Havmor on an expanding spree announces investment of Rs 100 cr

Havmor Ice Cream, India’s second largest 100% real milk ice cream brand that has delighted many with its delicious offerings since 1944, has announced its plans for further expansion and market development across cities with an investment of INR 200 cr. planned over the next 3 years.

Havmor has now officially launched its first new production facility outside of Gujarat with a state of the art facility in Faridabad adding a capacity of 25000 liters of ice-cream per day. Havmor intends to scale this facility up further to over 1 lac liters per day with a combined output of over 3 lac liters per day. Today, Havmor is readily available across 14 states and to over 70% of India’s ice-cream consuming population making Havmor the 2nd largest 100% real ice-cream manufacturer in India.

Havmor continues to expanding its operations through various retail partnership and ice-cream parlors in it’s six newest territories including Delhi NCR, Haryana, UP in northern markets and in southern markets namely Hyderabad in Telegana, other centers in Andhra Pradesh, and recently in Karnataka.

With the planned 200 cr investment in market expansion, Mr. Ankit Chona, MD Havmor said “Havmor is working on a greenfield project to develop a state of the art manufacturing unit in South India within the next 3 years”. This third plant will help Havmor cater to the South India market and aide further expansion.

These new investments are being made by the company to help it reach a 1000 cr turnover by 2020.

Havmor’s strategic business focus and growth plan aims at exploring newer markets and strengthening its presence across India with an aggressive expansion plan which includes over 250 exclusive ice cream parlors and close to 50,000 retail outlets by the end of FY 17/18.

Commenting on the brand’s growth and expansion plan, Mr. Ankit Chona, Managing Director, Havmor Ice Cream Ltd. said, “Since 1944, we’ve only made 100% real milk ice-cream, and we believe this is the only way ice-cream should be made. Our success has been anchored on our quality and taste, our customers have always recognized this. We’re very proud to be one of India’s leading 100% real milk ice-cream brands and we delighted with customer feedback across markets. We are pleased to announce our expansion plans which are in conjunction with our year-on-year growth, increasing demand and the huge growth opportunity in the industry. Along with our growing presence in north, we also aim at strengthening our presence in south market. We aims to increase our turnover to INR 1000 crore by 2020”.

He added “Out of the top FMCG ice cream brands in India, Havmor is the only ice cream company which is not owned by a dairy cooperative and yet since inception Havmor has only made pure milk ice creams. However, various brands make both ice creams and frozen desserts and so we believe customers need to know what they are consuming. An internal survey conducted found that consumer awareness levels are far lower in distinguishing frozen dessert and ice cream. As an ice cream producer, we would like to spread the awareness about the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert. We will soon be rolling out a 360 degree campaign to spread that awareness.”

Today, Havmor has 160+ icecream varieties and ranges under its portfolio; which includes Premium Range, Signature Range, Blockbuster, Turbo Cone, 98% Fat Free, 100% Sugar Free, Ice Cream Cakes & Pastries, Ice Cream Sandwich, Assorted Candies, Topo Cones, Ready to Eat Cups, Novelties, Bulk Packs, Combo Packs, etc.

Havmor Ice Cream is available in various packs and price range starting at INR 5 to INR 350.

Resource: http://www.newsx.com

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Mobile accessories brand Pebble ventures into new business channels

Alongside the evolution of technology, the accessories market in India is booming. Mobile Accessories, being a category of products that are used 24/7 in our daily lives, still remain majorly an unorganised, unbranded market with no clear quality standards. On the extreme end, there are certain brands trying to provide higher quality products, however at a huge cost, which is unacceptable to the consumer. Due to this, consumers continue to purchase and use low-quality products that do not last long and have thus become accustomed to a use-and-throw practice in this category. Thus, in the last 5- 6 years, there has been a clear need for a standardised high-quality brand in the mobile accessories segment that is affordable and consumers can easily rely on.

The current market size of the Indian mobile accessories is around Rs 8,000 Cr. According to an Allied Market study, the global market for mobile phone accessories is expected to garner $107.3 billion by 2022. But the problem that exists in India’s grey market – where 80% of the accessories come from unbranded vendors, sources. It is this basic problem that Pebble, as a brand, is looking to problem solve for.

Potential for accessories segment to grow is 10-fold; though most of them are imported “This market will grow as much as mobile phones. The market will grow as much as mobile phones. The accessories market can easily be twice or even thrice that of smartphones since a customer would typically buy at least two for a phone.

• While the market might be huge, Pebble might find success in the new business channels it is entering in, established players exist in each of its product lineups – be it speakers, headphones or VR headsets. These players have cash reserves, global distribution networks, as well as brand loyalty from having existed for decades. How Pebble will be able to attract customers beyond certain strata is the next challenge for the company, as well as achieving scale in the regions it hopes to expand in.
• Pebble operates on a B2B model and is available across channels such as – mom and pop stores, online platforms, and retail chains. The SKUs are sold on a per unit basis, after being rigorously quality tested with an ISO 9001 stamp. The products get manufactured in China via subcontractors and are warehoused in Delhi, from where they are shipped to the various channels.We discovered early on that with the advent of smartphones, power banks were a huge market. The only market we wanted for the first two years. In fact, according to Komal, in 2014 – the product had penetrated into 12 states across India and the sales team had to expand to keep up with increasing demand. As disclosed by Komal, the company generated a turnover of INR 3 Cr in FY 2013-2014.
• The B2B model also underwent a bit of an expansion in 2014, with Pebble capturing a fairly new and not-thought-of vertical, which has since turned into their biggest market, in terms of revenue.

Resource: http://www.financialexpress.com

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Gleneagles Global Hospitals to invest ₹200 crore for expansion

Gleneagles Global Hospitals will invest ₹200 crore as part of its expansion and plans to emerge as a dominant player in clinical healthcare in the country.

The investment is part of the strategy it has chalked out to become double its present size in the next five-seven years. It will focus on quality medicare, strengthen patient care and do frontier research, according to its Chairman K Ravindranath.

Gleneagles Global Hospitals, a part of Parkway Pantai, a fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare Berhad, now has 1,400 operational beds in its nine hospitals with the major one’s being in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai.

The Global Hospitals was started in 1999 as a 50-bedded venture by Ravindranath. “We are investing to take the bed strength to 2,100 beds across our hospitals in the next two years, besides expanding to Delhi,’’ he told BusinessLine in an interaction here.

The Hospital Group is set to cross the ₹1,000-crore turnover mark in fiscal 2016-17. In 2015, IHH Healthcare 73.4 per cent stake in Hyderabad-based Ravindranath GE Medical Associates Private Ltd’s Global Hospitals for ₹1,284 crore. The objective was to consolidate all the Global Hospital’s under the IHH’s Gleneagles brand.

“The partnership with Gleneagles will help to offer global services as they are the second-largest healthcare group in the world,’’ Ravindranath said. The partnership will facilitate synergy between the two. “We have strengths transplant surgeries, especially liver, kidney, lung, while Gleneagles has expertise in bone marrow transplant, cancer care, besides patient care, IT process and systems,’’ he added.

