Group A4-Voracious readers- Source- Economic times

'Pepsi spice cola' set for a big-bang launch during the IPL; to take on Thums Up

-          Tanushree Mam

Ø  Beverage maker PepsiCo is preparing for a big-bang launch, ‘Pepsi spice cola’.

Ø  It is a take on rival Thums Up which remains the country’s biggest soft drink brand owned by Coca-Cola.

Ø  Internally dubbed as Pepsi ‘Atom’, the product is an Indian innovation.

Ø  The firm is hoping the spicy cola will snatch critical share from Thums Up, which has the strongest carbonation among all fizzy drinks and leads the pack among soft drinks.

Ø  Four years back, PepsiCo had tweaked the carbonation of its cola by making it fizzier to take on rival Thums Up in the latter’s stronghold-Andhra Pradesh (among the top three soft drinks markets).

Ø  But the move did not pan out according to PepsiCo’s plan.

Ø  Thums Up has consistently managed to maintain its leadership position in the Rs 14,000- crore soft drinks market, with about 15% share, followed by Pepsi.

Ø  PepsiCo, which last week signed the under-19 cricket captainUnmukt Chand as brand ambassador, is planning to spend almost Rs 150 crore or Rs 3 crore per day, during the 50-day IPL tournament.

Ø  This includes its estimated Rs 50-crore deal with Multi Screen Media, owner of SET Max channel, for one of the two presenting sponsors of the event and Rs 80 crore for title sponsorship of IPL, which it bagged in a Rs 400-crore, five-year deal.

Ø  It is also likely to seal a cumulative Rs 16-18 crore deal to become the pouring rights drinks partner of all eight IPL teams expect Mumbai Indians, which Coca-Cola is aligned with. 

HCL Infosystems ties up with outsourcing firm Astra Global Private

-          By Vaibhav Pathak

Ø  NEW DELHI: Hardware, services and distribution company HCL Infosystems on Monday announced the outsourcing of its manufacturing facility located at Ambattur (Chennai) to Astra Global Private.

Ø  According to a release, through this partnership, Astra will supply products manufactured in the Ambattur facility to HCL for its internal requirements as well as to HCL's customers. The partnership will enable both HCL and Astra to focus on their respective core competencies. Astra is based out of Verna, Goa and is engaged in the business of manufacturing precision assemblies for the medical & engineering industries with over 20 years of experience.

Ø  Harsh Chitale, CEO and Whole Time Director, HCL Infosystems said, "Through this partnership with Astra, our customers will get the best of both HCL's strengths in design and service and Astra's manufacturing prowess"

eBay goes all out to garb the shopper’s fancy

-By Prajakta Sarmalkar

Ø  eBay is putting a lot of money behind telling people that the best deals in the country can be got online.

Ø  On an average day every seven minutes a fitness product, every 16 minutes a pair of footwear, every 26 minutes a pair of sunglasses, every 30 minutes a MP3 player is sold somewhere on eBay India in the 3,311 cities that it reaches.

Ø  Increased internet penetration and evolving shopping habits are the huge drivers in pushing the ecommerce story. 

Ø  The leading ecommerce player in India and also one of the oldest, eBay has launched its new campaign developed by Law & Kenneth.

Ø  Three films about three different couples in various stages of their relationship and with vastly varied shopping behaviour.

Ø  It underpins the brand's smart shopper positioning, which is communicated through a series of situations showing conversions of the traditional offline shopper into a savvy online avatar.

Ø  Muralikrishnan B, country manager, eBay India says that, "The reasons to shop online globally are mostly in three buckets — value, variety and convenience. Most Indians are currently value seekers and in that backdrop eBay is positioned as the ultimate deal destination."

Ø  "The communication puts shopping in the context of real life relationships making the differentiation deeper and relevant," explains Rahul Nangia, chief creative officer, west & south, Law & Kenneth.

Ø   The TVC has been created in six languages — English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada to cater to multiple regional demographics.

Buy a Tata Nano, with a swipe of a credit card

                                                                                                     -Rati Sawant

Ø  In a first of its kind deal in the Indian automobile industry, Tata Motors on Wednesday in a bid to jumpstart flagging sales of Tata Nano has offered customers an option to swipe their credit card and drive out with the Tata Nano on the same day.

Ø  Ranjit Yadav, president, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said: "This offer will enable customers to own a car in the fastest and hassle free manner. With the introduction of this offer, consumers get the benefit of converting the entire amount on the credit card into interest free installment, spread over a period of 12 months and manage monthly cash flow better."

Ø  When Yadav, a recent hire at Tata Motors joined India's largest automobile firm from Samsung India- the South Korean consumer electronic major's Indian subsidiary in September 2012, it was speculated that the automobile industry that lacks innovative methods to sell products could take a leaf from the fast moving consumer electronics business.

Ø  This is precisely what Yadav, the former country head at Samsung (India) for the Mobile & IT Businesses brought to the table, by offering an option to customers to buy a vehicle through a credit card, the same way a mobile phone or a lap top is bought.

Ø  Tata Motors made an offer wherein customers can convert the entire amount in monthly instalments of 0% over a period of 12 months at an EMI of Rs.8,333 per lakh. Tata Nano has partnered with five banks for this special scheme -- Axis Bank, HSBC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Customers in India, who have credit cards belonging to these banks can avail of this special scheme in 26 cities, across 75 Tata Motors Dealerships.

Ø  The latest initiative to prod customers to buy the micro-car assumes significance as sales of Tata Nano and other car models of the automobile major plunged 62% in February. Production at the Sanand plant in Gujarat was cut by almost 80%, as inventory of Tata Nano piled up at dealerships and stockyards.

Ø  For Tata Motors, the latest initiative is critical as several finance schemes and offers for Tata Nano has come a cropper. The sales of the micro-car have fallen 7.29% in April to January of this fiscal year 2013 to 50,836 units versus 54,835 units. From the highs of 9,000 to 10,000 units a month, the average monthly sales of Nano have come down to 1,500 to 2,000 in December2012 and January 2013.

Ø  While Tata Motors felt the brunt of the upheaval in the market, the other car makers have also felt the pinch.
With discounts not doing the trick, innovative finance schemes and buyback offers have come to the fore to lure people to buy their dream cars.

Ø  German car maker, Volkswagen is offering a bouquet of schemes on its Vento sedan. A prospective Vento customer can trade in his old car for a new Vento sedan by just paying Re 1 and not paying anything for the first year and pay the balance a year later in full or as 36 EMIs. The company also gives the customer an option to pay 50% of the car price in the first year and the balance money after one year.

Its not car makers alone, but even the dealers are chipping in with freebies. In Gujarat a Skoda dealer has come out with a scheme for customers, wherein a customer can buy a sedan Skoda Rapid, and he/she gets a Fabia hatchb