Retail Insight as on 10th February 2010

March 10, 2010News for the Retail industry










Previous Issues

News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...



Spar outlines expansion plans

FreshPlaza

Spar International, the global symbol retailer, has confirmed the plans of its local venture in India to open 25 stores in the country by 2012. The retailer, which formed its current venture in India three years ago, is set to open its fourth store in the country next week.





Belgian crystals to make a comeback in india

Business Standard

Val Saint Lambert (VSL), which exported more than three quarters of its products to the palaces and mansions of the wealthy around the world, was bought over in 2008 by the Onclin family and is now looking to revive its old links with India. Towards the end of March, VSL's CEO will spend ten days in India. To begin with, the company will be looking for retailers to partner with in Mumbai.





Versace opens home-line store at IGI airport

mydigitalfc.com

Italian fashion house Versace will soon have its first standalone Versace home-line store at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Blues Clothing Company (BCC), the franchisee of Versace, signed a deal with the airport officials early this month.





Titan looks to strengthen Asian biz

Economic Times

Titan Industries is fortifying its presence abroad, especially in the south-east Asian markets. While the company's Rs 1,000-crore watch division made its foreign debut a few years ago, it is only now that it is being given a strong push outside India, mainly south-east Asia (including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines).





Cambridge Apparels to foray into women's formal wear

FashionUnited India (blog)

Popular menswear brand Cambridge Apparels is planning to diversify into the women's formal wear segment. That's not all. Cambridge is also expanding its store-network and pushing its new brand, Platinia across India. "We are making a foray into women's formal wear and the collection will be called 'Cambridge for Her'," said Prashant I Bhatia, Director, Cambridge Apparels.







Reliance Trends comes to Thane

MyNews.in

Reliance Trends, the apparel, luggage and accessories arm of the Reliance Retail Group, has opened its first store at Thane at Korum Mall. Recently, Reliance Trends announced its major expansion plan to open 100 stores by 2012 when it launched its first store at Chennai.





News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...





Ruci & Idoni gears for expansion

indiaretailing.com

The gourmet food and grocery retail chain, Ruci & Idoni, which currently runs two stores in Hyderabad, is set to expand its footprint. Mr. K.Vishnu Vardhan, Head, Operations, Ruci & Idoni said, "In the next six months, we will open the stores in cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai. We are planning to open over 20 stores in the cities including Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Pune and Kolkata, two years down the line."





Retail Trends



The luxury products market in India

Business Standard

The market opportunity for luxury products in India is estimated at $3 billion. This market is expected to grow at 25-30 per cent a year till 2015. A number of high-end international brands (such as Armani, Noraletto, Raymond Wiel and Burberry) have entered the Indian market through joint ventures with Indian retail players.







State-of-the-art stations

Deccan Herald

The Bangalore skyline will soon change beyond recognition, as the first phase of Namma Metro promises to roll out in January 2011. The stations will contain spaces for retail stores, fairs, street performances and exhibitions. There are even talks of one of the stations opening into a mall.







First generation woman entrepreneur of IPL merchandise

Economic Times

Thirty-year-old Gayathri Venugopalan, a first generation entrepreneur, is gung-ho about doing handsome business, selling CSK merchandise like key chains, binoculars, wallets, sports bottles, caps, T-shirts, mugs, fridge magnets, wrist bands, flag horns and other things with the CSK 'lion' mascot embossed on these.





One woman's dream to conquer and empower

Times of India

Student of Maulana Azad College, 19-year-old Aparna Banerjee had two options. She could drop out of college or fight it out and start fending for herself. Aparna was determined to realise her dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Her diligence soon paid off as she launched Project Sukanya a unique all-woman retail chain in 2007, selling everything from handicraft to eatables. "I will soon be starting an office in Dubai that will serve as a transit point between my India offices, Europe, USA and Africa.





Retail Insight



Leveraging Category Management to Achieve High Performance

Accenture



For anyone wishing to master category management, there are three key levers: First, understanding the business requirements. Second, optimizing your supplier relationships, and lastly, leveraging industry expertise