Sunday, April 13, 2014

Abhishek Bachchan to buy franchise in kabaddi league



Franchise News India : Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan has followed superstar Shah Rukh Khan by investing in sports after he is reported to have bought a pro kabaddi franchise.

While, SRK co-owns the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, the junior Bachchan has invested in the Jaipur franchise of the IPL-style professional kabaddi league that is scheduled to be held in eight venues across India in July and August this year.

Abhishek’s interest in the league was confirmed by the Pro Kabaddi League officials, according to whom the actor would make an official announcement later this month. “It is nice to know that Bollywood’s first family has embraced kabaddi. Abhishek always wanted to invest in sports. Obviously, he liked the idea of professional kabaddi and was keen on Jaipur,” officials are quoted as saying by the Times of India.
India’s first professional kabaddi league, in which some well-known entrepreneurs have interest as team owners, was launched on Friday with much fanfare at NSCI Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Worli, Mumbai.

The pro kabaddi, is a joint initiative of industrialist Anand Mahindra and sports commentator Charu Sharma through their firm Mashal Sports, and would feature eight city-based franchises who would play on a home and away basis in Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Jaipur, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.
The league has the backing of the International Kabaddi Federation, Asian Kabaddi Federation and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.
Abhishek is set to join the likes of Ronnie Screwala, Rajesh Shah (Mukand Group), Kishore Biyani, Uday Kotak (Kotak Bank), GMR, Murugappa Group and others who have already pledged support to the league as team owners.
The annual investment by an owner has been fixed around Rs 5 crore, including Rs 1-1.5 crore for franchise rights. Where most city franchises have either been bought or have interested the buyers, there seem to be no takers for the Bangalore-based side, according to Charu Sharma, MD of Mashal Sports, the tournament promoters.

“I am surprised that despite the interest kabaddi generates in Karnataka there have hardly been any enquiries. Some of them that we went to did not impress us. There are a few balls in the air but I am not sure whether when we will get the right buyer,” Sharma said.



Related Post:

1. The Chocolate Room Looking for more Franchise Expansion in India

2. Australia hospitality group looking franchise opportunities in India

3. Food & Beverages Manoushe Street to open 90 new outlets

4. Dominos Pizza opens its 700th Restaurant in India Gurgaon

5. The Dempo group may bid for Goa Franchise



McDowells becomes No. 2 spirits retail brand in india

BANGALORE Franchise India News : United Spirits’ McDowell’s No. 1 has become the world’s second largest spirits trademark by retail value, dislodging Smirnoff vodka from that spot. The 54-year-old brand crossed $3.6 billion in retail sales in the past calendar year.

New York-based Impact Databank’s Top 100 Spirit Brands list places Diageo’s Johnnie Walker series of scotch as the biggest brand with a trademark retail value of $5.8 billion.
While Smirnoff, also part of the Diageo stable, is second in the pecking order. The combined sales of the McDowell’s No. 1 franchise, which includes whisky, brandy and rum, has surpassed the heritage vodka brand by over $200 million.

With Diageo having picked up a 25.02% controlling stake in United Spirits Ltd (USL) for 594 million pounds last year, the debate over the No. 2 spot could be seen as a friendly family tussle.
London and New York listed Diageo now boasts of having the world’s largest selling scotch brand in Johnnie Walker and non-scotch brand in McDowell’s No. 1.

Diageo’s portfolio of brands, excluding USL, accounts for over 13% of the top 100 brands by volume and almost 23% by retail value.

The McDowell’s No.1 franchise is also the largest spirits brand in the world by volume. Whisky is the largest segment within the franchise with retail sales of $1.95 billion, followed by rum at $975 million and brandy at $665 million.

The brand was launched in 1960 with McDowell’s No.1 brandy and later entered the whisky and rum segments in the 1970s and 1990s respectively.

India’s tryst with alcohol is an old one. With the alcohol consumption story intact, the rise of the McDowell’s No.1 franchise to global fame hasn’t surprised analysts.

“From a sheer volume standpoint, I’m not surprised that an Indian liquor brand is the world’s second largest by retail sales. However, global brands like Smirnoff are more profitable and valuable assets,” said Ramesh Jude Thomas, MD of the brand consulting firm Equitor Consulting.

USL enjoys an over 50% market share in India’s over 300 million cases liquor industry.

Brand expert Harish Bijoor believes that an Indian brand’s global success in the alcoholic beverages space would cascade to other consumer sectors as well. “Give India a decade, and you will have Indian brands fast overtaking overseas brands in several categories of consumption,” he says.



Related Post:
1. Abhishek Bachchan to buy franchise in kabaddi league

2. The Chocolate Room Looking for more Franchise Expansion in India

3. Australia hospitality group looking franchise opportunities in India

4. Food & Beverages Manoushe Street to open 90 new outlets

5. Dominos Pizza opens its 700th Restaurant in India Gurgaon