Percept Out-of-home has retained the outdoor account of R.P Techvision’s computer brand Chirag. Percept OOH retained the account after a stringent process of selection. Soon after the win, Percept OOH has also launched an outdoor campaign in Kolkata with a brief for the campaign was to locate landmark sites with larger than life effects in Kolkata.

Percept Out-of-home has appointed Rajneesh Bahl as business head – Outdoor. The appointment is effective from August 2010. Prior to this, Bahl was senior vice president Mudra Max.At Percept, Bahl will be in charge of the outdoor business vertical and will be responsible for conceptualizing and implementing new initiatives and strategies for OOH business vertical.

Talks OOH! the new Concept from the house of VJ Media Works, is a fresh initiative to highlight the past, the present and the future of out-of-home advertising in various regions. While last year, Delhi was the first destination chosen for Talks OOH! this year the focus moves to the state of Uttar Pradesh with UP Talks OOH! Jagran Engage is the Title Sponsor of the event & Origin Advertising & MJ Advertiser have joined in as Associate Sponsors.

Out-of-home specialist network, Navia Asia, has appointed Cyrus Dumasia as Head - Western Region. Dumasia wll be based in Mumbai and will report to Sanjay Shah, CEO, Navia Asia

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) India, has expanded the role of Kaushik Chakravorty by appointing him as Group Chief Operating Officer –Out Of Home. In his new role, Chakravorty will be responsible for managing operations of the group’s out of home brands – Navia and Vector in addition to his present role of Executive Director and Country Head - Enhance

India Outdoor Advertising Present celebrated its 10th anniversary on June 11, 2010 at Ramada Powai. During the ceremony India Outdoor Advertising also unveiled its new logo

With energy conservation becoming a prime concern, BMC puts its best foot forwards and proposes to make it mandatory for all hoardings in Mumbai to use solar energy instead of conventional energy

Gantry is quite a lucrative property when it comes to advertisers. And it is right at the center of the roads and with a heavy traffic usually at important junctions it gives a clear view, for more time to the people driving by

India Outdoor Advertising Present celebrated its 10th anniversary on June 11, 2010 at Ramada Powai. During the ceremony India Outdoor Advertising also unveiled its new logo

The organisers of the Asia Pacific OOH Media Convention have today announced the cancelation of the event, which was scheduled to take place in Macau on the 5th and 6th November, this year

Jaycee Ads Pvt. Ltd. is no longer a part of Screenery Media Pvt. Ltd. Recently in Kerala five companies had joined hands to form Screenery Media. The other four companies, Outlook Communications, Delta Communications, Travancore Communications,and Century Communications will retain their partnership and run Screenery Media

Madison World, a diversified Communication group with 20 units across 10 specialized functions in different areas of communication has won the account of Levi Strauss & Company, offering an integrated service to this venerable advertiser.

In a major relief for the Outdoor Asia Industry, the Karnataka Government has revised its earlier stand banning billboards by partially lifting the blanket ban on hoardings in Bangalore. The government has now restricted the ban to 19 roads in zones A and B in the city (See table below).

The Karnataka High Court has directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to restore all the hoardings installed by Star Advertisers. These hoardings were arbitrarily removed by the Palikes during the drive to clear illegal hoardings.
In his direction, Justice H V G Ramesh levied a cost of Rs 10,000 on the BBMP and asked the BBMP to recover the cost from the salaries of the BBMP officials responsible for the removal.

Vivek Lakhwara has been promoted as Chief Executive Officer of Aaren Initiative, the out of home (OOH) media division of the Lintas Media Group.
Lakhwara has been associated with the Lintas Media Group for eight years – the first four years at Millennium Media, the group’s mass media division, and the remaining at Aaren Initiative.