For growth and expansion, Gleneagles Global is looking at acquisition in Delhi. Similarly, it is investing ₹25 crore in its 150- bedded Hyderabad Hospital, which was its first big venture to renovate and improve facilities. “In each city we want to become a dominant player with 1,000 beds and the best clinical care, especially in the tertiary, quartenary care, superspeciality and multi organ transplant,” he said.

On the future focus of the group, Ravindranath said thrust will be on creating centres of excellence. Gleneagles Global will be setting up a Centre of Excellence in Lung transplantion association with University of Texas, Dallas. Other clinical programmes of priority for the hospital are liver & paediatric liver, Pancreas besides heart and lung transplantation, Ravindranath said.

On healthcare industry scenario, he said the regulatory control and competition will lead to consolidation. When asked on recent new norms such as heart stent price regulation by National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA), Ravindranath said: “Any new regulation is good for long term and transparent players in the industry.’’ While heatlhcare business is poised for growth in the country, the challenges include human resources and training, he added.

Resource: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/

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14 brands that are energising the Indian home décor segment

The boom in the residential real estate industry over the last few decades has given an impetus to the home décor market. Also driving the growth of this section is an increased consciousness among home owners for stylish interiors and beautiful indoors.

According to Urban Ladder’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sanjay Gupta “One of the factors that has contributed to this growth is that people have started taking their home as the reflection of themselves and so, a lot of people are now spending more on both furniture and fixtures and also on home decor. The second big change seen is that working women are spending a lot on home fashion. A lot of our customers are working women.”

Durian’s Vice President -Commercial, Sandeep Ganguli adds, “Factors like rise in disposable income, better education and also the growing trend of individuals opting for professional services to do their interiors have together led to a rise in this category.”

Says Zynna’s Director, Reteish Sharma, “Indians are well travelled now and have an exposure to lifestyles in other countries – lifestyles which they want to have for themselves.”

And it’s not just traditional players like Bombay Dyeing and Welspun that are cashing in on the trend. Funkier, Gen X brands like Chumbak and niche players like Masper, and Tangerine are expanding their reach across the country as well.

Godrej Interio’s Associate Vice President, Integrated Marketing Communications, Bedraj Tripathy says, “In the demography pyramid according to family incomes, there is a high growth in middle class families than the lower and upper class. We find the middle class to be around Rs 48,000 crores as compared to upper, which is at Rs 7,000 crores and the lower Rs 10,000 crores. Also, the average age of a buyer has changed from 45 years to 37 years over the span of last five years.”

Sharing a forecast on the size at which this industry is slated to grow, Sanjay Gupta reveals, “The home market is worth about US $20 billion; in that, furniture contributes to 75 per cent and decor and the rest is 25 per cent.”

Skipper Furnishings, Business Development Head, Vishal Jain says that by 2018, the home furnishing market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8 per cent to reach US $5.29 billion. According to him, “China, India and USA, in that order, are the largest markets for home furnishings globally. With advent of real estate, the growth in this industry is unbeatable.”

IMAGES Business Of Fashion takes a quick look at the current trends in home furnishings and the players that are dominating this burgeoning industry.

Resource: http://www.indiaretailing.com/

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DoneThing.com, An On Demand Personal Assistant Service, Raises $300K of Funding from Brand Capital

Done nothing, an on-demand personal assistant service, has announced that it has received $300,000 of funding from Brand Capital which will be used for geographical growth and service expansion. Brand Capital is the investment arm of media conglomerate Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd. and has helped build over 850+ indigenous brands into iconic brands through a sustained brand building effort, providing critical leverage for enterprise growth and value creation. They provide a platform for entrepreneurs to invest in, contribute to ‘Intellectual Capital’ thus supporting the creation of a brand strategy and planning media-spread to optimize value.

DoneThing, an affordable task management solution, is one of the most efficient productivity tool in the market to enhance user lifestyle. The start-up aim to revolutionise the way people delegate daily chores by making personal assistance easily available to the urban middle class. DoneThing has a strong operational wing, which helps them execute even the most cumbersome of tasks with ease. The company is focusing on unit economics and has been running operationally profitable since last 02 quarter. With a strong road-map of product enhancement and additions in features, DoneThing is sure to bring much value addition to their brand.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Karan Saharan, Co-Founder, DoneThing said “We are constantly on the look-out for innovative ways to enhance the user-experience and widen our offerings. Our vision is to change the way people spend their time, giving them the power to do more via delegation. We intend to give them access to a support system, available at their disposal to carry out the mundane tasks, thus freeing up their time to focus on the bigger things in life. With this fresh round of funding we are aiming at a two-pronged approach: a) tapping newer geographies (like Bangalore & Mumbai) and b) making our presence in the Delhi NCR market more robust. This deal is a precursor to the bigger funding round to follow.”

This investment is a significant step in propelling the brand to newer heights with core focus on brand building and leveraging the media publications for advertising under the Times Group. The company intends to go aggressive in print, radio & digital thereby increasing their customer base, building brand awareness and encourage service trials. The company projects 700% growth in revenues for the FY 2017-18.

Brand Capital’s spokesperson said “DoneThing addresses a very interesting problem and has a huge market to cater to. The team is a unique mix of professionals from different backgrounds. They have done a stupendous job in building the product and got a good traction in the business. We are convinced that this team will go a long way in profitably scaling up DoneThing.”

Founded in 2015 by Karan Saharan, Chetan Agarwal, Sonal Saraogi, and Rohit Pansari, the start-up raised $230,000 from Hong Kong based Swastika Co Limited in March 2016. DoneThing was launched with an aim to introduce an on-demand task management solution fulfilling customer's daily needs. Moreover, this creative platform aids customers to get anything picked/dropped within the city, source items from market, outsource their daily tasks, find neighbourhood service professionals and home services all under one roof.

Resource: http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in
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Havmor Ice Cream ​to invest Rs. 200 cr ​for expansion

Gujarat-based Havmor Ice Cream​ plans to invest about Rs. 200 crore for expanding its footprints in South and North markets over the next 3 years​ and also set up its third manufacturing unit​.​ ​

Havmor is available across 14 states ​across the country and claims to be the second largest ice-cream manufacturer in India.​ The company plans to open 250 exclusive ice cream parlours and ​​close to ​reach about ​50,000 retail outlets by the end of FY 18.

Havmor has now officially launched its first new production facility outside of Gujarat with a state of the art facility in Faridabad adding a capacity of 25000 litres of ice-cream per day. Havmor intends to scale this facility up further to over 1 la​kh litres per day with a combined output of over ​​3 la​kh​ litres per day. Today,

Havmor continues to expanding its operations through various retail partnership and ice-cream parlours in its six newest territories including Delhi NCR, Haryana, UP in northern markets and in southern markets namely Hyderabad in Telangana, other centers in Andhra Pradesh, and recently in Karnataka.

