(column by Vareen Gadhoke & Damodar Menon)

This Pleasure is Just 4 her

The world's number one two wheeler manufacturer, Hero Honda, has made its maiden foray into the scooter segment with the launch of Pleasure, the exclusive 100cc women's scooterette. With this launch, the company plans to grab a bigger slice of the gearless two-wheeler market in India, in which players like TVS and Kinetic have already gained a signifycant foothold. Hero Honda also plans to launch exclusive showrooms to be called 'Just 4 her' for its women customers. The first 'Just 4 her' outlet has already been inaugurated by famous Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan in Bangalore. The company plans to sell about 10,000 units per month, each priced at Rs.36,400.

Airtel is now a part of the family

Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, the largest mobile operator in terms of customers, is rechristening itself Bharti Airtel Ltd. The telecom firm whose net profit rose 25% to Rs.5.45 billion in the third quarter of 2005 (an increase of Rs.1.05 billion from the same quarter last year), has taken this step after bringing all its service offerings under the Airtel brand. Revenues of Bharti, (in which Vodafone Group Plc has bought a 10% economic stake for Rs.67 billion) grew 42% to Rs.30.26 billion in the quarter ending in December 2005 from Rs.21.32 billion for the same period in 2004.

India's sweet tooth gets sweeter

The world's third largest confectionary company Perfetti Van Melle is on the threshold of a major expansion plan in India. The expansion is an attempt to grab a bigger share in the Rs.16 billion domestic confectionary market, which also happens to be its second largest market after Italy. The Italian company plans to invest Rs.200 million together in its two plants in Chennai and Manesar to expand its existing capacity of 40,000 tonnes by approximately 25%. With a 30% market share, Perfetti India, which set up shop in 1994, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Italian confectionary major and has some best-selling brands like Alpenliebe, Chlormint and Mentos in its product portfolio.

Hutch - 'Online Customer Service'

After the successful launch of 'Pink', Hutch now plans to launch mobile shops all over India. The 'Hutch Mobile Shops' would be designed by Dilip Chhabria, the renowned car designer. Apart from designing the shops, Dilip Chhabria would also concentrate on designing a specialised vehicle that would move around the city to enable better customer care and increase sales. These 'Hutch Mobile Shops' would be the one stop providers of online customer service to Hutch subscribers. Services like post-paid bill payment, new connections, recharge coupons, prepaid SIM replacement and roaming activation or deactivation will be provided at the customer's door step.

Times Now on your RIM

For the first time, a television channel has been launched on a mobile phone even before it was ready to be aired for television viewers on the cable network. January 31 saw the launch of an all new 24-hour English news and current affairs TV channel, Times Now on R World, a service of Reliance India Mobile. The streaming news can be viewed by Reliance India Mobile customers at a price of Rs.15 per session. Targeting the upwardly mobile urban youth, Times Now comes with the tagline - 'Feel the News'. Times Now will harness the content from The Times of India, The Economic Times and Reuters.

Tuning in to the Sun

The Sun TV network-backed South Asia FM has come out as the victor on February 3 in the five-leg bidding process. This process, which commenced on January 6, was undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as a part of the second phase of expansion of FM radio in India to allot 337 stations to private players across 91 Indian cities. Sun TV is the single group to have acquired 67 frequencies for about Rs.800 million. Anil Ambani-backed Adlabs has also reached a staggering count of 56 stations at an estimated investment of Rs.1.25 billion.

Cosmetic help for Pantaloon

Pantaloon, one of the major retail players in India, is planning to undergo a cosmetic change. As beauty and health are equally important, Pantaloon would provide both under one roof. Apart from saloons, Pantaloon will also set up diagnostic centres offering eye, dental and skin treatments. The centres will also include gyms, pharmacies and treatments like ayurveda and homeopathy. It would be no less than visiting a Big Bazaar. Though jobs would be offered to both men and women, individual sections would be segregated. The complete centre should spread over approximately 25,000 to 30,000 square feet.

TNT launches domestic express service

TNT, the global provider of mail, express and logistic services has announced its domestic launch in India. This foray makes TNT the first multinational brand in India to offer international and domestic services using air and road network. With an investment of around $121 million in the next five years, TNT aims to be the leading integrated player in the Indian branded express market, which is estimated to be about Rs.25 billion. Recently, TNT has increased its offices from 17 to 50 in India and expects more than 144 offices by the end of the year.

Lodha to face trial in criminal case

The scuffle for control over the Rs.24 billion worth assets of the MP Birla group, whose present market value is assessed at Rs.50 billion, has gone a step ahead. The case filed by the Birlas accuses RS Lodha and three others, SN Prasad, V. Gauri Shankar and S. K. Daga for alleged criminal breach of trust and forging the will of Priyamvada Birla. The Supreme Court has refused an appeal from RS Lodha, which was seeking the quashing of the criminal case fi led against him to determine whether the will was forged.

The 'G'earing 'M'ove under Wipro's roof

The relationship between automobile behemoth GM and IT giant Wipro, revived in shape of a $300 million deal bagged by Wipro for the next five years. This comes as the second largest deal to an Indian IT company - the largest one being HCL ($335 million). Wipro will be responsible for integrating GM's information systems & services and the middleware systems globally, and the deal is expected to provide flexibility to GM's operations and services. The IT giant is one of the six Tier-1 Information Technology suppliers chosen for this deal, others being EDS, HP, Compuware Covisint, IBM and Capgemini. General Motors, the world's largest automaker, accounts for selling 9.17 million cars and trucks globally under its different brands.

Satyam sets up Detroit centre

Satyam Computers is taking an interest in automotive sector, to which end they are setting up an Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Detroit, US. This 6,000 sq. ft facility with a workforce including about 50 engineers plans to focus on automotive solution building and R&D. The location is ideal as Detroit is the centre of automobile manufacturing in the US and the facility will have neighbours like Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. The automotive segment gives Satyam around 12% of their revenue. They also have plans to open similar facilities in other regions of the world including Japan and Germany.

Tommy reaches the top of hill in India

The international premium apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger has massive plans of expansion in India. With one new store in Chennai, the company has plans for three more stores by April 2006 in Bangalore, New Delhi and Ahmedabad. It already has three stores in Mumbai and one each in Chandigarh and Gurgaon. The showrooms will be showcasing sports and casuals wear for both men and women. The brand is currently being promoted in India by Arvind Brands Pvt. Ltd., which is a joint venture between Arvind Brands Ltd. and the Mujrani group.

(End of Vareen Gadhoke & Damodar Menon column)