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Tag: India

  • King Koil Ties Up with Real Innerspring, as a Sole Licensee for India

    King Koil Ties Up with Real Innerspring, as a Sole Licensee for India

    NEW DELHI: King Koil, an internationally acclaimed and magnificent mattress brand has signed a sole licensee agreement with Real Innerspring Technologies Pvt. Ltd, India.  At the pinnacle of being the fourth largest mattress brand in the world, the licensing has accrued from the authenticity of the fact that Real Innerspring Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Mattresses is India’s first manufacturer of Patented Spring Mattresses and is opined as a recognized brand name in the Indian Retail and Hospitality markets through a decade of intensive domestic and international exposure.

    Drawing from its experience of manufacturing high quality sleeping solutions, the company plans to target the Mid and High end mattress market and focus on delivering classy, exotic and upscale alternative to the existing mattress line. King Koil India has plans in the next five years of spanning into market expansion and investing INR 400 Crores in varied fields like Facilities, Human Resources, Channel Management, Indigenous R&D etc. While envisaging strategic expansion, the company would also look at strengthening its presence nationally through distributorships, tie-ups with multi-brand outlets, opening of exclusive outlets and aggressive brand awareness. By next year, it aims to make an overwhelming impact on the mattress industry and create a large consumer base.

    According to Mr. Archit Gupta, Managing Director, Real Innerspring Technologies Pvt. Ltd., “We are enthralled with the licensee-deal, as King Koil is known for designing innovative and high-end intricate mattresses in over 80 countries across the world. Our forte is providing Innovative Design & Superior Mattress Technology in our product line. I am sure being the sole licensee of King Koil in India, will help us to redefine the sleep solutions for our valued consumers, based on comfort and support offered by the world’s  most trusted mattress company.”
    “Starting from North India, with our presence in the markets of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Gujrat & Punjab we plan to focus in Southern India also. We are having a production capacity of approximately one hundred thousand mattresses per annum, which we wish to increase in future”, added Mr. Gupta.

    Talking about its foray, Mr JP Ledoux, VP of International Business at King Koil, reiterates that, “We are contented to influx the Indian market, which is a paradigm shift for us, initially with our two products that will be available in the Indian market. The move comes as a part of our strategic expansion plan to reach out to the burgeoning mattress market in India. The two major products that King Koil has introduced in the domestic market are, Posture Sense and Dr. Mattress.

    Posture Sense by King Koil is most widely available, balanced coiled support system with a unique dual hard and soft feature with a differential appeal that prolongs the life span of the mattress to be introduced for the first time in Indian Mattress Market.
    Dr Mattresses, as the name amply suggests is a unique mattress range for back support which uses chip size REBOND form of high density as a core, providing therapeutic value to the user.

  • Permission-based Email Marketing takes off in India

    Permission-based Email Marketing takes off in India

    MUMBAI: Today, organisations are keen to use leading-edge technologies to engage with their customers, and improvements in permission-based Email Marketing continues to play a significant role in the always-on, interconnected world we inhabit.

    CheetahMail, Experian’s permission-based email marketing platform, has always enabled brands to connect with their customers via precise, targeted messages and promotions. Experian Marketing Services (India) has now signed up with Thomas Cook (India), Cox & Kings, Ezeego, Star CJ and BabyOye, and will partner with these prestigious brands to help them engage with their audience through advanced Email Marketing strategies. Experian CheetahMail’s access to a global roster of clients, working across industry segments and verticals, empowers its clientele to design and deploy highly effective Email Marketing programs and deliver Return on Investment (ROI).

    On securing these new signups Mr. Naveen Bachwani, Head of Experian Marketing Services, said: “Experian CheetahMail is pleased to partner with Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, Ezeego,Star CJ and BabyOye to help improve the effectiveness of their digital marketing programs. The objective of every marketing campaign is to get the right message delivered to the right consumer at the right time.  At Experian, our team of highly experienced professionals enables customers to adapt their marketing strategies to suit their customers’ needs and preferences and follow an appropriate segmentation approach. This approach helps them improve engagement with their customers, ultimately, resulting in better returns on their marketing activities.