Ankit Chona, MD Havmor said​, “Havmor is working on a greenfield project to develop a state of the art manufacturing unit in South India within the next 3 years​ that will cater to the South India market and aide further expansion.​"​

These new investments ​would also help the company achieve a Rs. 1000 crore turnover by 2020​, the company said in a statement. ​

Havmor’s strategic business focus and growth plan aims at exploring newer markets and strengthening its presence across India with an aggressive expansion plan which includes ​Chokna further added, "Out of the top FMCG ice cream brands in India, Havmor is the only ice cream company which is not owned by a dairy cooperative and yet since inception it has only made pure milk ice creams. However, various brands make both ice creams and frozen desserts and so we believe customers need to know what they are consuming. An internal survey conducted revealed that consumer awareness levels are far lower in distinguishing frozen dessert and ice cream. As an ice cream producer, we would like to spread the awareness about the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert. We will soon be rolling out a 360 degree campaign to spread that awareness.”

Resource: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

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Dr Lal Pathlabs' strong brand and network keep it in the pink of health

In a fragmented and highly competitive Indian diagnostics market, Dr Lal Pathlabs has held its own on the back of a growing pan-India network, a scalable hub-and-spoke model and, most importantly, a strong brand. India’s oldest private diagnostics company, however, took its time expanding its network since it first set up a clinical laboratory in Delhi in 1951.

Back then, private pathology clinics were rare and most people visited government hospitals for tests. “In the 1950s, when my father managed our laboratory, it used to get four-five patients a day and by the 1970s, the number increased to 30. Today, we get 40,000 patients a day,” says Arvind Lal, chairman and managing director of Dr Lal Pathlabs.

After confining itself to the National Capital Region for the most part, it took an aggressive expansion path to generate higher volumes, especially after 2005. The company’s expansion could not have come at a better time, as it caught the industry shift towards diagnostics, driven by higher incomes, greater awareness about preventive healthcare and an increase in the incidence of lifestyle-related ailments. Not surprisingly, the diagnostics industry, which had revenues of Rs 37,700 crore in 2014-15, is expected to hit Rs 60,000 crore in 2017-18.

What is helping national players such as Dr Lal is that 85 per cent of the market is held by unorganised standalone diagnostic centres, which are losing out to the better-established lab chains. In fact, Dr Lal has used the acquisition route to consolidate its presence, and since 2008 it has bought eight small, standalone diagnostic companies.

One of the key areas of expansion was the rapid growth in patient service centres (PSC) which act as collection centres for its regional and national reference laboratory. PSCs doubled from 824 in 2012-13 to 1,559 in 2015-16. The growth of PSCs led to higher patient growth — from 7.7 million in 2012-13 to 12 million in 2015-16. This helped the company grow its revenues by 10 times between 2004-05 and 2014-2015, with the last four years accounting for the major chunk of growth, at an annual rate of 19 per cent. Dr Lal, which gets 96 per cent of its revenues from diagnostics, posted sales growth of 20 per cent in 2015-16, while profits grew at double that rate.

Given the revenue sharing arrangement with the PSCs (franchisees), the company has expanded with minimum capital investments, enhanced its brand presence, improved volumes and asset utilisation, as well as negotiated better with suppliers to lower input costs.

In addition to the PSCs, the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) in Delhi and 171 satellite labs across the country also play a critical role in managing the volumes generated by an India-wide network. “This helped us collect over 22 million samples from about 12 million patients,” says Lal, who is the recipient of the Padma Shri award and was also appointed honorary physician to the President in 2001. The company, which gets about 70 per cent of its revenues from the northern region, has benefited by setting up the NRL in 2010. This strengthened its presence in the market in the NCR region.

Given its leadership and bouquet of offerings as well as its expansion in the Uttar Pradesh belt, analysts expect Dr Lal’s north India business to generate above-market growth of 18 per cent a year over the next five years, and contribute about two-thirds of the company’s top line. However, other regions should show a strong uptick, on a lower base. After the northern market, eastern India is to be the next growth driver.

Resource: http://www.business-standard.com

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Delhi’s Citykart Retail plans Rs100 crore fundraising for expansion drive

Mumbai: Delhi-based Citykart Retail (SSR Retail Kart Pvt. Ltd), which operates a fashion retail chain in north and east India, is looking to raise around Rs100 crore in growth capital funding to expand its store network, a senior company executive said.

Citykart is promoted by Sudhanshu Agarwal, the company’s founder and chief executive who was previously associated with private equity fund TPG Capital-owned retail business TPG Wholesale (Vishal Mega Mart) and Vishal Retail Ltd.

Citykart, which currently operates 18 stores, sells clothes, accessories and footwear for men, women and children. Its average store size is 8,000-10,000 sq. ft.

“So far, all the growth that we have seen has been through funds generated from the company and from promoter contributions. We don’t have any bank debt in the company as of today. We have been growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 30-40%,” said Agarwal. Citykart expects to close the current financial year with sales of around Rs155 crore, he said.

The company is looking to bring in external capital from a partner who can help take the business to the next level, he said. Citykart has appointed Delhi-based boutique investment bank Coralbay Advisors to help raise capital.

“The industry is picking up again. For some time the e-commerce story was overshadowing the brick-and-mortar retail story. However, given D-Mart’s successful IPO (initial public offering) recently, investors are again keen on the retail space,” Agarwal said.

Citykart envisages setting up 25-30 new stores every year, which would take its store count to over 150 in five years, he added.

“The company has sufficient resources to open 7-8 stores every year on its own. But if we take external capital on board we can open up to 25-30 stores each year. The funding for these stores will be partly from external capital and (partly) from internal sources,” said Agarwal.

The firm’s focus area is fashion retail, he said, unlike larger retailers such as D-Mart which focus heavily on groceries.

“We are into fashion retail, we don’t do grocery. Margins in apparel business are higher, while grocery is a very low-margin business. There is still a huge scope for growth for fashion retail, especially in the smaller cities and towns, where you see a lot of unorganized fashion retailers,” Agarwal said.

About 80-85% of Citykart’s revenue comes from apparel. Its geographical focus is tier II and tier III cities and smaller towns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, with a focus on the lower middle class. The average ticket size is Rs700 per customer.

Changing demographics make the UP, Bihar and east India regions attractive for retail businesses, according to Amit Gupta, founder of Coralbay Advisors.

“This is the most populous part of the country and highly under-penetrated in terms of organized retail in tier II and III cities and towns. With rising incomes, people now do not want to travel to larger cities to meet their need for fashion retail,” he said.

Fashion retail has seen several large private equity investments in the recent past.

In October 2016, leading textile and branded apparel company Arvind Ltd raised Rs740 crore by selling a 10% stake in its brand business arm to Renuka Ramnath-led private equity (PE) firm Multiples Private Equity.

Earlier in August, US-based PE firm TA Associates Management Lp invested $140 million for a minority stake in TCNS Clothing Co. Pvt. Ltd, a leading women’s apparel platform that sells popular fashion brand ‘W’.

