Tag: CEO & Co-Founder

Business

Retail’s Brightest Minds Convene at Retail Leadership Summit 2024 to Forge Future Pathways

Mar 4, 2024 by Mansi Praharaj 0 Comments #Abhishek Bansal, #Amazon (US and India), #Amazon (US and India) and Vivek Somareddy, #ANAROCK, #Anujj Puri, #APAC International Stores, #Ashwin Khasgiwala, #Avjit Mitra, #Avnish Anand - CaratLane; Avnish Kumar, #Being Human Clothing; Sanjay Vakharia, #bigbasket, #bigbasket; Johnson Verghese, #Bijou Kurien, #Celio Future Fashion; Gautam Saraogi, #CEO, #CEO & Co-Founder, #CEO of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC) and the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC), #Chairman, #Co-founder & CEO, #Croma, #Darpan Mehta, #David Macadam, #Dhiraj Agarwal, #Dhishoom Cinemas., #Director, #Emerging Markets, #Executive Director, #Forum Malls; Rajneesh Mahajan, #Fossil India; Nissan Joseph, #Founder & MD, #Go Fashion (India) Ltd (Go Colors);, #Hari Menon, #Infiniti Retail; Hari Menon, #Inorbit Mall; Sagar Daryani, #Inorbit Malls and Shibu Phillips, #International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC), #Lalit Agarwal, #Lalit Agarwal - V-Mart Retail; Sagar Daryani, #Lulu group. While on the brands side were Manish Kapoor, #MD & CEO, #Metro Brands; Rajneesh Mahajan, #Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC), #Neeru's; Sanjay Vakharia, #Nexus Malls; Muhammed Ali, #Pacific Group; Dalip Sehgal, #Parul Gulati, #Pepe Jeans; Rajesh Jain, #Rajesh Jain, #Reliance Retail Limited, #Retailers Association of India (RAI), #Seller Experience and Global Trade, #Shopping Malls, #Sports & Leisure Apparel (Lacoste India), #Sports & Leisure Apparel Ltd; Sanjeev Rao, #Spykar Lifestyles;, #Spykar; P Jayakumar - Apollo Pharmacy; Rajiv Nair - Kaya Ltd; Samir Srivastav- Looks Salon; Satyen Momaya, #Trent, #Tushar Dhingra, #V-Mart Retail, #VP, #Wow! Momo Foods, #Wow! Momo Foods; Venkatesalu P

March 4, 2024, Mumbai: The Retail Leadership Summit 2024 (RLS 2024), organised by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), took place on February 28 and 29 at the Hotel Westin Powai Lake, Mumbai. This annual event brings together the brightest minds in retail to explore forward-thinking strategies within the industry.

Retail's Brightest Minds Convene at Retail Leadership Summit 2024 to Forge Future Pathways 2

Welcoming the audience at RLS 2024, Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “In 2023, the retail industry witnessed a tale of two halves: robust growth initially, followed by a plateau. This reflects the criticality of aligning with market dynamics and consumer needs. We’re observing a transformative shift, with retailers blending digital and physical experiences to create seamless consumer journeys. The key to future success lies in harnessing the power of omnichannel strategies and understanding the evolving consumer preference for convenience and trust. As we move forward, embracing innovation and agile responses to market trends will be pivotal in shaping the retail landscape.”

Setting the tone for the summit, Bijou Kurien, Chairman, Retailers Association of India (RAI), expressed,  “The retail industry in India is poised for significant growth in the year ahead. Driven by an 8%+ growth in GDP in Q3 FY’24 and based on steady investment by the Government and Private sector, consumption is bound to grow. The combination of online commerce coupled with offline expansion, driven by a more technology savvy consumer with greater aspirations would herald significant changes in retail structure, and channel strategy. Retailers and brands are gearing up for aggressive growth, particularly eyeing tier 2 cities for deeper market penetration. This strategic focus not only indicates a broadening of access for consumers but also signifies a shift towards tapping into the burgeoning demand in emerging urban centres. This optimistic outlook underscores the sector’s resilience and its pivotal role in the broader economic landscape of India.”

Highlights of RLS 2024 included presentations and knowledge reports by RAI-Boston Consulting Group report titled ‘Unlocking the $2Tn retail opportunity by 2030: An activist agenda’, RAI-Deloitte report titled ‘Future of Retail: Profitable Growth through Technology and AI’, RAI-KPMG report titled ‘Achieving seamless commerce in India’ and PWC report titled ‘How India shops online: Consumer preferences in the metropolises and tier-1, 2, 3, 4 cities’. Furthermore, Best Retail Workplaces 2024 report by RAI – Great Place To Work was unveiled and the respective teams were felicitated.

