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Tag: Pawan Agarwal

  • Gini & Jony names Harsh Agarwal as CEO as founder Prakash Lakhani moves to mentor role

    Gini & Jony names Harsh Agarwal as CEO as founder Prakash Lakhani moves to mentor role

    MUMBAI: If childhood came stitched in style, Gini & Jony would be its tailor-in-chief. But as the Indian kidswear brand turns 45, it isn’t just sizing up garments—it’s resizing leadership. Suditi Industries Ltd. appointed Harsh Agarwal as the new CEO of Gini & Jony, ending the decades-long tenure of founder & former CEO Prakash Lakhani, who now takes on the role of mentor.

    It’s more than a ceremonial baton pass. It’s a calculated pivot toward reinvention in a retail world that won’t sit still. With BSE notification filed and board nod secured, Harsh is taking the reins of a brand that’s dressed generations of Indian children and now wants to clothe an ecosystem.

    “Gini & Jony is not just a brand he built — it is his DNA. You cannot separate the two,” Agarwal said. “His legacy will continue to guide us as we build on the foundation he created.”

    Agarwal isn’t just stepping into a new role; he’s stepping into a legacy. With a roadmap focused on innovation, expansion, and emotionally resonant branding, his goal is to evolve Gini & Jony from a popular label into the most trusted name in the entire children’s lifestyle segment.

    “The needs of India’s children and parents in this space remain largely unmet. There is a significant opportunity to create entirely new experiences. We aim to spearhead this evolution, not just through our products, but through imagination and innovative solutions,” he said.

    His plans? Build momentum with agility, bin outdated playbooks, and rethink retail from the ground up. “We are re-evaluating established industry practices, shedding outdated biases, and fostering the development of contemporary retail solutions. The market is rapidly changing, and our goal is to lead that change, not simply react to it.”

    Agarwal brings a boots-on-ground management style. No corporate ivory tower here. “During this initial phase, I will be deeply engaged across all aspects of the business – from product development to retail operations, and from technology integration to customer interactions. It’s crucial for me to work alongside the team, establishing rhythm, speed, and alignment. As the business stabilises and our leadership team strengthens, I will gradually shift my focus to broader strategic priorities, including experience design, brand narrative, and long-term innovation.”

    He’ll continue to serve in a leadership role at Suditi Industries as it transforms from a manufacturer to a consumer-focused retail powerhouse.

    “As we embark on this next chapter, my commitment is clear: we will reimagine childhood through the lens of possibility. With courage, creativity, and care, we will make Gini & Jony the most trusted companion in every child’s story,” Agarwal added.

    Lakhani gave his blessing. “Building Gini & Jony over the past four decades has been an incredibly fulfilling journey. I am immensely proud to now pass the leadership to Harsh, who brings both fresh perspectives and a profound respect for the brand’s heritage. I have complete confidence in his ability to lead Gini & Jony into an exciting future characterised by innovation, integrity, and genuine care.”

    Suditi Industries CMD Pawan Agarwal weighed in, “At Suditi, we believe that the most successful businesses are built at the intersection of experience and new energy. Harsh embodies this perfect synergy of vision and execution. With the strong foundation we have established and the leadership now in place, I am confident that this marks the beginning of a remarkable new era for Gini & Jony – and for Suditi Industries as a whole.”

  • Universal Music India’s Revibe presents “#BreakoutStar”

    Universal Music India’s Revibe presents “#BreakoutStar”

    Mumbai: Universal Music India proudly announces the launch of “#BreakoutStar,” a brand-new talent hunt to discover India’s next singing sensation. This talent hunt will offer aspiring artists a global stage to shine.

    With a rich catalogue spanning chart-toppers, classics, and contemporary hits that resonate across generations, UMG India has always been at the forefront of honing new talent. Now, with a sponsorship from YouTube Shorts UMG India is set to propel the stars of tomorrow into a much-deserved limelight.

    Renowned music stars Amit Trivedi and Aastha Gill will headline the panel of judges for “#BreakoutStar,” adding their valuable expertise and insight to the whole initiative. The talent hunt will span over 3 months, promising an exciting journey spanning various stages. The winner of #BreakoutStar will receive a slew of prizes – namely a one-year contract with Universal Music India, a music video opportunity, and a home studio setup!

    In a subtle nod to the partnership, Fever FM, the radio partner for “#BreakoutStar,” will showcase the top five contestants on their show Soundbox, amplifying their reach and exposure across their listeners.

