Kochi Trade, Technology, Engineering & Industry

[Malayaali]

Eram Group launches e-Holidays in India

The Middle East-based Eram Group today announced foray into the hospitality sector in India, by setting up its first service centre here.

e-Holidays, the destination management company of Eram, would offer complete travel solutions, including inbound and outbound tours, business and leisure travels, international holidays, hotels, domestic holidays, through online and offline modes, Eram Group Head (Indian Operations) Mohammed Safeel told reporters here.

e-Holidays Group has emerged as one of the leading travel and destination management firms, Safeel said, adding that the company plans to open four more centres in South India -- Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi - in four months and more centres in North India in a phased manner.

On business, he said these centres were set to offer extensive selection of holiday packages which include flight tickets, hotel and resorts reservation, airport pickup and drops, visa arrangements and other travel related services.

Though Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand proved to be preferred destination of customers, the company was focusing on newe areas like Egypt, Cambodia, Bali and South American countries, besides normal locations like Dubai, Kathmandu, Vietnam, Myanmar, Kenya and Uzbekistan and also domestic tour packages, Vijaya Raj, Head Overseas Operations said.

[Malayaali]

Melam JV to spice up new fiscal

The news of proposed restructuring of one of Kerala's biggest brands is ushering in fiscal 2012-13 to Kerala.

The Melam group is contracting business consultancy Deloitte to identify a market major in the fast moving consumer goods sector with a view to forming a joint venture to manage the company.

Leading curry powder manufacturer Melam group is looking to retain 51% of the total shareholdings in any operational JV formed to run the company, said Kurian John Melamparambil, chairman and managing director.

"Deloitte will help us find a partner from the FMCG sector to form a JV to manage the company. I may continue as chairman only on an advisory basis," Melamparambil said. A team from Deloitte Bangalore is expected to arrive in Kochi soon to discuss the company's future roadmap.

Melam has four companies under its umbrella - MVJ Foods India Pvt Ltd, which caters to seasonings and flavourings targeted at the domestic market; MVJ Spices marketing pickles, jam sauce and oats; MJ Associates which exports to overseas markets in 22 countries; and Melam Securities, a stockbroking firm registered with the Cochin Stock Exchange. The group has an employee strength of more than 350 people and operates two factories in Ernakulam district.

The whole idea behind forming the JV and eventual restructuring of the 100-crore company is that of 57-year-old Melamparambil. Once the transition happens and the functioning of Melam group continues along the envisaged road map, Kurian plans to retire from active business life.

He has kept a two-year deadline for this. "By 2014, the process would be complete. Then I can focus totally on charitable activities,"' he added.

"I was thinking of retiring when I finished 25 years of charity work," Melamparambil told TOI. "I had started off with philanthropic activities, and wish to retire that way," he said.

Kurian founded the Melamparambil Varghese John Memorial Charities (Melam Charities) in 1986, and six years later founded the Melam group to fund his social work. Till date, Melamparambil has spent more than Rs 15 crore on charitable activities.

Melam Charities picks the needy across the state through the 138 members of the Kerala Assembly, and sponsors their treatment through 910 hospitals registered with the charity. Till date, 1.25 lakh people have benefited from the project.

[mohammedirshad06]

Sree Sakthi Paper completes Rs 30-cr project

Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Ltd, Kochi, has completed the expansion-cum-modernisation project at an investment of Rs 30 crore.

The company said it has installed a high pressure boiler for supplying steam to its paper making unit and has commissioned a 2-MW turbine for captive power generation. The modernisation would enhance the paper production capacity by 55 tonnes per day or 18,150 tonnes a year.

The company has also commissioned a Krima-dispersing unit to make spec-free paper for high-end customers.

[Malayaali]

London Dairy plans to make it big in India

Rising mercury levels is hardly a welcome change for anyone. Except for ice cream manufacturers that is. In that sense the timing of premium ice cream maker, London Dairy ice creams’ first ever media campaign in India is perfect.

The campaign, which broke across channels on Friday, is based on the global creative designed by O&M for the brand, tweaked slightly for Indian television. The TVC takes you from the fields of Europe where the ‘freshest strawberries’ are picked to those of Africa, from where the ‘finest cocoa’ is sourced for London Dairy’s ice creams.

India’s branded ice cream market stands at just Rs 1,500 crore as compared to the carbonated drinks at around Rs 13,000 crore or even chocolates and confectionery at around Rs 4,500 crore. There is more than sufficient room for growth, feel industry players. Also, rising incomes, an increased tendency for travelling overseas and a resultant development of a discerning taste palette make a definitive case for premium ice cream makers like London Dairy with international flavours like Butter Pecan and Tiramisu to tap the Indian market.

