Schneider Electric enters retail segment

Schneider Electric India has announced a retail rollout for its switches, sockets and distribution systems for the home and SMB (small and medium business) markets. The retail initiative kicks off with the launch of the ‘ZENcelo' and ‘Vivace' range of switches and the ‘NeoBreak' distribution systems in a phased manner that starts with Maharashtra, followed by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu over the next few months, a company statement said.

The national rollout aims to appoint 4,000 retail outlets and will be complete by 2012. All the products across categories will be available under the Schneider Electric brand, the statement said.

The market size of switches and distribution boards in India, growing at approximately 16 per cent on an annual basis, according to industry estimates, is currently pegged at Rs 2,400 crore.

Of this, the home market size is considered to be Rs 1, 400 crore while the enterprise market is pegged at approximately Rs 1, 000 crore.

FranchiseBazar.com Conducts Entrepreneur Meet For Mastermind Tutorials for its Write Right and Vedic Maths Brands.

FranchiseBazar.com will conduct a franchise and new businesses match making event, ‘Entrepreneur Match Making Program’ to connect entrepreneurs and franchise companies across India. The program will be held across various Franchisebazar.com franchise offices and will begin on Saturday 9^th July between 10.30 Am -6.00 Pm for Write Right and Vedic Maths at its HO in Bangalore. It will be a multi city, multi brand activity, focused at connecting entrepreneurs with specific requirements with those companies that match them. It is absolutely FREE for the entrepreneurs, as all they have to do is to register with our local offices for this program, and we will get in touch with them, whenever we do an event with a company of their choice.

Crumby’s Hires Sparkleminds To Expand Its Quick Service Chicken Restaurant

‘Crumby’s, a leading small format, low investment, chicken restaurant chain, has hired Sparkleminds (www.sparkleminds.com) for expanding its business through franchise model. Sparkleminds is a specialized franchise consulting company offering franchise expertise to businesses seeking expansions, for over a decade now.

Crumby’s is focusing on providing customers with a 'fresh dining experience' through its small format restaurants (200-500 Sft). The main drawback of a large format outlet is the prohibitive cost of real estate and the over-all investment required by the franchisee for the infrastructure, which in turn, elongates the return on investment and the gestation period, making it a very risky business preposition. While, Entrepreneurs across the country are seeking reputed food opportunities with low investments and high returns, the company is also coming out with a Kiosk and a Food Court Model, to reach out to larger audiences and be present in High Street Retail. Its main attractions include Chicken Samosa (Crumbosa^TM), Chicken Shawerma (Crumberma^TM) and Pasta (Crumpasta^TM) along with Burgers (Crumburger^TM) and ice creams, including a VEG Shawerma. The company is eyeing 100 franchises in 3 years.

Malabar Gold partners with Brand Union for global push

Malabar Gold, leading jewellery retailers, is joining hands with Brand Union, a global branding agency, for creating a distinct international brand identity. Brand Union, part of WPP group, will work closely with Malabar Gold in strengthening the latter's position in the regional and global markets, according to M P Ahammed, chairman, Malabar Group.

He said that the group, which had retail outlets both in India and GCC countries, was all set to become an international brand by expanding its network to other regions of the world. It was now looking at Far Eastern countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and also Sri Lanka for immediate expansion.

Also on the anvil was an entry into European markets, starting from London, he said.

Malabar Gold, which currently has a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore and employs 4,600 personnel, has opened 54 showrooms over the last 18 years and, during the last two years, established its presence in all the GCC countries. It will soon open new outlets in Jeddah, Ruwi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur, Kondotty, Kottakkal and Chavakkad.

Ahammed said there was good opportunity for India-designed and India-made ornaments all over the world and it was a fact that 10 out of 12 diamonds marketed worldwide were finished in India.

He said that by expanding the network across the world, Malabar Gold was opening the doors for global appreciation of Indian jewellery.

Hermann Behrens, chief executive officer, Brand Union, Middle East, said that his company would help Malabar Gold achieve its ambition of becoming one of the top global jewellery brands.

American Tourister aims to become No 1 brand; mulls franchise expansion

Durable family travel solutions company American Tourister aims to become the number one luggage brand by 2014 by increasing its presence to 300 showrooms pan-India, especially in tier II and III cities. The company is looking for potential franchisees to expand its retail network.

“We are expecting 85 per cent brand growth this fiscal (calender year) and to become the number one brand by 2014 in the organised mid to premium luggage segment,” Samsonite south asia group marketing director Sudip Ghose said in Mumbai.

American Tourister is a brand of Samsonite Corporations and was introduced in India six years ago with a price range starting from Rs 1,700 up to Rs 6,000.

“The concept of luggage has now changed and people are looking at buying good quality products that is durable, which is resulting into the shrinking of the unorganised sector,” he said.

American Tourister, which has 80 company-owned showrooms and 150 franchises, plans to open another 70 new stores, taking the total to 300 by the end of this year, he said.

