Business Insurance

On Aug 2016 Company aka Varion Food Sciences Pvt Ltd acquired land in MIDC, Maharashtra for undisclosed amount for health supplements manufacturing facility.

The vision behind own manufacturing was to have complete control over sourcing of genuine raw materials from growers to encapsulation and final packing in ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP certified facility of supplements and ayurvedic medicines to cater to Indian market and US.

So while he was working with Varion LifeSciences Pvt Ltd realised the Dietary Supplements growth in the west was almost getting saturated and now these products started finding good place in Indian consumers, with having disposable income to take proactive steps for their health.

And being a health conscious person himself, Sanjay always wanted to do something in the Dietary healthcare industry for India too.

The best part here was that, Sanjay had already been working in the Healthcare segment since a pretty long time. Hence, as he saw an opportunity, he decided to grab it.

Now their beginning was rather unusual. Even though they were clear in the heads that they wanted to do something in the Healthcare sector, but exactly what they wanted to do was yet uncertain. Hence, before they started the portal, they went on to try their hands into different sub-sectors.
From getting into public healthcare, to providing practice management software to independent physicians and small clinics, they literally tested waters with at least two to three different business models. But nothing seemed to be appealing to them.

Nevertheless this turned out to be a learning phase out of which they gained gaining enough experience and understanding of how the Indian healthcare industry works. And when the talk happened, they realised that they actually should and also wanted to be in the B2C (Business to Consumer) segment.
Hence, E-commerce played its role and with 4 team members this gave birth to this Company.

How does your delivery model work?

We deliver through various logistics partners. Usually delivery happens within two business days to metros.

What is the kind of funding you have received and what is the revenue model?

We are initially resistant to go for outside funding as we might lose out on the flexibility of the business. We have recently acquired an existing facility to make our own supplements and scale up our operations. Once done we may approach for Funding or we might go the IPO route.

Popular e-commerce sites are said to be bleeding profusely, what is your view on the future of e-commerce space in India?

We believe India will take at least 3-4 years to mature as an e-commerce market. We are basing our growth on strong fundamentals and are confident that for all players who’re doing the same, there is plenty of room to grow.

Picking the correct e-commerce platform is important for the success of your business. You’re picking the features you need, but on the other hand you’re picking up the challenges you will face as your business develops or changes. The versatility, flexibility, and cost of your platform can work possibly in support of you.

Before you compare ecommerce platforms, it’s a smart thought to have already sorted-out a great deal of your abilities and strategies. For example, there are some platforms which are better for those that are SEO-focused. You would prefer not to make your e-commerce site and afterwards realize it’s not optimized for your strategy. While some platforms will feel restrictive to those who have coding abilities, those who don’t have that expertise may greatly benefit from the straightforwardness of the same platforms.

Keeping your priorities as a primary concern, go along with us as we take a glance at the six best e-commerce platforms currently available.

1) WooCommerce

For quite a while, WooCommerce dominated its market. As a direct WordPress plug-in, it actually has a great deal to bring to the table, especially for those businesses which have a website and are bouncing into e-commerce unexpectedly. WooCommerce has high adaptability and built-in analytics. The platform likewise has all day, every day customers uphold, like practically all e-commerce platforms.

The plug-in itself is free, yet you actually need to have your site and pay for some related expenses. In the event that you need an across the board package, competitors, for example, Squarespace may make more sense for you.

2) Shopify

Shopify is overwhelmingly well known. It is the e-commerce platform of choice for those who rely on social media marketing to sell or who do outsourcing. The platform is simple, flexible, and scalable from little to medium-sized businesses. You additionally needn’t bother knowing a coding language’s knowledge to use it. Instead, the platform has a drag and drop interface that permits you to construct your site.

Shopify focuses on selling and provides a ton of customer experience management (CEM) and up-sell features. However, shopify does have a struggle to handle the largest stores. Shopify Plus may help you develop into a larger store, yet in case you’re already a big retailer, it may not be the correct choice for you.

3) Big Commerce

Numerous businesses wind up narrowing down their choice between Shopify and BigCommerce. Not exclusively can Big Commerce handle the massive stores that Shopify struggles with, however it likewise offers stronger SEO performance. It has a one-page checkout experience that could help your conversion, yet it comes up short on the one-click up-sells that Shopify does so well.

Whether or not BigCommerce will work for you over Shopify depends on your own strategy, of course. On the off chance that you do choose BigCommerce, you can expect high customizability (if you have coding abilities) and steady customer support. However, you can likewise expect a higher price tag for many features that other platforms include in their fundamental plans.

