With its listing on the bourses, Raymond Lifestyle Ltd (RLL) is on its way to the largest-ever retail expansion, by adding 900 new outlets over three years. The Raymond group’s lifestyle business entity is eyeing a 15 per cent CAGR to attain about 7 per cent market share in the fast growing men’s wear wedding market by 2027. “The demerger aims at unlocking shareholder value by creating a focussed lifestyle business entity,” affirmed Gautam Singhania, chairman & managing director, Raymond group, underscoring RLL’s role in further cementing itself in the rapidly-expanding lifestyle segment. “Raymond Lifestyle will sharpen strategic focus in this fast-growing sector to become among the top three global fabric suppliers by the end of this year. The global scenario presents significant opportunities, particularly the challenges in China and Bangladesh and trade agreements with the UK, the EU and Australia.” Adds Sunil Kataria, CEO, Raymond Lifestyle. “The Raymond brand enjoys an iconic status in the Indian Wedding men’s wear market. With Raymond Lifestyle, we are all set to embark upon the largest-ever retail expansion with 900 new outlets over three years, alongside launching new categories such as sleepwear and innerwear. Several other categories are also in the pipeline. When it comes to our existing brands, Ethnix has already established its distinct position in the market, and we plan to nearly triple our physical presence with an additional 300 Ethnix stores in the next three years.
In the wake of stiff competition from lab-grown diamonds, leading jewellery brand Tanishq and world’s leading diamond company De Beers have joined hands to promote natural diamonds across India. The two companies are also in talks to collaborate on traceability and strengthening Tanishq diamond supply needs and further opportunities to use De Beers’ proprietary technologies to support pipeline integrity. The demand for diamonds is still strong and, of the Rs45,000 crore of the company’s turnover last year, about 30 per cent came from diamond jewellery, informs Ajoy Chawla, CEO, jewellery division, Titan Co. Lab-grown and natural diamonds have different audience, with lab-grown catering to the fashion industry and natural diamonds targeting the aspiring consumers, he adds. “With the deep understanding of the Indian market, both companies will work together to create something special to connect more Indian consumers to these natural treasures and their enduring value,” says Sandrine Conseiller, CEO, De Beers Brands.
ZF Wind Power Coimbatore, the wind gearbox manufacturing division of global auto parts supplier ZF, is investing €50 million to expand the production capacity at its Coimbatore facility to 12 GW from 9 GW. “Demand is surging, especially in India, which is eager to expand its wind energy capacity,” says Felix Henseler, CEO, ZF Wind Power. “Although our current plant primarily serves export markets, particularly the US, the growth in the US market is also driving our expansion. This investment will allow us to increase our capacity from 9 gigawatts to 12, with plans to supply this capacity annually starting next year”. The company is also preparing for both onshore and offshore projects in India. “We’re ready to leverage our offshore experience from Europe and North America for Indian projects, depending on the turbines selected for these offshore fields,” adds Peter Laier, board member, ZF group. Deepak Pohekar, executive director, ZF Wind Power Coimbatore, informs that about 50 per cent of the wind turbines in India run on ZF gearboxes.
Belgium-based engineering major John Cockerill Group and its Indian partner, Greenko will invest up to R2,800 crore to build a new electrolyser manufacturing facility in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. The plant aims to be the world’s lowest-cost producer of electrolysers and will also serve as an export hub. Francois Michel, CEO, John Cockerill, informs that the facility will have the capacity to assemble and produce about 2 gigawatts of electrolysers each year. This investment is expected to be the largest globally for producing green ammonia and will offer the most cost-effective base for production. “We would be able to assemble and then produce fully about 2 gigawatts of electrolysers a year,” Michel says. “It is the largest investment in the world to produce green ammonia and will be also the cheapest base in the world by far. We are confident in our technology to bring it to the lowest cost as fast as possible,” he adds. John Cockerill and Greenko signed an agreement in March 2022 to jointly develop green hydrogen and electrolyser technologies in India. Their joint venture, John Cockerill Greenko Hydrogen, recently received production-linked incentives for 300 MW per year and R444 crore in support. The plant will also focus on steel, energy, and defence sectors, and John Cockerill plans to expand its workforce in India from about 700 to over 2,000 employees in the next two years. The company is also considering export opportunities in West Asia.
