Fiat launches Palio Stile at Rs 3.49 lakh
Mumbai: Fiat has launched it new hatchback Palio Stile in two petrol engine variants, Palio Stile 1.1 and Palio Stile 1.6. The former is priced in the Rs3.49 lakh to Rs3.90 lakh range (ex-showroom Delhi) while the Palio Stile 1.6 is priced at Rs4.31 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The entire range is available through the country-wide Tata-Fiat network of 63 dealerships covering 42 cities.

Palio Stile 1.1 comes with a 1.1 litre FIRE engine that enables a high fuel average of 15.5 km/litre under test conditions.

The Palio Stile 1.1 is available in six colours including Furnace Red, Ozone Blue, Alpine Green, Mint White, Carbon Black and Magnesium Grey. The Palio Stile 1.6 Sport comes in Formula Red and Carbon Black.

Both models feature an electrical multipoint fuel injection system with a 32-bit microprocessor. The cars are equipped with features like power steering, central locking, fire prevention system (FPS), engine immobilizer, fog lamps, with a manual Gear Box 5 + R, all speed synchromesh and a front wheel drive.
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HLL to Sangam Direct to Wadhawan Food Retail
Mumbai: Unilever India Exports (UIEL) has signed an agreement to sell Sangam - a non-store home delivery retail business - to Wadhawan Food Retail (WFRL) with effect from March 31, 2007. UIEL is a 100 pc subsidiary of Hindustan Lever (HLL). The value of the deal was not disclosed.

HLL conceptualized the Sangam business in 2001 as an experiment with the direct-to-consumer channel combining the twin benefits of convenience and value. The idea was to test market it in Mumbai under the brand Sangam Direct before extending it across the country.

The decision for a larger roll-out was put on hold in the context of the evolving retail scenario in the country.

Wadwan Food Retail operates food & grocery store Spinach which has about 23 outlets in Mumbai.

The Wadhawan group has diversified business interests including DHFL, a private sector housing finance company.
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Bharti to set up 3-tier retail model
New Delhi: Bharti Retail, a subsidiary of the Delhi-based Mittal group, has decided on a three-tier retail format that will provide customers access to a store 1.5 to 7 km from their homes.

Bharti Retail is planning a small-format convenience store located within 1.5 km of customer's homes, a mid-level store 2-3 km distant and a hypermarket within a 5-7 km drive.

This is in sharp contrast with the Wal-Mart retail model in the US which is dominated by large-format stores on city outskirts. The world's largest retailer has a few small convenience stores in countries like Mexico to cater to neighbourhood demand.

The small stores will range from 2,000 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft in size and will mainly stock food, grocery and household items that have a high purchase frequency of seven to eight a month.

The company plans to build a majority of the stores within this format under a model that will franchise existing mom-and-pop stores.

The hypermarkets will range from 75,000 sq ft to 1.5 lakh sq ft in size and a mid-level store will be 25,000-50,000 sq ft in size.

Bharti Retail hopes to have over 10 million square feet of retail space by 2015, and is also considering shop-in-shop formats (under which it would rent space to a jewellery or pharmacy chain), and a private label for food, grocery and even consumer electronics.

It is also studying the possibility of introducing free home delivery services and an online format, should customer demand exists.
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InterContinental to bring Holiday Inn Express to India
Mumbai: InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, operating in India for the past 40 years with brand names like InterContinental Hotels and Resorts (luxury brand), Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts (upscale brand) and Holiday Inn (mid-scale brand) — plans to bring in its another hotel brand, Holiday Inn Express, to India.

Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing brands of the company and is opening on an average two hotels a week.

The group is also looking at expanding its Holiday Inn brand in India in in tier-I and tier-II cities. The group, which has only one Crowne Plaza Hotel in India so far (in New Delhi), will be announcing plans for three more Crowne Plaza hotels in the country shortly.
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Temasek may acquire Tata Tele's tower business
New Delhi: Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is in talks with Singapore's state investment arm Temasek and some other private equity players for selling a stake in its passive infrastructure company. Tata Tele is looking to sell 20 pc stake in its infrastructure company and wants to hold a majority stake in the new entity.

Temasek already holds a 10 pc stake in TTSL, and is said to be keen to pick equity in TTSL's infrastructure subsidiary. If the deal goes through, it could be one of the largest private equity deals in India.

Last month, Tata Teleservices CEO Darryl Green had announced that the company would spin off its cellular towers into a separate unit, which could be sold at a later stage. TTSL's decision comes in the wake of India's largest cellular firms — Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, hiving off their towers.
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Sherwin-Williams of the US acquires Nitco Paints
Mumbai: New York Stock Exchange listed US company Sherwin-Williams has acquired Indian paint company Nitco Paints at an undisclosed price.

Nitco Paints manufactures and distributes exterior speciality paints and coatings.

The company is engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of coatings and related products and reported a consolidated net sales of $7.81 billion in 2006.

The current management of Nitco Paints will be retained along with the marketing relationship with Nitco Tiles.
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Aurobindo gets approval for Lisinopril in Netherlands
Hyderabad: Aurobindo Pharma has received marketing authorisation approval from the Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), Netherlands, for Lisinopril 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg tablets.

This is the fourth formulation approval received by the company from MEB, Netherlands and the sixth approval in Europe overall, according to the Hyderabad-based, pharma major.

With this approval, it will be easier for the company to obtain similar marketing authorisation for Lisinopril tablets in the other countries of the European Union through mutual recognition procedure.
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