4) OpenCart

If the bigger price tag of Big Commerce is not feasible, you may appreciate OpenCart instead. It’s open-source and free-to-use, in spite of the fact that you can invest in addons, which range in expense from free to $100. There are many extra alternatives, some with features you would have to pay for elsewhere.

The platform likewise requires a great deal of coding knowledge, because it’s exceptionally customizable, but because their support isn’t pretty much as solid as other platforms. In the case of something going wrong, you may need to tinker with your website yourself while OpenCart chips away at getting back to you.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the best ecommerce platform for your business will be one that matches your coding abilities and expectations for development, both in volume and number of items offered.

The correct platform ought to likewise permit you to use the marketing and customer experience strategies that you need to thrive.

Whichever you choose, don’t surge your decision to choose the correct e-commerce platform-it’s a complicated decision that will have a significant effect on your business.

This startling figure comes from a recent review of the financial advice offered from the big four banks by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Even more startling: 10% of advice was found to leave investors in an even worse financial position.

Through a “vertically integrated business model”, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and AMP offer ‘in house’ financial advice, and collectively, control more than half of Australia’s financial planners.

It’s no surprise ASIC’s review found advisers at these banks favoured financial products that connected to their parent company, with 68% of client’s funds invested in ‘in house’ products as oppose to external products that may have been on the firms list.

Why the banks integrated financial advice model is flawed

It’s hard to believe the banks can keep a straight face and say they can abide by the duty for advisers to act absolutely in the best interests of a client.

Under the integrated financial advice model, there are layers of different fees including adviser fees, platform fees and investment management fees adding up to 2.5-3.5%

The typical breakdown of fees is usually as follows: an adviser charge of 0.8% to 1.1%, a platform fee of between 0.4% and 0.8%, and a managed fund fee of between 0.7% and 2.1%. These fees are not only opaque, but are sufficiently high to limit the ability of the client to quickly earn real rates of return.

Layers of fees placed into the business model used by the banks means there is not necessarily an incentive for the financial advice arm to make a profit, because the profits can be made in the upstream parts of the supply chain through the banks promoting their own products.

This business model, however, is flawed, and cannot survive in a world where people are demanding greater accountability for their investments, increased transparency in relation to fees and increased control over their investments.

It is noteworthy that the truly independent financial advisory firms in Australia that offer separately managed accounts have done everything in their power to avoid using managed funds and keep fee’s competitive.

The banks have refused to admit their integrated approach to advice is fatally flawed. When the Australian Financial Review approached the Financial Services Council (FSC), a peak body that represents the ‘for-profit’ wealth managers, for a defence if the layered fee arrangements, a spokesman said no generalisations could be made.

There are fundamental flaws in the advice model, and it will be interesting to see what the upcoming royal commission into banking will do to change some of the contentious issues surround integrated financial advice.

Many financial commentators are calling for a separation of financial advice attached to banks, with obvious bias and failure to meet the best interests of clients becoming more apparent.

Chris Brycki, CEO of Stockspot, says “investors should receive fair and unbiased financial advice from experts who will act in the best interests of their client. What Australians currently get is product pushing from salespeople who are paid by the banks.”

Brycki is calling for structural reform to fix the problems caused by the dominant market power of the banks to ensure that consumers are protected, advisers are better educated and incentives are aligned.

Throughout, history, we have experienced, a variety of economic conditions, and circumstances, including, recession, inflation, and somewhere, in – between! For a few years, we experienced, very – low inflation, largely, caused by a variety of conditions, world – wide, and largely, disrupted – by, the ramifications, and impacts, created and caused, by this horrific pandemic! Currently, we seem to be experiencing, a serious amount of inflation, created, by many factors, including, but, not, limited – to: post – pandemic ramifications; Supply and Demand issues, caused, to a large – degree, by, supply – chain, issues; maintaining, unrealistically – low, prolonged period of near – record – low, interest rates, etc. With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, examine, consider, review, and discuss, 6 potential dangers, from prolonged periods of inflation, and why, it is important to know, and understand, options and alternatives, to attempt to choose, the best – path – forward!

1. Cost of Living: Some factors, determining, the Cost of Living, include: wages (and wage growth); prices, etc, and how wages, are, or, aren’t able, to keep – up, with the increase in costs, etc! Most realize, we have, in the past – few months, experienced, a huge, jump, in pricing, most – apparent, in the food stores, restaurants, and, nearly, everything, related – to, day – to – day, existence, etc!