“We are already present in 11 key cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Pune, Kolkata and so on) pan India, in close to 1,000 outlets in a mix of modern trade and select class A outlets. And plan to open up a few more cities in this season,” says a company spokesperson who added the tally of cities will go up to 15 this season.

And to promote and strengthen the brand, apart from the TVCs, below the line (BTL) activations too will gain traction. For the food industry, establishing taste credentials is key, especially for new products. That is a driving point for London Dairy ice creams too which dedicated almost 30 per cent of its marketing budgets to ‘sampling’ across outlets. Last year, the company logged around 8,000 samplings and intends to increase it almost 10-fold this year, with a target of 70,000. There are also London Dairy branded kiosks selling their impulse range, at select ‘high profile’ locations like the Inox cinemas at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

The company may have firmed up its plans, but there will be challenges. Pricing, to begin with - a 500 ML London Dairy tub will cost you around Rs 250 and a litre around Rs 475. Compare that with a tub of the same quantity from market leader Amul (with an estimated 25 per cent market share), you may get the same quantity for almost half the price.

[Malayaali]

NMGB opens 3 branches

The Kannur-based North Malabar Gramin Bank (NMGB) has opened three new branches at Pukkattupady, Thiruvankulam and Manjapra in Ernakulam district. This takes the total number of its branches to 205 and those in the Travancore area to 62.

The bank has opened 20 new branches during the current year in compliance with the government policy that stipulates a ten per cent increase in the branch network, according to Mr K.P. Chandrasekharan, general manager.

The bank is now working under core banking solutions platform. It will soon introduce modern remittance and cash withdrawal facilities such as RTGS, NEFT and ATM, Mr Chandrasekharan said.

[Malayaali]

Kirtilals Outlets in South India Launch Polished Diamond Grading System

Singapore Exchange Mainboard-listed Sarin Technologies Ltd (“Sarin”) (U77:SI), a worldwide leader in the development, manufacturing and sale of precision technology products for the planning, processing, evaluation and measurement of diamonds and gems, is pleased to announce that Kirtilal Kalidas Jewellers, one of south India’s leading retail jewellery chains established in 1939, and founder of Eurostar (1978), has selected Sarin’s DiaScanTMS+ polished diamond grading systems to enable its customers to ascertain the quality of the diamonds they purchase.

Suraj Shanta kumar, Director of Kirtilals, told the press that the machines, imported from Belgium at a cost of Rs. 5 lakh each (just under US$ 10,000), would soon be available at all its 10 stores. The aim of introducing the use of the systems in the retail stores was to create awareness on diamond quality standards among customers. The Gemology Institute of America (GIA) standards were applied to larger stones, while as the purchase of smaller stones was typically done on trust until now. Customer awareness on gold purity standards ishigh, and the DiaScanTMS+ machines would help create similar awareness on diam ond quality standards. Cu stomers would be able to know more about the colour, clarity, carat and cut of the diamonds they were purchasing. They would also get a certificate for the diamonds they purchased from Kirtilals.

This is an example of a key market player almost leading us in innovation with our own products! We salute Kirtilals for being an innovator in this regard and expect their customers to significantly benefit from their initiative. This is definitely a step by Kirtilals to inspire confidence in their consumer public.”
About Kirtilal Kalidas Jewellers

Established in 1939 in Coimbatore, south India, by Kirtilal K. Mehta, Kirtilals Kalidas is now one of south India’s largest diamond and gold jewellery chains, operating 10 stores throughout south India, also in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Ludhiana, Madurai and Visakhapatnam.

[Malayaali]

United India Kochi region sets a record

United India Insurance Company's Kochi region has topped in the collection of premium income at the national level in 2011-12.

Mr V. Sajan, deputy general manager and regional head of the company, said that Kochi region of United India Insurance Company has collected total premium of Rs 549.48 crore against a target of Rs 515 crore for 2011-12, a growth of 55 per cent over the previous year. Premium collected in 2010-11 was Rs 355.33 crore, a release issued here said.

After the formation of the region in 1984, this is the first time it has come to the first position in premium income. Earlier, only regional offices functioning in metropolitan centres alone occupied this top position. Total premium of United India at the national level has crossed Rs 8,000 crore.

