Angry Birds’ franchise hopes to fly high this festival season

Original licensed merchandise from Angry Birds, the mobile game of wingless birds owned by Rovio Entertainment, has crossed revenues of Rs 50 crore in India. Dream Theatre, Rovio’s licensed merchandising agency, is expecting sales to escalate this festival season with companies such as Bata associating with the franchise. 

“The about-to-strike Angry Birds phenomenon is an indicator of how the Indian retail market has warmed up to the concept of licensing, which is commonplace in the West. The popularity of Angry birds is phenomenal and the first of its kind for the Indian market where majority of licensed merchandising so far have hinged on TV exposure. This simple and fun game has captured the imagination of fans,” says Jiggy George, CEO and Founder, Dream Theatre. 

Roping in Indian companies such as Swadesh (for gifts and stationery) and Excel (plush toys), the Angry Birds franchise currently has 140 licensed products being sold at 600 odd retail points, across categories ranging from adult apparel, plush toys to stationery and gifts and novelties. 

“The advent of Android and iPhones having Angry Birds games has helped expand the reach of this franchise. Today, we have one third of our sales coming from Angry Birds products amongst all the character-based merchandise we have at our stores,” said Prasanna Nagarajan, category Manager for toys and gifting, Cross Word Book Store. 

This festival season will see another 350-odd products from the franchise across footwear and footwear accessories, kids apparel, fashion bags, and even furniture. 

Footwear majors such as Bata are also reaching out to the target audience through the licensing pact with the property. Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, group managing director, Bata India Ltd, said, “With this association, we look forward to further strengthen our relations with our younger audience. With a variety of products for pre-teens and teens, Angry Birds footwear with its styles and designs is expected to entice younger customers.” 

MyTVS, ABC form JV in Gujarat; to expand via franchising

In what is seen as the equivalent of bigger retail stores possibly ‘edging out’ the neighborhood kirana kiosks, MyTVS, leading multi-brand car service provider from the TVS Group, on announced to set up about 15 workshops across Gujarat by 2015 to provide one-stop solutions to car owners, post-warranty period. Across India, MyTVS plans to set up nearly 100 such workshops by 2014 whose expected revenues would be around Rs 500 crore per annum. The company is also looking for franchisees to expand its pan-India network. 

R Srivatchan, President, TVS Automobile Solutions Ltd, said here that these state-of-the-art workshops would provide a “retail experience” to car owners. “The after-market industry in this sector is worth Rs 24,000 crore, 50 per cent of which is in the organised sector,” he said. 

Srivatchan said that his company has tied up with the promoters of ABC Bearings Ltd, a BSE-listed company in a 70:30 joint venture to set up the first outlet in Vadodara in October. The JV aims to be the largest multi-brand car service network in Gujarat, providing integrated car service solutions. 

Earlier, MyTVS had tied up with the Rajgarhia Group in Kolkata for a similar business. The TVS Group would be expanding this network through such local joint ventures and franchisees, and soon enter the NCR region. 

Excluding the cost of land, a workshop would cost Rs two crore each, he said. The JV business would also be entering into annual maintenance contracts (AMCs) with car owners for up to Rs 3,000 per annum. 

MyTVS has a brand presence across India through its 24x7 emergency roadside assistance service business. It provides telematics-based vehicle tracking system and immobilizer, car diagnostics, insurance claims management services etc. It currently has 32 own outlets and another 40 franchisee outlets in the four southern states. 

The 101-year-old, Chennai-based TVS Group had a turnover of $ 6 billion with a workforce of 39,000 in the last fiscal. TVS Automobile Solutions Ltd (TASL), a subsidiary of TVS & Sons, the holding company, has been in the business of multi-brand car servicing and 24x7 emergency roadside assistance for the last nine years. 

Lipsy inks franchise pact with BMI to enter India

Trendy young British fashion brand Lipsy on Tuesday announced that it has entered into an exclusive franchise agreement with Brand Marketing India (BMI) to market and distribute its products in India. Lipsy, which was acquired by Next Plc in 2008, is one of the UK’s popular fashion brands. 

Known for its trend clothing and massive celebrity following, Lipsy is already selling internationally through recently opened franchise stores in the Middle East and CIS regions. 

Emma Dobson, head of International Lipsy, said: “This is a key milestone in our international expansion and underscores the international appeal of our brand. We are delighted to be working with the team at BMI and look forward to introducing Lipsy to their customers.” 

BMI, the company responsible for the successful launch and development of the Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear and French Connection businesses in India, intends to open over 50 Lipsy stores over the next five years, thereby, effectively positioning the business to capitalize on the significant growth potential of the Indian market. 

Commenting on the collaboration, Vijay Murjani, managing director of BMI, said, "The combination of glamorous fashion, affordability and a great retail experience has ensured the brand has been an overwhelming success with both celebrities and young trendsetters across the UK.” 

"We are confident that the young Indian consumers will embrace the brand in the same way." 

