Marketing review
03 Feb 2005
Toyota
withdraws Qualis: to launch Innova
Toyota
Kirloskar Motor is withdrawing its highest selling model,
the Qualis, from the Indian market.
According to a company statement, "The Indian automobile
market has been growing rapidly and our market research
indicates the changing needs of the customer."
The statement added that, "the removal of the Qualis
will give way for a more modern and customer-value driven
vehicle. The new vehicle will enable TKM to achieve
volume and market share objectives in India in future."
Qualis was introduced in 2000, and was one of the first
of its kind in the country, the only other serious competitor
at that time being the Tata Sumo.
The Qualis managed to reach a 35-per cent market share,
selling over 21,000 units in the first year alone. In
2001, its market share grew to an impressive 40 per
cent.
Alembic
launches 'Zero' calorie sugar substitute
Gujarat-based pharma company Alembic has come up with
`Zero,' a product that will delight weight watchers
and the fitness conscious.
Zero,
a no-calorie sugar substitute is different from other
sugar-substitutes in that it does not contain aspartame
but is made on the molecule sucralose.
Zero
is priced at Rs60 for a pack of 90 tablets, and is on
par with other products in the Rs60-crore market.
Other products in the segment include Sugar Free from
Zydus Cadila and Equal from Merisant. Sweetex from Boots
is also a sugar substitute but is based on saccharine.
Birla VXL for garments foray through Digjam
Birla
VXL, a part of the Rs600 crore S K Birla group, plans
to launch garments under the Digjam suitings brand and
is eyeing over a 20 per cent hike in its turnover with
this. The company is at present consolidating its marketshare
in the premium worsted suiting segment.
The
company also launched recently four fabrics in the premium
suiting range.
Birla VXL is the second largest player in the premium
wrosted fabrics segment with over a 25 per cent market
share. The company supplies suiting fabric to some of
the world best suit makers in Italy, France, US and
Japan.
The company has over 40 exclusive retail outlets of
its own concentrating mainly on the western and southern
part of the country.
HLL launches 'Pureit'
Hindustan Lever (HLL) has launched Pureit, which it
claims, is the world's most advanced water purifier.
According to HLL it is the only purifier that gives
water as safe as boiled water without boiling, and without
needing electricity or continuous tap water supply.
Pureit gives water that is free from viruses, bacteria
and parasites because it has a Pureit Germkill BatteryTM
that is a combination of unique technological breakthroughs.
Therefore, it provides 100 per cent protection from
all diseases like jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera
that come from drinking water.
Pureit also removes pesticides that may be present in
drinking water and meets the germkill standards of the
toughest regulatory agency in the USA, the EPA, for
protection against viruses, bacteria and parasites,
and getting microbiologically safe drinking water.
A
team of over 100 Indian and international experts from
HLL and Unilever Research Centres developed the product
after five years of research. Leading scientific and
medical institutions in India and abroad have tested
Pureit.
Pureit is available at a one-time cost of Rs1,500 with
the replacement of the Germkill Battery KitTM priced
at Rs.250. Each Germkill battery can purify 1500 litres
of water.
According to the company that with Pureit consumers
get six litres of drinking water, as safe as boiled
water for just one rupee (just 17 paise per litre).
HLL,
P&G to raise prices
In
a move smacking of oligopolistic understanding, FMCG
rivals Hindustan Lever and Procter &Gamble, are
planning to raise the prices of key detergent brands
from March this year. Analysts say the price rise could
be around 5 per cent.
Hindustan Lever will raise the prices of Surf Excel
and Rin, while Procter & Gamble would raise the
prices of Ariel and Tide.
Both the companies have cited rising raw material prices
and transportation costs as the reason behind the decision
to raise prices.
P&G however said that it would not change prices
of its 1kg of Ariel, 200gm pack of Tide and sachets
of both brands.
Surf Excel is currently priced at Rs99 per kg, while
Rin costs Rs42 per kg.
Analysts expect other companies like Henkel Spic and
Jyothi Laboratories to also follow suit.
Standard
Chartered introduces Marathon Credit Card
Standard
Chartered Bank, in association with Visa International,
has launched the Marathon credit card to celebrate the
spirit of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and
compliment the spirit of fitness.
Standard Chartered Bank is the market leader in sports-based affinity card programmes. Its earlier success includes that of the Cricket Card, the Soccer Card and Olympic Games Card. The Marathon Card is a logical extension of the Standard Chartered Bank product suite. It has partnered with Reebok in its endeavour to promote fitness among the customers. The exclusive offers for the customer include:
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Free Reebok Running Shoes: A pair of Reebok 3D Runner Shoes worth Rs. 2,290- are offered free with every card
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Balance Transfer at 0.99 percent An attractive balance transfer at a very low interest rate of 0.99 percent per month, for the first 6 months.
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Supplementary card free for life: All Marathon card members could gift their near and dear ones supplementary Marathon Credit Cards. These cards are offered free for life.
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Win Reebok treadmills: On spending just Rs 900- on the Marathon Credit Card every month, customers get a chance to win Reebok treadmills worth Rs.2, 45,000- each, for a period of 8 months.
Standard Chartered-VISA Marathon Credit Cards are available at a one-time enrollment fee of Rs1599. The cards will be issued in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Mysore, New Delhi, Pune, Trivandrum, Vadodara and Vizag.
Kidstuff Promos & Events is a Promotional Marketing
Services Company that is involved in all aspects of
below-the-line activities. Mudra
will now hold majority stake in this company.
Mudra is the third-largest agency in the country with
more than 125 clients nationwide with 2 creative agencies,
8 full service offices and 7 specialised business units
has a portfolio of some of
India's biggest brands. Mudra has bagged the Agency
of the Year awards six times.
Sania Mirza flooded with endorsements
Advertisers are queuing up before tennis player Sania
Mirza even before she embarked on her historic third
round clash against Serena Williams in the Australian
Open.
Close to 15 different brands have approached Globo Media
Solutions, which manages her media account. These include
a cellular service provider, cellphone handset maker,
cola companies, women's wear brands and some personal
care product companies.
Currently, Sania Mirza has signed up with the Hyderabad-based
GVK Industries, Sahara India and Tata Tea.
Tommy Hilfiger has major retail expansion plans
Tommy Hilfiger is planning a record spread in India
and occupy over 40,000 sq ft of exclusive retail space
as it completes one year in India.
Tommy Hilfiger opened its first outlet in India on April
20 last year through Arvind Murjani Brands, an equal
joint venture between Arvind Brands and the Murjani
family managed GVM International, the licensee for Tommy
Hilfiger. At present the brand has nine stores across
six cities (with Gurgaon being counted as part of Delhi
market).
Tommy
Hilfiger followed up its launch in Delhi, which coincided
with the designer's whirlwind tour of the country, with
cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.
The brand will add Kolkata to its retail ma in February
and add two more stores
in Mumbai - at Grand Hyatt and on Linking Road. Into
the next financial year, the brand is scheduled to enter
two more markets, Pune and Chennai.