Jigsaw joins TPL to help with brand repositioning

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January 24, 2022

Times Professional Learning (TPL), The Times of India Group’s education initiative, recently onboarded Jigsaw, a strategic brand consultancy, to help them reposition their educational programmes and create a differentiated offering.

TPL and its brands, TimesPro and TSW, will benefit from the consultant’s brand repositioning and restructuring expertise.

Neha Jhunjhunwala, head- of strategic marketing and special initiatives, TPL, said, “With a vision to make learning and excellence accessible to millions via innovations and global collaborations, TPL is committed to the cause of education that helps build a workforce whose employability skills are honed and made industry-ready and provide lifelong learning solutions to working professionals. Hence, it is imperative that we develop and communicate a brand positioning strategy which ensures customer centricity and competitive distinctiveness.”

Rutu Mody Kamdar, the founder of Jigsaw, said, “We are happy to partner with TPL on this strategic brand-building initiative. It is key that we effectively communicate the brand ethos of TPL to potential students who are looking to stay relevant and grow in the Indian market.”

Paytm, Fullerton tie up to offer digital lending to MSMEs

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January 24, 2022

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Paytm and Fullerton India, a non-banking financial institution, have collaborated to bring digital lending to MSMEs and consumers in smaller cities and towns.

“Fullerton India and One97 Communications Limited, which owns the brand Paytm, India’s leading digital payments and financial services platform, have announced a partnership to provide lending products to merchant partners and consumers. With the partnership, the two established institutions will leverage data-driven insights and wide reach to bring credit to new-to-credit users,” Fullerton India said in a statement.

Fintech users will be able to use Paytm Postpaid (buy-now-pay-later) on the Paytm platform due to this agreement. In addition, the alliance will provide lending products such as merchant loans. In addition, both organizations have stated that they will expand their product offerings to include quick personal loans.

“We have seen great adoption of the lending products among consumers and merchants on our platform. We believe that there is a massive opportunity to access credit to merchants in small cities and towns. We continue to focus solely on helping our blue-chip lending partners bring seamless credit products to our customers and merchants. Consumer credit has been growing exponentially through products like Paytm Postpaid and Personal Loans, which we believe can be further expanded through our partnership with Fullerton India,” Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending, said.

Fullerton India founded in 2007, is one of the country’s largest NBFCs, with more than 628 branches serving 600 towns and 58,000 villages.

Fullerton India Credit Company Limited is owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), which owns 74.9% of the company. Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH) is an independent strategic and operating investor in financial and related services in emerging markets, with a 25.1% stake investment in Fullerton India Credit Company Limited.

Ceebros owns Adyar Gate hotel to make way for luxury residences

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January 24, 2022

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The iconic Adyar Gate hotel in the luxury Boat Club area may soon be demolished to make way for a high-rise of luxury residences.

Ceebros, a property developer, is nearing completion on a redevelopment agreement with the Goyals, the owners of Adyar Gate Hotels Limited (AGHL). Since its opening in the 1970s, the 286-room hotel has been a hallmark 5-star property. It was then run by ITC as Park Sheraton Hotels & Towers for several years before becoming the Crowne Plaza, but its original name always referred to it.

“Only the nitty gritty of the commercial agreement needs to be finalised. For Ceebros, Crowne Plaza will be the third hotel property it is acquiring, after the Atlantic Hotel in Egmore and Viceroy in MRC Nagar. Ceebros had razed both those properties and built residential towers,” multiple sources said.

C Subba Reddy, Ceebros’ managing director, said that “talks are on” but declined to elaborate. The Goyals purchased the property from industrialist T T Vasu’s family.

Industry sources said, “While AGHL was already going through a troubled phase, the Covid pandemic hastened the trouble. Despite opting for a moratorium on repayments during the pandemic, the liquidity crunch hit the group hard.”

The promoters owe INR 42 crore in property tax to the Greater Chennai Corporation. The city authorities even held a “drum beat” in front of the hotel to highlight the tax arrears.

Vinish Goyal, director, Crowne Plaza, and Intercontinental Hotels, Chennai, said, “I do not know who is spreading such rumours? We have settled all property tax dues to the authorities.”

