Now that direct investment into India is on the verge of opening up, the country could hold increased opportunities for clothing companies who want to source and sell fashion there. Rebecca Danton reports from a recent conference on ‘Sourcing And Selling Fashion In India,’ where speakers discussed the advantages and disadvantages of setting up and trading within India. In terms of its fashion and clothing opportunities, India is generally seen as a poor relation to China. While the great red dragon of the Republic of China embraced the end of global clothing and textile quotas and furthered its domination of…
A few months ago, when asked to speak about value-addition at a food industry seminar, I decided, in a deviation from the usual discussion, to dissect the meaning of “value”. Most people in industry focus on only one dimension of value-addition – the economic value added by processing and transforming food raw materials – virtually ignoring two other dimensions which are required for most of the (undernourished) population: calorific value and nutritional value (see “Perishable Value Opportunities”). At the end of that seminar session, an agriculturist from the audience put forth a very pointed question: “What is the cost of…
Sagar Malviya and Sarah Jacob, The Economic Times 26 August 2011, Mumbai/Bangalore Paris Hilton -- American actor, singer, fashionista and great-grand daughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton -- will spread her business empire to India next month by launching her handbags and fashion accessories. The 30-year-old celebrity, who helped Chihuahuas become fashionable, will travel to India for the launch of her eponymous brand at Shoppers Stop, the department store chain's MD and customer care associate Govind Shrikhande said. Shoppers Stop will open Paris Hilton shop-in-shops across its metro stores. Paris Hilton built a brand around her celebrity lifestyle over…
Indian Terrain Fashions' plans to launch a 'Made in America' jeans brand using denim from a US mill made into jeans in Guatemala, is a move that bucks trends for brands sold in India. The move is an interesting twist in the growth story of a 10-year-old brand that was, until recently, a business division of the Chennai-based apparel manufacturer Celebrity Fashions. Celebrity's notable customers include Gap, Nautica, Armani Jeans, Timberland, Dockers and Ann Taylor. About five years ago, Celebrity had invested in growing its capacity by acquiring another exporter's manufacturing facilities. However, Celebrity's manufacturing and export business has been under pressure…
Sagar Malviya and Pradeep Pandey, The Economic Times Mumbai, August 17, 2011 Reliance Retail has begun door-to-door direct selling through housewives and housing societies to boost sales of its private brands such as Sudz detergent, Amara soaps and Healthy Life food items. Its subsidiary Reliance Home Products has launched a 'Home Club' initiative on a pilot basis to sell products at consumers' doorsteps at 30% discounts through members-primarily housewives-who will earn 10% of their sales amount as commission. Since the past two weeks, executives of the Mukesh Ambani-owned company have been distributing brochures and price lists in several housing societies…
Speciality Restaurants expanding into high-margin QSR and cloud kitchen spaces - @devangshu shared his perspective on the opportunities and realities of managing a diverse "house of brands" in the food service sector #India #strategy #diversification
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