The Summit saw the participation retail leaders, as well as top names in the retail service provider space. Retail stalwarts speaking at the summit included Hari Menon, CEO & Co-Founder, bigbasket, Lalit Agarwal – V-Mart Retail; Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder & CEO, Wow! Momo Foods, Avnish Anand – CaratLane; Avnish Kumar, Director, Neeru’s; Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, Spykar; P Jayakumar – Apollo Pharmacy; Rajiv Nair – Kaya Ltd; Samir Srivastav- Looks Salon; Satyen Momaya, CEO, Celio Future Fashion; Gautam Saraogi, CEO, Go Fashion (India) Ltd (Go Colors); among many others.

Speaking during the panel discussion on RLS 2024, Lalit Agarwal, Founder & MD, V-Mart Retail, discussed creating experiences in retail that resonate deeply with customers, especially budget-conscious customers, to make them feel smart and stylish within their means. He emphasised on emotional connection through personalised service and storytelling, making customers feel valued and understood. Lalit Agarwal advocates for building strong brand connections that extend beyond the store, through all interactions, including advertisements. This approach aims to turn customers into authentic influencers, leveraging word-of-mouth for brand promotion. The key is continuous engagement and storytelling, which ensures customer loyalty and organic growth.

Noting the importance of strategy differences across retail categories, Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Sports & Leisure Apparel (Lacoste India), highlighted the approach in the premium fashion segment, emphasising a uniform customer experience across online and offline channels without price differentiation except during season-end sales. He said that this strategy aims to cultivate customer habits and preferences for purchasing channels, whether for convenience online or the experience in-store. By maintaining consistent pricing and service, customers understand the brand’s value proposition, reducing their expectation for discounts and fostering brand loyalty.

Furthermore, Darpan Mehta, Director Tax, APAC International Stores, Amazon (US and India) and Vivek Somareddy, VP, Emerging Markets, Seller Experience and Global Trade, Amazon (US and India) made a presentation on “Unlocking Mechanisms and Working Capital for Business Expansion”.

Additionally, the second day of RLS 2024 featured a keynote speech by David Macadam, CEO of the Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC) and the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC). This was succeeded by a dynamic panel discussion titled ‘Mahasangram: Retail and Retail Real Estate,’ bringing together prominent figures from both retail real estate and retail industries for an engaging exchange of ideas.

Mall Developers participating in the discussion were Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director, Pacific Group; Dalip Sehgal, CEO, Nexus Malls; Muhammed Ali, CEO, Forum Malls; Rajneesh Mahajan, CEO, Inorbit Malls and Shibu Phillips, Director, Shopping Malls, Lulu group. While on the brands side were Manish Kapoor, MD & CEO, Pepe Jeans; Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Sports & Leisure Apparel Ltd; Sanjeev Rao, CEO, Being Human Clothing; Sanjay Vakharia, CEO, Spykar Lifestyles; and Tushar Dhingra, Co-founder & CEO, Dhishoom Cinemas.

In his keynote address at the summit before the Mahasangram Session, David Macadam, CEO, Middle East Council of Shopping Centres (MECSC), International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC), shared insights on the evolution of experiential retail and e-commerce. He discussed the challenges and opportunities within the retail industry, emphasizing the importance of adapting to consumer demands for experiential and sustainable shopping experiences. Macadam highlighted the significant role of AI and technology in retail, the impact of mixed-use developments, and strategies for business development. He advocated for embracing change, prioritizing customer experience, and leveraging strategic partnerships to navigate the retail landscape successfully.

Retail's Brightest Minds Convene at Retail Leadership Summit 2024 to Forge Future Pathways 3

Day 2 of RLS 2024 also had a dedicated D2C segment that saw participation of leaders of top D2C brands namely, Dhiraj Agarwal, Founder, Campus Sutra; Sneh Jain, Managing Director, The Baker’s Dozen; Harsh Lal, Co-Founder, The Souled Store. A scintillating Fireside chat with Parul Gulati, Actor & Founder of Nish Hair (featured on Shark Tank India). This segment explored the unconventional strategies that has enable these brands to achieve immense success in a short frame of time.

