Daimler to launch new brand in India

The world's largest truck maker Daimler on Sunday said it will introduce a range of trucks in 6-49 tonnes category under a completely new brand for its proposed entry into India's commercial vehicle market in 2012. The company, which is investing Rs 4,400 crore through its wholly-owned


subsidiary - Daimler India Commercial Vehicles - for a new facility at Oragadam in Tamil Nadu, is planning to increase its headcount by over five-fold to 3,000 and open 20 dealerships in the next two years.
"We will have our own unique badge (for the vehicles)... Completely designed for India... It will be a new brand," Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) Vice President (Marketing, Sales & After Sales) VRV Sriprasad told PTI.

He, however, declined to give details about the new brand saying the finalisation is yet to take place.

Globally, Daimler's truck brands include Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Fuso, Western Star, and Detroit Diesel.

Asked about the products to be introduced in India, he said: "Initially, we will introduce vehicles in the 25 tonne category during the second quarter of 2012, and within 18 months of the launch, we will introduce vehicles in all the 6-49 tonnes categories."

The German company will roll out the vehicles from 15 platforms, coming from its group firm Mercedes and Mitsubishi Fuso's stable. Daimler AG holds 85 per cent stake in Japanese auto giant Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation.

"The 25 tonne and above vehicles would be on Benz platform, while 6-16 tonne products will be on Fuso platform," Sriprasad said, adding DICV is currently testing prototypes of the vehicles and trial production will begin by early 2012.

The company is aiming to have localisation of over 80 per cent to make the products price competitive.

"All the products exist in Daimler's portfolio, but these are redesigned to suit the Indian conditions," he added.

On the workforce, Sriprasad said DICV currently has about 600 people on its rolls. "By the time our plant will be ready, we will have more than 3,000 employees."

In order to have a nationwide presence, the company will aggressively expand dealership networks and set up workshops over the next four years.

"More than 85 per cent of the industry sales come from 73 prime locations in the country and DICV has categorically listed the points where it needs to have a presence. We will have 20 dealer partners by 2012," Sriprasad said, adding six outlets will be opened as a pilot project next year.

He said the target is to cover all the 73 locations and to have 25 service points by 2014. "The first dealer partner will open its showroom in Chennai and we will sign the agreement shortly."

Futurebrands presents Mohena the new Lingerie & Nightwear brand in India

Mumbai, Maharashtra, October 23, 2009 /India PRwire/ -- Futurebrands, a specialist subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail ( India) Limited, with a portfolio of brands in apparel, FMCG , home durables categories has announced the launch of a new brand in the lingerie and nightwear category – Mohena , in the Indian market.

Mohena- a lingerie and nightwear brand that is specially designed for the Indian woman aims to redefine style and comfort in Indian lingerie market.

Explaining Mohena brand conception, Mr. Atulit Saxena, COO-Brands, Futurebrands Ltd, said, “Our reading of Indian woman established her need to ‘express herself with comfort’, to drop the tag of ‘traditional’,� and her growing desire to ‘celebrate comfort and freedom in contemporary Indian context’.

In short, Mohena ‘makes her comfort appealing’ in an Indian way amidst western mannequin world.”

Mohena’s designs are an ode to the inimitable femininity of Indian women and celebrate the Indian woman’s body and her choice in intimate wear.� A wide array of structured lingerie available across many sizes will help serve as the core product that a woman can be sure of finding comfort in, on a daily basis while feeling her stylish best. The focus on nightwear has been to cater to the Indian preference by way of colours, fabrics, silhouettes and surface ornamentation.

Commented Mr. Jaydeep Shetty, Head-New Business Development, Future Group, “Mohena has a range of intimate wear which captures Indian femininity not only in design motifs, but also through the architecture of the product, through ease-breathing fabrics and fits suited to the Indian woman. With Mohena, we aim to create a brand that is reminiscent of the timeless portrayal of the Indian female form and that pays tribute to her beauty.”

Mohena is priced strategically in the range of Rs. 299/- to Rs. 699/- for lingerie and Rs. 449/- to 799/- for nightwear. . Designed in India, Mohena is manufactured at world-class factories for the world best quality to offer comfort and style. Currently, Mohena will be available at the leading Pantaloons and Central Stores in all the major cities in India. In the product roll-out strategy, the brand will first make its presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and smaller cities like Siliguri, Guwahati, Rajkot & Bhubhaneshwar to name a few.

“We designed Mohena with a different mindset.� Our studies showed that Indian women were not adequately satisfied with the choices they had presently and there was a market void of a brand that can understand their specific needs. We have introduced Mohena keeping in mind that Indian women want style, comfort and an element of durability in products but at affordable prices.� We hope to create our own customer base through the product offerings of Mohena”, says Mr. Shetty.

Mohena expects to yield revenues of Rs. 7-8 crores in the first full year of operations and then double it each year in the next two years. With five products (three nightwear & 2 lingerie) launched in the market to begin with, Mohena will be a Rs. 20-25 crores brand by end of the third year of operations (by 2012) and penetrate 20% of the mass premium market in the main metros over the next 3 years.


Notes to Editor

About Futurebrands:

Futurebrands, a subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail ( India) Limited, is India’s first Brand IPR company with a portfolio of 20 brands across apparels, FMCG and home durables categories. The total brands’ net sales was Rs. 660 cr in 2008-09 at 40% growth. The company operates on the brand licensing model with a mandate to create, grow and protect the asset value of its brand portfolio. It also offers specialist services through Futurebrands Insights, Futurebrands Consulting, Futurebrands Partnering to companies outside Future Group.

For more details log on to www.futurebrands.co.in