Max New York Life starts building its image
Max New York Life Insurance Company is sprucing up its brand image in India. The company has outlined three critical priority areas — push more new products into the market; improve the level of service to customers; and lift the brand.

New York Life is known to pump in money to build its brand. In Japan, the company invested $20 million to build its image. Max New York Life has a strong foothold in the agency business in India with its 7,500-strong force selling one policy a month on an average.

Max New York Life is a 26:74 joint venture between the US-based New York Life and the Max group.

FIL Industries forays into South Indian market
FIL Industries based in Jammu & Kashmir plans to launch 15 fruit drink combinations over the next few months in India. The company is also eyeing overseas market with multiple package options.

FIL Industries recently launched its fruit drink TUK3 a combination of Seabuckthorn (Ladakh berry), Kashmiri apples and Indian mango in the northern region and is now foraying into the South.

TUK 3 has been introduced under Fruitfil, the umbrella brand of the Juice Division of FIL and priced at Rs10 for a 200ml tetra Pack. It is targeted at young consumers who will enjoy its distinct, tangy taste along with additional nutritional value.

Harry Potter magic begins again
Harry Potter's magic setting cash registers ringing in India. E-commerce sites like Sify.com and Fabmall report having received record orders for JK Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, significantly galvanising online shopping activity in the country.

Fabmall.com has sold 8,000 copies while sify has sold around 1,500 copies. The company expects an average demand of 70-100 copies per day for the rest of the month. On ebay.com among the biggest online ecommerce site the top search keyword in the books category throughout June was Harry Potter.

Nilkamal makes expansion plans
Nilkamal group, which makes moulded plastic furniture, is diversifying into lifestyle furniture business and plans to set up a chain of branded stores across major metros and smaller cities.

Over the next couple of years Nilkamal will take `@Home', its branded imported furniture store to at least 25 locations in major cities and simultaneously set up over 40 franchisee operations in smaller towns and cities.

The company is planing to target the mass market with its range of furniture imported from all over the world.

Radico Khaitan plans to launch Magic Moments in India
Radico Khaitan is likely to unveil its vodka brand, Magic Moments, later in the year and is in the process of preparing for the launch.

The company has initiated talks with various parties for acquiring bottling plants, distilleries and liquor brands. The company had earmarked Rs85 crore for acquisitions of bottling units and distilleries this year. The company is expanding its two flagship brands vertically. While its 8PM whisky has been extended to the rum and brandy categories, Old Admiral, the whisky, has been enlarged with rum and brandy segments.

8PM whisky and Old Admiral brandy brands have been recognised as two of the fastest growing top-10 brands in the region-wise Millionaires Club 2004 survey conducted by the leading Belgium magazine Drinks International.

Eureka Forbes to introduce Euroclean Ace
Eureka Forbes is planning to introduce a new model of vacuum cleaner, Euroclean Ace.

Euroclean Ace is claimed to generate higher power from its 1,300-watt motor, as compared to other machines of the same power to ensure deep cleaning of floors and furnishing. The mild steel body of the new model ensures durability and is portable since it weighs 6kg. At Rs 6,590, it comes with a wide range of accessories that will help take on all the cleaning needs in a house.

Eureka Forbes continues to opt for the direct marketing route, which accounts for about 80 per cent of its sales.

Salora to distribute Teac products in India
Salora International has entered into a supply and distribution agreement with a Malaysian company, which is the main distributor for TEAC Corporation, Japan to distribute consumer electronics under the TEAC brand in India and Nepal.

Salora plans to distribute TEAC products such as plasma televisions, LCD televisions, CTV, digital audio and video systems, computers, communication products and air conditioners.

Salora has also announced a distribution and service tie-up with Korean portable digital audio-visual device manufacturer ReignCom Co, and would distribute its popular `iRiver' brand of MP3 players here.

Initially the products would be imported from the company's plant in China.

Bharat Bio launches foot cream for diabetics
Bharat Biotech International has launched Regen-D, a therapeutic cream, used in treating diabetic foot ulcers, burns and skin grafts.

Regen-D is a product of biotechnology research and is the country's first recombinant epidermal growth factor that accelerates healing of a range of wounds, including serious diabetic foot ulcers where patients face the risk of amputation.
Regen-D licensed for treating burns, diabetic foot ulcers and skin grafts helps healing without leaving a scar. Clinical tests have shown that Regen-D can give patients with diabetic foot ulcers a new lease of life.

Regen-D is the product of a collaborative biotechnology research effort between Bharat Biotech and the Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology, an institution under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Because of its ability to heal without scar formation, Regen-D can find wide application in treating fire injuries and skin grafts. In India alone, there are over 40,000 amputations as a result of diabetic foot ulcers and 1,20,000 die of burn injuries.

Safexpress to distribute Harry Potter book in India
Logistics company, Safexpress, has been appointed as the exclusive agency for warehousing and distribution of Harry Potter books in India. The company, which would distributed the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince through out the country in the first phase, has deployed a project team to deliver the book in more than 50 cities simultaneously.

To prevent leaks and illegal publication of the new book, Safexpress has placed it under constant electronic surveillance, while banning all kinds of electronic equipment such as phones and cameras on the company premises.

— Compiled by Mohini Bhatnagar