Parallelly to RLS 2024 was an extensive session of ‘Retail Store Design’ that saw participation of top retailers and brands deliberating on topics such as ‘Future of Retail Design: Exploring Emerging Trends and Technologies’, ‘Balancing Design and Functionality in Retail Spaces’, a captivating Fireside Chat and  a Masterclass on ‘The art of curating memorable and meaning customer journey’.

The advisory board of RLS 2024 includes Anujj Puri, ANAROCK, Ashwin Khasgiwala, Reliance Retail Limited; Avjit Mitra, Croma, Infiniti Retail; Hari Menon, bigbasket; Johnson Verghese, Fossil India; Nissan Joseph, Metro Brands; Rajneesh Mahajan, Inorbit Mall; Sagar Daryani, Wow! Momo Foods; Venkatesalu P, Trent.

The first day of RLS 2024 came to a close with the grand felicitation of the crème de la crème of the retail industry with India’s Retail Champions Award 2024 and the Retail Start-up Awards 2024, both evaluated by eminent personalities from the industry as the Jury.

Winners of India’s Retail Champions Awards 2024 were:

 

Categories Name of the Company Name of the Brand
Apparel & Lifestyle The Souled Store The Souled Store
Apparel & Lifestyle Raymond Lifestyle Ethnix
Apparel & Lifestyle Spykar Lifestyle Pvt Ltd Spykar
Apparel & Lifestyle Brand Concepts Ltd BAGLINE, House of Luxury Bags
Beauty Himalaya Wellness Company Himalaya Wellness
Wellness Wellness Forever Wellness Forever
Wellness Apollo Pharmacy Limited Apollo Pharmacy
Consumer Durables & IT (CDIT) Vijay Sales (India) Private Limited Vijay Sales
Consumer Durables & IT (CDIT) Infiniti Retail Ltd Croma
D2C Cleardekho Eyewear Pvt Ltd ClearDekho
Department store Shoppers Stop Limited Shoppers Stop
Food & General Retail (Large format over 5,000 sq. ft) LULU Group International LULU HYPER MARKET
Food & General Retail (Small format below 5,000 sq. ft) Reliance Retail Limited Reliance Fresh Signature
Footwear Metro brands Ltd Footwear
Footwear Liberty shoes Ltd. Footwear
Home Decor / Home Improvement Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd Godrej Interio
Jewellery Reliance Jewels (Reliance Retail) Reliance Jewels
Restaurant & QSR Apsara Ice Creams LLP Apsara Ice Creams
Restaurant & QSR Dindigul Thalappakatti Dindigul Thalappakatti
Speciality Retail Ample Technologies Private Limited Monobrand Stoes of Apple, ASICS, UA and Bose. Apple Store brand name “Imagine”
Success Story of 2024 Trent Zudio
Milind Soman Launches Electric Cycles by Lifelong Online
Business

Milind Soman Launches Electric Cycles by Lifelong Online

Dec 14, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO & Co-Founder, #Lifelong Online, #Milind Soman, #Mr. Bharat Kalia

Gurgaon: In a major boost to sustainability, Milind Soman, actor, producer and fitness enthusiast, launched electric cycles by Lifelong Online, a leading consumer durables brand, in Gurgaon. Combining state-of-the art design with sustainable technology, the Lifelong electric cycles are priced at a very affordable range. Targeted for urban users from metropolitan as well as Tier II & III cities, the cycles are meant to provide a cost-effective and environment-friendly alternative to petrol or diesel-guzzling transport. With an estimated 7 paise/Km travel cost and no carbon emissions, these electric cycles are one of the most cost-effective transport modes in the market today.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Bharat Kalia, CEO & Co-Founder, Lifelong Online, said, “Lifelong Online has always been at the forefront of tech innovation to help solve the daily problems faced by Indian consumers. With sustainability emerging as a chief concern, we were focused on delivering a product that can make a tangible difference to their life. The Lifelong electric cycles are the culmination of months of intensive R&D to finetune the design and functionality of the product. Throughout this, our aim was to ensure that our customers benefit from cutting-edge technology in a product that is highly functional and cost-effective. We have taken care to keep our price points extremely affordable.”

Milind Soman congratulated Lifelong Online on its latest launch, saying, “With our cities becoming congested with highly polluting vehicles, it is high time that we look for alternative solutions. As a fitness enthusiast, I look forward to any solution that can help in clearing up our highly polluted cities. Lifelong Online’s electric cycles are not only sustainable; they are also highly affordable, which ensures higher chances of consumer interest. As a leading manufacturer of consumer goods, Lifelong Online is already well known for its high-quality, cutting-edge products. With these cycles they can now make an even deeper and more sustained impact on the quality of our life.”

