Pradeep Pandey & Pramugdha Mamgain, The Economic Times Mumbai/New Delhi, June 28, 2011 Apparel sales in the country have slumped about 20% since March, forcing many brands to start end-of-season discount sales two weeks earlier than usual. Companies blamed high apparel prices-increased due to the mandatory 10% excise duty on branded garments introduced in the Union budget and soaring cotton prices-for the fall in demand. "The present trend indicates that the industry will hardly be able to sustain a growth of 10-15% as margins are under tremendous pressure," said Rahul Mehta, president of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India ( CMAI).…
In most conversations we have had with international brands in the last 2-3 years, India consistently appears on list of the top-5 markets in which to expand into. The second most populous country in the world, India has a young population that offers a vibrant population mix that will provide a workforce and consumers in decades to come. There is steady growth in per capita income and a greater availability of credit, as well as a significant change in the consumersโ outlook to life that has propelled consumption levels. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ranked India as…
Priyanka Pani, Businessworld June 11, 2011 Anyone remember Ranger Farms? In 2007, Reliance Industries' subsidiary Reliance Retail launched its cash-and-carry retail format by that name. A year later, RIL 'merged' Ranger Farms into Reliance Fresh, its food and grocery business. Readers may also recall that in 2009, RIL put together a team of top officials it had hired from several wholesale players, including Gwyn Sundhagul, the chief marketing officer and director at Tesco Lotus, Thailand, to spearhead its cash-and-carry plans. But it appears that after a year and a half, that team has been disbanded. On 3 June, at the…
Pallavi Srivastava New Delhi, June 2011 The jeanswear brand, Levi's had been losing its premium image with the launch of Signature, which was launched in 2006. Making ammendments, Signature has morphed into Denizen. Is it a mere name change or are there any cosmetic changes as well? And more so, will the new branding pull the brand back into the premium league? While Denizen carries the price tag of Signature (between Rs. 799 and Rs. 1,499), Denizen is being positioned as a youth brand targeting the 18-28 male and female. Signature, meanwhile, was positioned as a mass brand. Also, Denizen…
Raghavendra Kamath & Nivedita Mookerji, Business Standard Mumbai, June 4, 2011 Three years after its experimentation with cash-and-carry retail fizzled out, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans a strong comeback. At its annual general meeting today, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said Reliance Retail would soon relaunch this format, so far dominated by companies such as US major Walmart in joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, German giant Metro and French heavyweight Carrefour. With its re-entry into the cash-and-carry segment, Reliance Retail aims to bargain harder with producers and vendors and, in turn, improve margins of its chains, pointed out a company executive. According…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
