Walk into high-fashion clothing chain Bijenkorf's outlet in Krasnapolski Square in Amsterdam's main shopping district and tick off the shirt brands on display. Armani, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Zodiac,... Zodiac? Doesn't quite gel here, does it? Bijenkorf does not think so. You will find Mumbai-based Zodiac Clothing Company's branded shirts jostling global brands for space even in its outlets in Holland's other big cities, Rotterdam and The Hague. In the UK, 130-odd Ciro Citterio classic menswear retail stores have placed Zodiac shirts next to Polestar shirts made by the UK-based Thomas Pink, considered the world's best shirt makers. Zodiac is…
CONTINUE READING
Priyanka Pani, The Hindu Businessline Mumbai, May 2, 2013 They are all over the place - on a hoarding, on the telly, on the radio, in the newspaper - ads caustically caricaturing South Indians, harping on their idiosyncrasies, mocking their mannerisms, their language, their accent. ‘Betterrr safe thaaaan saari’ goes the television campaign by travel portal GoIbibo, which has been criticised as being in “very bad taste” and “irritating” by many consumers for obvious reasons. A huge chunk of advertisements these days playing out on the idiot box are portraying South Indian stereotypes – they do not know about Holi,…
CONTINUE READING
Madhurima Nandy , MINT (A Wall Street Journal Partner) Bangalore, April 30, 2013 After focusing on consolidation and margin improvement for a year, apparel maker Raymond Ltd intends to return its sights to growth and higher profitability in the current fiscal year. Top Raymond executives sent out the signal in a conference call with analysts on Monday in which Raymond’s newly appointed chief financial officer M. Shivkumar indicated that the company’s net debt may go up by Rs.150-200 crore this financial year owing to the company’s capital expenditure plans. Around Rs.342 crore of debt is due for repayment in the…
CONTINUE READING
Amrita Roy, Ankita Rai & Masoom Gupte, Business Standard New Delhi/ Mumbai April 29, 2013 On an unremarkable day in 1991, Ramnath Nalli, grandson of Nalli Chinnasami Chetty, who set up the first Nalli Silk store in Chennai in 1928, decided to check out if there was a market for Kanjivaram silk saris in the country's fashion capital. He organised an exhibition-cum-sale of its products at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan and showcased an exquisitely crafted range carefully picked from his enviable repertoire. The event was a sell-out, and spurred him on to step out of his stronghold and set up…
CONTINUE READING
Vishal Krishna, Businessworld Bangalore, April 25, 2013 Despite the gloom about the slow growth of the Indian economy, Renuka Jagtiani, vice-chairperson of the $4-billion Landmark Group is remarkably upbeat about its immediate future. In fact, Jagtiani is chalking out a massive expansion plan for India with the help of two of her deputies — Kabir Lumba, chief executive officer of Lifestyle, and Viney Singh, CEO of Auchan Hypermarkets. “You will have to be positive about the future,” she says. “India is going to be one of the most important markets for us.” She adds that while the Landmark Group has…
CONTINUE READING