The electric cycles have a range of up to 25 kms range per charge. With a charge time of 4 hours, these cycles are easy to charge at home with charge time of 4-6 hours. These are available in four riding modes: Full Speed (at 25 Kms/hr), assist mode (upto 90% electric assist), cruise battery power mode and standard pedal mode. With no carbon emissions, these cycles meet the strictest criteria for sustainable commute. The cycles come in alloy frame, anti-skid pedals, and dual discs for stability and control along with Hi-tensile steel frame, and Dual disc brakes and front suspension. With 0% carbon emission makes it the smartest commute choice for you.

boom motors
Business

Boom Motors crosses Rs 400 Cr pre-bookings with 36k vehicles

Dec 2, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Boom Motors, #CEO & Co-Founder, #Mr. Anirudh Ravi Narayanan

New Delhi: Boom Motors, the new high-tech Indian EV brand from the state of Tamil Nadu announced that over 36k bookings have been made so far for the newly launched Boom Corbett. The most durable bike with swappable batteries was a head turner and received accolades from EV enthusiasts across the country.

Boom Motors has roped in 60+ dealers across India and are looking at tying up with an additional 250 dealers by 2022.The bikes will be rolled out for delivery from January 2022.

Commenting on the success of the launch, Mr. Anirudh Ravi Narayanan, CEO & Co-Founder, Boom Motors said “We are extremely pleased with the overwhelming response we have received for the Boom Corbett. The response is a clear indication of customer preference shifting to electric vehicles. The company’s mission is to move to sustainable mobility. The positive reception to our bike is a testament to the value proposition of Boom Motors. People have shown immense faith in our product and in the company’s vision – we are committed to working doubly hard to deliver these vehicles as soon as possible to our customers”

The company aims to exceed 1L unit sales in the next one year by expanding its manufacturing unit in Coimbatore

Fittr joins hands with Vedantu to provide wellness sessions for children to promote an active lifestyle
Education

Canva and Vedantu partner for a first-of-its-kind Design Challenge to unleash creativity in students

Nov 18, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments ##GoingBacktoSchool, #Canva, #CEO & Co-Founder, #CMO, #Vamsi Krishna, #Vedantu, #Zach Kitschke

India: With schools being shut, students have explored different ways to keep their creative juices flowing and used the available resources to stay engaged, inspired, and motivated. As part of its Children Day initiative, Vedantu- a pioneer in LIVE online learning, and visual communications platform, Canva, have launched a first-of-its-kind Design Challenge in India, with a design bootcamp to educate school students on the essentials of creativity and design thinking. The design bootcamp sessions will be conducted by experts from Canva and Vedantu Master Teachers. With this collaboration, Vedantu aspires to celebrate the creativity, curiosity and exploration of children and teachers across the country.

Since the pandemic, online learning has seen a massive adoption. Teachers have also gone above and beyond their duty to conduct classes through different mediums available. They have emerged as digital content creators and EdTech professionals who are experts in mentoring students in an online teaching space.

“We’re excited to partner with Vedantu to inspire creativity, design, and visual thinking in students across a range of ages. Our mission is to democratize design and empower everyone to create and we look forward to seeing the Design Challenge unlock all types of creativity,” says Zach Kitschke, CMO, Canva.

“We strive to provide the best-in-class education and opportunities to our students that are beyond academics. Through this partnership with Canva, we will further our vision of unleashing the potential in every child. This will enable us to provide our students access to a platform to fuel their creative minds and we are thrilled to explore this. We will continue to innovate to reach as many students as possible and create better experiences and outcomes for every child across the country”, says Vamsi Krishna, CEO & Co-founder, Vedantu.

The theme for the first edition of the Design Challenge is #GoingBacktoSchool and is open to all students across the age group of 6-18 years. The challenge will ask students to create an artwork on Canva that truly resonates with the theme. Students are required to submit a design which focuses on what is so special about #GoingBackToSchool for them, with the templates available on Canva for Education. The artwork created by students will be judged under three categories –

· Group 1: Junior School (Grades 2nd- 5th) – students to create a poster or invite

· Group 2: Middle School (Grades 6th-8th) – students to create an infographic or a newsletter

· Group 3: High School (Grades 9th-12th) – students to create a video or presentation

How can students participate in the Design Challenge?