[Malayaali]

Tag Heuer to open outlet in Kochi

Think Formula 1, think Tag. Tag Heuer, whose forte is keeping time for men on the fast track, is set to sport a new collection to woo Indian women. “We are embarking on double digit encouraging growth from Indian market where our current focus is to gain attention of female shoppers,” said Frank Dardenne, general manager and official spokesperson for LVMH Watch and Jewellery (India). “For this, we target to escalate the sales for women’s watches to 35% this year from the current 25%.”
Tag, a unit of French luxury group LVMH, will bring in more design-centric watches, as women are more design-savvy and men more interested in technical aspects, Dardenne said.

Interestingly, pricing would not be a major concern. The costs would range between Rs 2.3 lakh to 15 lakh. “Indians are not bothered about super expensive spends,” he said. “We sold our limited edition watch costing R50 lakh in few days. We could probably have sold 10 units more, but the stock was unavailable.” Another aspect to wooing is the sales pitch. “We plan to bring bespoke, on-demand services. They would be able to engrave initials or could find various dial colours available,” said Dardenne.

Tag Heuer may also look for multi-brand retail outlets this year. “Two years ago our watches were available at just 6-7 outlets in India, but today we are present in 26 cities with 87 multi-brand retail partners. Earlier our focus was hotels and malls in metros, our next targets are Pune, Ahemadabad, Chandigarh and Cochin,” Dardenne said.

According to retail consultancy Technopak, the size of the Indian timewear industry is estimated at Rs 4,200 crore with an annual growth rate of 8-10%. Globally, Tag Heuer is aiming for sales of around 1 billion Swiss francs (R5,600 crore) this year whereas within India.

[Malayaali]

Originally Posted by Malayaali

Tag Heuer to open outlet in Kochi

This must be opening in Lulu i believe.

Frederique Constant is also coming, most prob in Lulu. We already have Rado, Tissot and Citizen in Oberon. That's some of the big names in Watches.

[Malayaali]

Kalyan Sarees to open new showroom in Kochi

Cine artiste Mohanlal along with other actors such as Jayaram and Shriya Saran will inaugurate the sixth mega showroom of Kalyan Sarees at 10.30 on Sunday at Kovilakathum Padam Road. The new showroom will be a 'vishu kaineetam' for their customers, said managing director TS Ramachandran.

TS Ramachandran claimed it is their ability to understand the taste of women in Kerala that made the organisation a hit. He added the capacity to capture the new trend in the existing society was also a matter for success.
He also added the new showroom will give a wonderful experience to its customers in its variety and large stocks of products.
The company promises the best sarees and varieties of sarees to its customers from its sewing centre.

They are planning to open new showrooms in Kochi and Tamil Nadu in the immediate future. They are also planning to open 10 showrooms within three to four years.

[Malayaali]

Curtain-raiser to the Emerging Kerala Event: Logistics seminar at CIAL Trade Centre

This could, ideally, be the first major event happening at the brand new International Trade and Exhibition centre of Cochin International Airport.

As a curtain-raiser to the Emerging Kerala meet to be held in September, the Kerala State Productivity Council and the logistics major Falcon Infrastructures Limited will hold a seminar on opportunities in logistics and supply chain management.

The seminar is expected to draw over 600 participants from India and abroad, the organizers said. Sessions on the latest trends in logistics, discussions, business-to-business meets, audiovisual presentations and the like are planned. The organizers pointed out that while Kerala has made major strides in service sectors like tourism, IT and healthcare, the state has not fully capitalized on its potential in logistics sector. With the launch of the Vallarpadam International Transshipment Container Terminal, exciting growth opportunities have dawned upon the state. With the exception of the founding of a couple of freight stations, no other investment worth mentioning has happened in the state so far.

Against this background, the seminar will bring existing growth opportunities in the logistics sector to light, thereby creating new pathways for investment for global investors.

Organizations like KSIDC, KINFRA, Department of Ports and Dubai Ports World will be supporting the seminar.

The seminar, which will debate the theme 'New Trends in Logistics - Gateway to Fast-track Prosperity' will be held at the CIAL Trade Fair Centre at Nedumbassery in Kochi from July 13 to 15.

[Malayaali]

PNB Ernakulam circle crosses Rs 100-crore net profit

Punjab National Bank, Ernakulam Circle, has crossed `100-crore net profit at the end of the financial year and the unit has achieved a net profit of `107 crore, announced K V Rajesh, deputy general manager and circle head, Punjab National Bank (Ernakulam Circle).

He said that the Ernakulam Circle had good business in the last fiscal and hoped that the bank would have flourishing business in the coming fiscal. The total business of the Ernakulam circle was around `5,000 crore, Rajesh said. The circle had achieved almost all the major parametres during the year, he added.