In February, Premji Invest, an existing investor in Fabindia, bought an additional 8% stake in the company from existing investor L Capital for around Rs360 crore.

The Indian consumption story has attracted other major PE funds too such as Everstone Capital, Warburg Pincus and US fund General Atlantic who have invested in brands such as Ritu Kumar, Biba Apparels Pvt. Ltd and Anita Dongre’s firm House of Anita Dongre.

Resource: http://www.livemint.com

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Grandiose Upcoming Event, FFW- FREAK FIGHTING WRESTLING

Grandiose event company is organizing FFW (freak fighting wrestling) event on 9^th April ‘ 2017 in METRO WALK , ROHINI , SEC-10. Freak Fighter Wrestling is a professional wrestling sports entertainment firm established with the sole aim to benefit the budding Indian wrestlers from modest backgrounds. This will be a new dimension in sports and entertainment industry of India. It was established in 2010 & till now we have successfully done 15 wrestling events. “FFW (FREAKFIGHTER WRESTLING)” strives to bring out the best wrestlers from all sections of the society and give them much needed pedestal for success. This will be a new dimension in sports and entertainment industry of India. Grandiose-Event Management Company focus on the corporate market, we dedicate equal attention to brands expansion, franchising or events. We incorporate originality and creativity to enhance the event experience, and create inspiring, exhilarating celebrations. We, Grandiose, helps our clients to achieve their objectives through the development and execution of customized special events. It involves exploring the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, and coordinating the technical aspects before actually launching the event. Grandiose will try to keep this alive by updating you with news, random content and opportunities. Don’t miss your opportunity to meet your favourite superstars at FFW FREAK FIGHTING WRESTLING organized by GRANDIOSE.

For Further query regarding this contact us on  :- http://grandiose.org.in

Kawasaki to announce new products for India on March 25

Kawasaki will announce their 2017 line-up for India on March 25, with reports suggesting that the Japanese bike-makers could either update their current line-up or introduce new models. However, Kawasaki has not revealed much details, we expect Kawasaki to bring in some new products for India with an eye on getting back in the segment. Kawasaki recently launched the Ninja ZX10RR in India for Rs 21.9 lakh (ex showroom, New Delhi).

Now, Kawasaki has big plans for India as the company is to launch new important models. According to reports, Kawasaki will bring in the updated 2017 Ninja 300 and 2017 Ninja 650. Moreover, Kawasaki could also introduce the new Z650 and Z900 and replace the ER-6n and the Z800 respectively in India.

Apart from this, reports also suggest that Kawasaki could also introduce the W800 retro-styled motorcycle, which the company had showcased in Pune last year. However, contradictory media reports say that Kawasaki has dropped the plant to introduce the W800 completely in India for reasons unknown.

We had earlier reported that the company is mulling to bring in the W800 cruiser, which is a throwback to the classic motorcycles of the bygone era. The W800 was first introduced in 2007 and is at the end of its life cycle in Europe, where it will be discontinued this year due to stringent emission norms.

Resource: http://indiatoday.intoday.in

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Maruti to go for four new product launches in 2017-18

Out of the four products, two will be new models and two will be upgrades.

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to introduce four new products next fiscal.

The company, which has been bringing about two new products each year in the past couple of years, is accelerating the introduction with an eye to strengthen its hold in the market.

“We had earlier announced that we would bring 15 models by 2020. We have done eight so far. As part of the plan, in the next fiscal, we will have four launches,” Maruti Suzuki India Executive Director (marketing and sales) R S Kalsi told PTI here on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor show.

Out of the four, he said, two will be new models and two will be upgrades.

The company will launch the all-new third generation Swift, which was unveiled here, in India in the spring of 2018.

The company is also gearing up for the upgraded version of its premium cross over X—Cross later this year.

Kalsi, however, declined to share details of the upcoming products.

Asked about growth expectations in the new fiscal, he said the market is poised for growth and the company’s will be faster than the industry’s.

“We have been growing at a good rate in the past five years and next fiscal, we are sure of a double—digit growth,” Kalsi said.

So far in April to February, the company has sold around 13 lakh units, he added.

On whether the company is aiming to have 50 per cent market share, up from the current 47 per cent, he said: “For us, what is important is growing faster than the industry.”

Resource: `http://www.thehindu.com

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Cisco launches its first ‘Make in India’ product

New Delhi: Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday unveiled one of the most popular products in its switching portfolio as the company’s first “Make in India” product.

Minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said at the launch that he had requested Cisco’s executive chairman John Chambers to manufacture products in India.

“This product will help Internet in office space and other places and it is a clear mark of digitizing India by Make in India,” Prasad said. The product has a label that says “Digitizing India by making in India”.

This product is fundamental to network connectivity and a key enabler to the vision of Digital India, and can be used by small and medium businesses across multiple industries. The product is priced at under $1,500, a company spokesperson said.

“Five months ago, we launched our India manufacturing operations. Today we are excited to unveil our first Made in India product and deliver on our commitment to support the government’s Make In India initiative,” said John Kern, senior vice-president of supply chain operations and India executive sponsor at Cisco.

“We see today as a milestone in India’s journey to becoming a global hub for electronics manufacturing. India is a source of tremendous innovation for Cisco—across engineering, business functions and now, manufacturing,” Kern added.

An expert said, given the fact we are lagging behind in overall infrastructure, the importance of manufacturing to cater to infrastructure development cannot be undermined.

“Even as the government is actively investing on rural and infrastructural development, the country is still to see big capital investments for creating new capacity,” said S.V. Sukumar, partner and head of industrial manufacturing of KPMG in India. “India may become a regional hub but not a manufacturing hub for the world. Global companies are looking at manufacturing in India to serve India and neighbouring nations.”

Resource: http://www.livemint.com

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Tibetan Medical Center Launches New Products in Delhi

New herbal products were launched at the celebration of the 56th anniversary of the Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute) held at Tibetan Colony at Majnu ka Tilla in Delhi on March 23, 2017.

The chief guest of the function, Kasur Ngodup Drongchung, the representative of the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, launched the herbal products.

The herbal products are of syrups for cold and flu, cough and lung congestion, hair oil for dandruff, and dental soothers.

The Men-Tsee-Khang has four clinics, one wellness center (massage center), and one export cum coordination office in Delhi with 41 medical and non-medical staff including eight doctors.

Resource: http://www.voatibetanenglish.com

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A desi sportswear brand is running to catch up with Nike, Adidas and Puma

NEW DELHI: What is common between Mary Kom, Sardar Singh, Vijender Singh, Sushil Kumar, the Indian hockey team, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal? 

All of them use a brand, Shiv-Naresh, that has been expanding quietly in the Indian sportswear market. 

Based in West Delhi’s Karampura, the company's showroom and office do not come anywhere close to its illustrious competitors like Nike, Adidas and Puma. Yet it has managed to carve out a special place for itself in the market. 

