Bridgestone India opens its Exclusive Select Store ‘F1 Cars’ at Karur in Tamil Nadu

Bridgestone, the world’s numero uno tyre and rubber manufacturer has inaugurated its exclusive Select store at Karur, in Tamil Nadu. The exclusive Select showroom was formally inaugurated on March 12, 2014 by S Venkitachalam, Senior Deputy General Manager, PSR Sales – South Region, Bridgestone India Private Ltd.

The Bridgestone Select store boasts of having an exclusive Bridgestone retail ‘Identity and Sales’ in line with the global retail philosophy adopted successfully across the world.
Speaking on the occasion, Venkitachalam said: “We are back with yet another customer friendly, smart and stylized shop equipped with a wide product range and modern services to offer. Select is a unique retail channel concept of a quality shop which promises the customer a Better and Unique Buying experience”. The Select outlet, ‘F1 Cars’ is spread across 1,823 square feett showroom is located at KP Nagar, Opposite to IMA Hall, Erode Road, Karur.

At this showroom customers can see and feel the Bridgestone exclusivity, sophistication and progressiveness. It hosts several customer friendly facilities such as: Welcome and customer friendly environment, smart and stylised interiors, unparalleled customer service and wide product range, displays and designs. The other products and services available at the store include wheel alignment, wheel balancing, nitrogen filling, alloys, tyre changer and water wash. Bridgestone’s brand essence: ‘Serving society with superior quality’ is not only valid for its products but also for Bridgestone service standards which can be experienced at Select retail outlets.

Aggresive growth plan
As a part of its aggressive growth plan in the Indian Market Bridgestone has been expanding its ‘Select’ concept stores in India. Currently Bridgestone has 330 Select stores across all key cities in the country.

Indian operation

Bridgestone Indi started its operations in 1996. In March 1998 with setup of its manufacturing facility in Kheda, Madhya Pradesh, the tyre maker achieved its objective of running Indian manufactured Bridgestone tyres on Indian Roads. In a short stint of 14 years Bridgestone India is one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the country, both in the automotive original equipment manufacturers as well as the aftermarket segments.
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tyre and rubber manufacturing entity. In addition to tyres for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world.

Madsam Tinzin designer label now on Pernia’s Pop-UP Shop

Delhi based designer label, Madsam Tinzin, known for its fresh and minimalistic Indian Wear has launched its first collection on Pernia’s Pop Up Shop, the one stop online hub for designer wear, according to a company statement.

Inspired by the varied cultural and design elements of Moroccan architecture, the collection available at the online store is a scintillating combination of, sublime embroidery, vivid colours and intricate fresh patterns in anarkalis, sarees, shararas, kurtas and box pleated salwars.
Tina Bhardwaj, Co-founder and designer, Madsam Tinzin said: “Pernia’s Pop Up Shop is synonymous with the latest trends and quality clothing. It’s a great platform to boost new talent on an international level. Madsam Tinzn is proud to be a part of this online store. It motivates us to work even better”.

As the name suggests, Madsam Tinzin is the brain child of four young designers from NIFT Mumbai – Madhu, Saumya, Tina and Stanzin. With the sole aim of beautifying women with flattering silhouettes and innovative embroidery, the label approaches to fill the niche of intelligent clothing.

Relaxed and easy silhouettes form the core of the label. Young, fun and delicate embroidery coupled with a wide variety in the colour palette, the creations of Madsam Tinzin are as invigorated as the four designers themselves.

Sanjjjanaa inaugurates the second outlet of Kalanjali Silks at Malleswaram in Bangalore

After mesmerising women all over with its splendid creations, Kalanjali now brings the magic of its traditionally woven sarees especially for Bangalore saree lovers in and around Malleswaram with the opening of its new showroom at Sri Sai Arcade, 17th Cross, and Opposite Banaganadu Bhavan. According to a statement issued by Kalanjali Silks, the store was inaugurated by famous Kannada actress Sanjjjanaa.

Kalanjali silks is the preferred destination for customers looking for a distinctive variety in Wedding Sarees, unique variety of Kanjivaram, elegant salwar sets and custom made kids garments available for every budget. A name that reflects tradition at its purest, Kalanjali Sarees are more than just attires for a woman. They are designed to be an extension of her beauty, creations that accentuate her charm, rich fabrics perfectly crafted to enhance her grace. Kalanjali Malleswaram store is all set to wow its customers with the brand new mesmerizing silk collections.

