NEWS | CavinKare opens Green Trends salon in Delhi

FMCG major CavinKare has opened its first Green Trends salon at Paschim Vihar, New Delhi. Spread over 1,200 sq.ft., the salon has eight hair zones, three hair wash zones, four facial spa rooms, and three pedicure zones. This is the company's 123rd salon in the country and 77th salon in the franchise format. 

NEWS | Health club chain Snap Fitness debuts in Gurgaon

Health club chain Snap Fitness has opened its first fitness center in Gurgaon, Haryana at DLF Qutub Plaza market. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vikram BM, Founder & CEO Snap Fitness India, said: “Our success in the southern part of the country inspired us to make this swift move to the North India. We plan to spread far and wide across the country and make fitness affordable and accessible to all. BE WELL is our motto.”

NEWS | Paresh Mishra appointed as Director, Operations, Virtuous Retail

Virtuous Retail, the developer and operator of premium lifestyle centers, has appointed Paresh Mishra as director - operations for Western India. With over 23 years of experience in retail and hospitality, Mishra will be responsible for the operations of all VR Centers in Western India with immediate responsibility of Virtuous Retail’s first retail and lifestyle center, VR Surat which recently opened in May 2013.

NEWS | IRCTC forays into online retail with Yebhi

Indian Railways subsidiary IRCTC has partnered with Shop Online Trading Pvt Ltd.(SOTPL), a franchisee of online lifestyle and home portal Yebhi.com, marking its entry into online shopping. SOTPL and Yebhi will develop and manage the e-commerce platform for IRCTC and be responsible for end-to-end customer experience from user interface design on the IRCTC Shopping page to final delivery of the product to the customer. 

NEWS | Elle Fashionwear opens 5th boutique in NCR, 17th in the country

French fashion brand Elle Fashionwear has opened its 5th boutique in the NCR and 17th in the country at Gurgaon, Ambience mall. Spread over 1,200 sq.ft., the boutique stocks the Summer 2013 line with themes such as Botanical, Summer Party, Give Me Blue, and Colour Theory. Elle plans to have over 20 stores by the end of 2013.

NEWS | Faces Canada opens six stores across IndiaNES

Canada-based makeup, skincare and personal accessories brand Faces Cosmetics has opened six stores in Delhi, Surat, Mysore, Thane, and Chennai. The brand has opened two stores in Delhi at GK - 1, M Block market (300 sq.ft.) and Pacific mall, Rajouri Garden (106 sq.ft.) and one each in Surat (226 sq.ft.), Mysore (317 sq.ft.), Kochi (323 sq.ft.), Thane (334 sq.ft.), and Chennai (141 sq.ft.). The brand also plans to open exclusive outlets in North India including Dehradun, Mohali and Chandigarh. 

Sameer Prasad, CEO, Faces Cosmetics India, said: “Colour cosmetics is one of the rapidly growing segment of the Indian cosmetics market. Increasing awareness and growing income levels are some of the factors driving the growth in this sector or industry. Faces with its extensive experience in the colour cosmetic industry has gained significant market-share in the short time that it has been in India. This is a key stepping stone in our ambitious expansion plans for Indian market and by the end of the year; we see our colour range present in over 55 such exclusive stores pan India."

NEWS | Dunkin' Donuts launches Dunkin' Burgers in India

Baked goods and coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts has launched a range of Dunkin’ Burgers in India. The Burger Menu will comprise both vegetarian and non-vegetarian burgers available at all its restaurants in Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh.

Speaking on the occasion, Dev Amritesh, President and COO, Dunkin’ Donuts India, said: “Burgers have always been a favorite food amongst food lovers. With the launch of Dunkin’s differentiated and special Burger Range, we bring the perfect option for our food lovers to satisfy their hunger and treat their taste–buds. This lip smacking culinary extravaganza from Dunkin’ ensures that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians have a taste of sheer heaven on earth.”

Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages, has opened its first outlet in Gurgaon at Ambience mall, taking its total store count in the Delhi NCR region to eight, according to PTI. 

Speaking on the occasion, Avani Davda, Tata Starbucks CEO, said, “We remain committed to offering a distinct third place to our customers at convenient locations; defining our unique, values-based Starbucks experience.” 

The company plans to open 50 outlets within this year with the JV partners earmarking an investment of Rs 400 crore for expansion. 

Starbucks entered the Indian market in October, 2012 and currently operates 17 outlets across the country. 

SOURCE:http://www.indiaretailing.com/news.aspx?topic=1&Id=7106

NEWS | Burgs opens fifth outlet in the country at Mumbai

Burger restaurant chain Burgs has opened its fifth outlet in the country at R City Mall, Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Spread over 1,200 sq ft., the outlet offers burgers, ice cream shakes, and salads. 

Speaking on the occasion, Subroto Mukherjee, COO, Burgs, said: “We are very happy and enthusiastic on opening our R City store which is also the fifth outlet of Burgs. Burgs is on the path of rapid expansion of the bandwidth and we plan to maintain a store inventory of 200 stores at the end of 10 years. Burgs at R City mall is the most evolved in terms of design and the first entry into the mall segment in Mumbai. We look forward to serve our guests and make it a tasty experience for them.”

