixed-income securities that works from educating the first-time investors to making the trade a hassle-free experience for the experts.
 
A good investment is like a good friend who someone can rely on at the time of need. BondsIndia helps investor spot that good friend/investment which will earn fixed annuity for investors. It helps users create a secondary income source. With its highly experienced research team, BondsIndia makes the best-in-class analysis available for its users to make a smart and right choice that helps them secure their future. Adding to the love of the friendship, BondsIndia.com does not charge any sign-up or any transaction fee, it is all free on India’s leading bonds investing platform.
 
BondsIndia noticed certain problems faced by the investors in the market that were also a hindrance for the overall development of the domestic bond markets. In order to understand the pain points of prospective customers in the marketplace, BondsIndia conducted a survey and asked the respondents to fill the questionnaire. Of all the queries which came in, the 6 major problems became a focal point which BondsIndia strives to eliminate. Investors across the markets were facing problems such as:
 

1.  What to do? This is the issue with the people who are new to the bond markets or possess little knowledge about the bond markets and want to learn everything about it.

2.  Where to go? The group of investors who have little idea about the bond markets but are not aware about where explore bond opportunities

3.  How to invest? This question is posed to those people who do not know how to buy as bond trading used to be a complex process before the arrival of BondsIndia.

4.  Where to buy? This includes the section of investors who know about bonds and how to buy but do not know from where to buy or a reliable platform to buy.

5.  Fair/transparent/correct pricing: Investors who are well aware of where and how to invest but lack a source which could give them real-time prices.

6.  Ease of transaction: As trading in bonds has always been a complex task, experts in the industry were looking for a platform that could ease the long and tedious process.

In a bid to address these concerns that were prevailing in the markets, BondsIndia curated a one-stop destination of fixed income securities, and made it as simple as buying groceries online. The online platform is not only confined with engaging in buying and selling the bonds but also inculcates the sense of awareness to retail investors. With hand-picked curated bonds by their experts, the investment becomes a comfortable experience for every market participant from a newbie to a professional.
 
First-time investors can learn the intricacies of investment by reading through the bonds knowledge pool, named as ‘Bondspedia’, a bond literacy tool for clients.
 
BondsIndia thrives to make investments in the fixed-income markets a comfortable experience. An investor can come aboard in just three simple steps. The first step being an easy eKYC which just requires PAN, Aadhar card and bank details. The next step would be to choose a bond. They have over 10,000 bonds in the Bonds directory and they try to provide the investors with as many choices as possible. The filters inbuilt in the portal will help users what they wish to buy as per their requirements and risk appetite. In the third and last step, the user is all set to make an investment through a hassle-free online payment system.
 
With BondsIndia.com, the procedure of getting knowledge and the art of investing is a flawless procedure. BondsIndia helps users as per their profile, risk taking appetite and the amount of money they want to invest in the numerous fixed-income instruments that are available on India’s finest bond trading platform. Keeping an overall assessment about users profile, BondsIndia suggests them to pick bonds which are handpicked by their experts and research team. The transparent price mechanism and live prices help them to take financial decisions on their own.
 
BondsIndia’s features like market insights, daily research reports, handpicked deals of the day and newsletter just makes an investor win all the games in the world of bond markets. From the basics of bond markets to expert-level research reports, BondsIndia caters to all the categories of the market.
 
Through its user-friendly platform, BondsIndia adds value to Indian regulators and the government's plan to deepen the bond markets for retail investors.

Suguna Feeds launches Cattle feed at affordable price

 

Mumbai: Suguna Feeds launched their cattle feed variants- MilkyBest+ and NutriBest at their feed mill in Ganapathipalayam, Udumalpet.

With an aim to address the challenges faced by farmers like unavailability of the consistent quality pellet feed, adulterated raw materials and so on, the pioneers in the poultry business, Suguna Feeds, launched the new variants which are available for purchase pan India on http://sugunafoodsindia.com/  or contact us at 1800 103 4343.

Suguna Foods said, “As there is a clear image of the vast potential market opportunity for compound pellet feed in the cattle feed sector that has yet to be explored, we are happy to expand in all prospects and provide a unique and high-quality selection of cattle feed at economical price to meet numerous challenges faced by farmers taking in consideration their challenges.”

The total cattle population in India is 19.35 Crores with 5.13 crores of Crossbred cattle. The Milch cattle population in Tamil Nadu is 77.25 lakhs, contributing 29.6% of the total milch population. This shows the fact of the enormous untapped market potential for compound pellet feed in the cattle feed business. Given the continuous growth of the cattle feed market, the main aspects for introducing Suguna Cattle Feeds are socio-economic factors and spreading awareness among the farmers.