Commenting on the occasion, Shailaja Kiron, Executive Director, Kalanjali Silks said: “It has been my dream to see every woman in a Kalanjali Saree on her big day and we believe in providing the best for every bride. After the staggering response for our first store in Jayangar, we planned to launch the second store. Bangalore is known for their love for quality and variety when it comes to sarees, and we believe in providing the same to every customer”.

Kalanjali is a magic that transforms a woman, lends her the gleam of glamour and makes her resplendence outshine the rest. All of which brings us to the fact that this new Kalanjali showroom isn’t just another shopping destination, but a dream. A dream woven with the desire to make magic happen, the desire to bring the best of weaves from across the country, the desire to keep alive a cherished tradition.
Apart from its range of saris, this showroom also brings little ones an array of exclusive kids’ wear, ranging from traditional to smart casuals and a lot more. Kalanjali is indeed happy to be at Malleswaram, and is all set to offer its plethora of creations to the connoisseurs of style and class.

CMO of ShopClues.com Radhkia Ghai Aggarwal, avid reader and fashionista rolled into one

As Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of ShopClues.com, India’s first and fully managed marketplace, Radhika Ghai Aggarwal brings a decade and a half of retail, fashion, lifestyle and advertising background, both off-line and digital space.

Before embarking on the journey with ShopClues.com, she successfully ran a fashion blog, based out of Silicon Valley with readership in 53 different countries. Radhika has also worked with Nordstrom at its corporate headquarters in strategy planning in Seattle and with Goldman Sachs in its Wealth Management Group in New York and Menlo Park, USA. She started her career with Lintas and ran her own integrated marketing communication firm.

Radhika has an MBA from Washington University in Saint Louis, Masters in Advertising and Public Relations Management from Devi Ahilya University Indore, and Bachelors in Food & Nutrition from MSU Baroda. She lives in Gurgaon with her family, and is an avid reader and fashionista.

In a freewheeling chat, Radhika speaks about ShopClues.com.

JM: Can you talk about ShopClues.com?
RGA: ShopClues.com is India’s first and the largest fully managed marketplace. It is fastest growing online market place and has crossed a significant milestone with the e-commerce firm now getting over 35,000 peak orders in a day. The tremendous growth in order flows in a short span of just 24 months has established ShopClues as a pre-eminent player among e-commerce companies in the country. With over nine million monthly visitors on the site and more than 3.5 million products worth Rs 20,000 crore in listed merchandise value, the company has fast emerged as a preferred destination for shoppers.

JM: What is the online ranking the portal is able to grow?
RGA: With major improvements in the user-experience, ShopClues.com has also gained considerably on the Alexa ranking and is currently the 57th most visited site in India (January 2014). The fact that the company has been recognised as a Red Herring Asia Top 100 winner this year only reaffirms that ShopClues is well-positioned for growth in the future.

JM: Can you talk about the evolution of the domain?
RGA: Established in July 2011 in Silicon Valley, ShopClues.com follows a customer centric approach to provide the best online shopping experience to its customers – starting from a great selection, low price, ease of use, fast delivery, and ending with the best customer service that customers would have ever experienced. We follow a rigorous merchant approval process to ensure that buyers can be assured on all aspects of product purchase, be it authenticity, quality or the price. The merchants typically are successful retailers or brand owners or authorised dealers who have earned credibility and customer loyalty through years of excellence in building customer experience in the offline environment.
Merchants enjoy the benefit of ShopClues.com’s superior technology, large reach, robust fulfillment processes, reliable payment facility and unmatched marketing expertise. This allows them to focus on what they do the best, bringing the best products to the customer at the best price. ShopClues.com not only helps its merchants reach to a larger market on a reliable platform but also helps increase business multi fold. This is done through a host of business management tools, effective marketing and decision enabling analytics. And last but not the least, the company’s buyer centric approach leads to long term loyalty.
ShopClues.com has over 32,000 registered merchants, including hundreds of popular global brands across categories and delivers to over 12,000 destinations in India. ShopClues is funded by leading institutional investors and has close to 500 employees in India, based out of Gurgaon, New Delhi, Mumbai and Vadodara.

‘My Best Friend & Me’ fashion accessories trunk show in Delhi by Dipali Sarin on March 14-15

India’s first exclusive fashion accessories trunk show is being organised by curator, makeup artist and stylist Dipali Sarin at the Lalit Hotel on March 14-15, 2014 from 11.00 am to 7.00 pm.