Based in West Delhi’s Karampura, the company's showroom and office do not come anywhere close to its illustrious competitors like Nike, Adidas and Puma. Yet it has managed to carve out a special place for itself in the market. 

Shiv-Naresh clocked a turnover of Rs 69 crore last year, a puny amount when compared to Adidas India's revenues of Rs 805 crore for the year ended March 2015. But the way Shiv-Naresh has made quick inroads into sports circles is unusual for a brand of its size. 

The reason behind its popularity with sportspersons and teams is its 75-year-old chairman and founder RK Singh, who has himself been an athlete. He remembers how he had to go to Patiala to buy the right kind of shorts when he was young. 

This and other similar experiences led him to set up Shiv-Naresh. He devised a clever strategy by directly targeting sportspersons since being an athlete himself he knows what exactly they want. Due to this strategy, his brand is visible now at both national sports associations and local sports clubs and akharas. 

“We have always believed in providing our sportspersons with the best-quality apparel. I have myself been a sportsperson. I started this company with my wife Kusum in 1980 and, at present, we employ around 600 people,” RK Singh says with a sense of satisfaction. 

The firm is named after his two sons—Shiv and Naresh. The elder, Shiv, looks after marketing and sales, while Naresh is in charge of production. He set up a small factory-cum-shop in 1987 and till 1991, operations were carried out from there. When demand increased, the factory was shifted to a larger place at Samaypur Badli on the outskirts of Delhi. After that, there was no looking back for Shiv-Naresh as it became the go-to brand for athletes across sporting disciplines. 

Shiv-Naresh now boasts of five factories and a strong presence on e-commerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart. 

But doesn’t he feel that his firm has somehow not been able to tap the urban youth? 

“Yes, I agree that we haven’t been too aggressive on the marketing front but in the past we never felt that there was a need to do that. All the players and sports bodies are aware of our products. Players at the grassroots as well as international level use our products. So we never thought it necessary to advertise our products." 

“But after we started our association with movies, we realised the potential of the medium and with social media’s importance increasing every day, we have decided to focus on our marketing,” RK Singh says. 

“Everyone knows us in the Indian sports fraternity. But the common man is not aware that a brand like Shiv-Naresh exists which manufactures quality apparel at affordable prices. We have been associated with Hindi movies as a sponsor for the past three years. We started with the Priyanka Chopra-starrer 'Mary Kom' and our latest association was with 'Azhar', for which we have got good mileage,” Shiv says. 

Shiv reveals they are going to venture into manufacturing shoes from next year. “What separates us from Nike and Adidas is that we are not present in the shoes segment. Once we get into it, we will have more advantage in pushing our products with distributors and gain new customers,” he says. 

They are ambitious and know their game but can they give the likes of Adidas, Nike and Puma a run for their money? 

“As an emerging Indian sportswear brand, Shiv-Naresh has been smart in leveraging the growing popular culture of sports in India over the past 10 years. India will emerge as a global sporting power in the next two decades, and it is an extraordinary opportunity for both Indian and international sportswear brands to capitalise on. 

"Shiv-Naresh is a brand at the right time, right place. As a brand, it appeals to the young emerging citizens of India who are price sensitive yet seek stylish sportswear,” says Saurabh Uboweja, brand strategist and CEO, Brands of Desire. 

The retailers are also satisfied with Shiv-Naresh products and have good things to say about the brand. 

"Shiv-Naresh products are always in demand. They are giving tough competition to more established brands like Nike, Reebok and Adidas. Since it is locally made and less expensive, we find it easier to sell their products. 

"The quality of their products is also top-notch," says a salesperson at Bajaj & Company, a leading sports retail chain in New Delhi. 

But does the sportswear segment, dominated by global giants, have much space for a desi company? Pinakiranjan Mishra, National Leader (Retail & Consumer Products) at EY, says the sector has huge growth potential as sports in India becomes more popular. "The Indian sportswear market is roughly Rs 7,500 crore, out of which around 40% is accounted by sports apparel. This sector has the potential to grow further in future," Mishra says. 

This indicates if Shiv-Naresh sharpens its brand and ramps up distribution, it won’t be long before it snaps at the heels of Nike, Adidas and Puma. Shiv-Naresh has shown that with unflinching belief and the right strategy, Indian companies in segments dominated by global giants can also dream big. 

Resource: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Non-fizzy drinks make up 35-45% of Coca-Cola’s business: Venkatesh Kini

New Delhi: With rapid urbanization, Coca-Cola India sees a big opportunity for its products in small towns. With a clutch of new product launches, Venkatesh Kini, president of India and South West Asia for the soft drinks maker, spoke about the company’s expansion in the non-carbonated drinks category, goods and services tax (GST) and the problems it faced in Tamil Nadu. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Which summer products have you launched?

We just launched Aquarius which is one of my favourite products in the portfolio. I do a lot of running. It’s great for replenishing. It’s actually a brand that originated in Spain and Japan and now sold in other parts of the world. We have also expanded Minute Maid in multiple flavours and introduced the coconut water Zico.

This is the first year when you have launched multiple products in the non-carbonated products segment. Is the consumer turning away from carbonated beverages?

To be honest, the pace of launch of beverages has increased. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that the speed at which the government approvals come now is much faster. Earlier it was a very complex system. But the new government has done a great job revamping the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) and the way it works. It’s a much more progressive dispensation. Earlier it used to take two years to get an approval for a product launch. Now it takes a few months.

But are consumers going for non-carbonated drinks?

The reality is globally we have announced our intent to become a total beverage company. It’s also recognising that consumers have multiple needs through the day—from juice to soft drinks to coffee. We have actually got the widest range of beverages worldwide. In India, we first had to build both the front-end capability and the backend manufacturing capabilities. We have put up five new factories in the last five years and multiple new lines in existing factories and most of them to produce juices and still beverages. With the infrastructure ready now, we are able to accelerate the pace of launches.

So one is where the consumer is going, second is where our infrastructure capability is and the third is the regulatory environment that’s enabling and supporting that.

Do you expect revenue from non-carbonated drinks to exceed that from carbonated drinks?

If that’s where consumer goes, we will be perfectly happy with it. If consumers vote with their wallets for products like Aquarius, then that is what we will sell and expand. And if they vote for juices, then we will sell that. So we are going to follow the consumers as opposed to saying that we want to sell one product or the other.

Today we are not making a choice for consumers. There is place for all of these products but personally speaking, there’s nothing to beat a chilled refreshing Coke, Thums Up or Sprite on a hot day but that doesn’t mean there is no role for everything else . If there is a big role for carbonated drinks then there is an equally big role, if not bigger, for a variety of non-carbonated drinks. Today, about 35-40% of our business is from non-carbonated portfolio.

So you are building a non-fizzy drinks portfolio.

What percentage of our business do you think comes from brand Coca-Cola today? Less than 10%. We have a diverse portfolio in India. Sprite is our largest brand. It is lime and lemon, no artificial flavours or preservatives.