    According to Farshid S. Master, General Manager – E business, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, “Experian Cheetah mail is a very professional email marketing solution provider. The team at Experian is knowledgeable, customer friendly and provides us with the best practices followed in the industry. It’s been a great experience to partner with them and we hope to have a long lasting relationship with Experian.”

    Donald Kwag – Head of Marketing, STAR CJ commented, “We are very happy to have been associated with Experian as it has changed our thought process and way of doing email marketing. Their prompt response and fast resolutions for all issues /concerns raised is one of their USP’s. Their creativity and zeal to try and execute new things on email marketing is what we like best. With them we are seeing our best numbers in terms of open rate, Click Through Rate’s (CTR) and conversions.”

  • Satyagraha: A glorified hunger strike

    Satyagraha: A glorified hunger strike

    There is cinema called Prakash Jha genre. It is basically anti-establishment in its essence. The usual elements involve badly skewed good-vs-bad struggles, the usual locations, plenty of crowds and a small constituency that is supposed to represent the national scene of India today.

     

    Amitabh Bachchan is the honest, retired masterji of a small township. His principles are as tall as his personal being. He is not always right but that is the way he is. He has cast his son, Indraneil Sengupta, in his very own mould. The son, an engineer, is the head of development of a whole precinct of Ambikapur, which is represented by the politician Manoj Bajpai in the state assembly. A new bridge is being built with his design, and Bajpai’s brother is the contractor. As expected, a slab from the bridge collapses and kills many workers. The builder has used inferior materials but the blame is put on the designer, Indraneil, who is killed soon after. A compensation award of Rs 25 lakh for the killed workers’ families is announced by Bajpai in front of the media. Days pass but the award is not forthcoming due to corruption. When approached,the district collector is rude. Angry with his behaviour, Bachchan slaps him in front of his subordinates.

     

    Bachchan is arrested for slapping a public servant. Enter Ajay Devgn, Indraneil’s bum chum who supported Devgn after his parents died in an accident. Devgn tries his best, appointing a topmost lawyer and even approaching the collector. Nothing works and he decides to start a campaign for the release of the honest ex-teacher through posters and MMS clips. Soon the local toughie, Arjun Rampal, an expelled student of Bachchan, joins the campaign with Devgn. Rampal’s speciality is crowd mobilisation. Devgn decides to rope in Kareena Kapoor, a TV journalist from ABP News. Kareena is supposed to travel with the PM on his Japan jaunt but Devgn convinces her that something major is happening in Ambikapur by sending her manipulated pictures of huge crowds. When she arrives, she sees no crowds but not to disappoint her, Rampal soon produces a huge mob.

     

    Bajpai decides to play a good guy, comes personally to his constituency and orders the release of Bachchan and also presents him the cheque for Rs 25 lakh. But looking at the crowd’s backing, Bachchan refuses to accept the money till corruption is totally done away with in Bajpai’s constituency. He gives a deadline of a month for the purpose. However, Bajpai is a tough nut to crack. He holds the ultimate power in the state government which stands because of support of his party. He is in the position to call the shots. This becomes the clash of egos between Bajpai and Bachchan and his supporters Devgn, Rampal and Amrita Rao. Kareena stays back to cover the movement as well as to support it and ends up falling in love with Devgn while she is there.

     

    Bachchan is taunted by the widow of one of the workers who died when the bridge slab collapsed. She tells him it is fine for him to refuse Rs 25 lakh but because of him even her compensation of one lakh is not forthcoming. She and her children have to remain hungry. Bachchan is moved and decides he too won’t eat until the widow’s children get their due and the local administration clears all the dues of the people. He is now on a satyagraha. Don’t know why hundreds of people come and stare at the hungry Bachchan on satyagraha because for the viewer of this movie whatever is happening becomes unbearable! Some relief during this time comes in the form of one of Gandhiji’s favourite Bhajans, Raghupati Ragav Raja Ram with reworked words. Since politicians like Bajpai don’t always relent, the only way to end the film seems to be to let the armed forces out on the mob. There is chaos and deaths and for some reason Bachchan goes for a stroll. Devgn goes to find him when Bajpai’s goons shoot at both, killing Bachchan and hurting Devgn.

