Coca-Cola India to expand to more countries
Coca-Cola India will now cover three new countries - Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The division now represents six countries including India, Bhutan and the Maldives.

The company said, "The new responsibility is in recognition of the growth and success the India division has achieved over the last few years. The arrangement will bring greater synergy among these six countries in the areas of manufacturing and marketing of our products."

Now the existing marketing, HR, finance, public affairs and communications, and other central functions of the India division, will extend their support to the three new countries.

The company feels, "The cultures and business practices of these countries are similar to those in India. The realignment of territories will mutually benefit both our division and the region in terms of the synergy that will be generated and the best practices that all of us will commonly benefit from."

Thums Up 300 ml pack price slashed
Coca Cola India has again cut prices, this time of the popular Thums Up 300 ml pack to Rs 6.

To reinforce the strategy, a new action-packed Thums Up commercial, starring Brand Ambassador Akshay Kumar will hit TV screens on January 18 during the India Vs Australia cricket match on ESPN - Star Sports.

Created by Leo Burnett, the 30-second Thums Up commercial, communicates the new product pricing in an innovative fashion - "Bada Thums Up, Khatam hi nahin hota."

Hewlett Packard India claims 40 percent share
According to figures released by IDC Hewlett-Packard India Pvt. Ltd is the leader in the Indian storage market in the third quarter of 2003 (July-September) with a market share of 40.6 per cent.

IDC figures say H-P leads the market in storage area network, overall tape business, tape automation and External RAID market.

The company has increased its market share by 19 per cent over the same period last year.

According to the company, for the nine months ended September 2003, H-P continued to maintain its leadership position with a market share of 40.5 per cent.

Mother's Recipe to expand range
Mother's Recipe, the brand of pickles acquired by Desai Brothers from American Dry Fruits, is planning to expand its range. The company wants to get into range of ethnic products comprising papads, cooking pastes, namkeens, spices and ready-to-eat products from just being a pickles brand.

The company has roped in McKinsey to advise it on the strategy to go forward in the business.

With the ethnic food business in India estimated to be more than Rs 4,500 crore growing at 15 per cent every year the company feels this is the right business to be in. It has already invested Rs 20 crore in the Mother's Recipe brand, and is open to making more investments in areas like manufacturing and distribution and may acquire more ethnic brands in future.

Pantaloon Retail's creative account goes to Mudra and Percept
Ad agencies Mudra and Percept have bagged the creative accounts of the retailing stores of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd.

Pantaloon's ad spends for 2004-05 have been pegged at Rs 35 crore for its retail outfits. The media account of Pantaloon continues to be with Millennium and there are no plans at the moment to scout for a new media agency the company said.

Pantaloon's retail ventures include Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and Gold Bazaar. A Footwear Bazaar is expected to be launched under the same format. All these come under the `value retailing' venture.

Pantaloon Retail is expected to close this year with Rs 650 crore in sales as against Rs 450 crore last year.

Nissan to launch sports utility vehicle in India
Japanese passenger car company, Nissan Motors is entering the Indian market with the launch of X-TRAIL its successful sport utility vehicle (SUV).

The company recently unveiled the X-TRAIL at the Auto Expo held in New Delhi and the vehicle is expected to be available in the four metros priced at about Rs 20 lakhs.

The SUV is scheduled for a mid-2004 commercial launch and will be available in two trim levels called Elegance and Comfort. The variants will feature a 2.2 litre, four cylinder, inline, turbo charged diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission. The diesel engine will be common rail direct injection type and the vehicle will sport an intercooler and a variable type turbo charger. The X-TRAIL can seat five persons and will offer a four-wheel option. The vehicle will be imported by the company in the completely built (CBU) form.

Fuji ropes in photographers as brand endorsers
Going against the trend of roping in celebrity endorsers Fuji Films has decided to rope in photographers who are specialists in their respective fields.

The photograpohers who have been chosen are experts in their own field and are called the Fujifilm Super Six. The list comprises Rajesh Bedi-Wild Life, Pradeep Mandhani-Cricket, Prabuddha Das Gupta-Fashion, Avinash Pasricha-Indian Classical Dance, Ashok Dilwali-Landscapes and Prakash Dubey-Birds.

The company will hold photo exhibitions in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi to build the Fuji brand and has already held the first photo exhibition in Mumbai recently.

Rejoice! 'Is here'
Procter & Gamble has launched its shampoo `Rejoice' in the Chennai market priced at Rs 39 for a 100 ml bottle and Rs 2 for a 7.5 ml sachet. It has been launched in three variants - Rich, Complete and Silky Clean.

Rejoice is the largest selling shampoo in Asia, and on an average 1,000 bottles are purchased per minute all over the world. Rejoice has a global sales of $500 million annually.

The product's patented `micro silicone' conditioning technology gives it an advantage over other shampoos or home remedies such as henna, amla, reetha and shikakai.

Tata Motors unveils Indigo Marina, new version Indica, Indiva MPV
Tata Motors has launched another variant of small car, the Indica V2.

The new V2 incorporates a number of external features, including a new headlamp and tail-lamp cluster, and a few interior changes. The car will be available at the old price.

Tata Motors also unveiled the estate version of the Indigo sedan at the Auto Expo here. The new estate or weekend variant, to be called the Indigo Marina, is expected to be priced below the Rs 6-lakh mark, ex-showroom.

The Indigo Marina will be launched by mid-2004 and will be powered by the same turbo charged engine that is currently available in the Indigo. All the three cars, the Indica V2, the Indigo and the Indigo Marina are all built on the same platform.

Besides these two, Tata Motors also unveiled the 7-seater multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) concept, Tata Indiva at the expo here. This vehicle has also been built on the same platform as the Indica and Indigo and has been designed as a compact, space efficient vehicle.

Tata Motors also announced the rollout of its Indicab, an Indica variant for tour operators and taxi-cab owners.

The Indicab comes at a lower cost against the Indica V2 model and is available mainly in white colour to give it a distinct identity.

— Compiled by Mohini Bhatnagar

also see : List of reports on marketing review