Voracious readers-Group A4-Source-Business standard

Being Human: Beyond star appeal

-By Tanushree Mam

• ·         Clothing line with conscience.
• ·         Riding on the broad shoulders of a certain Salman Khan, it has indeed got an initial hype even mega brands can only dream of.
• ·         The fashion label is not only about looking good; but it is also about doing good.
• ·         Being Human apparel as well as merchandise are currently sold through five exclusive outlets and 31 shop-in-shops.
• ·         The business is handled by Mandhana Industries, an apparel exporter, which will manage the retail business, designing, manufacturing and marketing for the brand till March 2020.
• ·         Currently, the brand’s target group is 15-40 year-olds.
• ·         By the end of this financial year, they plan to open eight exclusive business outlets and another 30 shop-in-shops. By next year, the company’s target is 40 exclusive outlets and 200 shop-in- shops as well as another 150 to 200 franchisees.
• ·         Being Human has been positioned as a lifestyle brand in the mid- to premium range, which has brands such as Zara, Tommy Hilfiger, Woodland and Uni Style Image.
• ·         Brand experts say Being Human got a huge initial push because of the mass appeal of Khan, who is the face of the brand. But the real challenge for the retailer will start after the hype around it subsides.
• ·         There is another problem, too. Before the launch of Being Human stores, only T shirts with the charity’s name were sold. This led to a lot of fakes in the market.
• ·         Though the fakes have given Being Human a lot of publicity.

Santoor’s rural march

-By Rati Sawant

• ·          Growth in excess of 20 per cent, it remains one of the most aggressive personal care brands in India.
• ·         Santoor from Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (WCCL) currently clocks revenues in excess of Rs 1,000 crore and is the largest brand in the company’s portfolio.
• ·         Analysts estimate it could touch the Rs 1,500-crore-mark in two years, provided it continues to maintain its trajectory of growth. 
• ·         Wipro has made some bold moves such as moving beyond its core markets of the south and west as well as pushing its presence aggressively into rural areas — in short doing everything to position Santoor as a national brand.
• ·         Anil Chugh, senior vice-president, WCCL, says the company today has 30 depots (where it stocks the product before shipping it to wholesalers) across the country and a retail reach of over a million and a half outlets.
• ·         Santoor’s overall market share (urban and rural put together) is almost nine per cent in soaps, after Hindustan Unilever’s Lifebuoy and Lux whose shares are 15 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.
• ·          Santoor and Godrej No 1 have been most aggressive in their quest to expand their rural presence using the platform of beauty to make inroads into rural households.
• ·         The beauty segment at 50 per cent is the largest in the Rs 10,000-crore soaps market in India, followed by health at about 25 per cent. 
• ·         Santoor, say Wipro officials, has been consistent with its promise of delivering younger looking skin over the last 25 years (it celebrated its silver jubilee last year).
• ·         Besides driving home this brand promise, Wipro has also attempted to personalise the experience for consumers especially in rural India with on-ground events, trial runs and community initiatives.
• ·         In urban areas, in contrast, Wipro’s strategy has been slightly different, using emerging categories such as face wash, handwash, deodorants, hand and body lotions, night and day creams, sun screen lotions etc to drive penetration.
• ·         Wipro is now readying itself to take Santoor into shampoos - something it has been test-marketing in Andhra Pradesh.
• ·         Stiff competition from HUL, Procter & Gamble and players such as CavinCare, who’ve been around for a long time and built strong positions in the category.

Luxury goods: Value of purchases down

-By Nupoor Mehra

Nearly all categories of luxury goods (fashion apparel, shoes, watches, jewellery and perfumes) saw an increase in demand. Of the total money spent on these luxury goods, jewellery still remains the biggest across income categories. However, the mean value of purchase went down in each category other than jewellery. This is exactly the opposite of 2011, which saw people buying more expensive items, according to the India Consumer Survey 2013 by Credit Suisse