The rise in raw material costs has caused a 10 per cent increase in the retail prices of fast-moving consumer goods as companies are passing on the rise in costs.
This is as definitive as it can get. Dutch global beer major Heineken is understood to have outlined its intent to Vijay Mallya's United Breweries that it does not want to have any conflicting presence in India.
Maruti Suzuki India, which last year dropped Udyog as its middle name and appointed its first Japanese managing director, has set up a new management structure installing five Indians in crucial decision-making positions. This layer forms the second rung of the company's executive management, just below managing director S Nakanishi. Earlier, when Jagdish Khattar was the managing director, he was the only Indian in the top management.
Already the largest foreign bank in India, Standard Chartered has sought the Reserve Bank of India's permission to open 100 rural branches, which are in addition to its annual plan of 40 new branches and 300 ATMs this year, which it has submitted to RBI for approval. The bank, which now has 83 branches in 33 cities in the country, has announced that it is investing $250 million to take its total capital base in India to $1.9 billion.
Danish beer giant Carlsberg is all set to commence production from its 2 greenfield breweries - one each in Aurangabad & Kolkata. Carlsberg together with beer major Heineken is part of the $11 bn global takeover of British brewer Scottish & Newcastle, which has 37.49% stake in Mallya's United Breweries. Heineken is also planning to launch its flagship beer brand Heineken in association with Asia Pacific Breweries. Total beer market in India is valued at 8 million hectolitres.
Jon Wilkins, founding partner of Naked Communications, which gives communication consultancy to some of the world's biggest companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and Nokia, is looking for people to set shop in India. Initially, he wants to work with only three people here, who have an entrepreneurial spirit & an understanding for brand strategy. He is attracted to India for 3 reasons - India is ready for change, ad market here is growing rapidly and new channels are opening up.
Mumbai's McCann Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather have made it to the list of top 50 advertising agencies in the world. The list came out of awards survey titled The Gunn Report. Some of the other award-winning Indian performers such as Grey Worldwide, EURO RSCG & Lowe India were from the print advertisement space. It also surveyed whether award-winning commercials helped the products. The survey found that out of 400 award-winning commercials, 86.5% led to better product sales.
Targets women with new offerings such as Baileys cream liqueur and Nilaya. Liquor maker Diageo India is planning a big marketing push for its core brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and newer offerings in India such as Baileys and Nilaya. Both Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff have nearly 90 per cent share in the premium segment of the scotch and vodka market.
Australian Foods, owner of the Cookie Man brand, is on an expansion drive to double its number of stores across India in the next one year. The company has been following a unique model of retailing its cookies through own franchise stores. Cookie Man products are not sold in any other outlet and their franchise stores are located only in malls. The company will continue with this model for its next batch of outlets as well.
International digital marketing company Digitas has partnered with Solutions to enter the digital marketing sector in India. Digitas is owned by global advertising major Publicis Groupe. The new entity will be called Solutions Digitas. Digital marketing was not just online marketing and India is an upcoming market for digital marketing. Digitas will also introduce Prodigious digital production that manages the technology end of digital marketing for clients such as GM & P&G.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), aiming to expand and double sales of its flagship brand Cinthol, has recently roped in actor Hrithik Roshan as brand ambassador.
French cosmetics major L'Oral recorded a turnover of Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion), and a growth of nearly 40 per cent, in India in 2007. L'Oral India, launched 13 years ago taking into account the sheer size of the Indian market, has recently set up its own manufacturing plant in Pune. L'Oral India imports most of its products from its own facilities abroad and manufactures the rest in Pune. L'Oral spends 30.7 per cent of its worldwide turnover on advertising & promotions.
World Sport Group India (WSG), the sports marketing partner of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is in talks with three more sponsors, one each from the banking, petroleum and airlines industries to sign deals worth $200 million (about Rs 800 crore) for ground sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. These sponsors will have an opportunity to exclusively advertise their brands on the grounds for five years.
Encouraged by the buzz created among the consumers by the Black Dog 12-year-old deluxe, the company has now decided to launch the 8-year-old centenary variant of the brand. Despite a tagline reading "Proudly old-fashioned since 1883", it has tried to make a connection with the younger lot. With the existing restrictions on liquor advertising, USL has promoted the brand by having strong on-trade presence through exclusive tie-ups with retailers.
The French cosmetics major's sales in India grew 40.3 per cent last year. According to the company spokesperson, "Being a part of the BRIMC (Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico and China) countries, India offers high potential for us. This was recognised by L'Oral from the start of our Indian operations 13 years ago."
The intellectual property rights battle between Britannia Industries and French dairy and beverages giant, Groupe Danone, is heading for an early breakthrough.
As FMCG giant ITC has entered the snacking segment, the well established brand FritoLay has geared up its marketing strategy to meet rising competition.
When the husband-wife duo of Yatin and Kiran Patil inherited a 200-acre grape farm, they decided to enter the wine business and position the brand at the top of the price pyramid. Vintage Wines' brand, Reveilo, was launched in 2006 from its winery in Nashik valley and is currently the most expensive wine brand in India.
Brands in FMCG sector have taken to brand valuation to identify the potential and realised value of the brand names.
The 5-seater utility vehicle might have an 800 cc or 1200 cc engine.
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