Rajesh also said that the initiatives taken by the bank in various sectors were encouraging and are receiving commendable response. The recently-launched exclusive salary accounts for defence and police personnel, nurses of private hospitals, state bank employees are getting encouraging response. Apart from these, the Punjab National Bank had also ventured into many social activities.
He also said that Cash Deposit Machines were installed in a number of branches in the circle. Rajesh also said that the bank would soon open new branches with Automated Teller Machines at Aroor, Maradu, Piravom, Karunagapally, Erattupetta, Kothanallor, Vaikom, Attingal, Varkala, Vizhinjam and Waddakkanchery.

[Malayaali]

Kochi may get a SEBI office

With an aim to take its services at the door-step of investors, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to open five more local offices, including at Chandigarh and Jaipur, in the current fiscal.

As part of its decentralisation of work to regional offices, the Mumbai-headquartered SEBI is opening new local offices in different regions of the country.

The five new offices will be opened at Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Patna or Bhuwneshwar and Banglore or Kochi in 2012-13, according to an official document.

These offices have been "identified inter-alia" on the basis of number of demat accounts, registered folios, exchange trading terminals and rate of growth in beneficiary accounts. The idea behind new offices is to deepen of securities market.

The market regulator had decided to open a new Western Regional Office-I at Mumbai and three local offices at Hyderabad, Guwahati and Lucknow in 2011-12. It has identified office buildings and "further work is in progress", it said.

The Sebi Board in March, 2011, had asked the regulator to explore scope of strengthening its regional offices.

Following the Board decision, a series of internal discussions took place to explore the possibility of decentralisation of work to regional offices and opening of offices at new places.

During the discussions, it emerged that the investor should get the services of SEBI at his door step to promote a balanced, pan-Indian securities market.

As per the regulator, physical proximity of Sebi office to investors and intermediaries would promote deepening and broadening of the securities market.

[Malayaali]

Originally Posted by mohammedirshad06

Sree Sakthi Paper completes Rs 30-cr project

Sree Sakthi Paper Mills targets a turnover of Rs 250 crore in the current fiscal

With the successful completion of its Rs 30 crore expansion cum modernization project, the Kochi-based Sree Sakthi Paper Mills Ltd, the largest Kraft paper manufacturer in South India, has targeted a turnover of Rs 250 crore in current fiscal.

The turnover stood at Rs 209 crore in 2011-12. The company has been able to enhance its production capacity by 18150 metric tones per year with the implementation of the project. The total production capacity of the company stood at 1 lakh tones per annum at present.

[Malayaali]

Bombay Store to open outlet in Kochi

The Bombay Store expects at least 4 per cent of its revenues to come from online transactions this fiscal, according to Mr Anaggh Desai, CEO, The Bombay Store.

“We didn't have enough traction earlier, but in the last six months, the online business has picked up,” he added.

The company posted revenues of Rs 29 crore during fiscal 2011-12, which is expected to grow to Rs 40 crore in 2012-13.

The Mumbai-based lifestyle retail chain will also offer a wider range of home décor products to its store offerings in the current fiscal.

“We will enhance its range of furniture, soft furnishings and accessories across all our large stores,” said Mr Desai.

The Bombay Store was started as the Bombay Swadeshi Co-operative Store in 1906 by patriots such as Lokmanya Tilak and Ratanji Jamshedji Tata and is the first retail firm to be listed on the BSE. The store now caters to the sub-40 year-old consumer.

On expansion plans, he said that the 16-store chain plans to add eight outlets. “We are targeting Tier II towns like Nagpur, Nasik, Baroda and Kochi,” Mr Desai said. The retail chain opened its second store in Bangalore on Saturday.

[Malayaali]

Milano & Designer - M&D Furniture showroom opened in Kochi

1st outlet of the Italian company in India.


cc: Manorama

[Malayaali]

Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam - The Fruits World

Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam maybe a mouthful for anyone outside Tamil Nadu but after you read about this company’s trajectory from roadside vendor of fruits to regional retail king, the name just may stick around in your imagination. The name means ‘Orchard of Fruits’ and is the first branded retail chain purely for fresh fruits and vegetables in the country. While other chains such as Reliance and More have posted large losses (Rs 44 crore for Reliance, Rs 423 crore for Aditya Birla’s More), Kovai says that it posted Rs 3 crore profit on revenues of Rs 150 crore in 2011-2012.

In 1965, armed with in-depth knowledge about fruits, “especially procurement” says Natarajan, and fortified by the modest savings that the band of brothers had diligently squirrelled away, Natarajan and his brothers decided to open their own shop—a 400 square feet establishment in Coimbatore. Kovai was born.