Pioneer Publicity has won the contract for display of advertisements on streetlight poles belonging to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The ads would be on kiosks attached to the poles. The tender provides Pioneer with 32,000 street lighting pole kiosks across Mumbai for a period of three years, commencing from September 3, 2008, to September 2, 2011

Big Street has bagged the tender for the Bandra Skywalk in Mumbai. They now have advertising rights on the Skywalk for the next 10 years. The bid amount was Rs 79 crore. Sixteen companies had participated in the bid out of which six were shortlisted. They were Big Street, Times OOH, Supri Outdoor Media, Rajdeep Publicity, Jaikumar Associates, and DS Mittal & Das Offshores. At the final round Big Street won the bid from the competition, Supri and Jaikumar Associates. As per the contract, Big Street will maintain the Skywalk, construct toilets for pedestrians and install Closed Circuit Televisions for security. The Skywalk was constructed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority. It is 1.3 km long and four metres wide. It stretches from Bandra railway station to Kalanagar.

Digital Signage Asia 2008, Asia’s exclusive show on digital signage will be held on 3rd and 4th October at the Nehru Centre, Worli in Mumbai, India. The show will showcase the various facets of this compelling new medium. The two day Event will witness a conglomeration of industry heads, digital network operators, retailers, brand marketers, research agencies, technology solutions providers and digital network owners.

A tender has been issued for sole advertising rights of the entire suburban section of Mumbai division of Western Railway (Churchgate to Dahanu Road) Tenders are expected to be in Packet A and Packet B separately. Packet A will contain technical bid and Packet B will contain the financial bid

B.E Govindaraju, Joint Commissioner, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has taken charge as the new head of the Advertisement Division. He replaces Gangadhar Swamy who was recently transferred from the post of Asst. Commissioner (Advertisement Division) to the Bangalore north sub-division and electronic registration office.

The government of Karnataka has issued a statement outlining a set of regulations to curb billboards and other banners within the BBMP limits in Bangalore.
Following are the set of rules: The issue of fresh licences for installing hoardings and self advertising boards has been stopped within the BBMP limits.

The Vijayawada Division of the South Central Railways has offered tenders for the following mediums: Sole advertisement rights on express and passenger trains. Sole advertisement rights for painting on MEMU trains. LED-TV and allied works contracts at stations

After Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, it is the turn of Bangalore to tweak and change the laws governing outdoor advertising. The new BJP-led government that has given special status to Bangalore’s development has now promised to take a close look the bylaws governing the out of home space

Gangadhar Swami, Assistant commissioner, advertising division, BBMP, was recently transferred to the Bangalore north sub-division and electronic registration office. He was instrumental in implementing the new bylaws in Bangalore. Under his tenure the BBMP revenue from outdoor advertising increased tremendously. Till 2006 the revenue was under Rs 10 crore. In 2007-08 the revenue jumped to Rs 70 crore. It was during his tenure that the tender for the LEDs was finalised for Rs 26 crore

Jayyant Bhokare has joined Jupiter Entertainment Ventures (JEV), the parent company of Radio Indigo and The Bengaluru Pages magazine belonging to business magnet and current FICCI president Rajeev Chandrashekar. Jayyant has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Media, Events and Contract Marketing. Prior to this he was the VP-Business Development with Big 92.7 FM which is part of the Reliance Group and had Big Street under its umbrella. Sources say that Jupiter has plans to enter the OOH space.

Tenders have been issued by the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Western Railway, Mumbai Central Division for bulk advertisement rights for the following media: Bulk advertisement rights for Navsari Station. The reserve price for the first year is Rs 2,25399 and the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is Rs 22,539

The Divisional Railway Manager, Hyderabad Division, South Central Railway, Secunderabad has called for sealed tenders for the contract of sole advertising rights of Hyderabad Division under the two packet system for a period of five years. The bulk rights of publicity includes all types of media namely, hoardings, glow signs, neon signs video

The two-day Outdoor Asia Convention – 2008 (OAC) in Mumbai had three important conclusions: the outdoor media is growing at a fast pace in India

June 30, 2008 Mumbai : The just concluded two-day Outdoor Asia Convention – 2008 (OAC) in Mumbai had three important conclusions: the outdoor media is growing at a fast pace in India; there is a need to adopt to new and emerging changes due to regulations at the Corporation and Municipal levels and thirdly, the creative spark is very much alive and kicking

Last week it was Laqshya. This week it is Serve & Volley. Private equity is definitely making its presence felt in the out-of-home advertising industry. Barely before the news that Warburg Pincus is investing Rs. 276 crore into Laqshya has sunk in, sources revealed that Lehman.

Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has bought close to 15% in Mumbai-headquartered Laqshya Media,a leading outdoor advertising company, for Rs 276 crore. They will be investing the money in Laqshya over the next one year.

Social awareness campaign competition presented by Outdoor Asia magazine (OAM) & Indian Outdoor Asia Association (IOAA).

The Madras High Court has restrained the authorities from removing any hoardings in Coimbatore. This follows a ruling on a writ petition filed by the Outdoor Media Welfare Association of Coimbatore District

Page Industries Ltd, Bangalore based company, the exclusive licensee of Jockey International Inc. (USA), has launched its new retail format ‘Jockey Woman’. The company has opened its first ‘Jockey Women’ store in south Delhi via franchising, confirms a company official.

Dabur India Ltd. has declared that it will soon start adopting the franchise route for the expansion of it subsidiary ‘NewU’, health and beauty chain of stores. Dabur’s auxiliary format H&B Stores Ltd.presently runs 22 stores primarily in North India and contemplating to take its count to 150 by 2011-12, including penetrating the western market.

One of the leading Swedish home furnishing retailers ‘Ikea’, which earlier contemplated to stagnate its expansion plan in India since the Indian government refused to withdraw stiff clauses of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector, will be continuing its business in India

Arvind Ltd, one of the largest integrated textile, apparel and branded apparel companies, is expanding its denim manufacturing capacity to 140 million metres by setting up a plant in Bangladesh.

Infiniti Retail Ltd is set to open a megastore of Croma, its consumer durables and electronic products retail chain, at Prozone mall, Aurangabad. The store will be inaugurated on October 8, 2010, the company says.

Timberland has set out on an all new expedition by partnering with Reliance Brands through a license cum distribution agreement to set foot in India. The brand opened its first Timberland store at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. The exclusive store features a product line that spans across footwear,

Natuzzi Group launches its first Italsofa gallery in India, in Bengaluru, at Mission Road via franchise route. The 3,200 sq.ft gallery offers contemporary Italian design and high quality Italian furniture for the living room. The collection of sofas and armchairs is designed,

Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, today inaugurated its 1st Health & Beauty Brand Experience Center of Gurgaon and 10th in India. Situated at MGF Mega City Mall, MG Road, Gurgaon, the center offers a unique touch & feel experience of Amway’s Health & Beauty products.

Planet Sports, sports division of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd and one of the largest multi-brand sports and lifestyle specialty retail chain in India has unveiled its new brand logo. Company believes that the new logo reflects speed, dynamism, and power that are essential to any sports.

The long wait to have one’s share for the Commonwealth Games’ merchandise has finally come to an end. Premier Brands, the licensee for the CWG 2010 merchandise which initially pulled out from the association is back in action, keeping in mind the national interest.

American fashion apparel brand Forever 21 launches its first store in Delhi at Ambience Mall. This 10,000 sq.ft store was inaugurated by the bong beauty Bipasa Basu along with the brand's President Alex Ok. The brand is being brought to India by Dubai-based Sharaf Group,

Pavers England, leading British footwear brand has opened its flagship store in Chennai. The store offers a huge range of footwear and accessories in its 1,600 sq.ft of area.While launching the store, Utsav Seth, CEO and MD, Pavers England, said, “We are overwhelmed to open our 10th exclusive flagship store at Express Avenue Mall, Chennai.

