Sharleen D'Souza &Amp; Pratigya Yadav

Stories by Sharleen D'Souza &Amp; Pratigya Yadav

Why Pepsi Roped In Ranveer Singh

Why Pepsi Roped In Ranveer Singh

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2023

'When we were thinking of 'Rise Up Baby' and celebs who can stand for that, Ranveer is someone we felt completely embodies the brand philosophy and the spirit of 'Rise Up, Baby' because he is irrepressible and cannot be contained.'

'Pent-up demand in real estate to continue in 2023'

'Pent-up demand in real estate to continue in 2023'

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2023

'The inflection point that really happened in the sector was during the pandemic when buyers' perception changed towards consumption and that gave a trigger to pent-up demand with the increased affordability.'

Ready homes likely to hit 6-year high in 2023

Ready homes likely to hit 6-year high in 2023

Rediff.com   17 Jan 2023

The seven major cities are Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata.

15% Protein Powders Are Of Poor Quality

15% Protein Powders Are Of Poor Quality

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2023

Health experts express concern about the unsupervised consumption of dietary supplements, warning poor-quality products can affect cardiovascular health and kidneys.

Rural demand for FMCG products almost positive in Dec

Rural demand for FMCG products almost positive in Dec

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2023

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in rural areas witnessed a sequential recovery in the latter half of December, according to data by retail intelligence firm Bizom. Also, demand witnessed in the previous month compared to November was higher from tier-3 cities than mega cities. Overall demand from rural areas declined 0.2 per cent on a month-on-month basis in December while it was down 17 per cent in November, according to Bizom's data.

Bureau of Indian Standards to engage e-commerce players for self-regulation

Bureau of Indian Standards to engage e-commerce players for self-regulation

Rediff.com   21 Dec 2022

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will engage stakeholders in the e-commerce space to establish standards with the objective of self-regulation, said its deputy director Parul Gupta at the Internet Commerce Summit 2022 in Bengaluru. "Standardisation will allow parties to transact qualified commodities and services at any location and time," said Gupta. BIS recently released standards for e-commerce players, travel portals, and food delivery platforms that publish consumer reviews online, as part of the government's efforts to crack down on fake reviews, said Gupta.

Lakme turns 70: Secret behind the age-defying glow

Lakme turns 70: Secret behind the age-defying glow

Rediff.com   13 Dec 2022

Lakme, India's first make-up and beauty brand, turned 70 this year and is also present in Hindustan Unilever's club of brands with a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore. Over the past seven decades, the brand has evolved and is no longer just a beauty brand, but has also transformed into a skincare brand. Lakme has increased its digital presence as well as innovations and now sees a third of its growth come from new innovations.

Pharma, consumer durables sectors likely to feel China curb heat

Pharma, consumer durables sectors likely to feel China curb heat

Rediff.com   12 Dec 2022

The pharmaceutical and the consumer durables sectors, which depend on China for imports, have not been impacted yet due to unrest in China with people protesting against lockdowns. But the lockdown could have an impact on the supply of components used in consumer durables if it continues for the next fortnight. In the pharmaceutical industry, Indian players import 66-70 per cent of their bulk drug requirements from China.

Amul's utterly butterly supply melts; eateries switch to alternatives

Amul's utterly butterly supply melts; eateries switch to alternatives

Rediff.com   30 Nov 2022

It is the season of cooking and baking, but with Amul Butter in short supply, consumers aren't like the cat that got the cream. A shortage only means market shelves without butter on them. "There is a supply-side deficit. "We are now able to procure only two packs of butter a day, as opposed to three packs (each containing 30 packets of butter) in a day," says a salesman at Modern Bazaar, a departmental store in New Delhi's Greater Kailash.

Dabur to acquire majority stake in Badshah Masala for Rs 587 crore

Dabur to acquire majority stake in Badshah Masala for Rs 587 crore

Rediff.com   27 Oct 2022

Fast-moving consumer goods major Dabur India is set to enter the branded spices and seasoning category. It has signed an agreement to acquire 51 per cent in Badshah Masala for a cash consideration of Rs 587.52 crore. The acquisition, the company says, is in line with its strategic intent to expand its food biz to Rs 500 crore in three years.

'When the rates of interest fall, EMIs will come down'

'When the rates of interest fall, EMIs will come down'

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2022

'Marginal rates will definitely affect the consumer's decision in entering a new transaction, but in reality, they don't affect much because banks/financial institutions have come up with step-up EMIs: 50% of home loans which exceed 15 years in India are prepaid, within 7-8 years.' 'This doesn't happen anywhere in the world.'