· Students can visit Canva.com and create an account using their own or their parent’s email address

· Choose from the multiple templates available for Posters, Infographics, Presentations, Cards, and other suggested formats

· Create their artwork on the theme #GoingBacktoSchool

· If a student is under 13 years, we encourage them to share their Canva design link with a teacher or parent and ask them to submit the design. Students 13 years and above can directly submit their design link in the Application Form.

· Students are reminded to write a few lines about their artwork, what it means to them and how it links back to the theme.

Manas Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder, Affine; briefing about their expansion plans, trends & innovations in Data, Cloud Operations and AI, at a VPC, today.
Technology

Affine Expands its Footprints with a New Branch in Hyderabad

Oct 27, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Affine., #CEO & Co-Founder, #Manas Agrawal

HYDERABAD– Affine, a leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Engineering solutions consultancy headquartered in Bangalore, opened its new branch in Hyderabad, announcing plans to hire 200 new employees before the end of this financial year and ramp it up to 350 to 400 by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

Affine looks forward to entering the BFSI market over the next six months. According to NASSCOM, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam are the manufacturing hubs bullish on Industry 4.0.

“Hyderabad is big on Industry 4.0. It has emerged as the go-to destination for all tech companies,” says Manas Agrawal, CEO & Co-founder, Affine. “This city has a lot of potential for growth and development. Our engineers in R&D will work on some of the most innovative products and solutions for customers worldwide, focusing on engineering as a horizontal skill and BFSI and manufacturing as vertical skills.”

Affine’s Industry 4.0 solution offerings include autonomous driving, automated defect detection, quality assurance, and quality control, among others. To elaborate, the scale at which customers make decisions tend to be as large as sending 50 million emails per week for a marketing campaign using algorithms and engines developed by Affine.

Founded in 2011 as an end-to-end analytics service provider, Affine’s descriptive and basic predictive analysis evolved over time into Centers-of-Excellence through aligned competencies and joint partnerships with academic institutions for R&D in advanced statistical and mathematical models, Deep Learning for high-end analytics.

Focusing on enriching AI & Analytics, Deep Technology, Digital, Cloud, and Big Data technologies, Affine continues to create & enable solutions that empower its customers with proactive data-driven decision making.

Affine also recently unveiled DeepCamp, a first-of-its-kind Global Accelerator Program founded by a pure-play analytics company that gives hands-on assistance to startups looking to advance their algorithm, engineering design, and UI/UX.

Selected startups will receive hands-on assistance in refining products & solutions with cloud credits from partners like AWS & Freshworks, along with networking and learning opportunities with industry leaders and co-sell possibilities with Azure.

In addition to a seed investment of $50,000 from Affine, DeepCamp will also provide non-monetary incentives such as office space, IT infrastructure, and cloud credits to help budding tech startups with all parts of the business like Planning, GTM, Finance & Legal, HR, and Marketing.

Kyle Fernandes, CEO, MemeChat
Business, News

How people use memes for their financial gains – Kyle Fernandes, CEO & Co-Founder, MemeChat

Aug 11, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO & Co-Founder, #Kyle Fernandes, #MemeChat, #Memes

Power of Memes

People all across the world are earning thousands of dollars by trading their memes from years back through NFTs. As this trend has been picking up lately it proves that Memes are quite literally doing magic. E.g. The ‘success kid’ sold his original meme which helped him with his dad’s kidney transplant. Memes have a much bigger impact than anyone could have ever imagined. Similarly, Pakistan’s Asif Rana (Person behind “friendship ended with Mudasir” meme)earned $ 51,530 by trading his meme in the NFT auction.

Kyle Fernandes, CEO & Co-Founder, MemeChat says “Web 2.0 has given a major boost to the participatory communication model where a consumer at the receiving end is an active participant as they assess the content. One of the most dominant tools has been the usage of Memes. Memes in a very short turnaround time have been successfully proven to be a tool that has not only been a marketers’ best friend but a commodity successfully sold through non-fungible tokens. NFTs are easy to understand, convenient, and profitable. A large number of famous memes, photos, and videos have been sold at lucrative prices by users during NFT auctions. For instance, Zoë Roth, from the well-known ‘disaster girl’ meme, sold its original copy as an NFT worth $500,000 (approx). MemeChat has a vast network of meme users and developers, and we have noted some viral memes that sell for around INR 40 Lakhs in such auctions. People are looking at NFTs as a sort of new way to invest like gold, stocks, or funds. It indeed is a unique concept, but its introduction will definitely encourage a plethora of users to try their hand at trading moving forward.”

