New Business Opportunity

Levi Strauss & Co has zeroed in on Karnataka to test-market its mid-market brand, Denizen. The Indian arm of the global denim major has converted 20 stores of its entry-level…

Sweden-based luxury bed manufacturer Hastens enters the Gujarat market by opening its showroom in Ahmedabad. This is the third Hastens store in India and first in Gujarat. The company plans…

Akai India forays into the Indian mobile market with the launch of ten new handsets with a price tag between Rs. 1,800 and Rs. 8,000. The range will appeal to consumers across all segments, with a special focus on the youth, and are currently available across 8,000 retail outlets in the country. The company plans to ramp up the number of retail outlets to 20,000 by end-September, 2010. The new Akai stores will be an added advantage to the signage companies, particularly the in-store display majors, to tap new business.

Leading paint manufacturer, Kansai Nerolac Paints (KNPL), plans to invest around Rs 600 crore over the next three years for upping its production capacity by 50 per cent. The company is looking forward to increase production capacity by nearly 50 per cent in the next three-years for which it has planned an investment of around Rs 600-crore. The company currently has a capacity of 2-lakh tonnes per annum and its total number of 100 colour stylers and 25 impression style zone outlets is planning to add nearly 150 and 40 more. Such overall expansion of the paint major will bring a new colour in the business of signage companies, particularly in-store ones dealing with retail displays.

In a recently concluded Power Breakfast meeting on Retail industry in New Delhi, the “Ideas for Growth” were discussed by the top management of various Retail and Realty sector players.…

Retail chain Max of Dubai-based Landmark Group announces its plan to establish 60 stores in the country by 2010-11. Max launches its first store at Bhopal and the third in Madhya Pradesh. The company aims to take offering to customers across the nation, including all metros and key tier II and tier III cities. At present Max has 33 stores across India and we plan to take it to 60 by 2010-11. The gradual increase of Max’s presence in the Indian retail segment will be an added advantage for in-store signage companies across the country.

Marks & Spencer is looking to open 50 large-format stores in 24 cities in India in 3 years. A majority of these stores are going to be 20,000 sq ft…

Essar Steel plans to enhance its retail distribution network in Kerala by 44 per cent. Essar Hypermart, which currently has three Hypermarts and 15 Expressmarts in Kerala, will increase Expressmarts number to 23 by the end of 2011. Essar Hypermart is an initiative of Essar Steel to make steel available to end-users close to the point of use, and 500 such outlets are operational across the country. Hypermart also arranges for channel financing through banks to eligible customers. The distribution model is backed by world-class service centre facilities and supply chain management and offers customised products to customers at their doorstep. The new Expressmarts will deliver a new business to in-store signage companies as well as others like PSPs, sign suppliers, fabricators, etc.

Spar Hypermarkets, the global food retailing chain of the Dubai-based Landmark Group, expects to start funding its India expansion beyond 2013 out of its local cash flow in the country.…

Haier aims to ramp up its Indian turnover to Rs 900 crore this year from Rs350 crore last year, mainly by expanding its presence through new experience zones and marketing campaign. It has set aside Rs 60 crore for marketing this year, and has signed up John Abraham to endorse the brand. Following the recent launch company's first experience zone in India and its 38th in Chennai a total of 75 such stores would be opened across the country by Diwali, with two of those in Hyderabad and one in Vijayawada. By the end of next year, the company will have 300 experience zones. Such expansion is an added opportunity for in-store signage companies looking ahead to tap new business in the retail/ in-store sector.

Barista Lavazza, the Indian subsidiary of Italian coffee giant Lavazza, is in talks with Reliance Industries to open new outlets in their A1 plazas across the country. The company, which…

Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail announces its plan to set up high-end luxury stores -'The Collective' in three new cities next year, besides expanding in the existing locations. The company currently operates two stores, one each in Mumbai and Bangalore that sell high-end luxury apparel and accessories from brands across the world under 'The Collective' banner. The company is likely to make an investment of about RS 40 crore in next year. "One store entails an investment of Rs 8 crore for the expansion move. Such development will bring in a new sliver lining in the business of those signage companies dealing extensively in in-store/retail segment.