Drunken Monkey aims to open 200 stores

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November 30, 2021

Drunken Monkey, a smoothie chain established in Hyderabad, is preparing to expand internationally, with plans to open over 50 locations in three countries, primarily in the West and Southeast Asia.

However, by the end of the fiscal year 2022, it plans to open 200 smoothie bars. The company’s growth strategy also includes the introduction of new smoothies with a longer shelf life that may be sold in Indian supermarkets.

Drunken Monkey was founded in 2016 and is now present in 57 cities across India, with a turnover of INR 60 crore in 2020-2021. Except for two company-owned stores, the rest are all franchisees.

“We want to make smoothie bars a trend in India so that the youth can see it as a place of leisure accompanied with healthy food. We are now on a mission to spread our wings to multiple areas,” said Samrat Reddy, the founder and MD, Drunken Monkey.

“I want to start a subscription model for smoothies and make smoothies a part of everyday life. Smoothies are like fruits packed in a bottle,” he added. He believes that once people get hooked on smoothies, the market will boom.

The brand’s position as a pioneer in the natural smoothie market was secured by effective use of the ‘first-mover advantage.’ The firm sources all of its ingredients locally, but it also has personnel in each city to ensure smooth operations.

However, for the brand, establishing a pan-India presence, which requires dealing with perishable and seasonal fruits and vegetables, has been a difficult task. The corporation conducts audits regularly to ensure uniformity and quality of its items across all its outlets around the country.

Drunken Monkey now sells its products as a single smoothie or a bowl, with prices ranging from NR 80 to INR 200. While the brand does not specify a certain age or gender for its target customer, its language and strategy are more geared toward 18 to 35-year-olds.

Voltas aims to invest Rs 500 crores in a compressor manufacturing factory

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November 29, 2021

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According to a top company official, leading domestic air-conditioner manufacturer Voltas aims to build up a compressor manufacturing unit in conjunction with an international partner and would invest around Rs 500 crore.

According to Pradeep Bakshi, Managing Director and CEO of the Tata Group, the company plans to invest in a joint venture company with an international partner, which will require PN3 (Press Note3) approval. Bakshi did not provide any information on its international partner but stated that it is one of the world’s largest compressor makers.

“For that, we have already filed for PN3 approval and we are waiting for it. Once it is done, we will be setting up the plant,” Bakshi said.

When asked about the investment, he said: “We plan to invest a minimum of Rs 350 crore on compressor manufacturing and another Rs 150 to 200 crore for air-conditioning.”

“We have committed an additional investment of around Rs 450 crore to 500 crore to the government on the basis of the approval of PN3,” he added.

The company is currently waiting for the PN3 application to be finalised before deciding on a location for its compressor production factory. “Once PN3 is approved, we will decide on other things,” Bakshi added.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the government made prior approval required for foreign investments from countries that share a land border with India to prevent opportunistic takeovers of domestic enterprises. China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Afghanistan all have land borders with India. According to that judgement, FDI bids from these nations must be approved by the Indian government before they can invest in India in any industry.

Voltas’ bids for producing Cross Flow Fans (CFF), Heat Exchangers, and Plastic Moulding components under the PLI plan have already been authorized by the government. The government stated earlier this month that it had chosen 26 proposals for the air conditioning sector, with a total committed investment of Rs 3,898 crore.

Xiaomi auto plant to build 300,000-unit capacity

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November 27, 2021

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According to the China Securities Journal, Xiaomi Corp.’s auto unit in Beijing would produce 300,000 cars per year. According to the source, China’s largest smartphone maker signed a contract with Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on Saturday, with its auto plant erected in two phases, each with a capacity of 150,000 cars.

Xiaomi has vowed to invest $10 billion in the electric vehicle industry over the next ten years, entering a field already packed with players ranging from Tesla Inc. to local companies like Nio Inc. and Xpeng Inc. The corporation previously stated that it intends to begin mass manufacturing electric vehicles in the first half of 2024.

Xiaomi has decided to enter the electric vehicle market to meet the growing demand in China and India. By 2024, Xiaomi is expected to release electric automobiles, electric scooters, and electric motorcyclists.

Xiaomi has been a disruptor in the smartphone industry, bringing low-cost devices to market. The Chinese company also makes smart TVs, wearables, earphones, and other IoT items.

Xiaomi also sells smartphones under the Redmi and POCO brands. It is one of the country’s top two smartphone sellers.

Amadeus, Marriott International to implement cloud-based CRS solution

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November 27, 2021

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Marriott International has signed an agreement with Amadeus to use the Amadeus Central Reservations System (ACRS).

The ACRS was developed to meet the needs of enterprise hotel organizations, such as the integration of the hotel brands’ proprietary ecosystem, which includes property management systems, loyalty programmes, revenue management systems, data warehouses, and other third-party systems. Using a contemporary CRS platform to streamline integration points improves operational efficiency and decreases IT complexity for corporate and on-property users. Additionally, the cloud technology design allows for ultra-high availability and ultra-fast reaction times, as well as robust, seamless service.

Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, President, Hospitality, Amadeus, commented, “We are excited to work with Marriott to deliver our next-generation technology throughout its portfolio. Adding Marriott to the global community of hotels choosing Amadeus to evolve their technology ecosystems supports our transformational vision and long-term investments to the industry. This platform empowers our customers to be able to meet ever-changing traveller expectations while gaining a single, consolidated view of data for more strategic decision-making.”

“We look forward to working with Amadeus and leveraging its CRS technology that will support our strategic vision to create a robust travel retailing platform for our guests and hotels,” said Drew Pinto, Global Officer, Distribution, Revenue Strategy, Engagement Centers & Global Sales, Marriott International. “It will make the breadth of Marriott’s travel offerings available to customers, giving them more choices to personalize their experience when they book travel with us,” he said.

upGrad unifies its three India-based subsidiaries

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November 26, 2021

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upGrad, an edtech firm, announced that it had merged its three Indian subsidiaries to become a global integrated ‘LifeLong Learning’ firm. The merging of the company’s three companies, upGrad Campus (formerly Impartus), upGrad Jeet (formerly The GATE Academy), and upGrad KnowledgeHut, has been announced (originally KnowledgeHut).

According to a release, the merger would form a single parent business in India that will drive upGrad’s ambition for an integrated strategy to expand and drive international learning until 2022.

The merged entity would offer the whole range of higher education technology to college students and working professionals.

“The merger of all the India entities is to strengthen the corporate structure and consolidate our position as a truly integrated Edtech player and provide a strong foundation for our global strategy.

“Brand upGrad is built based on the impact we create for our learners lives and the outcomes & ROI we deliver to them. We want the upGrad brand to permeate the full range of our offerings and so the one merged entity makes sense. Our offices in APAC, EMEA & US will continue to operate as independent subsidiaries,” upGrad chairperson and co-founder Ronnie Screwvala said.

By CY 2024, upGrad hopes to have 7.5 million registered users due to partnerships with over 1298 colleges, 3,110 corporations, and an expansion of its faculty, mentors, and experts network to 11,078. UpGrad currently boasts over 300 institution collaborations and more than 2 million registered users in 50 countries.

Yes Bank collaborates with Amazon Pay for UPI, adopts AWS for payment processing

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November 26, 2021

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Users can now pay with UPI owing to a partnership between Yes Bank and Amazon Pay, and AWS. Because of its connection with PhonePe, Yes Bank had a market share of roughly 40% by volume in the UPI ecosystem and around 30% by volume in the UPI merchant acquiring business in FY21.

The integration with Amazon Pay will allow the US e-commerce behemoth to issue UPI IDs with the @yapl handle, despite being a late entrant to the payment industry. With its payment processing technology housed on AWS, the partnership will help Yes Bank extend its position in UPI.

This agreement, which is based on a multi-bank approach, allows Yes Bank to acquire merchants using the Amazon Pay platform, expanding its existing merchant network.

The private lender claims to have built a cloud-native UPI processing technology to accommodate the high volume of transactions seen during peak seasons such as festivals or annual sales.

“With this collaboration, we will be able to offer our customers more control, flexibility and choice for a vast range of purchases and peer-to-peer transactions — through UPI-based payments,” said Prashant Kumar, MD & CEO, Yes Bank. Amazon Pay wants to extend its digital payment network by making it more attractive for users, according to Mahendra Nerurkar, CEO and VP. “UPI is one of the most convenient and popular ways to pay in India. With a cloud-native architecture we hope to keep raising the bar on availability, speed and customer experience using UPI through the Amazon app,” said Nerurkar.

JSW Group plan to capitalize Rs 250 crore in the e-commerce store

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November 26, 2021

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The JSW Group would invest 250 crores in launching JSW One Platforms, an online store that will sell steel, cement, and paint products. By March 2022, the platform hopes to have a gross market value run-rate of Rs 500 crore.

Through this ecommerce venture, “we are leveraging our unique position to offer our customers quality products in the most convenient way”, a JSW Group spokesperson said.

In Tamil Nadu, the corporation has started to roll out its ecommerce operation. It will run two different technological platforms, catering to customers’ needs in both the commercial and consumer sectors.

JSW is launching JSW One MSME, a platform that will provide an ecommerce marketplace for small and medium-sized manufacturers and contractors and online transactions, order fulfillment, and tracking.

Tata Steel has an online portal for the B2C segment called Ashiyana, which is aimed largely at individual home builders. According to the corporation, roughly 20-25 percent of sales are made through its online platform.

Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India has established eSales and an online ordering system for a variety of premium steel products that includes mill-issued quality certificates. The state-owned Steel Authority of India also sells steel through an online platform called Sail Suraksha.

In Tamil Nadu, the JSW One MSMSE platform has recently begun fulfillment operations. It plans to expand in key South and West markets such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka during the current fiscal year.

“The JSW One MSME platform plans to have a pan-India presence by March 2023,” the company said.