About Suguna Foods:

Suguna is one of the top ten poultry companies in the world. It operates in 18 Indian states and offering a range of poultry products and services. Broiler and layer farming, hatcheries, feed mills, manufacturing plants, vaccines, and exports are all part of the fully integrated operations. Suguna supplies frozen chicken, value-added eggs, and live broiler chicken. Suguna has developed a chain of modern retail outlets with the aim of providing customers with fresh, safe, and hygienic packed chicken. Suguna foods' popular product lines include Suguna Daily Fresh, Suguna Home Bites, Suguna Anytime processed chicken, and four types of specialty Suguna value added eggs.

Denave launches its retail solution mascot - Dgenie

 

NOIDA, India,Denave, the global technology-powered sales enablement organisation, today unveiled its first-ever retail solutions mascot, named Dgenie. Given the new world opportunities, the company has enhanced its focus on the retail ecosystem with revamped and holistic services. Dgenie is the face of Denave's Retail Solutions - one that is modern, data-driven, problem-solving, and global.

Expressing his excitement on the launch of Dgenie, Sunil Munshi, APAC CEO, Denave, said, "I'm extremely excited to introduce our new brand mascot to our clients. Our strong line-up of retail solutions needed a unique identity to articulate the commitment, rigor, prowess, and value that we offer. And Dgenie filled that void. With end-to-end retail management solutions - virtual retail, sales force automation platforms, promoter management, planogram automation, smart auditor, sales training, channel management, trade marketing, events and activations, retail audit and merchandising, field sales and marketing and so much more - Denave is focused on resolving customer pain points, ensuring business continuity and maximising ROI."

Commenting on the launch of the mascot, Shubhra Sinha, Head- Marketing & Communication, Denave said, "Dgenie unfolds another exciting chapter in our commitment to address the retail requirements of our clients. More than just a mascot, he is a beacon of retail transformation. Dgenie will help retailers surmount the retail throes. He represents Denave's vision of breaking down calcified & creaky processes and set up retail ecosystems conducive to growth, enabling modern-day retail enterprises to be fast, resilient, and efficient."

With over two decades of experience in the retail industry, Denave has partnered with global retail brands to provide turnkey, high-quality, and technology-led solutions. Dgenie will unify these solutions and orchestrate them in an order to drive the ultimate goal of delivering superior consumer experience for all retail brands.

About Denave

Denave is a global sales enablement company focused on driving revenue growth for its customers through a wide range of service offerings. The company leverages latest technology trends and disruptive approach to create effective sales engines. Denave has built multi-industry expertise partnering with global businesses and takes a solution-conscious approach to deliver best practices in sales by leveraging people, processes, technology and innovation to drive revenue. Denave has reached across 5 continents, 50+ countries and 500+ cities globally. For more information, please visit www.denave.com  

Retail Visual Intelligence Leader Infilect onboards Naresh Sethi, Chairman of VST industries as their Chief Growth Evangelist

Naresh Sethi will be partnering with Infilect to help expand their business globally and bring Visual intelligence SaaS platform to global Consumer-Goods brands.

BANGALORE, India,  Infilect Technologies, a leading Visual intelligence company based out of Bangalore, India has named Naresh Sethi as their Chief Growth Evangelist to take the helm of their global growth expansion plans.

Naresh Sethi is a distinguished global strategic leader and champion in driving digital & business transformations for leading Consumer Goods Brands. He is currently the chairman at VST industries, an Indian public conglomerate associated with British American Tobacco (BAT). He has had a rich association with BAT throughout his career for more than two decades.  He spent 8 years on the Executive Management Board of BAT in various roles including Director of Global Strategy, M&A, Global IT, Global Business Services, Digital Transformation and Regional Director West Europe. A marketeer at heart, he has championed key efforts in driving strategy & planning for digital expansion across 70+ countries (India, Australasia, Indonesia, West Africa, Japan & West Europe) and drives business growth for innovative tech platforms for retail industry. He currently resides in London and has been a Senior Advisor to Deloitte and Salesforce.

Infilect Technologies is a leading Indian Deep Tech company that aims to digitally transform worldwide retail through cutting-edge Image Recognition (IR) and AI technology. For the last 4 years, Infilect has worked with top global FMCG, Consumer-Goods, and Packaged food brands in India, APAC, MEA, and LATAM markets to bring forth transformation in retail sales. In 2020, Infilect bagged $1.5 Million in a Pre-series A funding led by Mela Ventures, 1Crowd, and Angel Investors at The Chennai Angels. 