2. Federal Reserve: In recent times, the near – historic – low, extended period, of interest rates, has, in addition, to the intended measures (helping businesses, and the economy, in trying – times), has caused a Real Estate, Sellers Market, and, a huge rise, in home prices, in most parts of this country! In addition, it created a surge, in consumer use of credit, because, borrowing, appeared, cheaper! However, most economists forecast, many of these supports, and maintaining, such low rates, will, gradually, be reduced (or minimized), probably, beginning, next year. What impact will that have, and will we see, the historic reaction, which has been, when rates rise, it helps reduce inflation, etc?

3. National economy/ conditions: Largely, because of a world – wide, supply – chain, set of obstacles/ challenged, many industries, have experienced, challenges, in terms of, getting sufficient amounts of needed materials, etc! Go into, nearly, any store, and you will see, more – sparse, shelves, than we have seen, in recent memory! In addition, building supplies, products, food, toys, cars and car parts, etc, are under – stress, because of this!

4. Worldwide economies/ economic conditions: Nearly, every nation, is experiencing, economic issues and challenges! The United Kingdom, because of worldwide, as well as specific national trends/ causes/ conditions, has been largely, impacted! Since, we live, largely, in a global economy, when there is any disruption, in the supply – chain, it affects, everyone!

5. Stock and Bond Markets: Because of several reasons/ factors, the United States Stock Market, has benefited, significantly, and experienced, significant increases, in the price of stocks. In addition to the obvious ones, because, interest rates, have been, so low, many investors, believed, stocks, were, nearly, the only game – in – town! When, if, interest rates, rise, bond rates, will rise, and existing, bond prices, will adjust, and drop!

6. Immediate, intermediate, longer – term ramifications/ impacts: The immediate impact of inflation, is, usually, rising prices, and, wages, which, usually, rise, at a far – lower rate! In the intermediate – period, we begin to see, weakening economic trends, and in the longer – term, depending on how long, it ensues, there are often, several, undesirable ramifications, and impacts!

Don’t take inflation, and its risks, for – granted! The more you know, and understand, the better prepared, you will be!

Although, we hear, a lot of opinions, about, interest rates, and their trends, and impacts, very few people seem to understand, the significance, and importance/ relevance, of these rates, in several areas of our lives! After, many decades of involvement, in political campaigns, leadership, leadership training/ planning, real estate, financial sales and consulting, etc, I strongly believed, one benefits, by understanding, more about these, and how they affect, many things, in our lives! Whether, related to personal, organizational, and/ or, public finance/ spending, home ownership and related costs, credit – related issues, business matters, stock and bond pricing, etc, interest rates, truly, significantly, matter! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 of these areas, and how the cost – of – money, makes a significant difference.

1. Bond prices and interest rates: The price of a bond, generally, is inversely – related to interest rates! When these rates go down, prices, rise, and when they go up, the inverse occurs! Bonds have, what is known, as, a par – value, which is the price, paid, at the end of the term. Markets usually set these at 100, which represents $1,000 per bond, at maturity. However, during the period, the pricing can rise or fall, which impacts, liquidity – related issues!

2. Mortgage rates: For the last few years, we have been witnessing and experiencing, record – low, mortgage interest rates, which have helped the overall, real estate/ housing market, especially, in terms of, pricing increases! In most areas of this country, we are seeing, home prices, at their highest levels, ever, by a significant, dramatic amount! When this rate, is low, a home buyer is able to buy, more – house – for – his – bucks, because, his monthly payments, are so low! Consider, however, what might be the potential ramifications, and impacts, when these rates, will, inevitably, rise?

3. Consumer credit: Low costs of borrowing, help the automobile industry, in terms of consumer financing, etc! Although, not as much as other vehicles, rates on credit card debt, are lower, and there are often, shorter – term, promotions, offering deals! However, since, most of these are variable, and based, on some index, etc, what happens, when there is an increase, in this?

4. Business borrowing: Another area affected, is business cost of borrowing! Presently, they have had access, to relatively, cheap – money, which helps in reducing the costs of borrowing, overall operations, purchasing inventory, etc. But, what happens, when this, ticks – up?

5. Impacts on stock market prices: For some time, because bonds have paid so little, in terms of dividends, etc, many have considered, the stock market, the only game, in – town! In addition, many corporations, have seemed, better – off, than they probably are, and we have witnessed, a higher, ratio of prices to profits, than in the past! How long will this last? How high can it go?

Many factors impact these issues, especially: actual and/ or, perceived inflation; consumer confidence; politics/ government actions/ the Federal Reserve, etc. The more you know, and understand, hopefully, the better – prepared, you will be!