06/7/13

Everything from A to Z - via William Christiansen

Amazon Launches In India

From Bollywood to Hollywood - Amazon.in — From Bollywood to Hollywood – Amazon.in

Amazon is taking its popular services to India with the launch of Amazon.in last week. The American Fortune 500 company has already expanded to nine other countries where shoppers can browse through millions of products from musical instruments to furniture. According to the BBC, Amazon.in will only offer books, movies and TV shows from third party sellers until strict Indian regulations on e-commerce are relaxed. At present, Indian laws prevent foreign companies from selling products online directly to shoppers. The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, reported in February that Amazon’s Global Vice President Paul Misener met with the Indian Commerce Minister to encourage foreign competition in the country’s growing online market. It isn’t immediately clear whether the government will take action to improve Amazon’s situation.

In the meantime, Amazon Marketplace will be a much-needed middleman between third party sellers and shoppers. Through the “Fulfillment by Amazon” system, Amazon stores sellers’ goods in its own warehouses and packages them for delivery. “Our vision is to become a trusted and meaningful sales channel for retailers of all sizes across India, enabling them to succeed and efficiently grow their business online,” said Amit Agarwal, Vice President and Country Manager for Amazon India.

The company first explored Indian markets last February when it launched Junglee.com, a virtual storefront where customers could compare prices and share reviews but not buy products. Now that Amazon Marketplace has launched in India, the company has its eyes set on bringing Indian internet users the complete Amazon experience of being able to buy just about anything. It may take time for the government to relax its e-commerce laws, but Amazon.in should have plenty of books and movies to keep consumers happy until then.

For more on the launch of Amazon.in, check out the company’s official press release.

What do you think about Amazon’s expansion to India? Voice your thoughts in the comments section below.

05/8/13

Student Stars – Thuy Dao: Green Marketing in New Delhi

Thuy Dao received a travel grant from the Weissman Center for International Business to support her work aboard experience. If you’d like more information about work abroad and the travel grant click here.

Name: Thuy Dao

Major: Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability

For senior Thuy Dao, working overseas was an opportunity that she just could not pass up. What she did not expect was to receive the opportunity to pitch innovative eco-friendly products to the local government of New Delhi.

Thuy worked for Prothsahan Team, a NGO that focuses on ‘green’ environmentally-friendly initiatives by creating awareness in the local community and proposing green solutions to the local government. The organization also provides education in computer-related skills to children and youth who fall below the poverty line to better prepare them for work.

I recently had the great fortune to ask Thuy some questions about her experience. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Hi Thuy, so to start things off, where did you intern?

A: New Delhi, India. I worked for the Prothsahan Team.

Q: Nice! Can you tell us what some of your responsibilities included?

A: Responsibilities included making presentations and teaching plan according to the targeted audience — from children in orphanages to workers at corporate level. Also, I established connection with multiple companies to raise awareness.

Q: Raise awareness?

A: Yes, as part of the job description, I marketed new green products to local government of New Delhi.

Q: That sounds exciting! What was the reason why you chose India as the country for your work abroad experience?

I wanted to immerse myself in new culture and do something meaningful at the same time.

Q: Did your experience change your outlook on academic or career choices?

A: Well, before the trip I was very passionate about environmental law and I hoped to make some changes for the environment in New Delhi, but when I arrived I realized that there were more pressing matters to these citizens like making money to feed their family.

Q: Could you elaborate more about the economic situation you observed in New Delhi in relation to your internship?

A: I learned that for many people living in New Delhi, it is a luxury to think about environmental issues. The mentality is that people that can afford to worry about environmental issues should contribute what they can to help improve the lives of those that ‘cannot spare the time.’ Despite this, it was still exciting to be able to market new green products to the local government – these products would certainly help the city with solving a few problems related to environmental concerns.

Q: Wow, that certainly is a unique perspective. To wrap up this Q & A, can you tell us a bit about what you enjoyed most about working overseas?

A: I enjoyed forging bonds with other interns I have met on this trip, learning about a new culture, traveling around the Northern part of India, and establishing connections with companies so new coming interns for the same project can continue where we left off.

Q: Great! Thank you for telling us about your experience!

Thuy’s work abroad is a testament to the amazing talent at Baruch, and for that, we salute Thuy as one of our many Student Stars!