Retail Insight as on 24th February 2010

February 24, 2010News for the Retail industry










Previous Issues

News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...



Mothercare gets nod to invest Rs 26 crore in DLF Brands JV

Economic Times

UK-based retail major, Mothercare on Tuesday received government approval to invest Rs 25.87 crore in a retail joint venture. The speciality retailer of maternity garments, baby clothes and equipment, will pick up a 30% stake in a joint venture with DLF Brands, the retail management arm of realty giant DLF.





Consolidation drive to come in handy

Economic Times

The Aditya Birla group is to streamline its large but fragmented garments and textile business. Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL), the holding company for the group's garment business, has kicked off the process to consolidate the garments and garments retail business under one umbrella.





Tommy Hilfiger set to add more stores

mydigitalfc.com

International fashion and lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger is bullish about its prospects in India and plans to expand into tier 2 cities and open more stores in the metros where it is already present."We want to ramp up the number of outlets to 85. At present, we have 50 retail st ores which we have opened so far since our India laun ch," Sh ailesh Chaturvedi, CEO and Director, Tommy Hilfiger Apparel India, said.





Ganjam jewellery for Japanese market

mydigitalfc.com

Indian jewellery is now going to be available in the land of Sushi. Ganjam, the Bangalore-ba­sed luxury jewellery maker, has joined hands wi­th Japan's Citizen Jewellery Company to foray into the Japanese market. The jewellery maker, whose products will be retailed through Citizen's stores, is aiming to enter the fashion markets of Italy and London.







Max Store Launches It's Spring Collection

Oneindia

Max, the value fashion brand from the Dubai based Landmark Group, maximizes the Spring Fashion fervour, with the launch of its new 'Spring Collection 2010'. Max, a division of Lifestyle International (P) Ltd., has pioneered the concept of 'value fashion retailing' in the country, thereby offering the value conscious customer a choice of variety without compromising on the quality.







HP unveils technology solutions for retail sector

The Hindu

Global IT major HP on Tuesday unveiled technology solutions for the retail sector and small and medium businesses, designed to cut costs and enhance customer experience. The retail technologies launched here include touch-enabled personal computers, point-of-sale systems, and LCD digital signages with an interactive display.





News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...





TESCO private labels enter India through TATA Star Bazaar deal

ImagesFood.com

Tesco has entered the Indian market, stocking its Tesco Value nappies at Star Bazaar outlets, according to international media reports. Tata Group, which owns Star Bazaar, plans to celebrate the supplier's arrival with a blaze of publicity.





FieldFresh Foods to invest Rs 200 cr in India operations

Business Standard

FieldFresh Foods, a joint venture between telecom-to-retail major Bharti Enterprises and the Del Monte Pacific arm, DMPL India, is looking to invest Rs 200 crore in setting up its first manufacturing plant in India as well as getting into backward integration. Sanjay Nandrajog, CEO, Field Fresh Foods, said, "We are investing Rs 100 crore in setting up a manufacturing unit in Hosur in Tamil Nadu."







Fresh bazaar war hots up

Calcutta Telegraph

A home-grown retail chain will soon bite into the fresh-produce pie of organised markets, locking horns with perishables giants like Reliance Fresh, Spencer's and More. Future Group has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Keventer Fresh Group to roll out a new line of perishables stores. Kicking off in Calcutta within a month, the chain has plans for an aggressive pan-India footprint.





BurgerMan to open 150 kiosks in Hyderabad

Business Standard

Chennai-based BurgerMan Foods India Private Limited is planning to add 150 food kiosks in Hyderabad by the end of the current calendar year, said its chief executive officer Sunil Cherian. "The company is expecting its turnover to touch Rs 5 crore this financial year, as against Rs 3 crore achieved last year," he added.





This is my dream project: Zaheer Khan

Daily News & Analysis

Cricketer Zaheer Khan, who owns a restaurant in Pune, is opening more branches in the city. He is also opening a sports cafe chain that will have outlets across the country. "This is my dream project and I will have a totally separate brand name for this cafe, because this is a separate business module that will have its presence in several key Indian cities," Zaheer said.





Retail Trends



PepsiCo's Vibha Rishi to join Future group

Economic Times

Former PepsiCo high-flyer, Vibha Paul Rishi is set to return to India after around seven years overseas and join Kishore Biyani's Future Group, potentially boosting the marketing firepower of India's top retail group. Several people familiar with the matter said that Ms Rishi, a veteran of India's Cola wars of the 1990s, would join the Future Group at the 'director level' in April.







Secrets of entrepreneurial success of 'India Inc' surface at Reliance TimeOut

India PRwire

Reliance TimeOut, the books, magazine and music specialty format of Reliance Retail in association with Research Press announced the release of India Inc. by Vikas Pota at Reliance TimeOut Ambiance Mall, Gurgaon. In India Inc. Vikas Pota looks at India's second wave of Indian entrepreneurs, who have followed in the footsteps of entrepreneurial giants and corporate superpowers like Tata, and have put India even more firmly on the world map.





'We hit the jackpot with Kolkata'

Kolkata Mirror

British photographer, Clare Arni, was recently in Kolkata for her exhibition Disappearing Professions in Urban India. The recent economic growth in India has made sweeping changes in the country, particularly its cities. Malls and chains are fast replacing the indigenous smaller stores. "I have attempted to document these disappearing professions in Bangalore, Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai during this age of rapid development," she said.





Retail Insight



'Changes in GST could create complete re-engineering opportunities'

Feb 9 2010, IndiaRetailNews.com

Geodis is Europe's fourth biggest logistics operator, a Group of global dimension, delivering added value logistics solutions for part or all of the supply chain. Present in 120 countries with a workforce of 26,500, the Group comprises core business divisions along with a cross-divisional entity - Geodis Global Solutions - which acts as a lead logistics provider in all sectors of activity. IndiaRetailNews.com caught up with Mathieu Renard Biron, Regional VP Asia Pacific, Rene Bach Larsen, MD India and Rajiv Singh, Global Account Manager recently in Mumbai.