New Business Opportunity

Aditya Birla Retail is roping in a financial investor to fund its expansion plans. Given the rate at which Aditya […]

Somany Ceramics inaugurated an exclusive imported tiles and sanitaryware showroom ‘Somany Global’ in Greater Kailash II, New Delhi. The showroom

InterfaceFLOR India Pvt Ltd, a global leader in modular commercial flooring, opens a new combined office and showroom in Mumbai. Located in the Prabhadevi Industrial Estate, this new office cum showroom will cater to the growing demand for the company’s innovative and sustainable carpet tiles. Spreading over 1350 sq ft, the new combined outlet has an open layout for optimal space utilisation and the use of uniform colour schemes ensuring that the central focus of the showroom is the fabulous designs. In other aspect, the new showroom would bring in a new business for the signage segment, giving new room to capture to in-store media comanies, print providers and others.

Aditya Birla Retail Limited (ABRL) aims to be an US$ 2.5-billion entity by 2017-18 with the opening of new stores, launching private labels and closing unviable stores, among other initiatives. The company will be opening 12 hypermarket stores every year at an investment of nearly Rs 18-crore per store, spreading across 55,000-75,000 sq ft. This year, the company’s stores will come up in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Surat, Pune and Nashik. Besides, it has also been planned to open 70-100 supermarket stores every year at an investment of nearly Rs 50-60-lakh per store of sizes 2,500-2,800 sq ft pan-India. Such mega expansion plan of the company will be a golden opportunity for in-store signage companies as well as sign suppliers all over India.

Footwear and apparel firm Woodland is giving a big push to the kids-wear segment with plans to launch range of

Gitanjali Group has announced that the company in the next two years will be buoyed by a 50 percent increase in retail space to 15 lakh sq ft across India. Currently, the group has around 3,000 retail outlets in India on a total area of 10 lakh sq ft. The expansion of retail space will help the company reach a target of Rs 10,000 crore revenue in the said period. Apart from diamonds and gold jewellery, the group has presence in areas like retail and lifestyle and infrastructure, under which it plans to build seven Special Economic Zones. Expansion of retail space will surely bring in a new opportunity to the signage players viz. in-store media companies and sign suppliers.

Luxury watch maker Cartier plans to expand distribution network and launch more models in India. Concerning India’s influential art and jewellery,

Australian luxury brand, Curtis has recently entered into the Indian market. Curtis Australia is an international luxury brand with a product range spanning

Havells India Ltd has opened its first exclusive showroom ‘Havells Galaxy’ at Adda, Hoshiarpur. Following its brand philosophy of powering lives, this is yet another initiative by Havells, targeted at end-users, architects and consultants, to showcase Havells products. With the urban culture rising, people like to buy from specialised stores and Havells Galaxy caters to this rising need of the customers by providing a one-stop-shop for their entire electrical needs. Opening of the executive showroom is an unmatched opportunity to signage players, such as in-store media players and signage suppliers.

Food and beverages major PepsiCo India is planning to unveil its own café outlets in New Delhi and four other cities by the end of 2010. The company has launched the first such café ‘Smart Choice’ in Chennai to promote its key category, the health segment, which was marketed under the name ‘Snack Smart’. The café is offering a range of choices for consumers—recipes like Quaker muffins, Quaker Idly (made from Quaker oats, a PepsiCo product). In fact, apart from being a corner to treat our taste buds, the cafes will be one of the best spots to embark upon for signage players like in-store media companies and signage suppliers.

Atlanta-based Seating World, a premium bedding (mattress) manufacturer popularly known for its Simmons outlets, forays into the Indian market with

Marks & Spencer Group, one of the largest clothing retailers in the UK is eying India for its overseas business expansion. This London-based retailer gets about 10 percent of sales from outside of the UK and aims to increase that proportion to about 30 percent. The company’s international expansion will bring an overall new boost in the Indian retail segment where opening of the high-end Marks & Spencer stores is now in the pipeline and signage industry will find big opportunity to exploit.

Jotun Paints is planning to set up 80 retail stores in Kerala by 2011 to strengthen its retail footprint in the state. Kerala decorative paint market was estimated at Rs 600 cr and offered opportunities to expand production as well as distribution. Currently the company has 55 retail outlets in the state and will significantly add more over the next few months. Expansion of the retail stores in the state will be a new sunshine opportunity in the region’s signage industry.

Magnifying its growth strategy, Bharti Retail has opened two medium-format stores of its ‘Easyday Market’ brand, taking the total to

Atlas Brands, which retails and distributes premium brands, announces that makers of leather goods and accessories Bulchee plans to ramp-up its store-network by adding 30 more outlets by March 2011. The expansion plan is mainly focusing on Tier I cities. Atlas Brands, a manufacturer and wholesaler in leather accessories, retails and distributes premium brands such as Bulchee, Louis Philippe, fashion brands like Allen Solly and Van Heusen and popular brands such as Ufficio and Peter England. As of now, the company has five brand outlets across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, which offer an unmatched opportunity to signage companies across the cities.

UK-based retail major Mothercare received government approval to invest Rs 25.87 crore in a retail joint venture in India. The

Titan has gone off the beaten track quite often. That explains its product extensions—from watches to jewellery to eyewear. The

RPG Enterprises Ltd is in talk with private-equity companies for selling a stake in its retail venture, Spencer’s Retail Ltd, at a time when a rebound in consumer demand is spurring retail operators to seek funds for expansion. The transaction would depend on right valuations and right conditions. In turn, the company would open 10-15 large stores across the country this year. RPG currently operates about 220 outlets, comprising the Spencer’s chain of small neighbourhood stores and Spencer’s Hyper chain of large stores. RPG’s expansion plan is indeed a golden opportunity for in-store media companies and signage suppliers for grabbing new business.

The world’s second largest retailer Carrefour, France has announced its plan to enter India’s vast retail market in 2010 following years

Chennai-based BurgerMan Foods India Private Limited is planning to add 150 food kiosks in Hyderabad by the end of 2010. Launch of 30 outlets, equipped with a refrigerator, microwave oven and a billing counter and manned by two employees trained by Indian Institute of Kiosk Management is the first phase of the expansion. At the kiosks, it’s not only items for foodies but also a new taste of signage offering to signage companies, print providers and signage suppliers across the region.