Haier, one of the home appliance and electronics brand launched its 'Experience Centre' in Delhi. In this centre company has tried to provide wide range of products for their customers to have the experience of their latest technology and innovations.

Mahindra Retail unveils its mom and me store in Great India Place Mall in Noida. The 2,900 sq.ft. store carters to mothers to be, young mothers, infants and children. The brand claims to provide the world's best brands in various categories as well as private labels in order to bring products like ethnic fashion for women, infant apparel, and traditional Indian toys for the benefit of the Indian consumer.

The Collective, super premium lifestyle store for men and women from the house of Madura Garments has launched its first store in Ambience Mall, Delhi. With its investment of Rs. 7.5 crore in 17,500 sq. ft area store, the brand promises to provide a unique shopping experience to its target audience.

Stanley Lifestyles, one of the leading leather upholstery brands, has announced its retail expansion plan by opening its second store in Mumbai. The 15,000-sq.ft boutique gives the experience of visualising and experiencing furniture in settings similar to their client homes.

The Delhi-based leading chain of dry-cleaning and laundry service Wardrobe has opened another franchised outlet in Delhi. This is the 58th outlet of this Delhi-based laundry service provider. The company aims to take its total store count to 70 by the end of 2010 with an investment plan of Rs. 150 crore.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has inaugurated Express Avenue in Chennai, which is considered as the largest shopping mall in South India. Congratulating the launch of Express Avenue, CM said, ?Express Avenue is like a crowning memorial for the services rendered by late Ramnath Goenka, the doyen of Indian Journalism.?

Pavers England, the British footwear brand which usually operates majority of its stores in India through franchise business model, has inaugurated its third store at Oberoi Mall, Goregaon in Mumbai. Spreading over an area of 1,100 sq. ft., the store offers an exclusive range of its stylish and trendy men and women footwear and accessories. Pavers England forayed into India on 9th April 2008 by opening its first store in Chennai..

Now it’s time for Kolkata to glitter with the entry of the high-end brands. Major Brands, which has a number of international lifestyle brands under its portfolio, recently unveiled exclusive outlets for five of its brands – Mango, Aldo, Promod, Charles & Keith and Inglot – at Forum Courtyard Mall in Kolkata. To launch all its brands, Major Brands has occupied over 6,000 sq. ft. at Forum Courtyard.

Kolkata’s most premium and luxurious South City Mall is hovering high for getting the highest selection of the top-notch national and international retailers in the entire eastern part of the country. Recently, Danish retail giant Bestseller has unveiled Jack & Jones. On the other hand, the penetration of Vero Moda, Only and Pieces are the other top-notch European apparel and accessories brands at the Prince Anwar Shah Road are showing a ray of light of wonderful stylish and organized retailing at the starting of the new decade.

According to the recent report, the Consumer Affair Ministry has marked green signal for having 49 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail chains.

Trent, the retail arm of Tata Group is on an expansion spree and contemplating to unveil 7 ?Star Bazaar? hypermarkets this year. This expansion is a part the group?s earlier declaration of adding 50 hypermarkets in the next 3 years across the nation.

Ethos Swiss Watch Studios, a retail chain of exclusive Swiss watch stores, has inaugurated its first Ethos studio in Hyderabad at Inorbit mall. This new Ethos store stands 24th outlet in the country and it plans to come up with 6 more stores by the end of 2010. The group, which has closed financial turnovers of Rs. 75 crores in the last fiscal year, is on coursto touch Rs 110 crores this financial year. The revenue growth is due to each store registering an increase in volumes and addition of new studios.

Odyssey India Ltd. has unveiled a store at Express Avenue Mall in Chennai. The store, which sprawls across an area of 25,000 sq. ft. stands as the largest store of Odyssey in Chennai and second largest store in India. It has other two standalone stores in Adyar (13,200 sq.ft) and Anna Nagar (13,000 sq.ft).