But it’s still sugar.

We have a Sprite zero also if sugar is a concern. Though I want to point out that the amount of sugar in our beverages is not as high as you may think. A can of 180ml ThumsUp has less than 80 calories. You get more calories than that from most packaged foods. Our all beverages put together make for about 1% of total sugar consumption in India. So sugar from our beverages is not really a major concern in consumer’s mind.

Are you happy with the 15% cap on soft drinks in GST?

GST is the best thing that could happen to the country in terms of reforms. As far the beverage industry is concerned, what we are looking forward to from the government is a taxation policy and GST which makes it a level-playing field based on the content of the product. So the higher the sugar content, the higher the tax rate and the lower the sugar content, lower the tax rate. This is what we would hope and expect from the government. So, the cess of 15% on top of 28% will be applied to certain products. And products with lower sugar or zero sugar should be at a lower rate.

Which market are you betting on urban or rural?

Rural has always been growing faster for many years. The last two years, in 2014 and 2015, we saw a dip in rural demand because of poor monsoon. Last year, the monsoon was good but demonetization effect outweighed the monsoon effect. We are optimistic that rural demand will pick up now.

The big growth that we see is in small towns or the mid-tier markets, which are neither rural nor metro. Those towns are showing tremendous growth potential. As urbanization in India continues to accelerate, the biggest beneficiaries will be tier-II towns. As metros are becoming more expensive to live in and crowded, and as states invest more in their development, there’s a lot of other urban centres that are beginning to pick up in terms of growth. There’s a steady stream of people moving into urban areas and that is consistent with the global trend. World over, urbanization is a trend and even in India, it is a natural trend. Also, the quality of life for new urbanites is improving a lot in the tier-II towns.

What is the progress in Tamil Nadu where foreign soft drinks brands have been boycotted by traders?

The concerns in the minds of traders in Tamil Nadu regarding their state and the issues they face are genuine. Unfortunately they associated those concerns with our industry. We engaged with them and tried to understand why they have concerns with our industry. I think it’s not enough just to be a good corporate citizen. You need to get far more involved with the local issues faced by local communities. We have invested significant amount in water projects across the country and even in Tamil Nadu we buy 50,000 tonnes of mangoes from Tamilian farmers. There’s a lot of things that we do. We have not done a good job of communicating that with the stakeholders. And when we engaged and started communicating that look this is what we are and this is the role we play, the dialogue started and it is actually a positive dialogue.

I won’t say that the issue is completely resolved but there is a much better appreciation of the role we play in the local economy. Ninety-five per cent of what we produce in India is made in India.

How big is the India market for you?

India is the sixth largest market for Coca-Cola globally in volume terms. Ten years ago, it was No. 19. Our aim is to make India one of the biggest markets over the next decade. Our declared vision is for it to be among the top 5 by 2020. We think we’ll beat that and want to be more aggressive going forward. India has the potential to be the growth engine of the global economy and all industries will benefit from that.

Resource: http://www.livemint.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Apollo Health to expand network pan-India

Hyderabad: Apollo Health & Lifestyle Limited (AHLL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (AHEL) is planning to expand its network across India across verticals.

The company runs the largest chain of standardised primary healthcare models- multispecialty clinics under the brand “Apollo Clinics” in India and the Middle East, Diabetes management clinics – Apollo Sugar and Diagnostic Centres – Apollo Diagnostics. The company also operates specialty formats – Apollo Cradle for women & child, Apollo Fertility for fertility treatments, Apollo Dialysis and Apollo Spectra for planned surgery.

AHLL which had 18 diagnostic labs last year has taken the number to 42 at present and plans to have over 70 labs by the end of March next year. The company has 135 collection centres at present and will have over 250 by next year. By April this year there will be six in vitro fertilisation (IVF) centres operational. There will be expansion in Cradle operations too. Both in Spectra and Dental space, the company has aggressive plans to grow.

Specialty-centric

AHLL CEO Neeraj Garg told Telangana Today, “There are four major trends that we see in retail healthcare. Time is money. Patients who are consumers need access to quality health care. They want specialty care. Specialties are emerging such as diabetes, women and child care and fertility. Apollo Cradle is redefining women and child care. Consumers are becoming brand conscious. They first see which hospital and then which doctor now. Retail healthcare is seeing a lot of new dynamics. ”

In the Diabetes care segment, the company has explored a new model wherein the company has partnered with non-Apollo Group hospitals to expand its presence. In Vijayawada, it has partnered with Andhra Hospitals. The company has also introduced a Sugar app that helps patients with better healthcare management. The company is implementing this strategy in Apollo Clinics space as well.

AHLL is helping the Central government is screening diabetes. It screens 24,000 people every month nationally. There is also some effort in the dialysis space in public private partnership route. Apollo is also contributing telemedicine at community service centres level. An Apollo entity is also helping build skill capabilities.

Within Apollo Group, across 400 locations across formats, nurse and technician training is imparted. Teams should also have quality systems to follow across functionalities. Efforts are also being made in soft skills space too. Teams should also have quality systems to follow across functionalities. “Also the staff should show empathy and as they deal with patients or caregivers, they should have soft skills,” he adds.

Geographic growth

In terms of the geographic expansion strategy, he said, the company has presence in diagnostics in Telangana, AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “We are going to tap smaller towns. We have covered South. We will expand to East. We have opened in Kolkata and Asansol, and we will cover entire East in next one year and then foray into North. For cradle, we will have a city-approach. We have presence in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Amritsar and Pune. We may add more Cradles in Delhi and Punjab. In the Sugar segment, we are everywhere and we will have pan-India presence,” Garg informed. The company will expand its operations in the GCC nations in the diabetes space and will be mostly partnership-based.

Process systems

Apollo Health is building quality and process systems. Spectra business is built out of Nova Specialties acquisition two years ago. The clinical pathways and processes had been constantly improved. Two NABH accreditations had been received at Apollo Cradle and five more to come in three months, four diagnostic labs have received NABL accreditations.

Apollo is also voluntarily collating information on hospital infections and will release data in next six months.

Funding

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested recently into AHLL upto Rs 450 crore by picking up a 29 per cent stake. IFC has been providing guidance on several aspects that include best practices in healthcare, project designs and fire safety measures.

“In next five years, there will be requirement for additional funding beyond IFC’s investment. We could evaluate the financial needs in the next two years. We are yet to decide whether it will be through debt or equity,” he informed.

Resource: http://telanganatoday.news

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Fastrack to launch its first smart band in India soon: Sources

The wearable will be available across all Fastrack stores and multi-brand outlets

NEW DELHI: Popular watch brand Fastrack has decided to enter the smart wearables segment. The company has revealed to Gadgets Now that it will be soon launching its first smart band in India.

Fastrack's new smart band will come in three color variants - Purple, Blue and Black. The wearable will be available across all Fastrack stores and multi-brand outlets. As per rumors, the smart band will be priced somewhere between Rs 1,995 and Rs 2,995.