Ceebros redeveloped the Atlantic and the Viceroy successfully, according to property consultants. Although the MRC redevelopment ‘174’ ran into commercial difficulties for a time, apartments are presently unavailable for resale at prices exceeding INR 20,000 per sq ft.

“With Ceebros already owning and operating two business hotels under the brand name ‘Rain Tree’ on Anna Salai and St Mary’s Road, the company is unlikely to retain Crowne Plaza as a hotel,” a property consultant, who did not want to be named, said. “Given the proximity of the Crowne Plaza property to the upmarket Boat Club, where residential apartment prices are around INR 30,000 per sq ft, residential property will easily fetch INR 25,000 per sq ft here,” the consultant added.

Royal Orchid Hotels launches a wilderness resort in Kabini

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January 22, 2022

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The launch of Regenta Kabini Springs Resort on the Kerala-Karnataka border at HD Kote has added another boutique resort property to ROHL’s portfolio. The 20-room wilderness resort was previously a stand-alone hotel that became part of the ROHL brand after extensive renovations.

“The uniqueness about the Kabini property is that it is the only resort inside the wildlife park. All other hotels and resorts are outside the park,” said Chander Baljee, CMD, ROHL, while sharing the significance of the new property. “Everything is brand new apart from the old structure,” he said, explaining the kind of renovation that the property has undergone since the owner decided to join the ROHL portfolio.

The resort, spread out over ten acres of land, provides plenty of open space for guests, as accommodations are divided into five blocks, each with four rooms. Baljee added, “It has a very peaceful location abutting a river.” Because of the modest inventory, he added, the resort provides a high level of individualized care and service to visitors.

The property has added a lovely pool to the facility as part of the remodelling. “Because of the property’s proximity to Kerala, we expect a lot of week-end traffic from the Kerala side into the resort,” Baljee informs.

With the latest acquisition, ROHL has surpassed the 70-hotel milestone in operational hotels. ROHL already has a substantial presence in wilderness destinations. Resorts are located in Ranthambore and Pench and famous bird sanctuaries like Bharatpur and Mysore.

ROHL has added 15 additional hotels in the last two years, particularly during the Covid19 outbreak, according to Baljee, and plans to add another 15 soon. “Our target is to reach 100 hotels by the end of the next financial year 2022-23,” he said.

According to him, the hotel group will be able to add another 2000 rooms to its existing 4,500-room inventory due to this expansion.

He believes that independent hotels will continue to join the ROHL bandwagon because they will benefit from well-defined and proven SOPs, sales and marketing support, and advanced technological platforms.

Startup VAAN unveils electric bikes in Kochi

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January 22, 2022

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The national launch of VAAN Electric Moto Pvt Ltd’s all-new electric bicycle was held in Kochi on Friday. VAAN Electric Moto Pvt Ltd is an Indian lifestyle e-mobility startup.

The e-bike comes in two models: Urbansport and Urbansport Pro, with prices starting at INR 59,999 and INR 69,999, respectively.

According to the company, Kochi will be the first market for e-bikes, and it will be followed by Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi.

The EICMA 2021 motorcycle show in Italy had previously displayed and introduced both the Urbansport and Urbansport Pro models worldwide. For engineering and supply chain, VAAN has partnered with the Italian e-bike firm Benelli Biciclette and has worked closely with the Benelli team to create the Urbansport tandem.

Benelli designed the e-bikes’ compact aluminium unisex frames, saddle, rims, and handlebar. The e-bikes have a maximum speed of 25 km/h and a pedal-assisted range of 60km. A full charge, according to VAAN, would only require half a unit of electricity, costing roughly INR 4-5.

The removable battery pack, which weighs 2.5kg and takes four hours to charge fully, would enhance convenience. The motorcycles are equipped with a smart LCD that provides all pertinent information and operates the front and backlights.

According to Jithu Sukumaran Nair, CEO and founder of VAAN Electric Mobility, the company’s Ernakulam plant can assemble 2,000 cycles every month.

“We are initially targeting sales of 8,000 to 10,000 cycles a year. We also plan to launch two more products in the next three to six months,” Jithu Sukumaran Nair said.

Brij Hotels aims to enhance its portfolio in 2022

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January 21, 2022

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Given that the virus’s spread has been far more extensive, one of the consequences of the Omicron variant on small luxury properties around the country.

