Metropolis

Posted by Saurabh


Idea
Dr Sushil Shah wanted a pathology lab that alleviated patient’s pain rather than increase them. He wanted the process; from the time the patient comes in to the lab to the time he leaves, to be one smooth operation. There should be no waste of time between each step of the tests and papers being filed. The machines have to be good. So should be their customer relations. The staff has to be courteous, informed and efficient. The procedure, which would have normally taken at least an hour, was over in just minutes.


Business
Dr Shah wanted his chain to aspire to international standards and stand out both for the wide array of tests it offered and its quality of service. He claims that Metropolis processes most requests in three to five minutes.
Metropolis provides a large menu of tests, including some rare ones like the HIV drug resistant test, which involves reading the genetic code of the virus to detect mutations - differences from the original HIV virus. Besides giving Mumbai its first state-of-the-art chain of pathology labs, Shah introduced the concept of professional home health services five years ago. As part of this, Metropolis sends staff to a patient's home to conduct the tests there. This visit is free if the cost of the test, or tests, exceeds Rs 1,000.
"We have tried to keep all our prices at least 20 to 25 per cent lower than that of most private hospitals," said Shah, adding that they were now extending the home service to Dahanu, Karjat, Dombivli, and Panvel. This will no doubt add to the 1,500 labs and hospitals that now send them tests.
Today, Metropolis Health Services, which has an annual revenue of Rs 100 crore, has labs in 125 cities across the world and employs more than 2,500 people.

Success

Between 2001 and 2008, Shah acquired 50 labs across the country and 17 across the world, including labs in Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Kannur, Alleppey, Kolkata, UAE, South Africa and Seychelles. He raised the money via internal accruals.
His patience paid off when ICICI Ventures, a private equity player, finally decided to partner with him. Metropolis’s success can be owed to the acquisition-led business model, coupled with the high growth phase in its segment.

Future

Metropolis now wants to expand its network of labs in India. By the end of this year, Metropolis aims to be present in five or six more cities. But his immediate plan is to set up shop in Thailand. Shah may have learnt to run risks, but he obviously takes no chances.

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Garcia's Pizza

Posted by Saurabh


Idea


Ashit Patel always had big dreams. He wanted to take on the pizza delivery business that was closely guarded by many giants. Patel has been responsible for taking pizza to the masses with his pizzas being less than half the price of the competitor. He entered the market when Domino's was promising to deliver within 30 minutes, and Pizza Hut's weekly innovations were kicking in. But Patel's passion for food and business acumen quickly gave Garcia's a reputation of a chain that delivered very tasty and affordable pizzas.


Business


Ashit had the idea of value-for-money pizza, which over a period of time forced other chains to lower their prices. By making pizza affordable, it revolutionized Mumbai’s taste for the Italian staple dish.
Patel introduced coupons and added meal combinations for inducing movement across the low-movement period of 3 PM to 6 PM. He also christened the pizzas with European names such as 'Spicy Senorita' and 'Italian Lovers', which immediately caused the sales to pick up by 60-70%. In the race to differentiate Garcia’s from the competitors, he introduced varieties like pahadi chicken, chicken tikka and oriental chicken."
He was unrelenting on his insistence on low prices, yet he did not want to compromise on quality. He believed profits would follow if customers were satisfied. Patel was able to charge low prices because he kept costs down. He eliminated several layers of managers. With no time-bound delivery guarantee, each of Garcia's 20 outlets employs just eight to ten delivery boys, which Patel said was a quarter the strength of bigger chains' outlets.
Sticking to small stores without sit-ins kept Patel's overheads low. Based on his start-up capital, Patel was clear that he would build a chain only in Mumbai. Crucially, he was also clear that he did not want to franchise his company, because he wanted to control quality.
SuccessGarcia’s had to fight for survival in the early days. In 2004, Garcia’s first outlet sat vacant. Patel and his crew would wait for the phone to ring, before finally setting off at 3 pm to hand-deliver fliers at every building in the area for the next three hours. But today it’s a different story. Garcia's has outlets all over the city that are strategically located in every business hub, such as Bandra, Malad and Andheri. Patel estimated that the business would have been generating revenues of Rs 10 crore to Rs 12 crore a year before he made his exit late last year.

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Clix Flix

Posted by Saurabh




Idea:

The idea was to come up with an online portal that allowed users to subscribe and order movies on the internet. This was an idea ahead of its time, but had the all-important consumer focus, from the very beginning. The service improved the customer connect and utility as the customer now could, in the leisurely comfort of his house, order movies—in a click of a mouse or by just calling. The brain-child of Edwards and Concessio, Clix-Flix, the first online movie rental service in India was born.

Business
Although Concessio and Edwards never tried to replicate an existing overseas model, the close study of how foreign DVD rental services such as Netflix.com and Blockbuster Inc worked gave the two entrepreneurs some ideas. The Bandra boys had put in all the money they had and raised money, with their homes as collateral. Moreover, they did not have the luxury of a moratorium, which would have given them a few months' respite before they were expected to start repaying the loan and interest. They neither had deep pockets to advertise, nor did they even have any idea about the size of the market.
So hardly 18 to 20 days after starting up, the pair opened their first store from their Borivili office. With hardly any funds to advertise, marketing was through word of mouth. Yet within a year, they had about 4,000 members, who were lured to Clixflix by its more than 2,500 film titles. That meant decent money. The founders used the money to repay the initial loan, re-investing the rest in the business.

Success
ClixFlix lends the personal connect to the customer by understanding the needs and expectations of the consumer and linking it with the supply he has. So when the demanding, temperamental and impatient customer calls in for a film, the person on the other side is able to recommend a romantic comedy that she hasn't seen, and more important, a film without animals.
Edwards and Concessio are proof of the fact that there isn't a direct co-relation between an MBA background and entrepreneurial success; both are B Com graduates. By bringing cinema quite literally to your doorstep, Edwards and Concessio have given back to the city as much as they have received.

Future
One of the recent options to have come up in Borivili is Reliance's BigFlix store. Having adopted much the same strategy as Clixflix, one would have assumed they are directly competing. But Edwards argues that two people being in the same market did not automatically make them competitors. They believe that the home entertainment rental segment is at a nascent stage, and collective effort from many players, is required to enhance consumer attention. So in essence the competition is good as they expand the market.
Edwards and Concessio are optimistic, sure that they have a winning idea. Edwards believes that after you are done with work, food and sleep, the next big thing on people's priority list is entertainment. "To go to a multiplex, a family would have to spend Rs 800, when they can get actually 20 movies with us at the same price in the comfort of their own home," he said. "And they can eat their own popcorn."

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