Apart from standard smart band features like step counter and sleep tracker, Fastrack's upcoming wearable will have trendy and fashionable design. It will let users make and receive phone calls and SMS alerts.

Earlier this month, an online claimed that ZTE is also working on its first-ever smartwatch. The wearable is likely to be called Quartz.

The device will run on Google's Android Wear 2.0 platform and is expected to come with Wi-Fi and 3G support. Connectivity options will enable users to access data and take calls using the smartwatch.

Bearing model number ZW10, it is expected that the company might unveil the wearable at the upcoming MWC 2017. No other details about the alleged smartwatch are available so far.

Resorce: http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Motorola launches 5th generation Moto G5 Plus at Rs 14,999

NEW DELHI: Motorola today launched the fifth generation of its best-selling Moto G series -- Moto G5 Plus -- in the Indian market at a price of Rs 14,999 onwards.

Motorola will make available two versions -- 3GB RAM/16GB memory and 4GB RAM/32GB memory -- for Rs 14,999 and Rs 16,999 respectively. These will go on sale from tonight on Flipkart.

Equipped with a full metal design, faster processor and better camera functionality, the Moto G5 will compete with handsets from Xiaomi, Micromax as well as those from the stable of its parent -- Lenovo.

"This is our biggest franchise and the fastest selling as well. India is one of the first markets globally where we are launching the Moto G5 Plus," Motorola Mobility India Managing Director, Sudhin Mathur, told reporters here.

The Moto G series cumulatively has so far sold 6 million units in India, he added.

He said that the company will introduce Moto G5 -- the base model -- in India in the coming weeks.

The device was unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month. The Moto G5 Plus features a 5.2-inch display, 2Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core processor, up to 4GB RAM, removable storage of up to 128GB, 12MP rear and 5MP front cameras and 3,000 mAh battery.

At the end 2016, Lenovo and Motorola had 8.9 per cent share of the Indian smartphone market, as per research firm IDC.

The Indian smartphone market has seen a significant shift in the last few quarters with homegrown brands being pushed out of the top five positions by Chinese brands like Lenovo, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

Motorola's e-commerce partner, Flipkart, has introduced a Buyback Guarantee programme. "Under this programme, the company guarantees to buy back smartphones that have been sold to consumers, at an assured price that provides consumers huge value, while helping them to upgrade/ buy the next smartphone of their choice on Flipkart," Flipkart said. Terms and conditions will apply.

The programme will be available for free for users buying it in the first week of sale. Later, the programme will be available for Rs 1,199.

Resource: http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

BMW G310R India launch delayed; Likely to arrive by Q4, 2017

BMW G310R India launch has been delayed with reasons still being a mystery which is now believed to hit Indian market by the end of 2017.

BMW Motorrad revealed its naked roadster BMW G310R in the year 2015 which afterwards made some news at Delhi Auto Expo last year. The motorcycle was expected to hit Indian market next month, however, as per the report from BikeIndia, BMW Motorrad will be launching its smallest motorcycle by the last quarter of this year. The Bavarian bike maker has not clarified the reason for the delay, however, it will bringing bigger bikes to the market initially. The bike maker will be introducing R1200, K1600, R-NineT and S1000R as well as S1000RR which are believed to be priced competitively. In a bid to make an impact in the premium motorcycle space in India, the company aims to rival against Ducati, Kawasaki and Triumph. 

With the rumors doing rounds in the market, it is speculated that the bike manufacturer is unable to decide the price point of the bike which if priced too low could impact the brand image of the company. On the other hand, if priced too high, the bike may not attract the number of buyers the company is aiming. Another take on this is that the bike competitors are also retailed at very attractive price point. Moreover, the bike has been spotted numerous times in India while testing devoid of any camouflage as it was believed to be in the final stage of testing.

BMW’s most anticipated street fighter will be powered by a 313cc fuel injected, liquid cooled engine which can easily produce 33.5bhp of power @ 9500 rpm against the peak torque of 28Nm @ 7500 rpm that will come mated to a 6-speed transmission. This powerful motorcycle from BMW is claimed with a top speed of 145kmph. Other major highlights of BMW G310R are a multi-function instrument cluster, ABS and USD front forks.

In terms of features, the bike will be seen carrying TVS Draken inspired fuel tank, headlamp cluster, bigger radiator grille, single projector headlight, side mounted exhaust system and much more. Likely to be priced in the bracket of INR 2 lakh – INR 2.75 lakh (ex-showroom), the upcoming street fighter is likely to be seen in two avatars – ABS and Non-ABS variants. Once launched, this street fighter will be taking on the rivals such as Kawasaki Z50, KTM Duke 390, Bajaj Dominar 400 and Benelli TNT300.

Resource: http://www.india.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

LeEco will not exit Indian market, to launch new products in 2017

Chinese handset maker LeEco today said that it would continue to launch new products in the smartphone and LED TV segments in 2017 while reiterating that it would not exit from the Indian market.

The company, which today strengthened its presence in the LED TV segment by launching three models under its new Super4 Series, said that it is aiming to corner at least double digit market share in the segment in FY 2017-18.

Besides, the company is also considering to foray in some new segments. However, it did not share the details.

He further added: "We did have some change in the strategy but we want to be consistent and have sustainable business in India. This is a long term strategy... We would streamline our operations here."

LeEco had registered total sales of Rs 1,400 crore last year. The company had sold above one million handsets and 12,000 units of smart TV in the domestic market.

"We are growing 45 per cent every year," said Li, adding "We would have double digit market share in the TV segment in FY 2017-18".

According to the company, this year TV market is expected to be around 11.2 million, in which the TV sets above 40 inch screen size would be around one million.

Besides, the company which has presence in smartphone and LED TV, has plans to expand its offerings in more segments. However, Li denied to share the inputs about the new segments in which the company has plans to foray in.

The company, which had last year applied for opening single brand retail shops in India from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), has no plans to open exclusive brand outlets in India.

"As of now, in 2017, we do not have any plans to open such exclusive outlets. The strategy has not been finalised yet," he said adding "We would go there only when we would know the business." 

LeEco would continue its offline retail presence in multi brand format besides strengthening its online presence.

"We would have some offline retail primarily for TVs and they would be with the partners which we have here." Besides, the company is also looking to invest into the new IT development region coming up in Pali, Rajasthan.

"I am very supportive of the current government policy... They are setting up manufacturing facilities in different regions. We have to utilise all the resources, it would develop our business here and we would avail all the opportunities in the market," he added.

Over the markets in next few years, Li said: "Phone business would be more competitive. India is the fastest country but the growth rates of countries as China has slowed down.I would see less players in next 3 years."

LeEco has priced its Super4 X40, Super4 X43 Pro and Super4 X50 series at Rs 46,990, Rs 63,990 and Rs 86,990 respectively. 

