Bartercard To Enter India In
Early 2008
Bartercard,
the Australian trade exchange that depicts itself as the leading
exchange in the world, will start retail barter operations February
2008 in India, through a subsidiary.
Rakesh Thapar,
Indian license holder for Bartercard, reveals that the company has
signed on Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as brand ambassadors and is
currently putting its franchisee network in place.
Professionals
and small to medium businesses, with an average trade volume of
100,000 rupees (US$2,500) a month, will be Bartercard�s target in
India, and it has set itself a target of 3,500 members in its first
year of operation. The company will spend 100-million rupees (US$2.5
million) on marketing and brand-building.
None of the
leading trade exchanges in the country are in a hurry to enter
retail barter. Rakesh Bhatnagar, CEO, Net4barter, one of the largest
trade exchanges in India, says it�ll take at least 18 months before
the Indian market is ready for retail barter. Harish Pillai, CEO of
Essel Group�s Intrex India, seconds Bhatnagar. But if retail barter
is yet to take off, barter at the corporate level seems to be
working.
Increasingly
consumer durables, automobiles, real-estate, FMCG and industrial
products companies are also looking at deals, not just for trade
schemes but also for core business areas like the sourcing of raw
materials. For instance, Intrex recently helped a power tools
company convert excess inventory into media space.