NEWS | Mad Over Donuts opens 20th store in Mumbai

Singapore's gourmet donut brand Mad Over Donuts has opened it's 20th store in Mumbai at Profit Center, Kandivali (West). This is the brand's 47th store in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Tarak Bhattacharya, COO, Mad Over Donuts, said: “We are happy to inaugurate our new store in Kandivali and are confident that we will receive a warm welcome by the neighborhood, especially due to our eggless donut offerings. We have also introduced a host of offers valid throughout this month to add to the launch excitement.”

NEWS | VLCC plans to open 30 new outlets in India

Wellness and beauty company VLCC plans to add 30 outlets in India in the next two years.

The company is targeting 100 new outlets in both domestic and international markets, including Africa, in the next two years according to reports.

VLCC intends to invest Rs 200 crore for expansion. Reports stated that the company is eyeing to enter new markets in Africa and South East Asia. 

In India VLCC has around 170 centres.

NEWS | McDonald’s to raise its restaurant count in South & West India to 250 by FY15

QSR chain McDonald's plans to expand its presence in the country from the current 161 (year ended March 31, 2013) restaurants to 250 by FY 2015. Hardcastle Restaurants, the company that operates and manages McDonald’s restaurants in South and West India, will engage approximately 12,500 employees across the region by FY 15. 

Hardcastle restaurants has hired over 150 Trainee Managers and Trainee Floor Managers at the restaurant level. Commenting on the initiative, Seema Arora Nambiar, Senior Director – People Resources Hardcastle Restaurant’s, said: “McDonald's offers young people a chance to start a challenging and rewarding career. Infact, approximately 60-70 percent of our corporate office began at the restaurant level.”

NEWS | Reliance Digital to open two new stores in Hyderabad

Electronic appliances and consumer durables chain Reliance Digital will open two new stores at in Nacharam and Kompolly areas of Hyderabad on 6th July.

In Nacharam , the store will spread across 11,002 sq.ft. and will stock IT, electronics, and home appliances. 

Opening new stores in tier 2 and tier 3 cities is a part of expansion plans of Reliance Retail. Mukesh Ambani had stated that 184 more stores will be opened in the country across all retail formats. 

NEWS | Franchising to be a $50bn industry by 2017: KPMG-CII

A KPMG-CII report states that the growing preference for branded and quality products, coupled with increasing purchasing power, may help the franchising industry to grow four-folds to USD 50.4 billion by 2017, according to PTI.

NEWS | Jean-Claude Biguine opens 10th salon in the country at Mumbai

Premium French salon and spa chain Jean-Claude Biguine (JCB) has opened its 10th salon in India at Linking Road, Khar, Mumbai, spread over 1,200 square feet. Eight of the salon chain outlets are located in Mumbai and two in Bangalore.

NEWS | Cafe Coffee Day to add 500 outlets by 2015

According to PTI reports, Coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) plans to open over 500 outlets by 2015 to take its total network to 2,000 outlets as part of a pan-India expansion programme. The company will set up outlets based on the three formats - cafe, lounge and square, which it currently operates.

NEWS | METRO completes 10 years in India

This year, METRO Wholesale marks 10 years of business-to-business wholesale in India, and is celebrating the milestone with unprecedented discounts and promotions for customers.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajeev Bakshi, Managing Director, METRO Cash and Carry India , “Our 10th Anniversary has given us an opportunity to express our deep appreciation for the unstinting support we have received from our customers over the past decade. The fabulous discounts and promotions we are offering are a celebration of the deep and trusted relationships we have built with them. A big thank-you for giving us a chance to serve you with our high quality products and services, and for making METRO the country’s most trusted business-to-business wholesaler.”

NEWS | Gold's gym launches new fitness centre in Pune

International fitness chain ,Gold’s Gym, recently launched its 82nd fitness centre at Pune- Hadapsar. The new gym is the largest Gold's Gym facility in India.

Spread across 30,000 sq ft, this gym is more like a modern clubhouse with a completely equipped gym and a pool with a separate free weight section, group exercise, spinning and functional training studio.

NEWS | Starbucks opens at Korum Mall, Thane

Korum Mall recently announced the opening of Starbucks Coffee store. Spread across 1300 sq. ft., the new outlet is located on the upper ground floor of the mall.

Deva Jyotula, Centre Manager, Korum Mall, said: “We are extremely proud to bring Starbucks to the rapidly developing city of Thane. There has been a considerable change in the demographics of Thane. Today the residents need a shopping experience at par with internal standards. At Korum, we understand their wish to enjoy the enhanced shopping experience and we are sure the Thane residents will appreciate our initiative. We hope everyone will enjoy their experience at Starbucks.”

NEWS | Retailers demand tweaking in multi-brand FDI norms

Several foreign and domestic retail companies including Carrefour, Bharti, Walmart, Tesco, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance, Tatas, Pantaloon and more met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, seeking easing of FDI norms in multi-brand segment. Retailers were of the view that sourcing rules should be made similar to that of single brand. They also demanded for foreign firms to be allowed to put only 50 percent of first part of investment in back-end infrastructure.