New York Pizza and Fried Chicken opens in Vijayawada

New York Pizza and Fried Chicken (NYPFC) has launched its first outlet in Vijayawada and its fourth franchise in Andhra Pradesh. 

Announcing the launch of the new restaurant, NYPFC manager Yada Srimannarayana Murthy said that the franchise will provide American dishes with an Indian touch for the customers. “The restaurant was launched after observing the tastes and studying the project in different countries,” said Murthy. 

Meanwhile, Pizza Hut also made its foray into the city with the launch of its first restaurant in the LEPL Icon Mall on Friday. With a seating capacity of 110 the restaurant is decorated in trademark Pizza Hut style with warm lighting and mood graphics on the walls. The welcoming waiters are more than willing to make the city people aware of wide ranging menu from signature pan pizzas and pastas to appetizers and beverages. 

Speaking on this occasion Pizza Hut India Brand general manager Sandeep Kataria said that they were proud of this new launch and positive that it will offer a great dining experience and much more to the people of Vijayawada. 

Indus-League mulls franchise model to expand in smaller cities

In a difficult retail environment when sales are subdued and retailers are battling pricing pressures, Future Ventures India Ltd-controlled Indus-League Clothing Ltd is using the franchise route to expand in smaller cities and keep entry-level prices intact. Indus-League sells apparel and accessories and owns brands such as Scullers, Indigo Nation, John Miller, Jealous 21, Urban Yoga, Daniel Hechter and has recently entered into a licensing agreement for Manchester United. 

“In smaller markets in tier II and III cities, we were finding it a little difficult to run our own stores owing to manpower and other logistical issues, and so we decided to open 10 franchise outlets more as a pilot project to see how they do. We gave them six months this year, and now we have decided to open another 10 by this Diwali. The franchise format would also speed up stores in these markets. While we are not opening any flagship stores there, we will use a combination of two-three brands in each store,” said Rachna Aggarwal, chief executive, Indus- League. 

The response to Manchester United stores and the merchandise has been extremely positive and we have been surprised by the kind of fan following the brand has, particularly among youngsters, Aggarwal added. 

“We have already opened seven Man U stores and will open another five stores in the next three months. The merchandise will also be available in Planet Sports stores and shop-in-shop formats. Though as of now Man U stores are mostly coming up in metros, we are opening one store in the new World Trade Centre in Jaipur,” said Aggarwal. 

Last year, the company opened around 16-18 flagship stores and is planning to open the same number of stores this year. Among this, 40-50 per cent will be in high streets and the rest in shopping malls. 

Mad Over Donuts opens third store in Bengaluru

Singaporean brand Mad Over Donuts (MOD) has launched its third store in the city within a short span of two months. The store is located at Inorbit Mall, Whitefield. With over 38 stores across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and NCR, MOD is working to strengthen its base in the south and is looking for more opportunities to expand,. 

Tarak Bhattacharya, COO, MOD, said, “The strategy is to focus on the ‘Love at First Bite!’ experience, which includes not just excellent product quality, but also the fun experience that one gets whenever they walk into a Mad Over Donuts’ store.” 

“Being positioned as a vibrant brand, Mad Over Donuts has evolved into a lifestyle choice for many especially with their fresh, delicious eggless donut offerings,” he further added. 

Landmark open to more brand tie-ups

Lifestyle department stores, Max Retail and Auchan hypermarkets will lead the growth for the $4.7-billion Dubai-based Landmark Group in India. Renuka Jagtiani, who spearheads the group's international business, said the target to achieve a billion dollar turnover from India is well on track with the addition of doughnut chain Krisy Kreme and the French hypermarket chain Auchan to its portfolio, reports Times of India. 

Jagtiani, who runs the business along with husband and Middle Eastern retailing czar Micky Jagtiani, said India clocked over Rs 3,000 crore in turnover last year with a growth of 30-35 per cent annually even as the group looks to bring more brands across different categories here. "We have been here for 11 years and as a group we believe in each one of our businesses. Grocery retailing has been important for us. Auchan is a great hypermarket partner with a track record of success in emerging markets so this part of the business will be significant for the group," said Jagtiani, vice-chairperson of Landmark Group. 

The group, which will be the franchise partner for the French retailer, aims to open 10-12 hypermarkets every year after it decided to discontinue its association with Dutch retail chain Spar. Jagtiani said if the Indian government decides to open up the multi-brand retail sector to foreign investment, it may look to change the ownership of Auchan iprovided both the parties agreed on it. The group has gone slow in its investment behind its fashion portfolio other than through Lifestyle and Max stores. "We are always on the lookout for brands and are open to associations, we are not limiting ourselves," said Jagtiani, who was instrumental in setting up the multi-brand fashion retail chain Splash. 

Landmark group franchises international brands such as New Look, Aftershock, Reiss and Koton in the Middle East as well as Bossini and Kappa in India. The group withdrew Springfield and Vincci from the Indian market during the 2008 economic downturn and cut back on expansion of other fashion brands, the report added.