     

    Devgn and Rampal go after Bajpai only to hand him over to the police; not a very satisfactory way to deal with a villain for the viewers.

     

    Satyagraha is a dry, insipid film with a script of convenience. Director Prakash Jha may be adept at collecting and handling crowds but the same can’t be said of scripting. A few scenes and sequences are also taken from the film Gandhi. Dialogue is routine. Photography is fair. Editing is slack. Musically, the film has a couple of good songs: the title song and Raskebhare tore naina. Performances by all artistes are okay; the script offers no scope for histrionics to any character.

     

    Satyagraha has nothing except its star line-up to attract people. But that has never been reason enough for the cine-going public.

  • Raghav Rekhi to head Mars chocolate business in India

    Raghav Rekhi to head Mars chocolate business in India

    MUMBAI: Mars International India has appointed Raghav Rekhi to lead the marketing operations for the chocolate business in India as the marketing director with effect from August 2013.

    In his new role, Raghav will develop and implement marketing strategies for the brand to achieve company’s growth and promotional objectives. He will also further work towards establishing the Mars brand as a global and local market leader.

    Raghav comes to Mars International India with significant experience and a proven track record. He has 14 years of experience with Mars, Inc. and has held a number of marketing and sales management roles in various parts of the world during his tenure with the company globally.

    “I’m confident that his experience in sales and marketing will help in driving our chocolate business forward in the country.” says Mars International India chocolate business general manager MV Natarajan.

    In his most recent role, Raghav served as a marketing director for Mars META (Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region). Raghav has won several awards and recognitions for his work, including the global Mars Inc award for ‘The most innovative marketing campaign’.

    Raghav is of Indian decent and returns to India after having spent more than 20 years across the globe.

  • ZeeQ brings internationally – acclaimed animated shows to India

    ZeeQ brings internationally – acclaimed animated shows to India

    MUMBAI: ZeeQ, India’s first edutainment channel is all set to launch the animated series Dinosaur Train and Zou in India. The channel has acquired the Indian rights for these series which cater to the preschooler audiences.

     

    Dinosaur Train has been honored by the Parents’ Choice Silver Honor TV series award, which is a mark of acceptance by parents as a preferred choice for their toddlers’ TV viewing. The half-hour show features two animated episodes with a real paleontologist interacting with kids who love to explore the world around them. Dinosaur Train, the Emmy nominated series, starting today, will air every Monday to Thursday at 4:30 pm on ZeeQ.

     

    The second offering is Zou, a French hit animated preschool series, which follows the adventure of a lovable five-year-old Zebra. The show subtly touches every theme of early childhood and aims to inculcate family values in children. Zou has been broadcasted in more than 140 territories and in 24 different languages around the world. The series became a worldwide success within a year of its telecast in the UK. Starting 28 August, Zou will air every Wednesday and Thursday at 2:00 pm on ZeeQ.

     

    With the launch of Dinosaur Train and Zou, ZeeQ aims at strengthening its preschooler program portfolio. Some of the other well-known preschooler animated series that air on ZeeQ are from the CBeebies brand namely Teletubbies, Charlie and Lola and 3rd & Bird.

     

    Commenting on the development, ZeeQ business head Subhadarshi Tripathy says, “ZeeQ has been working towards bringing in content that is in the best interest of children and their parents. Both the series provide clean and safe content for preschool children. While Dinosaur Train helps in building scientific thinking through the content of the show, Zou aims to inculcate lessons about growing up and family values. Such educative series help in early childhood brain development and instill moral values at their tender age.”

