As reported earlier, REL purchased all the 30 outlet assets of OyzterBay in India and repositioned them under a new store brand name ‘Laabh’ (profit) to cater to the higher end of the jewelry market.

Last month, REL roped in Bollywood female actor Sharmila Tagore as brand ambassador. Through it’s internal team, REL has created 60, 40, 30, 20 and 10 second TVCs’ for its ‘Labh’ brand. The TVCs’ feature Tagore and have been directed by Hemant Hegde. REL’s promotion plans announced earlier had been delayed but, now, according to company sources, 40 and 20 second TVCs’ on all NDTV channels will commence in the first week of December. The campaign amount of Rs.300 million announced earlier has also been ramped up, avers a source at REL.REL is planning for two TV campaigns during the current financial year ending March 2008 – the first campaign between December and end January 2008, and the second campaign to commence in the second or third week of February 2008. The company is in talks with a couple of other channels for spots during the first phase.

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TVCs’ during the second phase will be in Hindi, English and most regional languages. REL plans to beam them across all national channels (GEC, news and lifestyle channels) and regional channels. According to industry sources the company’s negotiations are in advanced stages with ETV for ad spots. REL who claim to be the largest gold jewelry manufacturers in the world had earlier joined up with Fossil, a leader in fashion watches and accessories in a 50:50 joint venture with Fossil India (FIL) with four main objectives – To set up a manufacturing base in India to manufacture watches and other accessories under known brands and distribute these products in India mainly through wholesale and other channels; Setup a retail network in India which would retail the products of Fossil and REL; Jointly create a range of designs which would be offered to the global markets by the already established global distribution network of Fossil; Distribute Fossil’s globally known brands through the REL network. The arrangement has been delayed due to problems at the US` end of Fossil, but still very much on, according to industry sources.

]]> http://artrm.com/retail-news/2007/11/rajesh-exports-to-launch-jewellery-retail-chain-under-shubh-jewellers-brand/feed/ 8 http://artrm.com/retail-news/2008/12/best-buy-opens-first-store-in-mexico/ http://artrm.com/retail-news/2008/12/best-buy-opens-first-store-in-mexico/#comments Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:11:09 +0000 admin http://www.artrm.com/retail-news/?p=1256 ↓ Read the rest of this entry...]]> Best Buy Co. arrived in Mexico on Friday with the opening of its second-largest store worldwide.

The event came weeks after Best Buy cut its 2009 revenue outlook, following a sharp drop in global sales.

The retailer now projects between $43.7 billion to $45.5 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2009, down from the $47 billion it projected earlier. It says annual same-store sales could fall up to 8 percent next year.

Best Buy attributed slow international sales to the strong U.S. dollar and weakening local currencies abroad.

Still, the electronics chain is faring better than its major competitor, Circuit City, which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 10.

“While these are no doubt difficult times, this is also a time for great opportunity,” said Bob Willet, chief executive officer of Best Buy International.

He said he believes Mexico is a safe bet for the future.

Best Buy plans to build more stores in various cities throughout central Mexico, although it did not specify how many or when.

Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist with Global Hunter Securities, said despite slower sales, Best Buy will continue to spread its reach around the world.

“The company’s basic strategy is to expand into places where the middle class is expanding, and in Mexico City and central Mexico, that’s especially the case,” he said.

President Felipe Calderon said the store puts Mexico on the right path to increase foreign investment. He said Best Buy’s initial investment in Mexico will total $45 million, including the costs to build the store and create 450 jobs.

Mexicans’ spending power has been on the rise in recent years as annual per-capita salaries rose from US$4,000 to US$9,000, he said.

Hastings said improved infrastructure as well as job and population growth in central Mexico make the region a good fit for the retail chain.

“Mexico is a complex, but long-term and promising market, and we expect consumerism to grow in Mexico over the next five years,” he said.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Best Buy employs 130,000 people at 3,700 stores _ 1,300 of which are in Canada, Europe, China and Puerto Rico.

The 40 million dollar company is seeking at tapping the corporate and fashion gifts market and has set up a 51:49 joint venture (JV) with DLF Group’s retail management arm DLF Brands for expansion in India.

“We have just started with our first Indian store at Delhi and our plan is to have a total of 16 outlets by 2012-13,” Piquadro India Brand Head Jayshree Chowdhury said.

She, however, refused to divulge the company’s investment plans for the India.

The company is basically targeting the premium segment customer in the metros and Tier I cities.

“We would be having a range of over 3,000 SKVs in leather goods, luggage items and accessories including keychains, cufflinks, laptops bags and gift items.

The company is setting up its second store in February 2009 at Delhi before venturing into other metros, she said,  adding that the Piquadro stores would be of average around 600 sq ft in area.

“The Rs 800 crore organised leather bag market in India is growing annually at over 25 per cent and we want to have a substantial presence in it,” Chowdhury said, without disclosing the company’s sales target for India.

The proposed plan will materialise by the end of 2009. The cooling real estate prices embarked the retailer to re-think its earlier plan of exploring the overseas market in the second half of 2010.

The proposed store will be opened in Shenyang and will have a retail sales area of 5,000 to 10,000 square metres. The company has estimated that it will require USD65 million to launch the store, along with establishing a local unit in China.

Shenyang is located in the northern region of China and has many state-owned corporations and consumers with fast-growing disposable income. Yamada Denki is the first to build a national chain store system in Japan and currently runs 297 stores across the country.