    Speaking about the initiative, Universal Music India & South Asia EVP & head of content Sanujeet Bhujabal commented, “The Breakout Star property in partnership with Universal Music India and YouTube Shorts is an exciting initiative to find the next singing star using the power of catalog.  This initiative is a part of the catalog re-surfacing exercise under the REVIBE brand of Universal Music. UMI has always been about keeping the artists front and centre – and the next big artist can be found anywhere – from the biggest of metros to the smallest of towns. Youtube Shorts, which averages over 70 billion daily views globally, has fast emerged as a key short video tool for artists to express themselves and connect with fans. The collaboration of both these entities is a natural fit, as we leverage off each other in fashioning a narrative that enables budding artistes from absolutely anywhere in the world, to get a well-deserved platform to showcase their talent.”

    Additionally, YouTube director, music partnerships (India, South Asia & SEA) Pawan Agarwal expressed excitement, stating, “At YouTube Shorts, we’re committed to empowering emerging artists and creators by offering them a stage to exhibit their unique talent and creativity to audiences across the world. By supporting UMG India with ‘#BreakoutStar’, we not only want to help breakthrough exceptional musical talent but also celebrate creativity in India’s vibrant digital landscape. “

    Talking about #BreakoutStar, judge Amit Trivedi shared, “We have talent in every corner of our country. With #BreakoutStar, we aim to discover such unexplored singing talents from the comfort of their own places. There have been numerous talent hunts over the years, but #BreakoutStar stands out uniquely as it offers an opportunity for literally anyone to participate ! Aastha and I are extremely excited to chair the judging panel for this unique show and can’t wait to hear the entries!”

    Expressing her excitement, Aastha Gill added, “#BreakoutStar is an incredible platform for artists to shine and showcase their talent as many of them go undiscovered due to the unavailability of resources. #BreakoutStar is one such opportunity for those dreams to come true at their own convenience. We are super thrilled to see what India has in store for us!”

    “#BreakoutStar” is poised to redefine the music landscape, ushering in a new era of talent and creativity.

    Mark your calendars for this groundbreaking initiative, as India’s brightest stars prepare to take center stage.

  • AS Mehta elected as president of IPMA

    AS Mehta elected as president of IPMA

    Mumbai: JK Paper Ltd president and director AS Mehta is elected as president of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) during its 22nd annual general meeting. IPMA is the apex body for the paper industry in India.

    The association has also named Naini Papers Ltd managing director Pawan Agarwal as vice president of IPMA.

    The IPMA members are from pulp and paper mills from the private and public sector with a product mix of all varieties of paper (writing, printing, packaging, paperboard, specialty and newsprint) located in all regions of the country using conventional fibre such as wood and bamboo and also unconventional raw materials like recycled fibre/recovered paper, and agro residue.

  • Pawan Agarwal joins YouTube as head of music partnerships – India & S. Asia

    Pawan Agarwal joins YouTube as head of music partnerships – India & S. Asia

    MUMBAI: Gaana.com vice president and business head Pawan Agarwal has stepped down from his post at the Times Internet owned company to join YouTube as head of music partnership for India and South Asia region.

     

    He joined YouTube earlier this month and will be based in Gurgaon.

     

    Agarwal was with Gaana.com for a period of three years from June 2013 to December 2015 and was responsible for the company’s business growth and profit and loss management.

     

    An IIT, Kanpur alumni, Agarwal was co-founder & COO at Sunstone Business School before joining Gaana.com. He also had a stint with Lime Labs as head of India operations from 2006 – 2011.

  • Pawan Agarwal joins YouTube as head of music partnerships – India & S. Asia

    Pawan Agarwal joins YouTube as head of music partnerships – India & S. Asia

    MUMBAI: Gaana.com vice president and business head Pawan Agarwal has stepped down from his post at the Times Internet owned company to join YouTube as head of music partnership for India and South Asia region.

     

    He joined YouTube earlier this month and will be based in Gurgaon.

     

    Agarwal was with Gaana.com for a period of three years from June 2013 to December 2015 and was responsible for the company’s business growth and profit and loss management.

     

    An IIT, Kanpur alumni, Agarwal was co-founder & COO at Sunstone Business School before joining Gaana.com. He also had a stint with Lime Labs as head of India operations from 2006 – 2011.

  • Times Internet’s Gaana.com looks to raise $150 million

    Times Internet’s Gaana.com looks to raise $150 million

    MUMBAI: After music streaming service Saavn raised over $100 million not so long ago, its competitor Times Internet’s Gaana.com is all set to make a similar move in order to expand its base and invade newer territories. If industry sources are to be believed, the venture is looking to raise over $150 million.

     

    While Gaana.com business head Pawan Agarwal confirmed to Indiantelevision.com on the fund raising, he declined to disclose the amount as well as the parties that were looking at investing into the venture.