     

    ZeeQ caters to the 0-14 year age segment. The channel currently airs a mix of live-action and animated shows. Some of its prominent shows include Teenovation, Science with BrainCafé, Word Match and M.I. Four – The Multiple Intelligence Quiz.

  • Silicon Valley Tech Entrepreneur Karl Mehta Launches: Code For India

    Silicon Valley Tech Entrepreneur Karl Mehta Launches: Code For India

    MUMBAI: Karl Mehta, the Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist, today announced Code For India (CFI), a global community of software engineers from around the world to build technology for public service to solve developing world problems. With India as the test-bed, CFI proposes to build tools that will help solve problems on the ground, and empower citizens to actively participate in partnership with local government to give communities the power to help themselves.

    “As a firm believer in the power of crowd sourced and open sourced technology, we have created Code For India to provide tools to fight day-to-day public service issues,” said Mehta.
    “Code For India’s use of technology will promote transparency, participation and efficiency in the way local people can voice their concern and find solutions. The transformative power of technology will aid India — and other developing countries facing similar problems.”

    Code For India has support from Indian-origin tech professionals around the world. Software engineers from Microsoft, Google, eBay, VISA and Facebook have volunteered in developing social awareness apps in the first phase of Code For India. Potentially adding thousands of volunteers, the organizations TiE Silicon Valley, TiE Mumbai, TiE New Delhi and The Morpheus Fund have partnered with Code For India to encourage their large network of tech community members to get involved. In addition, Professor Vijay Pande of Stanford University, Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education and Vish Mishra, Venture Director at Clearstone and mentor to The Hive and The Fabric have joined the Advisory Board.

    “Code for India is a unique and commendable initiative whereby the sharpest of computing minds can apply themselves to altruistic causes. TiE Delhi NCR are proud to be associated with the program,” said Deep Kalra, President of TiE-New Delhi.

    “TiE is volunteerism at its best as demonstrated since its inception. We are thrilled to partner with Code For India in leveraging Silicon Valley technology and entrepreneurial talent to solve pressing needs of the Indian society,” said Venkatesh Shukla, President of TiE-Silicon Valley.

  • Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation brings eight rare films to Hulu

    Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation brings eight rare films to Hulu

    MUMBAI: Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation (WCF) has been restoring rare films from around the globe since 2007. But while the foundation has saved 21 movies in that time, the product of its efforts haven’t been made available to the public until today.

     

    Recently, Scorsese announced that eight of the foundation’s restorations are coming to the streaming-video service Hulu, by way of a partnership with the Criterion Collection. Like the WCF, Criterion is a group that collects and restores historic and influential films. But Criterion sells its collection on disc and online, and streams exclusively on Hulu. The first WCF movie to make to Hulu is The Housemaid from South Korea and it’s available for streaming now.

     

    In the coming days, Criterion will add Senegal’s Touki Bouki, Turkey’s Law of the Borderand Dry Summer, Morocco’s Trances, India and Bangladesh’s A River Called Titas, Kazakhstan’s Revenge, and Mexico’s Redes from the WCF’s vaults to Hulu. Through 24 August the eight films – which have never before been available for streaming in the US – can be seen for free with ads. After that, only paying Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to watch the WCF movies, and they’ll do so ad free.

  • Tewari reaffirms his support for extension of ad cap implementation

    Tewari reaffirms his support for extension of ad cap implementation

    NEW DELHI: The news channels have found a big supporter to push their demand for an extension in the implementation of ad cap. And this comes from none other than Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari himself. In a statement made today, the minister has reinstated his support for the news channels and asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to extend the time frame for news channels to implement the 12 minute ad-cap.

     

    “TRAI can give the news channels an extension at least till the final phase of digitisation is complete,” said Tewari who was addressing a symposium on News Media Education in India organised by CMS Academy at the India International Centre in New Delhi.