JSW is also in the process of launching JSW One Homes technology, a platform that will supply home-building solutions to individual home builders.

“The platform is currently offering a wide range of steel products manufactured by JSW Steel. It will expand its product categories to offer cement and paints during this fiscal,” the spokesperson said.

Ingka Group plans to invest ₹3,500 cr in Gurugram retail hub

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November 24, 2021

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Ingka Group plans to invest Rs 3,500 crore in the national capital region to build its second large-format shopping and entertainment complex, which would host a variety of brands, including its flagship Ikea store, the firm announced on Tuesday.

The Ingka Centre in Gurugram will begin construction in early 2022 and will be finished by 2023. In February, it announced its entry into the Indian market with a $5.500 crore investment in a centre in Noida.

The company is situated in Leiden, the Netherlands. Ikea Retail and Ingka Investments are both parts of the Ingka Group. The group’s shopping centre business is known as Ingka Centres. It has more than 50 locations around the world.

The Livat (‘spirited’ in Swedish) trademark will create the Ingka Centre in Gurugram. Apart from an Ikea flagship shop, it will contain hospitality, food and beverage, and edutainment learning facilities.

“The development, with a gross building area of around 130,000 sq. m, will complement Ingka Groups’s Noida centre. Reflecting the local community’s need for more than shopping, the new meeting place will set the standard for the next generation of sustainable mixed-use destination, acting as a lively gathering place for leisure, entertainment and retail in one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” the company said.

According to Cindy Andersen, managing director of Ingka Centres, the Ingka Group intends to reach out to more people through new initiatives in more markets. “When it comes to retail and leisure, change is the only constant. This is why our first Livat meeting place in India will be adaptable, with multiple offerings to match consumer lifestyles,” she added.

Livat expects approximately 20 million people to shop, work, dine, exercise, study, interact, and be inspired every year. It is anticipated that 2,500 employment will be created.

TikTok owner ByteDance to close edtech biz in India

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November 23, 2021

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According to media reports on Monday, China-based ByteDance, the parent company of the short-video-making app TikTok, is exiting the edtech sector in India.

Following the ban on TikTok last year, ByteDance currently operates Snapsolve, a learning app, and Resso, a music streaming platform in the country.

According to a report in TechCrunch citing sources, “ByteDance is shutting down its edtech business in India.”

“Most of the employees, if not all, are being let go,” one of the sources said, according to the report, adding that “the edtech division employed over three dozen people in India.”

ByteDance was yet to react to the report.

SnapSolve says it is “the choice of over 1 million Indian students for doubt-solving and learning.” The app assists students from classes 6 to 12.

“SnapSolve is a doubt-solving app providing instant solutions to math, physics, chemistry, biology and science doubts and NCERT book questions. Similar to Vedantu, Byju’s, Doubtnut, Quesgo, Snapsolve is a free learning app that insists on building your unique learning experience,” reads its description on Google Play Store.

The Indian online edtech market is flourishing in the remote learning era, with several new platforms attracting significant funding.

The Indian government banned many Chinese-developed applications, including TikTok, in 2020, due to concerns that they were involved in activities that jeopardized the country’s national security and defense.

This year, reports arose that ByteDance had begun selling the short video-making app’s AI technology to other companies, notably in India, where the app is prohibited.

ITC Hotels launches its second Mementos property in Rajasthan

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November 17, 2021

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With the unveiling of Mementos Jaipur, ITC Hotels has signed yet another property in Rajasthan. This is the group’s second Mementos property, the first of which was just signed in Udaipur.

Both locations are primed to become top-tier wedding venues. Mementos Jaipur showcases “Shahi Bagh,” a one-of-a-kind setting inspired by Mughal Gardens. It offers a gorgeous backdrop for grand weddings, unique festivities, and MICE events, with a 2-acre property.

This luxurious hotel in Jaipur’s Kukas neighbourhood pays homage to the city’s architecture, art, culture, and colours. This new addition will provide tourists with engaging experiences by showcasing the best of Rajasthan’s traditional hospitality.

Mementos Jaipur will be a 25-acre property with around 130 rooms. With a minimum room size of 50 sqm and cosy sit-out courtyards, all rooms offer the luxury of space.

A multicuisine restaurant, Kebabs & Kurries (ITC Hotels’ acclaimed north Indian signature cuisine), and a bar are among the property’s dining options. A library, the Kayakalp spa, and the Ollies Club for young adults are just a few amenities available.

Anil Chadha, chief executive, ITC Hotels, stated, “From ‘Mementos Udaipur’ earlier this month to ‘Mementos Jaipur’, we are rapidly adding to the brand’s inventory. Brand “Mementos” helps us deliver unique luxury stays across different destinations through collaboration with asset owners who choose ITC Hotels for its top-notch hospitality expertise.”

Mementos is ITC’s latest luxury brand, bringing together a portfolio of one-of-a-kind hotels in various locations ranging from modern marvels to hidden retreats to historical treasures.

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