Exclusive | Going all out to expand boundaries: Forbes' Indrajit Gupta

The general scenario and the state of business magazines around 2008-09 was pretty dull with nothing interesting on offer for the readers and the advertisers. A sort of stagnancy had crept in and readers had lost interest, they were looking at quality international magazines to search what they wanted to read. The economic scene too was gloomy with the global financial crisis spreading pessimism around.

 

It was around this time that a new well packaged product – read business magazine with a rich global experience—entered the Indian business magazine scene. The magazine whose name needs no introduction was backed by a global network of journalist, bureaus, and photographers and so on. Within a short time it captured the hearts of Indian business readers. The name ‘Forbes” said it all.

 

“We did everything to revive the interest of the readers in the business magazine category. We focused on quality content and on nicely crafted stories that people would sit-up and take notice. The fact that we had the entire network backing us helped us market and promote the magazine well and build salience. Our network was a big advantage,” says Indrajit Gupta, Editor, Forbes India.

 

Adds Gurmeet Singh, CEO, Forbes India, “We were already a great brand worldwide. But since people mostly related Forbes to a foreign brand so we had to create an Indian brand that had its roots in the parent brand, but a distinct identity of its own in India.”

 

Back to the present, Forbes India’s three year journey has been exciting. It has stuck to the themes that it had identified when the magazine was started which has given it consistency. The magazine is now celebrating its three years of existence and to mark the occasion, it is coming out with a mega anniversary double issue. The theme of the third anniversary issue is, “A New Moral Code for Business.” Along with the special issue, Forbes India will also publish a special issue featuring the best of feature stories done in the past 12 months.

 

Elaborating on the theme of the third anniversary issue, Indrajit Gupta says, “India is a great opportunity for business and growth; and for laying the foundations of a new form of capitalism. The current model of capitalism has come in for a lot of criticism. Trust in business has taken a beating. There has been an erosion of ethical standards. We need a new set of conversations around the role of business in society. This is a theme that has engaged the minds of the biggest thought-leaders and business leaders around the world. Our effort was to bring them together on the Forbes India platform.”

 

Business has to make money but it also has a duty towards society. How does business perform this balancing act better? That is the theme of the Forbes India third anniversary issue. As most world economies move towards a market-driven economy, businessman are acting in a self-centered manner. “That is why we see a decline in ethical standards,” says Shishir Prasad, deputy editor, Forbes India. “A  pointed question for all Indians today is—

Has the economic ascent hastened our ethical descent? Business and businessmen believe that corruption and unethical behavior is something that happens in the government and that ‘whatever-it-takes-to-please-the-shareholder’ mentality allows businesses the freedom to look the other way. This view of the world is questionable.”

 

Forbes India has put together contributions from some of the finest minds and practioners, thinkers and people of the highest integrity to write on the theme. The idea is to get some good conversations going and provide pointers for the future.

 

So who are the eminent personalities who will put their thoughts to pen for this special issue? “Building on our past reputation to have the best writers focusing on the Big Issues of our times, the third anniversary edition has essays, exclusively written by a galaxy of some of the biggest stars in the world of ideas and practice: Clayton Christensen, Nitin Nohria, Michael Sandel, Michael Porter, John Elkington, Paul Polman, Azim Premji, Richard Branson, Gurcharan Das, and many others,” says Gupta. The issue offers both intellectual wisdom and practical insight. It will have timeless value. The issue will not just be a one-time read; instead, one that will perhaps find a permanent place on the book-shelf.

 

“This issue is a collection of thoughts. We want readers to read and see the force of the argument presented and be logically convinced,” says Prasad. Forbes India has focused on contemporary ideas of how business must find a legitimate place in society. The collective thoughts of the contributors have focused on three essentials that a business or a businessman should never forget. The first is to not to take a short-cut to advance further; the second is to stand up and be counted and; the third is to put your money where your mouth is.

 

Dwelling on the current business scenario, Indrajit Gupta says, there is too much obsession on shareholder’s value creation which is short term in nature because organizations tend to look from one quarter to another. Businesses need to focus on managing the interests of not just its shareholders, but also its other stakeholders—employees, regulators, suppliers, and customers. There is also a need to focus on the community at large—the society where businesses exists and thrive.” A very good example is that of Jamshedpur which without the Tatas would have been a marshy land. Generations of residents of the township have benefitted and are thankful to the Tatas today.

 

The third anniversary issue of Forbes India will be a double issue. The second issue will showcase some of the best features of the past 12 months. At a time when long-form feature stories have become scarce, Forbes believes and tells stories differently. “We look upon ourselves as story tellers. Over the years, we have chronicled some of most dramatic stories of our times. Forbes India’s cover story on the Tata succession which offered a fascinating perspective of the relationship between the Tata and Mistry families spanning several generations recently won an award at the Press Club award for Excellence in Print Journalism.

 

Through its successful journey over the last three years, Forbes India has also tackled and upped the ante for competitors. “In these three years, we have maintained our distinctiveness and from a brand perspective kept ourselves not one or two but multiple notches above the rest. Our magazine is priced higher than the other business magazines in India and we are also very selective about the ads that we take.” We take in only those brands which are in sync with our brand’s quality,” says Singh. Forbes India’s circulation revenues are also one of the highest in the industry, inspite of it being only three years old. They circulate about 75,000 copies currently.

 

On the road ahead, Forbes is going all out to expand its boundaries. Its traffic on its website, www.forbesindia.com is nearly tripled in just five months of launch. Social media is also a prime area of focus. “All Forbes properties lend themselves to events. We had the Forbes India Leadership Award last year which was our flagship event. The plan is to have more such events with focus around our properties,” says Singh. On special plans for the third year anniversary, “our focus is to be present across media with the same property. How we integrate print with TV, online and events will be the focus area for this year,” adds Singh.

 

On the subject of competition, Gurmeet Singh very confidently says “We are well settled. What separates us from other magazines is the group’s strength apart from the strong Forbes brand.”

 

“Through our obsessive focus on product quality, I think we have increased the gap between ourselves and the rest of the pack,” says Gupta. In the long run, he says, it will be a case of the survival of the fittest. Consolidation is inevitable. The more discerning readers will seek a world-class reading experience and we believe they will come to us.”