Britain-based Early Learning Centre, whose name is popular for retailing children toy at over 400 international stores in more than 35 countries across the globe, has recently marked its entry in Bangalore by opening a store at Mantri Mall in Malleshwaram. Presently, the brand operates 5 stores in Delhi. ELC had forayed into India by signing a joint-venture with DLF Brands Ltd. in April this year.

Indian Retail School (IRS), India's organized a distinctive workshop on Visual Merchandising. Through this workshop IRS wanted to enhance knowledge among the students and retail professionals about the evolving but unfamiliar Visual Merchandising and Store Design domain.

Celio, a leading France apparel brand, which operates 12 stores nationwide, adds one more store to its portfolio. Spreading over an area of 1,000 sq.ft., the new Celio store has been launched in Chandigarh. The store has showcased its latest autumn/winter collection.

Da Milano, the international luxury brand had recently launched its exclusive store at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Visual merchandising of this 850 sq.ft outlet has been done with the objective to attract passer-bys and induce walk-ins. The appealing visual merchandising of the store has white backdrop, wooden shelves, soft green wall paper, illuminating marble flooring to name a few. The brands offers ranges such as leather goods and accessories comprise of lamps, photo frames, coffee tables, wall clocks, planters, rugs, cushions, drapes, coasters and desktop sets for office tables.

Kitsch brings New York’s most stylish and contemporary brand ‘Theory’ to India. Kitsch has been home to iconic international fashion brands like Halston Heritage, Alberta Ferretti, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Stella McCartney, Lanvin and is pleased to add Theory to its portfolio.

The retail apparel giant Allem Solly has inaugurated its exclusive showroom in Trivandrum. With the opening of the outlet the brand has ventured into the state with its business. Spreading over an area of more than 2,500 sq. ft, the store has an eclectic collection of the brand’s latest offerings and the entire store dazzles with an international look and appeal with exquisite fixtures, lighting and music. On the brand’s first foray into Kerala, R Satyajit, Chief Operating Officer, Allen Solly said, “Allen Solly has always believed in breaking conventions.

One of the global textile conglomerates and leading apparel retailers Ahmedabad-based Arvind Limited has unveiled a new exclusive outlet in Hyderabad. Thelaunch of this store is the first example of this unique concept that brings together the best of custom tailoring and readymade apparel. The company is now contemplating to come up with atleast 20 exclusive branded outlets in Andhra Pradesh by the closing of the present fiscal, besides venturing into a new expansion by establishing minimum 100 stores across the nation in the next 2 years.

A leading Italian apparel brand OVS Industry has signed a joint venture with Brandhouse Retails Ltd. The venture has come up with its first store at the newly launched Ambience Mall in Delhi. Sprawling across an area of 6,500 sq. ft., the company has brought under the popular brands in its multi-brand stores such as Reid & Taylor, Belmonte, Carmichael House, Stephens Brothers, and Alfred Dunhill. Presently, the brand has 3 exclusive stores in Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.

Looks like the shopaholic Diliwallas just can’t get enough of flaunting brands. And, slowly the capital is turning into a hub for global products. With a plethora of international brands entering the Indian markets, here’s the latest addition — Epoca. The store recently opened in a posh Saket mall and has collections from three top Italian brands D&G, Ferre and Trussardi. The store is spread over a carpet area of 1,200 sq.ft.

Loose jeans, jackets, bandanas with tattoo prints - the street smart fashion of New York will now be seen in country with the launch of international brand Eucko Unltd in the Capital. The brand that opened its first store here in collaboration with Spencer’s Retail Limited targets the 15-25 years age group.

Mark Ashman has been appointed by K Raheja Corp as CEO of Hypercity Retail (India), a leading hypermarket company of India. Ashman was previously CEO of Marks & Spencer Reliance India and was instrumental in the rollout of Marks & Spencer’s retail strategy in India. He will replace Andrew Levermore. B.S Nagesh, Vice Chairman of Hypercity Retail (I) Ltd. said, “I am delighted to welcome Mark Ashman to our leadership team.

