Courtesy Gerhard Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan, a fascinating comparison between Sony, Apple and Nintendo
…On October 22 APPLE announced spectacular full-year results with a year-on-year net income increase of 38%.
…on August 29, 2008 Nintendo revised the forecast for full-year net income upward by +26.2%
…in contrast, on October 23, 2008, SONY said that full-year net income (for the financial year ending March 2009) is expected to be 37.5% lower than previously predicted
Lets look at today’s (Oct 22nd) market caps:
APPLE market cap = US$ 85.6 Billion
NINTENDO market cap = US$ 37.2 Billion
SONY market cap = US$ 19.9 Billion
Why this dramatic difference? We believe its focus. Apple and Nintendo are companies with clear focus.
…In terms of sales, SONY = 3 x APPLE …(and)…SONY = 4 x NINTENDO
In terms of operating income, APPLE = 3 x SONY…(and)…NINTENDO = 3 x SONY
In terms of operating margin, APPLE = 9 x SONY…(and)…NINTENDO = 15 x SONY
November 5th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
Global Competition, Japan, Miscellaneous |
2 comments
At the second China VC & PE Eventin London last week, Ozaki-san of NIkko AntFactory presented some striking data about Japanese and Chinese demographics. I am trying to get hold of the slides and will upload them here. China is already Japan’s largest trading partner (both exports and imports) while for China, Japan was its #1 trading partner but is now at #3 (behind EU and USA).
He also mentioned how China is getting “expensive” (Uniqlo, the Japanese clothes maker has already moved half of its production facilities out of China) and “rich” (# of plasma TV sets sold are already more than Japan).
Some more quick notes:
- JVs are hard to execute in China (Alexia)
- Deals are getting more realistically valued (Fernando)
- JV model of creating a China Fund may not be the best approach…Easier option is to buy an existing management company (a la Sequoia, KPCB)
- Direct transplantation of deals may not work
Quote of the Day: “…The “Pioneers” are the ones with the arrows in the back…” (Courtesy Charles)
Related Post:
Amidst the global downturn, China continues to amaze…
October 15th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Conferences and Panels, Venture Capital in Asia |
no comments
Saw this headline when I woke up today morning:
GPs ‘paid more for working less’
Of course it was referring to some lesser mortals*…
Although some of the points made in the news-story appear to have an eerie similarity…e.g.:
…It also pointed out that pay for…partners had shot up by 58%……although much smaller rises had been seen for (put your own words here)…
…This happened over a period when GPs started working fewer hours – 36.3 a week compared to 43.1 in the 1990s – and productivity fell…
…Much of the criticism in this report is based on an out-of-date understanding of the current situation…
But here is some seriously sobering news, courtesy GigaOm, “…Silicon Valley Is in Trouble”
…Sequoia Capital, arguably the smartest venture capital investor in business, is sounding the alarm and asking its portfolio companies to buckle down for what could be the worst economic downturn of their relatively short lives.
…They want the companies to cut costs, to figure out way to survive and emerge at the other end of this downturn, which could last years. The speakers went through each functional area of the business and told the companies how to cut costs.
…Folks this is bad news for Silicon Valley, which has been living in a bubble, assuming that it is going to weather the global economic storm without being impacted. Sequoia had a similar meeting back before the last bubble unraveled. We know how that turned out.
.
* With tongue-firmly-in-cheek
October 9th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
Venture Capital |
no comments
From last month’s IBEF newsletter:
…Manoj Mondal is the inventor of the crank pedal – he successfully tweaked the pedal of a bicycle to an extent that it generates almost double the torque (force multiplied by the distance from the centre) than in normal circumstances. In other words, the speed of the bicycle increases from, say, 20 km/hr to 40 km/hr.
His feat has already made him the toast of incubators, the green lobby and a host of companies which are coming forward to adapt Mondal’s technology commercially.
Besides, Mondal’s invention is slated to benefit rickshaw-pullers as the Centre for Rural Development has shown keenness to convert 10,000 rickshaws into the crank pedal mode this year…Dr Pradip K Sarmah, executive director of the Centre for Rural Development is banking on the crank pedal “to reduce the drudgery of the 10 million rickshaw-puller of India” . The centre runs a Rickshaw Bank to cater to the urban poor, and already has an improvised rickshaw by IIT-Guwahati, which costs Rs 12,000 a pop with insurance, licence, uniform and the works thrown in. “Mondal’s invention will add speed to the existing force and cost Rs 100 extra,” contends Sarmah.
…Next, he’s working on a prototype where pedalling on a stationary cycle has the potential to dig a bore deep enough to make a drain, and construction major Escorts seems to have shown interest in the new technology, says Mondal…
While this is probably not something that a VC would fund (or that needs VC funding either), it is nevertheless a fine example of low-cost innovation that will make a material difference to the lives of millions (literally)…
Related Posts:
What counts as innovation?
September 18th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
Tech & Innovation in Asia, Technology & Innovation |
no comments
From an email I received y’day:
According to Zero2IPO Research Center statistics, a total of 29 domestic and foreign VC firms established 40 funds during Q2‘08. This figure represents US$3.02B of capital available for investing in Mainland China marking a record high for a single quarter.
Additionally, 159 Chinese entrepreneurial firms receiving venture capital disclosed investment totaling US$1.20B. In comparison with the same period last year, the number of deals and the disclosed investment amount increased 31.4% and 73.5% respectively.
Keeping up with the “booming…China investment market”, Zero2IPO is organizing its second China VC & PE Event in London next month. Try and be there.
I will be speaking just after the tea break on investment opportunities for European investors in China.
September 10th, 2008
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Conferences and Panels, Emerging Markets, Venture Capital in Asia |
2 comments