     

    “The regulator can seriously look into some of the issues which the news channels have raised and see if they can give them a road map which is synchronous with digitisation, so that we can have a seamless implementation of both digitisation and the statutory remit.”

    Tewari questions if we have freedom of the press or freedom of the owner of the press

     

    Tewari commented that apart from protecting consumer interest, TRAI should also look at the industry situation so that downsizing does not become the rule rather than the exception. He said manufacturing Set Top Boxes (STBs) “is not rocket science” and digitisation has been a “huge missed opportunity” for the medium and small scale industry. He said Indian industry should utilise the opportunity of providing STBs for third and fourth phase of digitisation.

     

    The minister in his address not only spoke in the favour of the news channels but also took a dig at the current media scenario. Commenting on last week’s lay off by a television news channel and the legal recourse against the Wage Board recommendations for the print media by one of the promoters he said, “Media is a business today.”

     

    Tewari also said that there was a need to reflect on whether it is a business as defined under the Indian constitution or any other activity – a “question germane to the media.” He was referring to over 300 job cuts that include some of the well known names, in a news channel last week.

     

    The minister said the rights of the citizens and the rights of the media barons “fall in different tracks with the twain not destined to meet.”

     

    Describing the question as a classic chicken and egg situation, Tewari commented that the “Conundrum bedevilling the media landscape today in India is – Do we have freedom of the press or freedom of the owner of the press?” He hoped media professionals would “introspect” on the issue.

     

    Commenting on the challenges faced by the print, broadcasting and new media (internet) he said, “The challenges are unique, distinct and require different treatment.” He further stated that it was time for the print media, which has more or less tried to keep rates low over the years, to “reflect and rationalise tariffs.”

     

    He said the heavily advertisement-dependent model of newspapers was “not the way forward” and called for “serious introspection” in the print media on how far the advertisement model can sustain them.

     

    On the broadcasting sector, he said of the 798-odd channels, 415 are news channels, and they too are “hugely” dependant on advertisements for revenue. “This has led to addiction of sensationalism, manufactured anger and media trials,” the minister added. The situation leads to violation of privacy and that the issue needs to be addressed.

     

    Tewari also said his ministry had sent a proposal to the law ministry to incorporate provisions against paid news in the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, providing for penal provisions. He said it was proposed that paid news would be made an offence which would have provisions of penalty and suspension of license.

     

    He said the media industry should consider holding a common exam for journalists, on the lines of that conducted by the Bar Council, after which they could be given licence to pursue the profession.

     

    “A good starting point would be that rather than prescribing a curriculum which is then standardised across institutions, possibly the media industry could think about at least having a common exam.”

     

    Tewari said there were good institutions to train journalists, but there were also “fly-by-night” operators in the media education sector “Professionals from diverse fields would not resent the idea of a common exam.”

     

    Press Council of India Chairperson Justice (Retd) Markandey Katju had earlier raised the demand for minimum qualifications for journalists.

  • HDIL Ent gets plex urge

    HDIL Ent gets plex urge

    KOLKATA: HDIL Entertainment, the 100 per cent subsidiary of the Mumbai-based real estate company, Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), plans to have 70 multi-screen plexes pan India in the next couple of years. For setting up the cinema screens, the company has earmarked an investment of Rs 55 crore. The company’s multiplexes operate under the brand name – Broadway.
    HDIL Broadway CEO Mukesh Gupta is optimistic that both West Bengal plexes
    will be operational before Durga Puja

     

    HDIL Entertainment which reported a turnover of Rs 45 crore in the last fiscal of 2012-13, is aiming at notching up Rs 75 crore – Rs 80 crore by the end of the current fiscal 2013-14.

    In West Bengal, the company has signed a deal with mall developers for a four-screen plex Broadway at Asansol and three-screen plex at Durgapur.

    It is learnt that it will go for a lease agreement with Bengal Shristi for the Duragapur screens. Apart from this, it is looking at Burdwan and central Kolkata for expansion and Guwahati would be the preferred next destination in the eastern region. “Both the West Bengal plexes are slated to be operational before Durga Puja,” HDIL Broadway CEO Mukesh Gupta told indiantelevision.com.