     

    “India is a vast market and we have aspirations of expansion and to fuel that we plan to raise funds through venture capitals and other private investors,” said Agarwal.

     

    It may be recalled that recently, Saavn announced its move to enter into delivering video content to its subscribers. When queried as to whether Gaana was also looking to take the same route, Agarwal replied, “At this point of time, we do not have such plans. There is enough room in the music streaming market and we are concentrating on that.”

     

    So far, the Times Group has invested $25 million in Gaana.com, which has crossed 22 million downloads across Android and iOS as well as clocked 16 million monthly active users. On the other hand, Saavn, which was founded in 2007, has 14 million monthly active users, up from 11 million in the first quarter of 2015. What’s more, it expects to cross 20 million by the end of the year.

     

    The music streaming players in India are planning thick and fast so as not to leave the market wide open for rivals.

  • Gaana.com partners The Orchard to strengthen music library

    Gaana.com partners The Orchard to strengthen music library

    MUMBAI: In a bid to strengthen its library, Gaana.com has inked a partnership with music, film and video distribution company The Orchard to add more than seven million indie songs to its catalogue in India.

     

    With this the total catalogue size of Gaana.com has touched 10 million songs.

     

    The Orchard operates in more than 25 global markets, amplifying reach and revenue across the world through multiple digital, physical and mobile partnerships internationally. The artists that the company works with range from legendary rockers Toto, metal gods Slayer and rising Indie duo Say Lou Lou. Popular Indian indie acts include Raghu Dixit, Soulmate, DhruvGhanekar and Blackstratblues.

     

    Gaana.com’s music streaming app and web service has 15 million+ app downloads and over 12 million registered users. It has a catalogue ranging from Bollywood, international, regional and independent music.

     

    Gaana.com business head Pawan Agarwal said, “Our focus is to create best music experiences for its users and we are focused on bringing the widest selection of songs from India and international markets for our consumers. The Orchard is an important partnership for us, and we believe the consumers would love it.”

     

    “We’re excited to be working with Gaana as it grows its presence in India. Bringing our quality catalogue to local listeners and extending our labels’ brands in the region is the perfect representation of what we’re about: using technology and relationships to bring music to engaged consumers wherever they are in the world,” added The Orchand CEO Brad Navin.

  • Real estate marketing cos allocate 30% spends on digital marketing

    Real estate marketing cos allocate 30% spends on digital marketing

    KOLKATA: Over the last few years, advancement of technology has been swift and comprehensive. The digital world, which has changed the way people search and research for property, has led to real estate marketing companies earmarking around 30 per cent of the budget on digital marketing as compared to around five per cent some five years ago.

     

    Additionally, print advertising, which was the only way to sell property, saw companies striving for billboards and signages until a few years ago. However, now the focus is more on social media marketing as well as cross-promotion on different websites.

     

    “A company without an online presence is a rare and dying breed and social media is changing the way businesses are communicating with their customers. The print and hoarding spent, which was around 80-85 per cent, has come down to less than 50 per cent in last five years as people in the age group of 30 years-40 years can be targeted easily through digital marketing and advertisements,” said NK Realtors managing director Pawan Agarwal, who is a real estate marketing consultant in West Bengal.

     

    “The digital space, which could attract around five per cent of the marketing budget has been increased to 30 per cent in last five years,” informs Agarwal. 

     

    Cross promotion on different websites has also gained traction over the last few years. “Till some years ago, if our product was not in the newspaper, we did not get noticed. Marketing today has become a highly digitised experience, especially when compared with what was happening even five – six years ago,” said Pioneer Properties CMD Jitendra Khaitan.

     

    Smartphones and tablets will continue to impact on the way property is marketed and also the information available at a buyers’ fingertips, said a city-based real estate marketing executive.

     

    The analyst, referring to a recent advert featured, implying that house hunting has become that easy with a mouse, said house hunting with a mouse is the next hot thing after matrimony and job sites and it is poised to take over the print media in the coming years. 

     

    “House hunting on digital platform had already happened in the US and it was bound to happen here. Most builders predict a bright future for online property deals and thus, have their own websites for the purpose even,” he said.

     

    “Buying a home is not a piece of cake for most of us. Sparing time from our busy schedules to visit the various properties and then making the final decision makes it real tough. So digital or online scrutiny of the project helps a help,” Agarwal added.

  • Crystal Ball gazing: The biggies give their view

    Crystal Ball gazing: The biggies give their view

    MUMBAI: With the digital ecosystem evolving since the last few years, the next three to five years are seen as the years of ‘quantum leap’. These were the views of a panel at the Crystal Ball session on the second day of Mix Radio Music Connects (MRMC).