Anant Kumar, the co-founder of Brij Hotels and Resorts, said that January showed a 50% fall in business while December was extraordinary. While the smaller homes were performing well, their Ganges-facing Varanasi property had suffered a significant loss.

“From the Brij perspective, it’s all HNI travel. So, what hit us the most was the news of 100 positive cases on an aircraft, which meant our customers from places like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities were reluctant to get to us,” he said.

The hotel business, started by brothers Udit and Anant and is named after their grandfather, who founded the Clarks Group, operates across Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Kumar gave a general overview of the company’s aims to grow its current portfolio to 15 hotels by the end of 2022. He said the group was aggressively seeking partnerships with asset owners and investors.

“This year the two projects which we will be launching are in Bandhavgarh and Kukas—the Bandhavgarh property will have six rooms, each with a heated pool set in 15 acres of land with 15,000 sal trees designed by a top naturalist. Kukas is going to have 20 keys in seven acres, with courtyard pools and set on a lake,” he said, adding that their Kukas property will have a definite health and wellness tilt.

“We are keenly inclined in investing our time and resources in our asset light division. We have incoming interest from our clients wanting to invest in the brand and are raising some capital to take us through our targeted growth over the next five years,” he said while not divulging figures when asked about the future. Brij Hotels and Resorts’ business model was asset-light, relying on management contracts and revenue-share agreements.

“We are EBITDA positive; we have no debt—the primary reason for raising capital is to hire good talent. We have got a huge amount of interest from people who have experienced our hotels and want to give their properties for us to run,” he explained that the aim was to raise the capital by June 2022.

Kumar determined that the financing would allow them to embrace the potential to expand up their business fully.

Bharti’s OneWeb, Hughes merge to offer satellite broadband services

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January 20, 2022

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OneWeb, funded by the Bharti Group, and Hughes Network Systems, a satellite service provider, have signed a strategic six-year distribution agreement to provide satellite broadband services across India, according to a joint statement released on Thursday.

Hughes Communications India Private Ltd, a joint venture between Hughes and Bharti Airtel, will offer the services in India.

The deal comes after the firms inked a memorandum of understanding in September 2021.

“This announcement marks a turning point for Digital India. Enterprise and government customers, including telecom service providers, banks, factories, schools, defense organizations, domestic airlines, and offshore vessel operators, eagerly anticipate new high-performing Satcom services.

“We look forward to bringing them high-speed, low-latency services from HCIPL, using OneWeb capacity,” HCIPL president and managing director Partho Banerjee said.

OneWeb’s most recent satellite launch, on December 27, 2021, increased the company’s total number of in-orbit satellites to 394, accounting for more than 60% of the projected 648 LEO satellite fleet.

It expects to launch a global service by the end of 2022, as demand for its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services from telecoms providers, aviation and maritime sectors, ISPs, and governments worldwide continue to grow.

“OneWeb is delighted to partner with Hughes to offer high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband solutions. OneWeb’s constellation will cover the length and breadth of India, from Ladakh to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to the Northeast and bring secure solutions to enterprises, governments, telcos, airline companies and maritime customers. OneWeb will invest in setting up enabling infrastructure such as Gateways and PoPs (points of presence) in India to light up the services,” OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson said.

Hughes owns a stake in OneWeb through its parent company EchoStar. It’s also a OneWeb ecosystem partner, developing gateway electronics – especially for Gujarat and Tamil Nadu users – and the system’s core module, which will power every user terminal.

According to the statement, Hughes is also the prime contractor on a partnership with the US Air Force Research Lab to integrate and demonstrate managed LEO SATCOM employing OneWeb capacity in the Arctic.

Lotus Herbals gains 25% share in Conscious Chemist

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January 20, 2022

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Lotus Herbals has obtained a 25% share in Conscious Chemist, a direct to consumer (D2C) skin-care brand, marking the company’s first foray into the fast-growing D2C market.

Lotus Herbals joint managing director Nitin Passi said: “Our strategic investment in this emerging brand takes forward our presence in the green beauty category, and is part of our overall M&A strategy.”

Passi said the strategic investment in Conscious Chemist, the company’s first pure-play D2C acquisition, will enable it to expand its presence in the sector and respond to specialized buyer needs.