India’s first reusable hybrid rocket Rhumi-1 was launched from Chennai by Space Zone India, a Tamil Nadu-based space start-up, in collaboration with Martin group. The rocket was launched using a mobile trajectory, while carrying a payload of 50 pico satellites and three cube satellites. Mayilswamy Annadurai, former director, ISRO Space Centre, who led the expedition said that the rocket used a combination of liquid and solid fuel propellants to enhance efficiency and minimise operational costs. While the cube satellites will monitor and collect atmospheric conditions, including cosmic radiation intensity, UV radiation intensity and air quality, the pico satellites will analyse various environmental factors such as vibration, accelerometer readings, altitude, ozone levels, toxic content and molecular bonding, contributing to a deeper understanding of atmospheric dynamics. Anand Megalingam, founder & CEO, Space Zone India, emphasised that this mechanism is reusable and offers a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to satellite launches. The launch marked a leap forward for India’s aerospace technology, particularly in the small satellite market, which is rapidly expanding due to the increasing demand for ‘low earth orbit’ (LEO) missions.
Royal Orchid Hotels Limited (ROHL) has adopted the multi-property management system Hotelogix of the globally leading cloud-based hospitality technology provider. Hotelogix’s comprehensive platform enables ROHL to standardise processes across their properties and gain centralised control over their operations. Established in 2001 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Royal Orchid Hotels is one of India’s rapidly expanding group hospitality brands. “Keeping our rapid growth, vast service levels and changing business dynamics in mind, we are reimagining the digitisation strategy for our brand and business,” said Arjun Baljee, president, ROHL. “We are pleased to upgrade to Hotelogix Cloud platform that is comprehensive enough to be at the core of our operations. We are now in the process of centralising everything from our corporate office to implement and monitor brand standards while efficiently managing operations and serving guests better”. Adds Aditya Sanghi, CEO, Hotelogix: “We thank Royal Orchid Hotels for selecting Hotelogix as their Cloud platform partner”.
The Aditya Birla group has forayed into branded jewellery retail business with an investment of R5,000 crore under a new brand name ‘Indriya’. This brand will be used by Novel Jewels. The group plans to set up four stores in Delhi, Jaipur, and Indore. It also plans to expand to 11 cities in the next six months. The company plans to continue to grow at 50 per cent CAGR in the next five years, informed Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group, while speaking at the launch event. The brand has 15,000 jewellery pieces (stock keeping units) crafted by 3,500 artisans in 13 cities. Birla also shared that the company aims to introduce new designs in stores every 45 days. The stores will be 40 per cent larger in size than the average national brands, he added. Novel Jewel will be led by Dilip Gaur as director and Sandeep Kohli as CEO. “The retail-driven business will utilise the initial investment in setting up stores and buying inventory. We also create unique proprietary in-house designs,” said Gaur.
Minda Corporation, the flagship company of Spark Minda, has announced the signing of a technology licensing agreement with Sanco Connecting Technology, China, a leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) connection systems. Under this agreement, Minda Corp and Sanco will locally develop EV connecting systems, charging gun assemblies with sockets and accessories, bus bars, cell contact systems, power distribution units (PDU) and battery distribution units (BDU). “We are excited to partner with SANCO, a collaboration that marks a significant milestone in our pursuit to deliver comprehensive and customised electrical distribution system (EDS) solutions to the EV market. By offering new age EV solutions, we will enhance the overall kit value across vehicle segments, with a commitment to achieve successful localisation, delivering greater value for our customers”, said Aakash Minda, executive director. “Sanco has chosen Minda Corp as a strategic partner to expand our global footprint. This collaboration will significantly boost Sanco’s presence in India’s expanding EV market,” added Zhijian Zeng, chairman, Sanco.