Resource: http://www.zeebiz.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

New Nokia 3310 launched along with Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 Android-based smartphones

Finland-based HMD Global announced the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 Android-based smartphones for global markets on Sunday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Nokia 3, the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 will globally be available for buying in Q2 2017 for 139 euros, 189 euros and 229 euros respectively. The company will also be offering the Nokia 6 in a limited Art (piano) black edition for 299 euros.

At the same time Nokia also launched a new Nokia 3310, the company's new take on an old classic. This phone is a feature phone made for Nokia fans and it will sell at a price of Euros 49.

The all-familiar Nokia 6 -- which was a China-exclusive until now -- is an all-metal smartphone -- boasting of 6000 series aluminium -- with chamfered edges and curved 2.5D Gorilla glass on the front. It has a physical home button on the front that also houses a fingerprint scanner, and is flanked by touch-based capacitive keys which are backlit. The power button and the volume rocker lie on the right, while the SIM card slot rests on the left. It comes with a standard Micro USB 2.0 port (and no USB C-Type) and also supports USB OTG.

Hardware specs include: a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor clubbed with 4gigs of RAM under the hood, and 64GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 128GB via microSD card slot. The speaker setup on-board the Nokia 6 comes with dual amplifiers and supports Dolby Atmos sound technology.

The Nokia 6, moreover, carries a 16-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and dual-LED flash. On the front, it comes with an 8-megapixel camera. The phone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery.

The Nokia 3 and the Nokia 5 are simply toned down versions of the Nokia 6. In a way, they can be seen as a more affordable Nokia 6 boasting of similar design, but, slightly different specs. While the Nokia 5 is a 5.2-inch phone, the Nokia 3 comes with a 5-inch screen.

The Nokia 5 is closer to the Nokia 6 in that it comes with a full-metal body and a front-mounted fingerprint scanner. It is also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor but gets 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory which is expandable. The Nokia 5 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Nokia 3, meanwhile, boasts of a polycarbonate body with an aluminium frame. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 processor clubbed with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory which is also expandable. The Nokia 3 sports 8-megapixel camera on the front as well as on the back.  

The Nokia 3, the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 6 will all run a vanilla version of Android Nougat and will be "pure, secure, and up to date," according to HMD Global. All the three smartphones will also come with Google's AI assistant inside.

Lastly, HMD Global, also announced a revamped version of the iconic Nokia 3310, in tune with the new generation. The Nokia 3310 which will be available in a bevy of eye-popping colours will also come with the retro classic hit: Snake out-of-the-box. And just so you know, it comes with 22 hours of battery life.

The refreshed Nokia 3310 comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA -- colour -- display and runs Series 30+ software inside. The dual-SIM feature phone comes with a 2-megapixel camera on the back and support for expandable memory via a dedicated microSD card slot. The Nokia 3310 will also be globally available for buying in Q2 2017 for 49 euros.

Resource: http://indiatoday.intoday.in

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Parle to launch Frooti Fizz, the first extension of the brand in 32 years

New Delhi: Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd is launching a fizzy version of Frooti—the first brand extension for the popular mango drink launched 32 years ago.

Frooti Fizz is an attempt to build on the success of the original fruit beverage, which is Parle Agro’s largest revenue earner, making up more than 60% of the company’s sales.

Frooti Fizz, priced at Rs15 for a 250 ml PET package, Rs30 for a 500 ml PET package and Rs25 for a 250 ml can, will be retailed across 1.2 million outlets of the estimated nine million outlets in the country, according to the firm.

Parle Agro has set for itself the target of increasing annual revenue to Rs5,000 crore by 2018, from Rs2,800 crore, said Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director and chief marketing officer.

The firm has experimented with a fizzy variant in the past. In 2005, it launched Appy Fizz—the country’s first fruit-based fizzy drink that has grown at more than 20% a year in the past five years.

“Parle Agro created the fruit plus fizz category in 2005 with the launch of Appy Fizz. Today, we hold maximum market share in this category. The launch of Frooti Fizz is a step towards taking this category to the next level. Mango continues to be India’s largest consumed fruit flavour and there’s space for the fizzy version of the mango drink in the market,” Chauhan said in an interview.

Parle Agro’s decision to launch Frooti Fizz, comes four months after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) set new standards for carbonated fruit beverages.

According to regulations, beverages with a fruit juice quantity below 10% but not less than 5%, and 2.5% in case of lime or lemon, should be called carbonated beverages with fruit juice.

FSSAI’s norms came about two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in September 2014, urged multinational carbonated beverages firms like Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. to mix natural fruit juices (at least 5%) in aerated beverages to help boost fruit sales for Indian farmers.

Firms lined up to launch carbonated fruit drinks even before FSSAI set the standards. In July 2016, Real juice maker Dabur India Ltd launched Real VOLO, a fizzy drink that has 20-25% fruit juice content. In February, Bisleri International launched Bisleri Pop, an aerated fruit-based drink, to re-enter the carbonated beverages market that it exited in 1993.

Coca-Cola India, the local arm of the American beverages maker, sells Fanta Green Mango, a carbonated drink that has 10.4% fruit content. Its rival PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd sells Nimbooz Masala Soda that has 5% lemon juice. 

The carbonated beverages category has experienced a decline in sales in recent years as juices and fruit-based drinks grew at a brisk pace.

In 2015, the juices category posted a volume growth of 20.06% and a value growth of 25.78% over the previous year.

Fizzy drinks, in the same period, grew 8.42% by volume and 10.82% by value, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

Next year, Parle Agro will get into new categories and launch products in its existing business lines. Besides Frooti and Appy, Parle Agro sells Bailey branded water and soda and Hippo branded snacks, among others. More than 81% of its revenue comes from beverages, while water accounts for about 12.5% and the remaining comes from food and other products, according to the company’s website.

The company will be spending about Rs100 crore on the launch of Frooti Fizz, including the marketing expenses, said Chauhan.

Some analysts are skeptical about the potential of Frooti Fizz. “It’s a bit surprising why the company is launching a fizzy version of a successful brand when the carbonated beverages market is witnessing slow growth. It could have, instead, looked at the fortified drinks segment. As an extension of a successful mass brand, it might work, but eventually, the company will have to focus on fortified drinks,” said Rajat Wahi, partner and head (consumer markets), at consulting firm KPMG in India.

Mango-based drinks account for the largest chunk of the juice-based drinks category in India. Coca-Cola’s Maaza, which the American firm acquired in 1993 from the Chauhan family-owned Parle Bisleri Ltd along with other brands such as Limca, Citra, Thums Up and Gold Spot, is still the market leader. Other brands in the category include PepsiCo India’s Slice and recent entrant Manpasand Beverages’ MangoSip.

Maaza led the Rs11,922 crore juices (up to 24% fresh juice content) market with a 36.1% share (retail volume), followed by Parle Agro’s Frooti (24% share) and PepsiCo’s Slice (22%) in 2016, according to data compiled by Euromonitor International.

Coca-Cola is targeting more than doubling annual sales of Maaza to $1 billion by 2023, from $400 million in 2015, Mint reported on 18 February 2016.

Resource: http://www.livemint.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/