MAM

Bombay Design Centre gets artistic for Camlin

Published

3 years ago

August 14, 2023

Mumbai: Well-known art and craft brand, Kokuyo Camlin is a pioneer in building quality products that are made in India and have been loved by millions of artists for over 90 years. The brand has partnered with design and tech firm Bombay Design Centre to build India’s first art and artist platform with content, creativity, and commerce at its core.

In a chat with Indiantelevision.com, Kokuyo Camlin chief strategy and marketing officer Rishi Kakar and Bombay Design Centre founder & CEO Ankur Rander reveal interesting facts about Camlin as a brand and on putting together a first-of-its kind D2C platform for art and artists.

To get acquainted, the platform is built on bespoke technology architecture and a deep understanding of the needs of the art community; it’s a radically fresh approach to an artist ecosystem and a transformative experience at every level.

Launched just about two weeks ago, the community platform is in beta mode and has already seen a 300 per cent jump in time spent on it. In the future, the brand aims to also do offline events for the community, bring in 500–700 education videos, and host the iconic Camel Art Foundation Contest with 50 lakh participants on the platform.

“Kokuyocamlin.com provides a safe place online where artists can connect with artists; on the brand and product side, for the first time in nine decades, we are bringing together products from a large range of 1,000+ art supplies on one single artist platform. The platform will provide clear and expert information about the products and recommend combinations to help the artists improve their work,” says Kakar.

Rander notes, “As one of the few firms in the country specialising in D2C brand experience design, we saw this as a distinctive opportunity for an artists’ community. Every photo, every word, every interaction, and every nuance of the platform is focused on making it a unique artist-centric experience. The experience is so simple and delightful that even kids love it. The backbone of this platform is technology. An example of this is the content management system that is custom-built in-house. It customises the experience for each product category while ensuring a lightweight front-end experience. This platform is a foundation for Camlin’s D2C journey and will contribute to their growth for years to come.”

Better late than never?

Needless to say, Camlin is the leader when it comes to art products. Considering its leadership and ownership (literally) in the ‘art products’ category, shouldn’t this platform have come a little sooner? Why is this the appropriate time to launch such a platform?

Kakar reveals, “This could have come sooner, but it has taken us two years of groundwork to arrive at what we have launched as a platform today. In these two years, we wanted to be certain that the platform would be on point as far as consumer needs were concerned. We did extensive research to understand the needs of all kinds of consumers—hobby artists, professional artists, and even children. We have made sure that we can satisfy what they were looking for from our products in general and also from Kokuyo Camlin in particular. This, therefore, becomes a more appropriate time for the launch since we are more confident about the needs of our consumers while we also see a greater acceptance of the online space.”

The USP of Kokuyocamlin.com and its marching user base

Discussing the uniqueness of the platform, Kakar points out, “This is a complete destination for someone who is interested in art, who wants to improve their skills, display their art, and would like to consider various products for purchase.”

He also mentions that they are expecting to increase traffic on the platform by 500 per cent over the next few months. “We believe we have already achieved a good engagement time; however, the idea is to increase monthly active users and attract more signups to the community. Currently, 70 per cent of people signing up have registered and verified themselves,” Kakar brings out.

Advertising and marketing for Camlin; rerouting from the traditional route

Kakar spells out that they are currently in the midst of launching a campaign that celebrates the fact that there is a new home for artists. “Kokuyo Camlin has been a valuable part of artists’ lives, and now we are inviting every artist to join our community in one inspiring and inclusive destination,” he says.

How does Camlin plan to get people who are actually used to the traditional way of doing art to be a part of this platform?

“There is a new behaviour where more and more consumers are not just going the traditional route. While they may be going the traditional route for buying, a lot of their research starts online. It is generally a mix. We will remain a destination for people who are interested in products, for people who want to display their art and seek feedback from community artists, for people who are interested in improving their skills and techniques, and for people who are keen to understand the details and nuances of the products that they buy,” Kakar emphasises.

The art products’ category and other players; Camlin’s share in the category

Art products are a big basket, making it hard to define how big the art market is. In India, this market is not growing very rapidly, and Kokuyo Camlin has a dominant share of this pie; the brand has at least 60 per cent of this market across categories that would include artists, hobbyists, and students, Kakar states.