Hidesign, the leading fashion and lifestyle brand opens its Exclusive Brand Outlet (EBO) in Chennai, thus reaching a store-mark of 10 in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The recently launched store has also taken the store count of Hidesign to 50 in India. The new 850 sq. ft store has been opened at Express Avenue Mall, Chennai and houses an entrapping range of classic handbags and men’s bags, along with the complete Spring Summer 2010 Collection of Hidesign.

Coca-Cola India has appointed Ogilvy Action, the activation arm of Ogilvy India for creating shopper marketing programs for the company’s brand portfolio. OgilvyAction will work across all key channels where Coca-Cola India operates in the country. After a competitive pitch involving several other agencies, OgilvyAction was awarded the assignment to oversee Coca-Cola India’s entire Shopper Marketing Business.

Mexus Education, an education innovations enterprise, announces their strategic foray in education retail with the launch of Iken Store, India’s first edutainment store, in Mumbai today. This will be the first store launch in Mumbai, in a chain of branded stores across India, which will feature innovative educational products under the brand name ‘Iken’

Leading Indian companies with direct and allied interests in the non-alcoholic beverage industry have come together to form the first such industry organization in India- Indian Beverage Association (IBA). Companies that have subscribed to the association include- Dabur India Ltd, Red Bull India Pvt. Ltd, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd, Tetra Pak India Pvt. Ltd

Delhi & NCR-based SRS Group, one of the India’s conglomerates with the interest in real estate having a big auxiliary in retail businesses has declared its foray into Punjab. The Company has unveiled its first ‘SRS Value Bazaar’ which sprawls across an area of more than 15,000 square feet.

Indus-League Clothing which is owned by Future Group is diversifying from a western branded apparel company to a speciality retailer. Indus-League Clothing has decided to accumulate together a range of its in-house brands to facilitate the bigger strides of the former menswear segment with a retail format called Headquarters.

Dubai, U.A.E. 1st July, 2010 – The Hershey Company, known as The Chocolate Company in the United States, has appointed Retail Is Detail L.L.C. to open its first Middle East Hershey’s Chocolate World store in the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination in the world.

One of the pioneers in Indian luxury watch market Ethos Swiss Watch has unveiled its new store at the Mumbai Domestic Airport. This store is being aimed for all the watch aficionados flying across the country.

Adding another feather to Dubai Festival City's already well decorated cap, is The Collection. Located in the heart of Festival City, the 650,000 sq ft luxury expansion to the award winning, 2.9 million sq ft retail resort, Festival Centre, will feature globally renowned flagship anchor brands and a plethora of over 170 premium fashion labels, designer homewares and world class dining experiences

In-Store Asia, the only expo, convention and awards event in the region focused on the practice of Shopper Marketing, will host its fifth edition in Bangalore after successful shows in Mumbai and New Delhi

The recent retail marketing boom in India has propelled the Indian packaging market to new heights, with EskArtwork India leading from the front. Seamless integration between all stakeholders in the entire packaging supply chain – that’s everybody from idea to shelf – is the need of the hour

LERROS, a Germany based premium apparel brand launched in Bangalore recently with much fanfare. The 3000 square foot store is their third outing in India with the other two located at Delhi and Noida

Future TV, the retailscape television network from Future Media, has bagged exclusive rights to install and operate its network in Foodland Fresh, the food and grocery chain owned by the Radhakrishna Group across Mumbai and its suburbs, Navi Mumbai and Thane

Digital Signage Asia 2008, Asia’s exclusive show on digital signage will be held on 3rd and 4th October at the Nehru Centre, Worli in Mumbai, India. The show will showcase the various facets of this compelling new medium. The two day Event will witness a conglomeration of industry heads, digital network operators, retailers, brand marketers, research agencies, technology solutions providers and digital network owners