“We already have a considerable presence in the metros and bigger towns. Now our main focus will be the tier II and III cities, where people have money to buy good quality luggage and aspire to own the American Tourister. The company plans to invest Rs 100 crore to fund this expansion,” he said.

The total luggage market in the country is worth Rs 3,000 crore, out of which up to Rs1,700 crore is the organised segment. “We enjoy about 29.4 per cent of the organised luggage market, which comprises Rs 500 crore,” Ghose said.

In terms of volumes, he said the company is already on the verge of becoming the market leader. He said looking at current growth, the company is doubling its volumes every two years and this trend is likely to continue for the next five years.

Samsonite Corporations has a hard-side suitcases factory at Nasik, in Maharashtra, which has the capacity to produce one lakh units per month and caters to the whole of Asia and parts of Europe. “Hard side suitcase is 20 per cent of our total business, that includes both our brands -- American Tourister and Samsonite,” he said.

The company also has its own factories in Argentina, Belgium, Chile and China.

Ratnagiri Impex to open 250 new agrimart outlets; seeks franchisees

Eyeing to offer farm equipment under a single roof, Bangalore-based Ratnagiri Impex Pvt Ltd is planning to open 250 new franchise outlets under the brand name ‘Agrimart’ at select locations across the country in the coming two and a half years.

At present, the company has 32 district-level outlets in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. “Farmers travel to major cities not only for sourcing agri-equipment, but also for after sales service and spare parts. To avoid this inconvenience, we have set up a retail chain of agri equipments under the brand name ‘Agrimart’ and have already opened 32 outlets so far. Agrimart is a farmer-friendly concept as it provides all kind of equipment for horticulture, industrial cleaning process, gardening and agricultural activities,” a senior company official said.

He added that the company planned to open 250 new Agrimart outlets at select district headquarters across the country in the next 30 months. "We are also looking for suitable local partners for our proposed district-level outlets,” he said.

Ratnagiri Impex was established to promote the concept of mechanisation in agriculture by offering a wide range of advanced machines like mist blowers, motorised backpack sprayers, brush cutters, chainsaws, augurs, lawn mowers, tillers, pole pruners, high pressure washer etc. The company has formed strategic alliances with leading manufacturers around the world.

“Taking appropriate equipments to the agriculturalists would help the sector modernize, improve productivity & yield and rationalize production cost. Apart from machineries and its spare parts, the after sales service, demo and training of the machineries will also be provided. We are placed uniquely to promote the usage of equipments and Agrimart would be the perfect vehicle to reach out to the rural masses,” the official said.

California Pizza Kitchen inks franchise deal to expand into Taiwan

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc (CPK) has signed an agreement to expand into Taiwan with new franchise partner, Quanta Foods. As part of the agreement, a minimum of six new California Pizza Kitchen restaurants are expected to open in Taiwan over the next five years.

“We are proud to be a global brand and whenever we are able to introduce our innovative menu into a new country, it is an opportunity we pursue,” said Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, co-founders and co-CEOs of CPK. “Quanta Foods has a great success record in Taiwan and we are pleased to partner with them on this venture.”

Quanta Foods has been in the restaurant business for over twenty years and was previously a joint-venture partner in Taiwan with such brands as McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s. Currently, Quanta Foods is the exclusive franchisee for Outback Steakhouse in Taiwan, as well as the operator of other independent restaurants in the market.

Founded in 1985, CPK is a leading casual dining chain featuring an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Of the chain’s 265 restaurants, 205 are company-owned and 60 operate under franchise or license agreements. There are currently 35 restaurants located internationally in China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, South Korea, Guam, India, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates.

FREE Learn To Franchise Your Business FRANCLINIC In Bangalore on 4th & 5th June 2011

Free franchise workshops for business owners seeking to franchise their businesses. Bangalore – NIMHANS Conv. Centre, 4^th & 5^th June ‘11. Franchise Your Business Complimentary Consultations For Businesses that are seeking franchise expansions.

We are pleased to announce our free franchise workshop for business owners seeking to franchise their businesses. If you are a business owner seeking expert professional help to franchise your business and have been contemplating from some time to expand your business, we can help you get started. We have helped 100's of businesses of all sizes to expand from as minimum as an Idea to 100's of Units now. You can also expand your business to multiple units across India and probably the globe. You could meet one of India's senior most franchise consultants at the location mentioned above and discuss in length the opportunity you see in expanding your business and the challenges you face in doing so.

We will help you to identify the key components of how you can take your business forward and probably work closely with you in franchising your business. At the 1-1 diagnostic meetings, generally lasting for 30-60 Minutes, you can get a overall picture on how to franchise your business. We would request you to come well prepared with your queries and make the best out of these meeting.

Morever these meetings are absolutely free and we are sure that you will have loads of expert franchise advise to take back with you, enabling you to clearly see the road ahead for your business.