According to research by Avendus Capital, India’s D2C business would be worth $100 billion by 2025, up from a trivial amount just two years ago. In the last two years, the sector has seen increased investor engagement in categories such as personal care, packaged foods, and wearables.

Conscious Chemist creates useful new-age skincare products that are free of toxins, scents, and chemicals, according to the company.

Conscious Chemist co-founder Robin Gupta said: “We are confident this synergistic relationship will drive exponential growth (for the brand).”

Lotus Herbals has made three acquisitions amid the pandemic. The first was a 100% purchase of luxury ayurvedic brand SoulTree in September 2020, followed by a 32% stake purchase in dermaceutical firm Fix Derma in October.

Lotus, which has 1,50,000 retail locations, competes with Hindustan Unilever’s Lakme and Pond’s brands, as well as brands from L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble.

Blinkit launches 200 ‘dark stores’ to offer quick delivery

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January 20, 2022

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Blinkit, an online grocer, has introduced 200 “dark stores” that only deliver in ten minutes since December. By March, the Gurgaon-based company hopes to have 1,000 of these mini distribution centres.

MilkBasket, which is owned by Reliance Retail, is expanding its warehousing capacity in the National Capital Region to roughly 350,000 square feet to handle 150,000 orders per day, which is more than double the existing order size.

While numerous physical stores and dine-in restaurants in India are putting their expansion plans on hold due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, online grocers such as Blinkit, BigBasket, and MilkBasket are making an aggressive push to take advantage of the growing demand for speedy online delivery.

To be sure, as the pandemic raged in the last two years, millions of Indians flocked to digital commerce, propelling online food platforms to new heights. However, the current third wave in India has prompted them to become even more aggressive.

“One thing has changed in this wave is that our pace of expansion has doubled,” said Rohit Sharma, head of the supply chain at Blinkit.

Until December, Blinkit had roughly 300 dark stores; it has since added 200 more, each covering about 3,000 square feet. “We will double the number of dark stores to 1,000 by March,” Sharma said.

Blinkit, which currently operates in around 40 cities, is expanding into the eastern region, including Punjab, Bhopal, and Nashik.

Blinkit’s competitor, Tata-owned BigBasket, plans to introduce BB Now, a rapid delivery service that will deliver products in 10 to 20 minutes. Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, Dunzo, and Zepto are now operating in that space.

BigBasket’s chief operating officer, TK Balakumar, said the company plans to double its existing warehousing capacity and open more than 300 dark stores in the coming fiscal year, beginning in April. “This will lead to increasing our number of orders from the current 300,000 to 500,000-plus per day,” he said.

Orders in various cities have increased by 30-40% during this round of the Covid wave, according to online grocers. In the NCR, MilkBasket presently serves roughly 70,000 orders every day. It will open its new 150,000-square-foot warehouse in the region next month.

“There is excess demand,” said a person familiar with MilkBasket’s plans. “They are already running 110% of capacity.”

MilkBasket is currently available in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai, with plans to expand into Jaipur later this month.

M&M ties up with Hero Electric to make electric bikes

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January 19, 2022

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Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Hero Electric formed a strategic collaboration in electric mobility to meet India’s growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

Mahindra Group will manufacture Hero Electric’s electric bikes, the Optima and NYX, in its Pitampur plant as part of the agreement to address market demand. Ludhiana is home to Hero Electric’s production facility, which sells a variety of electric scooters.

“With this collaboration along with the expansion of their existing Ludhiana facility, Hero will be able to meet its demand of manufacturing over 1 million EVs per year by 2022. This will further enable them to drive adoption of a cleaner mode of transport,” M&M said in an exchange filing today.

The automaker and Hero Electric will sign a five-year deal with the possibility of expanding the collaboration area in the future. The transaction is projected to be worth between ₹140 – ₹150 crores during the contract period. The collaboration would help Hero Electric meet increased demand for electric vehicles by maximizing plant capacity utilization.

“The joint development efforts will also be a key factor in developing the platform approach to help electrification of the Peugeot Motocycles’ portfolio. This is expected to bring significant value to both parties through optimization of costs, timelines, and shared knowledge in this dynamic, fast growing global EV environment,” M&M added.

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