For homebuyers, affordability has become a BIG issue

For homebuyers, affordability has become a BIG issue

Rediff.com   12 Oct 2022

The real estate market has seen a decline in affordability due to the recent rise in median loan rates as a result of the 50 basis points (bps) hike in repo rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). A cumulative increase of 0.95 per cent in median home loan rate has impacted the purchase affordability and purchase decisions of homebuyers, according to the Affordability Index by Knight Frank. The Affordability Index tracks the EMI (equated-monthly instalment) to income ratio for an average household.

Hindustan Unilever cuts prices of soaps, detergents after 2 years of hikes

Hindustan Unilever cuts prices of soaps, detergents after 2 years of hikes

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2022

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), one of the country's largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) players, is learnt to have cut prices of its leading soaps and detergents this month by 2-19 per cent, according to the company's distributors. The cuts come after consistent price increases by the company as well as its peers, following the sharp rise in raw material prices in the past several months. It is only recently that prices of raw materials have started to correct from peak levels in the June quarter.

Weak rural demand drags down FMCG sales in Sep

Weak rural demand drags down FMCG sales in Sep

Rediff.com   5 Oct 2022

Feeble demand in rural areas of the country has affected sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in September as compared to August, which saw heavy stocking ahead of the festival season, according to the data of Bizom, a retail intelligence platform. Sales in rural India fell 14.3 per cent while urban sales growth stood at 1.1 per cent in September as compared to the previous month. Overall FMCG sales fell by 9.6 per cent in September as compared to August.

JioMart morphs into e-marketplace to take on Amazon and Flipkart

JioMart morphs into e-marketplace to take on Amazon and Flipkart

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2022

Reliance Retail's digital commerce platform JioMart will morph into an e-marketplace offering multiple brands - from electronics, consumer durables, fashion and lifestyle, beauty, home, kitchen, and grocery - as it girds up to take on the likes of Amazon and Flipkart ahead of the festival season sales. India's largest retailer was in the process of onboarding third-party sellers these past few months, further increasing its selection across categories multifold. Its website and application offers general merchandise as well.

Reliance Brands in advanced talks to acquire Sephora's India rights

Reliance Brands in advanced talks to acquire Sephora's India rights

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2022

Reliance Brands is in advance stage of talks to take over the India rights for premium makeup and beauty retail chain Sephora, from Arvind Fashions, according to two persons in the know. The Mukesh Ambani-led retail company is already in talks with developers to lease out stores for Sephora, said one of the above mentioned sources. While Reliance Brands was yet to answer Business Standard's query, an Arvind Fashions spokeperson, in an e-mailed response, said: "As per company policy, we do not comment on market rumours and speculation."

Over 2 years post Covid, consumer firms see strong festival sales

Over 2 years post Covid, consumer firms see strong festival sales

Rediff.com   15 Sep 2022

The festival season has already begun in the west and south of India with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, respectively, and consumer companies are witnessing a pick-up in sales compared to pre-Covid levels. Retailers, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables companies expect their sales to grow in double digits this festival season compared to pre-pandemic times, as there are no curbs on movement now. Adani Wilmar expects sales volume to be higher by 15-20 per cent as rural India has largely witnessed good monsoon rains, and employment has picked up in urban areas.

TCS pips HDFC Bank to be most-valuable brand

TCS pips HDFC Bank to be most-valuable brand

Rediff.com   15 Sep 2022

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is India's most-valuable brand in 2022 replacing HDFC Bank, which held the number one spot since 2014, according to Kantar BrandZ report on India's most-valuable brands. TCS was able to grab the top slot due to rising global demand for automation and digital transformation, following the pandemic. Indian brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by 35 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2020.

China's zero-Covid move could hit India's white goods

China's zero-Covid move could hit India's white goods

Rediff.com   13 Sep 2022

Consumer durable companies will again start to face a supply issue of components as China extends lockdown due to its zero Covid strategy. This will impact the flow of finished products into the Indian market, unlike last year, this impact will be felt post Diwali. While supply chain issues have been a problem since the start of the pandemic, China's zero Covid strategy has also posed another risk for consumer durable companies.

Campa back in business under Reliance, its new owner

Campa back in business under Reliance, its new owner

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2022

Campa is set to take on its competition, which pushed it out of the aerated drinks business in the late 1990s, but this time with a new owner - Reliance Industries. Campa's entry comes at a time when aerated drinks as a category is already saturated. But experts say this could give rise to competition in the segment, eventually causing the space to grow.