In 2004, Lenovo bought IBM’s iconic PC division. But this wasn’t an overnight leap — it was the result of years spent learning inside the value chain.

Starting as a distributor of laptops for global brands like HP, Toshiba, and IBM in China, Lenovo moved up the value chain to become a manufacturer and is now a global leader with over one-quarter of the market share for laptops worldwide.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Apple is known to be restrictive in letting its devices connect or share data with non-Apple devices. It has a lot to do with delivering a clean user experience and utmost digital security. In a way, it also compels an Apple user to buy other Apple products. So, it was a surprise when Apple introduced the universal Type-C charging ports in its iPhones. While Type-C solved for user experience, Apple did it after it was forced by European regulators to either introduce Type-C chargers for its iPhones or risk losing Europe as a market.

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This episode explores the journey of Revlon — from a brand that sold glamour and aspiration to one that filed for bankruptcy nearly a century later. It traces Revlon’s early success, its marketing genius, the landmark hostile takeover that reshaped corporate law, and the debt-fuelled decisions that weakened the company over decades. The episode also examines how Revlon used Chapter 11 to survive and what its turnaround tells us about branding, leverage, and resilience in modern business.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Narayana Health's 40% profit comes from just a small business in the Cayman Islands. Is it the pricing power or a different brand identity that Narayana enjoys in Cayman? Cayman might be a star of a business, but there is also some risk.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Trent's ROE growth perhaps explains the rally in its stock, and Asian Paints' ROE slowdown perhaps explains the dull performance of its stock. Maybe it is the time frame you look at. Trent has outperformed Asian Paints over the last five years but underperformed over the last year.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Nestlé's Nespresso was a failed product when it was launched in the 1980s. A switch in product and pricing model helped make it a success. It was Nestlé's moat for a very long time, but then competitors broke it. Nestle came out strong nonetheless.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

Most of Dmart's stores are owned, while a few are leased. Those leased stores are recorded as lease liabilities on Dmart's balance sheet. Lease liabilities are considered as good as debt or borrowing. It is an accounting peculiarity.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.

How can one drink be for women and the other for men? It is a day-to-day consumable, not even medicine. So, why target a drink to a specific gender? The lessons are in marketing and consumer psychology. Not just Coca-Cola, but also Pepsi had drinks targeted at different genders.

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Disclaimer: The stocks or financial instruments discussed in this podcast are meant for educational purposes only. Please do not consider them recommendations or financial advice of any form.