Being a retail chain that specialises in only fruits or vegetables has its own challenges which are roughly the same today as it was back in the ‘60s. One has to compete with carts that come right to your doorstep and sell you products that are invariably cheaper. Indians like to bargain, and Kovai’s model back then (and now) was to sell fruits in kilograms (versus in dozens) and that too at a fixed price. (However, Kovai’s large volumes and direct sourcing today actually help keep prices around 10-20 per cent lower than those of hypermarkets and street vendors and where most such chains falter in quality of product, Kovai’s is regarded as excellent.)

Natarajan and his brothers finally realised that their only hope for success was in doing something back then that companies like Airtel have been feverishly pursuing today: Generating ‘value added services.’ Besides fruits, the brothers started selling fresh fruit juices as well as sliced fruit in their outlet which allowed them to milk more revenue per kilogram of fruit rather than selling it whole. Ths slices and juices were able to garner them a 150% margin. This proved to be a life-saving strategy and allowed them to slowly consolidate their operations and expand.

Today, Kovai has expanded to 34 outlets, of which 24 are owned and run by Natarajan, while rest are owned and run by his three brothers.

Senthil was also the brain behind the expansion of the business, adding 21 stores over a period of six years. “Now we are planning to add another 50 by 2015 with an investment of Rs 50 crore. While the major focus will be in Tamil Nadu, we will also look at Bangalore, Cochin and Hyderabad,” he said. He is in the process of raising Rs 25 crore of private equity funding for this purpose.

Still, staying a regional king is one thing and expanding onto the national stage something else entirely. Becoming a national chain requires deep pockets, a branding exercise with a catchy name (that people can pronounce across the country) and a vast distribution, supply chain and cold chain network. Not having all the pieces in place could spell disaster as now-extinct retail chain Subhiksha found out and something that the heir to this empire will have to internalise if he wants to continue the magical journey charted by his father.

[Malayaali]

Call to convert barren land in Mulavukad

In the backdrop of the proposal in the state budget for the fast implementation of the Industrial Development Authority to boost development in areas near the Vallarpadom-Nedumbassery Highway, the Mulavukad Land Owners Association has come up with a demand to convert the land which has become barren owing to the construction of a highway in Mulavukadu Island.

The land owners said the highway that starts from the Vallarpadom ICTT area to Kalamassery passes through the lands in the western side of the Mulavukadu panchayat.

“Farming has not been taken up in the area for the past 25 years,” they said.

[Malayaali]

CII seminar on Free Trade Agreements


cc: Manorama

[Malayaali]

Startup Village to spawn 1,000 ventures in 10 years

Startup Village, a technology business incubator formed through a public-private partnership to promote technology startups, will rope in investments of Rs 100 crore and nurture 1,000 startups in the next ten years, said Sanjay Vijayakumar, CEO of wireless solutions startup MobMe Wireless Solutions, on Sunday.

Infosys Technologies co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan, who will serve as chief mentor, launched the Startup Village at the Kinfra Hi-Tech Park in Kalamassery near Kochi on Sunday. It will primarily serve as a telecom innovation hub. Sanjeev Vijayakumar is the chairman of the board of governors of the Startup Village.

Built on 15,000 sq ft of space, Startup Village is jointly promoted by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), the Department of Science and Technology, government of India, and Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, besides MobMe Wireless and other private parties.

Kris Gopalakrishnan said the Startup Village is an indicator of the state's transformation into an industrial powerhouse. "Kerala's Technopark is probably one of the most successful tech parks in the country, but nobody really talks about it," Gopalakrishnan said.

He said the state has slowly been putting in place all the ingredients to build a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem. "The four key ingredients: innovation, education, research and entrepreneurship to create a good business development ecosystem are now falling in place. This will help to change popular misconceptions about Kerala as a business-unfriendly state," Gopalakrishnan said.

It has been confirmed that when the right people come together, the possibility of success improves dramatically. "Startup Village is an attempt to bring the right people together in the process of incubating companies with great ideas," Gopalakrishnan said.

Cusat vice-chancellor Ramachandran Thekkedath suggested that the Startup Village must also look at the possibility of incubating entrepreneurial ventures and ideas from older and retired professionals as well who are no less creative than their younger counterparts.

The village will have a 4G network, advanced telecom labs and provide all services including legal, intellectual property and accounting help.

A three-month residential accelerator programme to support entrepreneurs in developing their ideas into products has been initiated. Every company in the programme will receive $10,000 in seed capital along with introductions to network partners, venture capital firms and angel investors, Vijayakumar said.

A $10-million angel investment fund is also being set up under the guidance of KPMG to invest $50,000-$500,000 in high-growth startups.