Pizza Hut, which is owned by United States food giant Yum! Restaurants International, is launching its new “Pasta Hut” brand in order to promote the group’s new home-delivered Tuscani Pasta products and capture more of the $11.6 billion fast-food industry.

Under the company’s plan, several Sydney Pizza Hut stores will be rebranded as Pasta Hut in the coming weeks, with the concept rolled out across the country over the remainder of the year.

The group is also introducing a host of other measures to boost sales, including a new lunch promotion to boost day-time sales (90% of Pizza Hut sales are at night). Other measures include up-to-date online ordering systems, a new website and more pizza products. The chain will also expand and renovate several of its stores.

Marketing director Angela Richards says the new brand is an attempt to widen the appeal of the Pizza Hut brand.

“The introduction of pasta is a move to give consumers more choice. We offer great pizza and will continue to offer pizza, but the move into pasta is to become more of a home meal replacement choice. We want to be as famous for our pasta as we for our pizza,” she says.

“Pizza and pasta are a very good fit, and have been really well received during testing.”

And despite the harsh economic conditions, Richards says the company is confident the new brand will help attract both new and existing customers.

“We are mindful of the downturn, but in terms of retail spending consumers at the moment are still buying from Pizza Hut – we’ve had the best start to a year we’ve had in seven years. It has become an affordable treat for them. Our customers’ money has shifted from eating out to more affordable treats. We’ll still continue to be part of their options to choose from. For right now, we can play a part during this value-conscious time.”

The rebranding comes at a good time for the industry, with the Retail Food Group posting a solid rise in sales for the first half of the 2008-09 financial year.

The company, which owns the franchising rights to Brumby’s, Michel’s Patisserie, Donut King and BB’s cafe, reports a 5.8% increase in weighted average weekly sales for the six months to 31 December.

The group also predicts a net profit of nearly $9.9 million after tax for the first half of the financial year.

X5 Retail Group, Russia’s largest retailer in terms of turnover, reported a massive 53% rise in sales in 2008. X5′s incredible sales growth, came on the back another incredible achievement – the company opened 233 new stores in the year, including the 24 Karusel hypermarkets which it acquired in June 2008. Growth through organic store openings and acquisitions, combined with a solid like-for-like performance (+22%), ensured that X5 remained ahead of the pack in 2008.

This put the group, which operates over 1,000 stores under several formats including hypermarkets, supermarkets and discounters, in a strong position to confront a difficult market in the year ahead.

Magnit, which operates over 2,000 convenience stores and 14 hypermarkets in the Russian Federation, revealed a 44.0% rise in sales in December and a like-for-like increase for the year of 18.8%. Seventh Continent, the largest grocery chain in Moscow, reported a 22.5% rise in sales in 2008.

The company increased its selling space by 17% in 2008, opening 14 new stores, including three hypermarkets. The retailer now operates a network of 140 stores in Russia, including 131 supermarkets and nine hypermarkets.

Cheshunt, England-based Tesco will reduce the cost of 3,000 so-called every day items such as fresh meat and baby food, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. Asda similarly plans to cut the price of 5,000 “every day essentials,” according to a statement on the retailer’s Web site.

Both supermarkets have stepped up promotional offers since January to prevent more shoppers turning to discount retailers such as Germany’s Aldi Group and Lidl. Tesco’s market share has fallen in the last three months, according to research company Taylor Nelson Sofres Plc. The retailer this month increased its range of low-price branded products and in January reduced prices of more than 3,000 items following cuts at Asda.

“Millions of customers are right now worrying about how they are going to make this month’s pay packet stretch until the next one arrives,” Richard Brasher, Tesco’s commercial and marketing director, said in a statement.

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Tiffany architects and designers will preserve the building’s original façade and create a modern and gracious interior that showcases an array of renowned TIFFANY & CO. collections. Among them are the jeweler’s celebrated diamonds in engagement rings and jewels of ultimate glamour; fine and sterling silver jewelry; the signature designs of Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso, Jean Schlumberger and Frank Gehry; watches; gifts and accessories.

“Opening our first store in Amsterdam is another indication of our optimism about Tiffany’s substantial long-term growth potential throughout Europe,” said Melvyn Kirtley, group vice president, Tiffany & Co. Europe. “Our prominent location in Amsterdam’s most desirable shopping area provides us with the ideal environment for introducing everyone to Tiffany’s heritage of design, craftsmanship and outstanding service.”

The new store features signature details of Tiffany’s famous New York flagship store, including brushed stainless steel and custom furnishings.

Source: www.fibre2fashion.com

The event was hosted by comedian Jimmy Carr, and guests numbered at around 1300 – among them some of retail’s biggest hitters.

After out-performing its rivals, the UK’s fourth-largest retailer received the award partly due to improved fresh offer, and a push on value-for-money initiatives which naturally proved popular with customers.

Tim Danaher, who presented the prize, commented “To be once again handing this award to Chief Executive Marc Bolland is testament to the way Morrison’s has adapted during this time to not only meet market challenges head on, but to continue to grow the business by attracting new customers and gaining market share. Morrison’s has combined its reputation for excellent fresh produce and great value with the best in modern retail and marketing practice”.

Patrick Bohannon, Vice President, EMEA, Oracle Retail added that their taste for innovation and originality in food retail has set them apart in the market. “Morrison’s has a strongly differentiated approach to food retailing through its in-house management of almost every aspect of its commercial business, including its people, sourcing and supply chain”.

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