    The panel comprised of Gaana.com VP and business head Pawan Agarwal, HMV Saregama India head music business Adarsh Gupta, Bharti Airtel chief product officer Anand Chandrasekaran, Sony MAX and Sony MIX senior executive VP and  business head Neeraj Vyas and Samsung South West Asia director and head, media and  cloud services Tarun Malik.

    With a rise in music streaming services, visual content streaming services and music channels and companies competing for content will give more traction to these services felt the experts.

    Commenting on the digital eco system, Gupta said, “It is going to take a quantum leap in the next three years; there has been immense mobile penetration and data digitisation in recent times and many digital services have been launched.”

    “Since most music channels are free to air and the revenue comes only through ads, music channels have 20-25 minutes of advertisement/ trailers per hour. We need to focus on bringing music back to the audience but the music channels are here to stay,” according to Vyas.

     “Music channels have a base of around 400 million people and that is the number covered by TAM. We need a lot of changes like digitization, it is the future.” he emphasized.

    Agarwal added, “There are two big things that are happening right now – availability of content and a lot more awareness of the industry going faster. The number of downloads are increasing and digital is the future.”

    Talking about the music industry, Chandrasekaran added, “This is the best time for the music industry.”

    Malik further explained, “Personalisation is the key and differentiation should go beyond just music. The services must be more centric and personalised in terms of what the users want to consume.”
    “What we need to focus on in the coming future is ‘convergence of devices’. The volume of consumption is increasing and they need to be accessible easily across all users’ devices,” he added.

    Chandrasekharan expressed his opinions on what is the need of the hour saying, “Only 1/5 of the overall smartphone using population has the data capability to use apps. We all need to cater to what users want. User problems need to be solved and there must be transparency. For example, when a user is using a music streaming app, they do not know how much data is going to be consumed. That is why we have introduced Freedom subscription in Wynk, which includes bundled data.”

    The biggest challenge that the music industry faces is piracy, especially in India, where users download illegal music for convenience. Agarwal said, “The entire industry is trying very hard to curb piracy by introducing many services. Apps should introduce subscriptions which allow the users to download music when they have Wi-Fi and later listen, without data usage.”

    The panellists agreed that the mid-term goal is to get at least a hundred million people to stream music, which will help reduce the piracy. With healthy smartphone consumption in the country, they believe, that hundred million is a reasonable number to expect in the next two years.

     

  • Times Internet launches Gaana Awards 2014

    Times Internet launches Gaana Awards 2014

    MUMBAI: The much-awaited  awards in the digital music platform is here. Times Internet presents the inaugural Gaana Awards which celebrates music, both Indian and international.

     

    Gaana.com, the largest online music broadcaster in the country which has a catalogue of 3 million songs across various languages, has announced the launch of the Gaana Music Awards 2014. The awards will be determined on the  basis of actual playouts & user consumption across  the digital platforms on Gaana. With over 2 billion minutes of music consumption & over  half a billion song playouts, Gaana is poised to declare the “actual music tastes and preferences of Indians globally.”

     

    The Gaana Music awards will have innovative and interesting award categories like Fastest-to-First Song and the Fastest Growing Music Label in the country. The other categories for which the awards would be presented are Most popular International song, Most popular Hindi song, Most popular Hindi album, Most popular regional song (Tamil and Kannada) and Most popular playback singer (Male and Female). It will honour both Indian and international music, another first in the industry.

     

    On this delightful occasion, Pawan Agarwal, Business Head, Gaana, said, “We are excited, as we launch these much anticipated awards. As a pioneering award in the digital music space, we hope, it will become much bigger in the coming years as the online consumption of music grows. We are extremely delighted to honour the best of the best in the Indian music fraternity.”

     

    On this delightful occasion, Pawan Agarwal, Business Head, Gaana, said, “We are excited to launch these much anticipated award in the digital music space. We hope it will become much bigger in the coming years as the online consumption of music grows. Also, we are extremely  delighted to honour the best of the best in the Indian music fraternity.”

     

     Awards will be promoted across TIL networks with a unique visitor base of more than 45 Million visitors per month.

     

     Gaana.com is India’s No. 1 music broadcasting service with 7.5 million active monthly users. Around 4.2 million apps are downloaded in less than a year. It has 3 million registered users and is growing with a content catalogue of over 3 million songs in more than 21 languages.

     

    TIL is the digital venture of  the Times of India Group which spans news, MVAS, E-Commerce, Music, Video and Location Based Services.