About MemeChat: MemeChat is an application that was launched in 2019. MemeChat has emerged as one of the most popular homegrown social media networking apps for Generation Z and millennials. In just a year, the app gathered a dedicated following with more than 750k+ monthly active users (current user base of 2 Million Downloads) and over 6 million memes. MemeChat has officially worked with top Indian OTT platforms like ALT Balaji, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime, creating their user-generated memes. We recently got funded by 500 startups for $150k and became the only Indian startup to be included in the 500 Startups’, one of the most active global venture capital firms’, a distinguished accelerator program for its 27th batch 2020. To move ahead with all the technology we also came up with our AMY, the world’s first-ever Artificial Intelligence meme generator. The founders of this meme revolutionary app firmly believe that memes are here to stay, and one day, it will be an industry in itself. Recognizing this trend and the popularity of memes as a way of relatable communication, they decided to ride this wave of meme culture and grow along by launching Meme Chat. AMY, the world’s first-ever Artificial Intelligence meme generator that can make memes in a matter of seconds, on its app. Short for Automated Memes for You, is also the world’s fastest meme generator. AMY is live at the MemeChat app as an invite-only feature. It supports all the messaging applications.

Agora and WedMeGood Reinvent Wedding Experience in the New Normal
Business, News

Agora and WedMeGood Reinvent Wedding Experience in the New Normal

Aug 11, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Agora, #Anand Shahani, #CEO & Co-Founder, #Director-Growth, #Ranganath Jagannath, #WedMeGood

BANGALORE: Agora, the leading voice, video, and live streaming platform, has partnered with WedMeGood, a pioneer in India’s wedding marketplace to digitize wedding experiences amidst the pandemic. Featuring over 85,000+ vendors, the startup had to pivot to an online model to ensure business continuity and customer satisfaction when brick-and-mortar stores were forced to shut down. With Agora’s leading video streaming platform, WedMeGood was able to bring the in-store model onto a virtual platform, enabling customers to access India’s top brands at their fingertips.

WedMeGood utilized Agora’s platform for a pilot program to feature live virtual shopping experiences with some of the most successful fashion brands in the bridal industry like Ritu Kumar, Manish Malhotra, Kunal Rawal, Falguni Shane Peacock and Jade by M&K among others. Following the success of the pilot program, the startup has now initiated a series of virtual shopping experiences powered by Agora’s livestream platform, the latest of which was attended by 7,800+ brides. The number of sales generated through these live shopping festivals was over 1,600, with the average sales figure in the range of INR 1 lakh-18 lakh for each merchant.

“Video based ecommerce for high involvement purchases like jewelry and bridal outfits is expected to be the gamechanger in these traditional industries. The pandemic has proven the need to adopt newer business models and we are glad that we were able to pivot quickly with Agora’s solutions. After evaluating over 15 platforms, we selected Agora mainly due to their easy-to-use Android Software Development Kit (SDK) which requires minimal development effort, provides low latency and high-resolution experience. With this, we were able to sustain business momentum despite the pandemic,” said Anand Shahani, CEO & Co-founder, WedMeGood.

India’s 50-billion-dollar wedding industry saw a lull during the early months of lockdown but gained momentum during the latter half of the year, with virtual weddings becoming the norm. Seeing the success of the live shows, WedMeGood now plans to extend this model to similar large ticket portfolios like jewelry.

“Our partnership with WedMeGood is an exciting opportunity and the first step towards digitizing the wedding segment,” said Ranganath Jagannath, Director-Growth, Agora. “Real-time engagement (RTE) has enabled business continuity amidst the lockdown not just for companies like WedMeGood but also for the vendors and partners they are associated with. This heralds a new age of experiential ecommerce – a time where high value purchase decisions can be made from the comfort of one’s home without compromising on the experience of shopping.”

Featured on Netflix’s hit show, The Big Day, WedMeGood has a funding of $3.08 million, with the latest round from Orchid Asia Group in April 2019. Their platform connects to be wed couples to renowned wedding vendors of categories ranging from bridal makeup artists, wedding photographers to wedding venues, wedding planners, decorators etc.

The sheer diversity of information that comes across on live video chat makes it the clear winner for engaging in rich conversations. Real Time Engagement enables consumers to share the same space and experience the same sounds and sights, thereby helping brands build and strengthen bonds with customers.

Agora’s industry-leading software development kits, (SDKs) enable developers to embed crystal-clear voice and video into any application. Powered by its proprietary Software Defined Real-Time Network (SD-RTN™), Agora utilizes machine learning algorithms to dynamically route transmissions across 250 globally distributed data centers, which ensures high-definition, low latency voice, and video communications to end users regardless of their geographic location, device type, and network condition.