"The Global Consumer Goods industry has been confronted with dramatic exponential change and challenges in the last decade. COVID-19 has only accelerated this trend as the industry experienced a tumultuous period battling unforeseen impact on its manufacturing and supply chain and go-to-consumer capabilities. Early adopters of omnichannel AI technology rose above the adversities and the non-adopters suffered a significant push back in terms of market share and revenues," adds Naresh. Being a digital strategist, he also added, "I am excited about what Infilect has to offer to the Global Consumer Goods industry. The time is ripe and most opportune as business leaders are now turning to Digital and AI Technology to gain competitive advantage as they reinvent their future supply and sales strategies."

"Every sector, be it retail or any other, has few turnpikes they need to heed on their journey. Digital transformation and innovation inside stores are one such pivot that retail industries need to make. Our partnership with Naresh will be an exciting turning point for Infilect to advance and expand our business globally and bring innovation to leading retail brands. We eagerly look forward to a long-standing and fruitful journey with him in the coming years," said Anand Prabhu Subramanian, Co-founder and CEO at Infilect. 

"We are extremely thrilled to have Naresh onboard. He is a very capable and astute leader who will play a key role in business growth as well as driving product innovation to build a holistic integrated platform that enhances the ability of retail decision-makers to optimize their in-store sales execution and store operations, at scale. Using our products, retail leaders can quickly respond to changing consumer demands, improve in-store sales & marketing ROI, and easily pinpoint new revenue growth opportunities," added Vijay Gabale, Co-founder and CTO at Infilect. 

About Infilect

Infilect is an Enterprise SaaS provider for retail manufacturers and retailers. With innovations in Image Recognition and AI, Infilect's products empower the retail industry with unprecedented visibility into omnichannel sales, in-store merchandising, and store operations. Infilect is trusted by global customers and partners, and is part of Intel India's Maker Lab Program, NVIDIA's Inception program and Nasscom Deep Tech Club, IITB-SINE's Plugin Accelerator.

Creating new offline experiences for the new retail normal

 Amorepacific transforms offline stores to create new experiential marketing

-Developing a strategic mix of new offline experiences with enhanced e-commerce opportunities

SEOUL,  Amid difficult times for traditional offline retailers, Amorepacific is charting a new course for its operations across many of its most important brands. The goal is not simply to adapt to the so-called New Normal, but to embrace it with new and meaningful experiences for consumers.

There is no doubt that the foot traffic in offline stores is falling sharply as more and more consumers find what they need via e-commerce. This long-term trend has accelerated due to the prolonged pandemic, and the beauty industry has not been immune. Many retailers have shuttered branches and shopping centers like Seoul's Myeongdong district, which has long been a hub for attracting tourists from around the world, are experiencing unprecedented difficulties as tourists have stayed away.

As Korea's leading beauty conglomerate, Amorepacific has moved quickly to provide differentiated experiences for consumers, seeking to overcome the shock of the crisis with new distribution channels and strategies that embrace a combination of enhanced offline and expanded online approaches, while at the same time pioneering new markets overseas. 

In this new approach, the offline environment takes on an added role as an experience platform. More than just for buying products, it's a place where customers can begin to explore a new world of beauty through new contents and services. Amorepacific's aim is to create synergy between online and offline environments in creative ways that strengthen brand loyalty while also attracting new customers.

"We know that consumer needs are changing and it's time for us to embrace new and creative ways to approach them," said Suh Kyung-bae, Chairman & CEO of Amorepacific Group, in his new year's address, "Amorepacific continues to evolve but we will always focus on providing outstanding beauty experiences for our customers."

Amorepacific's offline stores with outstanding beauty experiences

•  Amore Store Gwanggyo is an experience-based beauty store whare customers can meet and experience 40 brands and 2,000 products of Amorepacific. REFILL STATION opened in October 2020 at Amore Store Gwanggyo which enables customers to choose from 15 shampoo and bodywash products to refill recycled containers made from coconut shells. It is economical, environmentally friendly, and the contents are always at a discount from regularly bottled products.

•  Amore Seongsu is a place where customers can get to know beauty trend and experience Amorepacific's latest beauty science and technology. BASE PICKER is a new service launched on April 6th at Amore Store Seongsu. Customers can create personalized foundation and cushion products from a choice of 2 textures, 2 product types and 100 colors. BASE PICKER was developed in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology after conducting three years of research on skin tones and foundation colors. Tailored products are mixed on the spot with a special robot operated by patented technology in a fast and hygienic process.