    “By the month of October 2013, we plan to start 14 screens pan India and the total number of screens would be 35 by this year end. By the end of next year 2014, we are aiming at 70 multi-screen plexes,” he highlights.

    Of the Rs 55 crore investment needed, Rs 20 crore will be from internal accruals while a bank loan would account for Rs 35 crore, says Gupta.

    Broadway has around 14 operational plexes in Mumbai and four each in Kolkata and Indore. “We plan to open four screens at Kolkata, three in Delhi and two more in Mumbai by the end of the year,” the CEO says.

    It is interesting to note that two years ago the company planned to open around 120 multi-screen plexes by 2016 using the ownership model at an investment of Rs 450-500 crore. “Seeing the slow growth and not so conducive economic sentiment, we are looking at 120 screens in next three years to four years on a lease basis,” explains Gupta.

     

    HDIL Broadway has a four- screen multiplex, spread over 30,000 square feet and with a sitting capacity of 799 people in the city of Kolkata at present. Tickets are priced between Rs 150-Rs 200.

    Talking about the occupancy rate in Kolkata, he said the average occupancy rate is 48-52 per cent while “there are days like last week when the cinema halls were flooded with good movies, it was around 78 per cent also,” he says.

    “We have capitalised on the Salt Lake late-night movie-watching crowd and also the EM Bypass, Phoolbagan and Kankurgachi cinegoers in Kolkata,” reveals Gupta.

    Without giving much detail, Gupta said Broadway would soon open in central Kolkata.

    HDIL Entertainment is keen to tap the south market also for Broadway expansion, says Gupta.

    HDIL, the parent of HDIL Entertainment, was in the news recently for not paying interest arrears on a loan taken by it from Indiabulls Housing Finance, which it later paid up. Its share price dropped on the bad press.

    After a long consolidation of one and a half years, the HDIL share price broke out of the range, says Dhanpurna Commodities research head Puneet Rathi. “Falling below Rs 100 levels in January 2013, reflect a continuation of down trend in stock. After touching a bottom of Rs 26.1 on 6 August 2013 it bounced back on low volume,” he said.

    It is currently trading in the Rs 30 plus range.

    On Wednesday afternoon, the scrip was trading at Rs 32.85, up 0.61 per cent.

  • Doordarshan to live stream India’s 67th Independence Day celebration on YouTube

    Doordarshan to live stream India’s 67th Independence Day celebration on YouTube

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan, which is telecasting the Independence Day celebrations live from Red Fort, will in association with YouTube live stream the 67th Indian Independence Day celebrations and the Prime Minister’s address to the Nation for 2013.

     

    This association will enable millions of Indians worldwide to enjoy high definition live feed on Doordarshan’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/DoordarshanNational) and get front row access to all the celebrations lined up for the grand event.

     

    The live stream will be available on 15 August from 6:25 am onwards, capturing the flag-hoisting ceremony by the Prime Minister from the historic Red Fort, Delhi.
    Users will also be able to enjoy highlight clips from the Independence Day celebrations.

     

    Speaking on the association with YouTube, Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan said, “We are delighted to associate with YouTube to share the Independence celebrations with Indians across the globe. Streaming Independence Day celebration live on YouTube will help us to reach the global audience in a format which best suits today’s generation. Our streaming of the 67th Republic Day Parade also received a tremendous response with over 100,000 views. Our objective is to cater to our Indian and global audiences and take events of national importance not only to their TV screens.

     

    Commenting on the initiative YouTube director content partnerships Gautam Anand, said, “We are delighted to partner with Doordarshan to join the celebration of India’s 67th Independence Day live from the historic Red Fort on YouTube. This is the first time we are live streaming India’s Independence Day celebrations and we hope that our users will enjoy the telecast wherever they’re in the world.”