He adds, “There is no single player that we can say we are in direct competition with. We have a set of competitors in the student market, which includes Toms, Faber Castell, and other such products. On the other hand, there is also the hobby market, where we compete with players like Fevicryl and Pidilite. There is also the professional artist market, where we are competing with international brands as well.”

“So, there are different segments of the art market, each with its own unique set of competitors. We haven’t seen anyone else with a platform like ours, simply because they cater to a much more specialised market. We enjoy a dominant market share and cater to different segments, which gives us the ability to create a platform like this that different parts of the market can benefit from,” reiterates Kakar.

The birth of Kokuyocamlin.com

What made Bombay Design Center suggest the idea of such a platform to the team at Camlin, and how did they get them to agree to it?

Rander clarified, “The artist community has often been sidelined in the new era of hyper connectivity, screens, and snackable content. India’s most iconic art and craft brand, Camel, itself standing at the juncture of a transformation, saw this as a box of opportunities.”

“Before this platform was built, we wrote down some hypotheses. What will happen if we build something like this? It obviously is a no brainer for anyone to sell online but we wanted to dig deeper. Is there something beyond the product that people want from our brand? Bombay Design Centre spent four months researching before developing the strategy and roadmap for the platform,” he elucidates.

He goes on, “The research aided the firm in defining the three strategic pillars of the platform. A safe, conversational, and inspirational community space for the artists; a definitive content destination for visual art education; and an artist platform for all things Camel. The user experience built on the first principles of customer-centricity strengthens Camel’s leadership position and puts a stamp of modernity and innovation on the brand.”

Also, Camlin is not like any other FMCG brand, an auto brand, or so. What did Bombay Design Center keep in mind while putting this platform in place? And what are the nuances that they wanted to bring out through this platform?

Rander explains, “The platform is a radical, fresh approach to an artist ecosystem and a transformative experience at every level. It is very artist-centric. The fact that artists are a community and there was no safe space for them online to meet, get feedback from each other helped us formulate an engaging strategy for the platform.”

The platform has received extraordinarily positive feedback from the artist community. Artists are delighted to be able to upload their artwork, share their portfolio with others, and follow the work of other artists. Younger artists have expressed their appreciation, emphasising the learning aspect of the platform that enables everyone to learn and practise a wide gamut of techniques.

Touch-and-feel, D2C, or both?

With a strong offline presence and now stepping into D2C with Camlin’s e-commerce platform, how is the growth for the brand going to be like?

“We want to first create a community of artists. While Kokuyo Camlin has been quite ubiquitous as a brand, this platform will help us focus more on creating a greater customer affinity for the brand. People know the brand, and we want people to love the brand. That is the role of this platform at the moment,” Kakar specifies.

As the ideal generators of putting a platform in place for Camlin, Bombay Design Centre must have really thought this through. What made them think that Camlin as a brand, which is more of a look-and-feel kind of brand, could do well on the D2C platform?

Rander of Bombay Design Centre says, “It’s a trusted brand whose products people have been seeing, touching, and using since childhood. Their presence in the offline world is unbeatable. We wanted to leverage this opportunity and go online.”

It is noteworthy that the brand has over 2,500 SKUs, and no one has ever seen the entire range of products in one place or one shop!

“Apart from that, the usual convenience of doing repeat purchases directly without stepping out of home, people wanting to buy directly from brand-owned websites for orders above a certain amount for authenticity and getting the latest products, and other similar benefits that D2C offers, gave us a sense of the desirability of a platform like this. Also, the fact that the brand already has a store on Amazon and Flipkart and consumers are buying from there validates this proposition for us,” he specifies.

The platform will provide clear and expert information about the products and recommend combinations to help the artists improve their work. Kakar mentions, “Our vision with the platform was to have an artist-first approach and make the sales channel secondary. We are proud to have stayed true to our vision.”

“We brought Bombay Design Center on board as they were the only partner with deep expertise across strategy, design, brand, and technology, all under one roof. With a single partner executing your entire vision and taking care of photography, content, & post-launch product management, it was easy, efficient, and a delight for us to make this mammoth dream happen,” he concludes.

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.