•  IOPE lab is located in Seoul's Myeongdong shopping district. It's a place where customers can receive personalized measurement and genetic analysis of their skin type, and obtain personalized skincare solutions. Customers can also try the store's personalized hydrogel mask service. Created with a 3D printer on the spot, the service received a 2020 CES Innovation Award.

•  FACEFIT by ARITAUM is located in Seoul's Times Square Mall. Operated with professionally trained face-fit consultants, the store offers one-on-one personalized service optimized for each customer's individual facial features. Customers can choose from key Amorepacific brands such as HERA, IOPE and HANYUL, and experience "face-only-fitness" as they learn how to exercise their facial muscles. The store also provides mini-makeup services and precise diagnosis of each customer's skin problems.

About Amorepacific

Since 1945, Amorepacific has had a single, clear mission: to present its unique perception of beauty– namely what it calls 'Asian Beauty' – to the world. As Korea's leading beauty company, Amorepacific draws from its deep understanding of both nature and human to pursue harmony between inner and outer beauty. With its portfolio of over 20 cosmetics, personal care, and health care brands, Amorepacific is devoted to meeting the various lifestyles and needs of global consumers around the world: Asia, North America, Europe, Oceania and the Middle East. Amorepacific's research hubs located around the world are dedicated to sustainable R&D that combine the best of natural Asian ingredients and advanced bio-technology. With its world-class products, Amorepacific is acclaimed for the innovative ways in which it is transforming global beauty trends.

FirstMeridian Launches 'BrandPulse' Tech-enabled Trade Marketing Solutions for Retailers

 

BANGALORE, India: FirstMeridian, one of India's leading HR solutions providers, announced the launch of 'BrandPulse' - a trade marketing solution designed for the post-COVID retail sector. The AI-enabled platform, which was entirely designed and developed by V5 Global, a unit of FirstMeridian, helps companies optimise and track offline and online marketing campaigns with minimal effort.

Through this, a retailer can leverage the mix of innovative features that are a mix of traditional and technological advantages. By creating effective loyalty programmes, brands can increase brand loyalty, attract new customers, and expand their market reach. Brand Pulse is the perfect solution for all end-to-end market activation needs of retailers across sectors and geographies.

It also executes a comprehensive suite of retail audit solutions, including retail visibility audit, which is designed to help retailers break through to the next level of competition. From hiring merchandisers to identifying and measuring in-store space to designing, printing, onboarding merchants, and distributing retail marketing merchandise, it provides end-to-end visual merchandising services across geographies.

Speaking on the occasion, Group CEO of FirstMeridian Business Services, Sudhakar Balakrishnan said, "Retailers will be able to construct a single consumer perspective by combining browse and buy behaviours, category, brand affinity, geographical intelligence, and media activity. Our Infield app gives you total control over your processes, employees, and business results."

"Companies can make better informed and accurate decisions with the app's comprehensive BI (business intelligence) capabilities and analytic services. The Infield software also automates performance management while providing a realistic representation of on-the-ground deployment and line reporting of field staff," Manmeet Singh, Deputy CEO, V5 Global, A Unit of FirstMeridian Business Services, said on the occasion of the launch.

COVID-19 had a greater impact on the retail industry, affecting everything from consumer spend to behaviour to business operations. The change requires a drastic shift in the way retailers market themselves to different audiences. BrandPulse will assist retailers in navigating these new waters by quickly integrating and delivering outstanding service and goods and increasing employee productivity and customer satisfaction.

BrandPulse, which works via an online platform and an app, helps retailers gain a competitive edge by allowing them to create interactive reports, visualise data, and update their retail processes.

To know more about Brand Pulse, log into https://v5global.com/brand-pulse/

About FirstMeridian:

FirstMeridian was formed in 2018 by renowned investors – private equity firm Samara Capital, Goldman Sachs and Hong Kong-based investment firm Janchor Partners.
Headquartered in Bangalore, FirstMeridian is a Human Resources investment platform empowered by technology and innovation, with interests in Staffing, Managed Services and HR Automation.
FirstMeridian presently employs over 95,000 people who serve 450 companies/brands from 1100+ locations across India. FirstMeridian primarily caters to businesses across industry sectors, including BFSI, E-Commerce, Telecom, IT, Consumer Durables & Electricals, Logistics, Retail, Manufacturing, Entertainment and more, extending end-to-end human capital solutions.