Filamchi channel inks a strategic partnership with Chingari
News

Filamchi channel inks a strategic partnership with Chingari

May 22, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #AVP-Marketing of IN10 Media Network, #CEO & Co-Founder, #chingari, #Co-Founder and COO, #Deepak Salvi, #Sumit Ghosh, #Vinita Shrivastav

MUMBAI: Filamchi, a Bhojpuri movie channel from the house of IN10 Media Network, has signed a strategic partnership with Chingari, a homegrown short video app, for the live streaming of its World TV Premiers.

For the first time in the category, a regional movie channel has tied up to live stream movie premiers on a Bharat’s favourite short video app Chingari to strengthen its presence in the market. The association will commence with the premiere of Loha Pahalwan, which will be Live streamed on the Chingari. The tie-up marks a first in the genre as a TV channel and Short Video platform will integrate to enhance a multi-viewing experience for the audience.

Speaking on the plan of action, Sumit Ghosh, CEO & Co-founder, Chingari said, “This is one of its kind collaboration where a film will be premiered and made available to the audience through not just TV channel, but also through Short Video platform i.e. Chingari which will expand the audience base and moreover will provide a new way of Live streaming films in the current digital world. Evolution is the key and Chingari aims to continue collaborating and evolving the space of digital media to the best of its capabilities so that the audience and creators both benefit from it.”

Commenting on the association, Vinita Shrivastav, AVP-Marketing of IN10 Media Network said, “The Bhojpuri market has the potential to grow as the audience seeks more localized and relatable content. In today’s multiscreen world, we need to be omnipresent to reach out to our viewers and let them experience content across platforms. The association will aid the platforms in increasing their audience base and engaging them across Bhojpuri movie fans.”

Emphasizing on the benefits of this collaboration for the Chingari creators, Deepak Salvi, Co-founder and COO, Chingari said, “The contest on Chingari is to provide an overall benefit to both the film creators and the Chingari creators. Chingari being Bharat ka super entertainment platform will provide an expansion base for good content and talent both. Pawan Singh is one of the most renowned actors of Bhojpuri Cinema and hence it is authentic entertainment being made available for our audience along with a chance to win huge cash prize.”

The live streaming is supported by a dialogue challenge #mainbhifilamchi where Chingari users can create interesting videos on Pawan Singh’s damdar dialogues from the movie and participate in the contest to win 20 lakh Chingari coins. Further, the contest will be promoted on-air and on social media to get maximum participation. The Chingari team will also promote the movie through various content formats like teasers, promos, etc.

The movie will air on 22nd May 2021 at 1:00 pm on Filamchi TV Channel & Chingari App.

(L-R) Shivank Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Rumit Anand, Vice President (Product) and Anish Khandelwal, Co-Founder & CTO - Mitron TV
Business World

On its First Anniversary, Mitron launches Mitron Club, Mitron Academy and Mitron On-Demand to help creators earn from the comfort of their homes

Apr 13, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #CEO & Co-Founder, #Mitron TV, #Mr. Shivank Agarwal

Bengaluru, April 13, 2021: India’s leading short-format video app, Mitron, completed one year of successfully providing entertainment to Indians. Mitron enables citizens to showcase their talent and share views and opinions freely in short videos. In a span of one year, Mitron TV has witnessed over 50+ million downloads on Google Play Store. With the success of its one-year journey, the app has propelled advancement by bringing new initiatives on the platform – Mitron Club, Mitron Academy and Mitron On-Demand, help in creating engagement and excitement between creators and users.

In line with Mitron TV’s vision of creating micro-entrepreneurs, the Mitron Club service offering sees the short-format video app entering the monetization business. Furthermore, through the Club, the app gives creators a unique opportunity to create engaging content exclusively for users opting for the service. Moreover, the Club members can directly connect with their favourite creators and request to create content that they would like to view. Thus, the platform supports and encourages creators to create content and monetize their talent by reaching – a larger audience.

Mitron TV is also introducing two more unique initiatives – Mitron Academy and Mitron On-Demand for its users. Through Mitron Academy, the creators get an opportunity to share educational videos to help users learn from the platform. Additionally, with Mitron On-Demand, users will be able to place requests for on-demand content like – Astrology reading, song dedication, tips and hacks, birthday wishes, amongst others..

