Two more brands from Hallmark
By Usha Somayaji | 23 Oct 2000
Vintage Cards and Creations Ltd. plans to introduce two more brands from the Hallmark repertoire -- the Party Express range of party paperware products and the Crayola range of art material products -- into India.
Both the new products will be manufactured close to Vintage's existing production unit at Goa, and will involve investment of Rs 2.5 crore each, in fixed assets.
"Kids in urban India have an active social life," says Mr. Rajesh Vaishnav, managing director, Vintage Cards, explaining the reasons for venturing into the party paperware products. "Going to parties and holding parties has become mandatory in urban India, and you need something different, attractive and exciting every time."
The Party Express range will cover coordinated paper plates, napkins, table covers and decorations appropriate for special occasions. "No good quality party paperware products are available in the country, and what is available is substandard. What we intend to do is make world class party paper products, and yet try and sell it at a price that works out for India." says Mr. Vaishnav.
As for the Crayola range, owned by Binney & Smith, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hallmark, the objective is to take a share in the Rs 500 crore art material market (as against Rs 150 crore greeting cards market) in India with these "premium brand" art material products.
The plan is to bring in the entire Crayola art material range -- crayons, markers, paints, and other such things -- with a three-stage entry strategy. The products will be imported in retail packs and sold in the first phase, and imported in bulk and sold in converted retail packs in the second phase (which will bring down the price of the product to some extent). Depending on the market response, the product will be manufactured in India. The entire three-stage exercise expected to be completed in a year's time.
The Party Express products are slated for production before the end of calendar 2000.