We will be having two large size format flagship stores, one in Delhi and one in Bombay (price points between INR 100- 10,00,000) whereas THT gifting will have products ranging from INR.1000 – Rs.5000. Our endeavour is that THT Gifting reaches 50 in terms of the number of stores in the next five years--JJ Valaya

Wonderchef, a Rs 200-crore company had recently entered north Indian market by launching its first flagship store in Gurugram.

Sanjeev Kapoor's business ventures range from premium cookware and appliances brand Wonderchef to TV channel FoodFood to a chain of restaurants across India and abroad.

With this addition, Wonderchef has 10 exclusive brand outlets in the country besides its omni-channel presence across 5000 retail outlets, it said in a release.

Ravi Saxena, MD, Wonderchef emphasizes that it is the best time to award industry status to retail sector for overall economic growth.

Founded in 2009 by Kapoor and former Sodexo Pass India MD Ravi Saxena, the company sells premium kitchen appliances, cookware and bakeware under the Wonderchef brand.

TPG’s investment comes at a time when Livspace is also strengthening its offline network of experiential stores across top cities.

According to the company, Tupperware intends to leverage its existing consultant and distributor base and make them a part of the brand’s new initiative. The Tupperware family will have the opportunity to either become “Tupperware Authorised Sellers” on the e-commerce platforms, or take charge of “Exclusive Tupperware Outlets”.

Besides, TTK Prestige has plans to expand its distribution network further and expects higher sales from fast-growing online channels.

Tupperware India's managing director Deepak Chhabra talks about how integrating the direct sales force with the retail franchisee model is working for the home and kitchen-ware maker.

“He is well-acquainted with the working culture of large global brands, which puts him at the right position to take charge of reinforcing Stovekraft’s position as the market leader in the FMCD (fast moving consumer durables) space,” chairman and MD Rajendra Gandhi said.

“We see this second round of investment from TCA as a token of faith. We have grown 500% over the previous financial year and on track for very aggressive growth next year as well.” said Jagadeesh Kumar of The Indus Valley.

Total expenses rose 15.65 per cent to Rs 4,340.64 crore in the quarter as against Rs 3,752.94 crore in the year-ago period.

Established in 2000, Indigo Paints is a relatively new entrant to the decorative paints industry that is dominated by the like of Asian Paints, Berger and Nerolac.

Dhingra indicated that the company they would look for acquisition should be bigger than its existing operations in Russia. BPIL now runs the Russian operations through its subsidiary in Cyprus.

In a filing with the stock exchanges, the company said it is buying 95.53% stake of STPL. Balance 4.47% stake will remain with STPL’s existing shareholders.

The decorative business segment in India recorded high double digit volume growth.

From Rs 12 crore in FY09, the Pune-headquartered company, which is gunning for an IPO, closed FY19 with revenue of Rs 600 crore. Here Jalan talks to TOI about his plans for the company.

"The Commission is of the view that evidence provided by JSW Paints is prima-facie sufficient to indicate that Asian Paints has denied access to the distribution channels in the relevant market to JSW Paints by threatening and coercing such dealers through various means," the fair trade regulator said.

Berger said it has decided against any involuntary furloughs or organisational restructuring that may lead to downsizing of headcount and consequent loss of livelihood during the time of widespread uncertainty. It stated that there will be no impact of the crisis on new recruitment offers.

The sanitiser is being manufactured at Asian Paints’ plant in Ankleshwar, Gujarat and the company has obtained all necessary permissions from authorities. Other brands which started making hand sanitisers after the Covid-19 pandemic spread to India include Dabur, Emami, Patanjali, Nivea India, and Raymond Consumer Care, among several others.

'Our foray into sanitizers is an effort to help the fight against Covid-19'

The home furnishing chain, which currently has 50 stores in 27 cities, also cited longer replacement cycles as reason for low sale of durable big-sized furniture such as three and five-seater sofa sets.

"To ensure the safety of our customers, we are recalling all TROLIGTVIS travel mugs marked "Made in India". We urge customers to return the product to any of our stores for a full refund. We apologise for any inconvenience this recall may cause," the world's largest furniture retailer said.

“There are no medical issues and this is purely a proactive initiative keeping the safety of our customers in mind,” the Swedish furniture and home products retailer said on its website, urging consumers to stop using the Troligtvis-branded travel mugs immediately.

Home audio is not the only segment that the two firms are targeting. Other products in the range include lights, crockery, furniture, and other knick-knacks like a reflective raincoat and a cajón. Some of the devices like the speakers and smart lighting bulbs can be connected together.

Budget raised custom duties on wooden furniture, tableware etc. Ikea imports about 75% of its products.

Imported furniture items account for only 15-20% of all furniture that are being sold online in India at present, according to industry estimates. The majority, including bigticket wooden items such as beds and sofas are being manufactured within the country.

Pepperfry may see another up to $40 million capital infusion over the next few months, said a senior executive at the online furniture retailer, without disclosing its valuations following the latest fundraising.

"I think we could broaden the product range a bit in our lower price range," Abrahamsson Ring said, adding that new materials, production techniques and distribution methods would help make IKEA "even more affordable".

The Ikea compliance team last week visited Vadodara-based Shaily Engineering, the company that had supplied the mugs, as part of the investigation, a source said. Ikea was prompted to recall the mugs after tests found excessive level of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a substance that is used as plasticisers.

From the production of raw materials and products through to customers' use and disposal, emissions shrank 4.3% in the fiscal year to the end of August 2019 to 24.9 million tonnes CO2 equivalents, it said.

In the Union Budget 2020 announced on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced to increase customs duty on imported furniture from the present 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The move was aimed to protect the interest of the MSME segment. Ikea opened its first store in the country in Hyderabad in August 2018.

With already three stores in Bengaluru and one in Chennai, the company now plans to open two new stores in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 5 crore, it said. In the next 12 to 18 months, WoodenStreet further plans to open 4 additional stores in South India, along with a third store in Hyderabad.

The Mumbai-based startup is currently in talks with local furniture players in the country. It is looking to add 8-10 new partners every month and take the count to a total of 150-180 suppliers by the end of 2020.

"We see this as a good opportunity to become accessible for many more in China, especially in light of what the Chinese digital environment looks like," Tolga Oncu, head of retail at Ingka, which owns most IKEA stores worldwide, told Reuters.

Johan Andersson, the store's logistics boss whose team found them, had just read that hospitals were suffering from a shortage of masks amid the coronavirus outbreak so he rang up Sahlgrenska University Hospital - Sweden's biggest - in Gothenburg and asked if they were interested.

According to the company, the online presence will further strengthen the brand’s reach by covering 2,000+ pin codes. Basis the demand and sales, Godrej Interio also plans to introduce selected online-only models to cater to a larger section of customers who love purchasing online.

A majority of IKEA stores are or have been temporarily closed in recent months. A few stores in Germany and Israel, as well as the one in Wuhan, the city in China where the coronavirus was first discovered, reopened this week.

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