Arunima Mishra, Business Today Mumbai, February 11, 2014 When New York ice cream giant Haagen-Dazs entered China, it did not compete with other ice cream companies. Instead, it aligned itself with luxury brands. Kolkata-based Pabrai's Fresh & Naturelle Ice Creams is doing something similar. Instead of competing with rivals such as Amul and Kwality Walls, it positions itself as a relatively upscale brand. It supplies to five-star hotels such as the Marriott, Taj and ITC chains, and The Imperial in Delhi. It also supplies to high-end caterers in the national capital. Fresh & Naturelle's founder, Kunal Pabrai, is preparing to…
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Sharleen D'Souza, Business Standard Mumbai, February 8, 2014 The economic offences wing of the city police on Friday attached a brand belonging to P D Agro, in the National Spot Exchange (NSEL) payment default case. P D Agro owes Rs 637 crore. It is the first occasion in which the EOW has taken such an action. It was done under the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act. PD Agro, the third largest borrower from NSEL in the Rs 5,600-crore payments scam, owns Dunar Foods, a brand of rice which has a good name in northern India,…
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Sagar Malviya & Rasul Bailay, The Economic Times Mumbai/New Delhi, February 4, 2013 With a rotten economy and an unemployment rate of 26%, Spain's brand image may be in tatters, but not that of one particular Spanish brand - Zara. In India, where some of the best-known international labels have met their Waterloo, Zara has proven to be adept at selling fine feathers to the fashion-conscious. The world's most popular 'fast fashion' brand, Zara's Indian unit Inditex Trent - a joint venture between the brand's owner Inditex with Tata Group's retail arm Trent - has made profits in two out…
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Vaishnavi Bala, Financial Express Mumbai, February 3, 2014 It’s been close to two decades now but Levi Strauss India can’t seem to get the right fit. The apparel maker is watching its bottom line — losses in FY13 came in at Rs 161.7 crore — and is letting go of stores and vendors. In a big overhaul over the last 18 months, the iconic brand has shed more than 100 vendors with the base down to just 30, and 40 unviable outlets have also been shut. “Price rises coupled with low consumer sentiment thus impacted demand in the marketplace resulting…
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Tony Munroe, Reuters Mumbai, February 2, 2014 The Indian state of Rajasthan has barred foreign direct investment in supermarkets, an ominous sign for global retailers who covet India's vast but fragmented retail sector if the country's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power nationally in upcoming elections. The BJP is considered to be more investor-friendly than India's ruling Congress party but opposes foreign direct investment in supermarkets because of its impact on small shopkeepers. It unseated Congress in Rajasthan's state elections in December. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India criticized Rajasthan's policy reversal, made on…
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