Dalda new TV ad comes after a decade
A new ad featuring venerable edible oil brand Dalda has been launched. The last Dalda ad came nearly a decade ago.

The brand which is now owned by Bunge India the Indian subsidiary of US company Bunge has launched the new ad campaign to announce the launch of the Dalda Edible oils range in two variants — refined soyabean oil and kachi ghani mustard oil.

Dalda was among the first brand edible oils to be launched in India and has been one of the most favoured brands by Indian consumers for decades. This campaign will be Dalda's first foray on television in a decade and will be aimed at reiterating its presence in the edible oil market.

Dravid to endorse Sansui TVs and home theatre systems
Sansui has signed up Rahul Dravid as its brand ambassador for its range of television and home theatre systems. The company plans to launch a multimedia campaign across all media platforms with the cricketer endorsing the Sansui range of products.

The company said it has always been Sansui's vision to bring the best in entertainment technology to the country. With this campaign Sansui is charting a new path of sustained precision, quality and constant innovation.

Essar Group to set up mobile stores
The Essar group plans to create a pan-India network of retail telecom outlets branded The MobileStore. The company will invest $250 million (Rs1,100 crore) in setting up the stores.

The company plans to invest the amount over two to three years to set up 4,000 to 5,000 outlets across the country. The stores will be modelled on the lines of Carphone Warhouse in the UK, being operator and handset-agnostic. The complete range of services, products and accessories from all the leading brands will be available at these stores.

The services offered would extend to billing and value-added services (such as wall paper, ring tones) as well as handset repair services, said a statement from the company. The company has already launched forty such stores in Mumbai, Delhi and some of the other larger cities.

Phase I should see Essar launch a network of 150 stores in the top 11 cities.

The company has envisaged The MobileStore in three formats: Large 1,000-1,500sq ft stores, medium sized 800-1,000sq ft stores and compact stores measuring between 200 and 500 sq ft. There would be shop-in-shops located in large retail formats and malls as well.

Citymax to partner with chef Sanjeev Kapoor
Citymax, the hospitality brand of the Dubai-based retail chain, the Landmark Group, has taken over the global franchise rights of celebrity chef Sanjeev kapoor's three restaurant brands - Khazana Fine Indian Dining, Grain of Salt and The Yellow Chilli.

Citymax has announced also announced a long-term partnership with Kapoor.

Citymax, said its objective is to serve the growing demand for Indian cuisine across the world. In India, in spite of various international brands being present and gaining widespread popularity, Indian cuisine remains the preferred choice and will continue to remain so. At the same time, thanks to its rich heritage, Indian cuisine is becoming increasingly popular across many parts of the world.

Blue Dart launches `Import Express'
Blue Dart has tied up with DHL to introduce `Import Express,' a one-stop-shop solution that allows imports with one invoice, one currency, one account and one bill.
The integrated air express, courier and package distribution company is also expanding the fleet of its dedicated airline, Blue Dart Aviation, from seven aircraft to eight by the year end to provide in time deliveries from `envelopes to charter loads' to its customers.

Import Express covers pick up, export from origin, express international transportation, destination customs clearance, and delivery to the customer's door and all this at transparent pricing.

Titan to launch Aviator
Titan is launching the Aviator brand of watches, which would be endorsed by actor Rahul Bose. Aviator has been designed by Neil Foley and will be priced in the Rs4,000-Rs8,000 price band, and would strengthen the company's presence in a segment valued at around Rs 250-300 crore.

Titan's Xylys brand is manufactured in Switzerland and has a presence in eight cities and is the company's first entry into the premium (Rs10,000-Rs40,000) segment. The annual growth in this sector is pegged at 25 per cent. Xylys is expected to close the year with national sales of Rs11 crore.

The company is targeting 15 per cent of the market share of the Rs 140-crore strong segment from this offering.

Amul to begin marketing single-serve butter tubs
Amul has unveiled single serve tubs of its butter priced at Rs 2 and targeted at the middle class. The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets Amul butter said the tub would cater to 12 national and international airlines including Kingfisher Airlines, British Airways, Jet Airways, Air Mauritius, Korean Airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines, Air Italia, Malaysian Airlines, Jordanian Airlines, Iran Air, South African Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Amul will also market similar tubs with cholesterol-free table margarine and Amul Lite bread-spread. The Amul dairy plant at Anand is packing 8.1 g of butter in the tub. Made of PVC and sealed by aluminium foil, the airtight tub prevents any aerial and microbial contamination or deformation of butter. Hence, the butter in such tubs is safer and more hygienic for consumption. Packed for single serving, the tub can make for a healthy breakfast or mid-day meal at a school for children too.

Kuoni biz travel division to be re-branded
Kuoni Travel Group has re-branded its business travel division as HRG Sita India. HRG standing for Hogg Robinson Group is a corporate services company offering travel management fulfillment services and low-cost transactions as well as consulting, expense management, sports and events and meetings management. With business travel in India growing at 15 per cent, Kuoni expects to service this segment beyond the vanilla solutions for existing for companies.

Premier's Tea launches `tea boutiques'
Kolkata-based Premier's Tea is launching `tea boutiques' in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore and is offering franchises in other cities to popularise premium export-quality brands of Tea in the country.

The company recently opened a boutique "Tea Moods" in Ahmedabad recently, its third after New Delhi and Jaipur. The outlet offers nearly 30 varieties and brands to the connoisseurs of tea. The company, started in 1988, procures the finest tea from three centres — Darjeeling, the Nilgiris and Assam in India — and its current production is about 200 tonnes per annum. Ninety-five per cent of the tea is exported.

The company is also making efforts to popularise its premium brands, priced up to Rs 5,000 a kilo, in Indian cities also where the number of connoisseurs is increasing. Various fruit flavoured, flower or spice-flavoured tea varieties are available in attractive packages at the boutiques.

The boutiques would not be the usual showrooms or sales counters but would act as tasting and advice centres for the customers before they decide to buy a particular brand. Each day, a few select brands would be offered.

Sony launches low-priced car audio products; targets grey market
Sony India has launched the Xplod brand of car audio products priced in the popular price range of Rs6,990 to Rs19,990.

The company plans to change the perception that Sony products are expensive and says pricing would drive its marketing strategy this year. However, the Xplod range is priced lower than competing products in the marketplace. The company plans to compete with the thriving grey market for car audio systems, most prevalent in Tamil Nadu.

The company said 65 per cent of the Rs 800-crore car audio market in India constitutes the grey market. As part of its marketing plan, the company will set up exclusive car audio showrooms called `Xplod Pit Stop' across major cities in Tamil Nadu. These showrooms will allow audio systems buyers to mix and match the Xplod range of car audio components such as speakers, amplifiers and music players.

The company plans to launch 21 products in 2007-08, of which eight will be launched by April this year.