Mitron TV has also advanced its technology and aims to offer users and creators with a friendly interface. The app has introduced technological initiatives that will help improve the user interface.

Recommendation engine – This feature will allow the creator’s video to garner more views and automatically boost the videos basis its performance. The For-You section on the feed makes sure that a user sees what they like.
Editor Tool – This new feature helps remove creators’ dependency to log on to other video editor apps to edit their content. The tool supports unique features like PIP, sound modulations, transitions along with effects, filters, stickers, amongst others.

Rendering and video quality – Improved the video compression and rendering capabilities, as a result of which less than 5% of its users suffer from the issue of video buffering.

Commenting on its first anniversary, Mr. Shivank Agarwal, CEO & Co-Founder, Mitron TV, said, “Since the launch of Mitron, the Indian audience has been extremely receptive towards the platform. We have observed a 2X increase in the interaction on our platform through likes and follow and approx. 3X increase through comments.”

He further added, “Mitron stands for compelling and versatile content with a major focus on infotainment and edutainment. With short-format content growing in the country, our vision is to connect with the heartland of India and provide them with a platform that is beyond entertainment. Our goal for the next six months is to add 100Mn (overall) users to the platform.”

Further talking about the one-year journey, Mr. Anish Khandelwal, CTO & Co-Founder, Mitron TV, said, “The past year has been a roller coaster ride for us, and we are truly grateful for the love shown by the Indian audience. Mitron has only grown upwards. We have evolved right from technological advancements to adding multiple features to our platform. Mitron TV users have started spending more time on the app, and the average session duration per user is approx. 10 minutes. After completing one year, we are now venturing into monetization through which we aim to provide our creators with a platform that allows them to monetize their talent and become entrepreneurs. We aim to take Mitron to the hinterlands of India and build a deeper connect with our audience.

Mitron TV is aggressively looking to grow its presence across India and has set up a goal to add more creators, users, and content partners to the platform. The app is steadfast in its belief that an Indian audience should be served by a home-grown app, with data firmly secured on Indian servers.

SafeStorage-India’s leading storage solution provider to enter Mumbai
Business World, News

SafeStorage-India’s leading storage solution provider to enter Mumbai

Apr 8, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO & Co-Founder, #Mr Ramesh Madisetty, #SafeStorage®

Mumbai:SafeStorage®, India’s leading storage solution provideris now entering Mumbai. The newly opened facility in Bhiwandi is 40,000 square footage space with state of the art features. The company is also growing at a steady pace and has crossed the 7lakh square feet mark in its business. SafeStorage has successfully served12,000 + personal storage clients &300+ corporate clients.

SafeStorage has 30+ warehouses across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. In Bengaluru the company has its largest warehouse with a 1.2 lakh square footage space which was opened recently. Further strengthening their footprint in the existing markets they company recently added 40,000 square footage to its Chennai operations & 10,000 square footage to its Pune operations.

Sharing his thoughts on the Mumbai launch, Mr Ramesh Madisetty, CEO & Co-Founder, SafeStorage®, said, “It gives me great joy to take SafeStorage to the city of dreams- Mumbai. Our research shows that Mumbai is a promising market for self-storage & warehouse companies and we hope to capitalise on the demand. It is our mission to be recognised as India’s top end-to-end storing facility and we are building on our capabilities each day to reach that goal. Seeing the response we have received from our patrons in current markets, we are also planning on enteringKolkata market in the coming months. By end of 2021, we aim to be present across nine cities in India.”

The software used at SafeStorage, such as the automated quotation and booking process, work order management and customer portal is customized by the in-house tech team. There has been a huge up haul in the technology used by SafeStorage. The web application has been upgraded from Code Ignitor to Laravel Framework. The SafeStorage app has been updated from Native to google flutter.

Sharing his thoughts on the technology employed by SafeStorage, Mr Ramesh Madisetty adds, “We have made out user interface much more intuitive and customer friendly. Our new website & app is devised to help customers navigate through it quite easily. The entire booking, estimation, & slot securing process can be completed online on the SafeStorage website by a customer. SafeStorage tracks all the items received through a mobile app. Our warehouse consultants then update the inventory list with finer details such as weight, shape, size, image etc. and upload the stacked images on a customer portal. To ensure transparency, the customer can access details such as inventory, payments, work orders, insurance, and tracking through the dashboard.”

SafeStorage® is a one-stop destination for all self-storage needs. If one is traveling, renovating the house, running out of space or looking for self-storage space on rental forhouseholds and automobiles,SafeStorage® is the place to go.