Holy extravaganza
Fresh of the fashion runway to usher in the spring summer season a riot of colours in fresh and vibrant Hues in a spectacular spectrum of exclusive lifestyle products ranging from cocktail earrings, statement neckpieces, beaded handbags and clutches, shoes, cuffs belts and more with an exotic infusion of young and trendy styles in Indian and western clothing along with contemporary home accessories and Linen.

Some of the leading brands participating are Curio Cottage, Malaga, Confusion and Crimson from Mumbai and Rose Tree and Tokree from the royal ladies of UP and Jaipur.

Dipali says: “ we can see that people of India looking for new statement jewellery so we thought to organize a platform where we can see all type of jewellery. Be it in costume jewellery clothing or home artifacts. The idea of doing MY BEST FRIEND & ME was to address this increasing demand”. The exhibition will have an array of designers and jewelers from different parts of India displaying their latest range.

Elaborating further about the exhibition, curator Dipali added: “The exhibition will have an array of designers and jewelers from different parts of India displaying their latest range, all under one roof.

MY BEST FRIEND & ME is a niche and an innovative concept and is a very exclusive podium for brands from all over India (other than Delhi) to come under one roof and showcase their stuff to a select group of audience.

What is more, MY BEST FRIEND & ME have plans to take this concept all to other cities in North India like Chandigarh and Ludhiana”.

Rituparna Sengupta inaugurates ‘The MobileStore Lounge’ in Kolkata

Mobile technology is ever changing and can be confusing and complicated at times. It brings a host of features, of which only a few are understood and a fewer are used. The MobileStore launches the first ever smartphone destination, The MobileStore Lounge in Ballygunge, Kolkata. A place that makes technology easy, Rituparna Sengupta, one of the most renowned actresses of the Indian film fraternity inaugurated The MobileStore Lounge.

Located in the most iconic place in Kolkata, at Ballygunge, The MobileStore Lounge makes it easy to browse, choose, use and pay for Smart phones and tablets with the help of Brand experience zones where devices from brands like Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Sony and Apple are displayed in each brand experience zone, according a company statement. The lounge boasts of the first ever phone OS agnostic Data Transfer Dock facility absolutely free. So you can transfer data from one phone to another without any worries.

Commenting on the launch of The MobileStore Lounge, Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO – The MobileStore Limited said: “The MobileStore Lounge is a unique experience and moves beyond live display into the realm of actual larger than life experience. With technology elements, live features and very friendly and intensively trained Tech Buddies, the experience of the Lounge is aimed at making the consumer at ease with technology”.
Rituparna, overwhelmed with the design of the smartphone destination stated: “The Lounge is an ideal place for consumers to not only enjoy shopping but also get educated about the features of their favorite smartphone. I am glad that the people of Kolkata have been offered the comfort and ease of shopping at India’s largest smartphone destination”.
A hand-picked team of intensively trained Tech Buddies from internal The MobileStore force as well as external sources, who have extreme comfort with gadgets, conduct live experiences and bring alive usage of smartphones to the customers. They are not the conventional sales staff but they are Tech Buddies. The MobileStore Lounge is the first ever store with complimenting accessories for each phone placed below the phone. So a customer doesn’t really need to look around what compliments his handset.
The MobileStore Lounge, is a one stop Smart Phone shop that provides, multi brand handsets, tablets, complimenting accessories and brand experience zones all under one roof. It showcases ‘live experience’ to bring out the power of technology for everyday consumer use. The MobileStore India’s largest mobile telephony retailer provides one stop mobile solution shop that provides, multi brand handsets, tablets, accessories, connections, repairs, easy EMI solutions and VAS, across its 800 outlets in 100 plus cities, thus covering every major town in every state across India.
The MobileStore launched India’s first next generation store ‘The MobileStore Lounge’ at Connaught Place – Delhi and Phoenix MarketCity, Viman Nagar- Pune, Near GIP Mall – Noida, Indiranagar – Bengaluru and now in Ballygunge- Kolkata. The MobileStore lounge- a smartphone destination, is the place that makes technology easy! It maximizes ‘live experience’ of smartphones to bring across the power of technology for everyday consumer use! With technology elements, live features, India’s first android zone and very friendly tech buddies, the experience of the Lounge is like no other.
The MobileStore caters to the Indian consumer‘s choice of the widest range of mobile phones with exciting offers. The MobileStore offers complete telecom solutions right from purchase of handsets, data cards, connections to post purchase services like Theft Insurance, Extended Warranty. It also offers wide range of accessories to choose from.

