VCCircle is back with the second edition of its VCCircle Consumer Investment Summit to check which direction consumer appetite is headed. And, clearly, that is the direction that investments, deal flow and M&A will be headed.
So, what is the great Indian consumer spending on? Apparently, not just food, grocery and FMCG but a wide array of aspirational goods and services such as education, telecom, travel, leisure, home décor, fine dining, wellness, spas and so on.
Not surprisingly, millions of dollars of private capital are chasing innovative and disruptive business models. New-age entrepreneurs are making a go for erstwhile commoditised businesses (cabs, salons and coaching classes) and turning them into hot-selling brands.
The VCCircle Consumer Investment Summit 2011 (to be held on March 16 in Mumbai)--through a day-long conference featuring over two dozen of India’s best-known consumer brand companies, CEOs, private equity investors, brand gurus and financial wizards—will deep dive into figuring out how to grab wallet shares from the Indian consumer. How to identify tomorrow’s fastest growing consumption categories? What are the innovations happening at the ground level? Are there any disruptive models out there that could change the way we consume things?
The day is also packed to cover three Redhot areas where we witness loads of entrepreneurial and investment activity. These sectors include Quick Service Restaurants; Niche Retail and Beauty & Wellness.
Here is a quick preview of the conference agenda and coverage areas:-
Session I: Need To Have & Nice To Have: Which Is More Compelling? While staples will never go out of fashion, will aspiration-led goods and services command a greater wallet share? How do we define these categories? Are the lines of distinction blurring as many categories considered luxury earlier are today a necessity, for instance, even categories like smartphones or personal vehicles? Is scalability of business a challenge in “nice to have” categories? How do “need to have” categories continue to retain their brand value given rise in clutter, private labels and a fickle consumer?
Session II: How To Value A Consumer Brand? How are traditional FMCG product brands valued? Are deals in traditional FMCG brands more in the cross-border and strategic investment realm? Are valuations therefore more attractive when selling to strategics as opposed to domestic consolidation or even PE? With proliferation of brands in erstwhile commoditised and fragmented areas such as cabs, coaching classes and salons, are the services-led brands valued differently? How do service brands grow? What are the economics of growing a service brand through owned and franchise routes?
Session III Console VCCircle Redhot presents threadbare discussions on three fast-growing consumption areas that are stoking the appetite of entrepreneurs and private capital. What are the entry barriers to business? What are scale challenges? Is real estate the critical link to viability? How do you build a brand in a pure service play? Is franchising the only way to scale?
VCCircle Redhot 1 - QSR, Cafes & Casual Dining: Takeaways, coffee parlours, and restaurants.
VCCircle Redhot 2 - Wellness, Spas, Beauty & Fitness: Gyms, spas, Ayurvedic treatment resorts, clubs, leisure resorts
VCCircle Redhot 3 - Niche Retail: Kids store, Jewellery, books, electronics, home décor, heritage stores.
Demystify the Indian consumption story in eight hours flat. For more details on registration and participation, .