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  • The ₹100 Crore Retailer: How Much Inventory Should It Actually Carry?

    The ₹100 Crore Retailer: How Much Inventory Should It Actually Carry?

    A retailer tells me: “We are now a ₹100 crore business.” My next question is usually not about sales. I ask: “How much inventory are you carrying?” The answer can tell us a lot more about the health of the business than the ₹100 crore revenue number itself. One retailer may be doing ₹100 crore…

  • India What a Decade of Borrowing Actually Bought Us. Are we in a Debt Trap?

    India What a Decade of Borrowing Actually Bought Us. Are we in a Debt Trap?

    India’s Public Debt Story (2015–2025): What a Decade of Borrowing Actually Bought Us. Are we in a Debt Trap? India’s combined government debt has roughly doubled over the past decade. Central government debt alone climbed from about ₹121 trillion in FY2020 to an estimated ₹197 trillion by FY2026. State liabilities nearly tripled, from ~₹32.6 trillion…

  • D2C Brands: Stop Chasing Revenue. Start Measuring Customer Profitability.

    D2C Brands: Stop Chasing Revenue. Start Measuring Customer Profitability.

    For years, D2C has been presented as the smarter way to build a consumer brand. Go directly to the customer. Avoid expensive stores. Build your own digital identity. Use social media to acquire customers. Scale quickly. It sounds simple. But the reality is very different today. D2C Brands: Stop Chasing Revenue. Start Measuring Customer Profitability.…

  • India’s FDI Puzzle: Record Money In, Very Little Staying Back

    India’s FDI Puzzle: Record Money In, Very Little Staying Back

    India’s FDI Puzzle: Record Money In, Very Little Staying Back A simple, data-backed look at what’s really happening to foreign investment in India. Picture this: India just received its biggest-ever foreign investment cheque — $94.8 billion in FY 2025-26. Worth celebrating, right? But once the dust settled, only $7 billion of that actually stayed back…

  • Bread, Rice, Sugar, Oil: A Ten-Year Price Reality Check for Indian Retail

    Bread, Rice, Sugar, Oil: A Ten-Year Price Reality Check for Indian Retail

    What if the biggest inflation story in your kitchen isn’t rice, milk or sugar — but bread? Over the last decade, India’s everyday food basket has changed dramatically. A standard branded 400g bread loaf that cost roughly ₹20–25 around 2016 can now sell for around ₹55. Rice has moved from roughly ₹25/kg to ₹45–48/kg. Refined…

  • A case study – D2C 2.0: Digital + Retail

    A case study – D2C 2.0: Digital + Retail

    For more than a decade, D2C meant one thing: go directly to the consumer without traditional retail. Build a product. Create a digital brand. Run Meta and Google campaigns. Drive traffic to the website. Convert. Repeat. That model changed how brands were built. But the consumer has changed again. And this time, Gen Z may…

  • Case Study: Can India Reduce Its Import Burden Without Touching Petrol? A manufacturing-led opportunity to reduce India’s trade deficit- Gaurang Govind

    Case Study: Can India Reduce Its Import Burden Without Touching Petrol? A manufacturing-led opportunity to reduce India’s trade deficit- Gaurang Govind

    LinkedIn article | Critical-thinking scenario model The hook What if India’s import burden is not just a problem—but one of India’s biggest manufacturing opportunities? India imported US$721.2 billion of merchandise in FY2024-25, while merchandise exports stood at about US$437.7 billion, leaving a merchandise trade deficit of roughly US$283.5 billion. But we need to ask a…

  • India Retail 2024–2027: From Store Expansion to Intelligent Retail Expansion I A retail case study on what changed, what is coming next, and what ret

    India Retail 2024–2027: From Store Expansion to Intelligent Retail Expansion I A retail case study on what changed, what is coming next, and what ret

    The Hook India’s retail expansion story is entering its next phase. The question is no longer: “How many stores can we open?” The question is: “How intelligently can we expand while protecting productivity, profitability and customer relevance?” Between 2024 and 2026, India’s leading retailers significantly increased their physical footprints while quick commerce simultaneously created a…

  • India’s AC Market: The ₹35,500 Crore Cooling Opportunity—and the Import Story Behind It

    India’s AC Market: The ₹35,500 Crore Cooling Opportunity—and the Import Story Behind It

    The AC sitting on your wall may say “Made in India”. But how much of it is actually made in India? That is perhaps the most interesting question emerging from India’s rapidly expanding consumer-durable market. India’s air-conditioner industry is no longer simply a story about rising summer temperatures. It is becoming a story about manufacturing,…

  • How to Choose a Business Consultant in India: An Expert Selection Framework

    How to Choose a Business Consultant in India: An Expert Selection Framework

    CGRBRANDS INSIGHTS | SELECTION FRAMEWORK Choosing a business consultant is not about finding the person with the most impressive presentation. It is about finding the person who can understand your numbers, challenge your assumptions, work with your team, and deliver measurable improvement. You may spend three weeks comparing laptops, negotiate for days before buying equipment,…