Lapis Bard brings in sophisticated ‘Contemporary Series’ writing instruments to the Indian market

Top quality writing instruments definitely lend an air of prestige and style to their owners, but more than that, putting your thoughts down on paper with a smooth flowing, perfectly balanced pen is one of life’s guilty pleasures for those in the know. A new collection ticking all the right boxes for today’s sophisticated consumers is LAPIS BARD’s Contemporary series. These fine writing instruments are known for their impeccable quality and precision. The Contemporary range showcases a ‘rounded square’ design, a departure from the classic definition of a writing instrument that sets it apart from the crowd.
As a brand firmly anchored in traditional writing culture but with a futuristic feel, the Lapis Bard Contemporary range includes three models – a Fountain Pen, Roller Ball and Ball Point. Truly a pen for the refined and discerning customer, says a company statement.
Fountain Pen

The Lapis Bard Contemporary Fountain Pen is a writing instrument crafted in solid metal, polished and fine-tuned to perfection. In line with the design of the ‘contemporary’ series, the writing instrument exhibits a dual-profile that begins as a square at the crown of the cap, gradually morphing into a circular shape towards the barrel and returns to the square form as your approach the end of the barrel. Intricate details such as the “necktie” clip, and the three ring detail on the barrel adds character to this fine writing instrument.
Roller Ball Pen

The Lapis Bard Contemporary Roller Ball is a perfectly proportioned writing instrument also sharing the dual-profile shape starting square, morphing into a cylinder and back to a square. Calibrated for the highest writing quality, this roller ball has a stylish three stripe marking at the point where the barrel meets the cap. The cap is embellished with a hint of blue enamel and the Lyre logo. The barrel is made of solid metal and is weighted flawlessly so that your writing strokes are eloquent and smooth.
Ball Point Pen

The Lapis Bard Contemporary Ball Point pen is crafted in solid metal, polished and fine-tuned to perfection. In line with the design of the ‘contemporary’ series, this writing instrument exhibits a dual-profile starting square, morphing into a cylinder and back to a square. Intricate details such as the ‘necktie’ clip and the three ring detail on the barrel make this a writing instrument of distinction. The Lapis Bard Contemporary Series comes with a five year warranty period against manufacturing defects and is retailed exclusively at all William Penn outlets and online at williampenn.net.
William Penn is one of the world’s biggest multi-brand retail chains for premium and luxury fine writing instruments. The retail chain features over 20 well-known international brands such as Sheaffer, Caran d’Ache, Lapis Bard, Lamy, Sailor and many more world renowned names. William Penn also retails top quality men’s accessories from international brands like Dalvey, Lapis Bard and Sheaffer. William Penn currently has 26 outlets spread across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata and an online store williampenn.net

Alchemy De Luxe: Poonam Gupta offers lifestyle brands using 14th century crafts in contemporary style

Alchemy de luxe, a brand name conceptualised by Poonam Gupta is one of the renowned names to give your houses the essence of luxury. The designer par excellence, Poonam is a renowned name in the design industry. Poonam is on a roll for 25 years and has given various national and international luxury lifestyle brands a taste of her signature.  Dynamic in her approach the ardent businesswoman, whose creativity has not only reflected her cutting edge design sense, has also enriched her ambitious business instinct.

Visionary outlook

A visionary in her outlook as an entrepreneur specialised in marketing and international trade, Poonam creates a rare niche for her brand ‘Alchemy De Luxe’ portraying the fascination for forms and shapes and eye for quality. Behind the roaring real silver smithing company is the versatility through customisation catering to the crème de la crème of the country.
Gifts galore

Apart from the tableware the brand also glistens your personal space with their hand carved metal curtain, silver temple, chic door handles and anything which can be reincarnated with silver, silver plated, copper and bronze.

With a strong base in Delhi and a world of extensive experience in area of technology, design, silver and gold smithing, Poonam has been adulated with awards for her contribution. Names which have been beautified with her spell include Aman Hotels, Adani, Punj Lloyd, ITC Hospitality, Acme Telepower and many more.

With a reach and dream to make Alchemy De Luxe an international figure she has associated with top international quality silverware and gifts and made innovations to showcase her best, as she retails all over the world.

With craftsmanship, innovation, exquisiteness in the nature of Alchemy De Luxe, Poonam intends to give the world a new look with silver, gold and other precious metals and semi precious stones, using 14th century crafts/techniques in a very contemporary style.

Monica Anand, promoter of Under Cover Lingerie who brought the concept of fashion lingerie and fantasy nightwear in India

Monica Anand, who brought the concept of fashion lingerie and fantasy nightwear in India, says it is meant for the confident Indian woman, who is comfortable with her sensuality, who takes her fun side very seriously and loves to try new things.

An ex-banker and marketing professional, she quit her job and put all her savings to establish something that she could call her own. A confident Monica, 31, established Under Cover Lingerie business in November 2011, an Indian brand that provides Indian women with an extensive range of fantasy lingerie and sensuous nightwear. Apparently, the idea was to create a brand for the confident Indian woman, who is comfortable with her sensuality, takes her fun side very seriously and loves to try new things.

The young and vivacious entrepreneur, Monica steers, administers and coordinates the manufacturing, marketing, sales and administrative activities for Under Cover Lingerie. Besides her business pursuit, she has keen interest in books, art, Yoga and meditation.

In a free-wheeling chat, Monica Anand shares her insight as to how Under Cover Lingerie continued to defy expectations to Jayashankar Menon. Excerpts from the interview:

JM: Can you talk about the concept of fashion lingerie and fantasy nightwear?

MA: The conecpt is meant for the confident Indian woman, who is comfortable with her sensuality, at the same time, takes her fun side very seriously, while loving to try new things.

JM: Can you talk about the genesis of Under Cover Lingerie?
MA: As far as my career graph is concerned, I started off my job in a bank, followed by marketing jobs, I quit my job, invested what all money I had saved up to set up a venture that I can call my own. That is how Under Cover Lingerie business took off back in November 2011. Under Cover Lingerie is an Indian brand, which provides Indian women with an extensive range of fantasy lingerie and sensous nightwear.

JM: Can you talk about the product range Under Cover Lingerie have?

MA: Now, Under Cover Lingerie is India’s leading brand of fashion lingerie and fantasy nightwear. Under Cover Lingerie provides the Indian woman with an extensive range of lingerie and sensuous nightwear. Right from baby dolls, to two-piece sets and hosiery to role play outfits, we have it all. Browse through our sumptuous lingerie, glamorous nightwear, seductive accessories and exquisite gifts, simply place your order and fall in love. Under Cover Lingerie continues to defy expectations in the lingerie and e-commerce space by offering an impeccable online lingerie shopping experience.

Being Human Clothing offers 50 percent discount during Republic Day weekend in India

Everyone around is excited about sales in the city. Who wouldn’t want to buy the brand of their choice at a lesser value than usual? So pull up your socks to empty your wallets on Being Human Clothing bumper sale on the weekend of January 25-26, while Being Human Clothing is offering flat 50 percent off on all products (except on caps, boxers and women hoodies), according to a company statement. You can buy apparels and accessories for men and women in half the actual price at all 20 exclusive brand outlets across India.

Men can now shop for the fastest selling items. cool colourful flip flops, leather wallets and belts are the perfect accessories one should not miss on this season. Cool chinos are certainly becoming one of the essential items in a men’s wardrobe. Get colourful chinos, shirts, t-shirts and much more at a discounted rate.

Mall Name	Location
Pheonix Market City	Bangalore
Viviana	Thane
R City	Ghatkopar, Mumbai
Silver Arc	Ludhiana
Alpha One	Ahmedabad
Parinee (Flagship )	Santacruz,Mumbai
Fortis	Gurgaon
Elante	Chandigarh
Neptune	Bhandup, Mumbai
Alpha One	Amritsar
City Mall 36	Raipur
Infiniti -2	Malad, Mumbai
Centre Square	Kochi
Ambience	Gurgaon
1MG Mall	Bangalore
Pacific Mall	Dehradun
Pheonix Market City	Kurla, Mumbai
Empress Mall	Nagpur
Virtuous Mall	Surat
Malhar Mega Mall	Indore

Women love shopping and sale season is an occasion every woman looks forward to celebrate. So now women can shop till they drop as the sale brings one of the most promising categories to half its price. Besides the bumper sale, the ongoing end of season sale also offers upto 50 percent off at all selling points till February 19, 2014. Hurry up and make space in your wardrobe.