Lighting products and appliances maker Bajaj Electricals Ltd on Wednesday announced a strategic alliance with Italy's Nardi Elettrodomestici S.p.a to sell the latter's range of premium gas appliances in India.

"We are aiming for a 25 percent market share in the top-end segment in a span of three to five years," Executive Director R. Ramakrishnan said.

To be sold under the Bajaj Nardi range, these stoves retail at upwards of 10,000 rupees.

"Right now this segment is small but it is growing fast."

Bajaj Electricals sold 3.2 million units of appliances in 2007/08 translating into revenue of 3.75 billion rupees, P.S. Tandon, president of the appliances business unit, said.

The unit makes a range of home products including food processors, water heaters, irons and gas stoves and contributes about 30 percent to revenues and 40 percent to net profit.

Bajaj entered the gas stove segment recently and sold 75,000 units in 2007 and expects to double that in 2008 on the strength of its alliance with Nardi.

"It will be our major focus area in the coming year."

The exclusive alliance in the first phase would sell stoves and chimneys, ovens and microwaves in the second phase, and will look for tie-ups for modular kitchens in the last phase.

The premium segment has only four percent of the 11 billion rupees Indian gas stove market, Tandon said.

About 35 percent of the market is organised and the remainder unorganised and extremely fragmented, he added.

Nardi, with annual revenues of about 75 million euros (4.79 billion rupees), specialises in household appliances and sells products in 80 countries worldwide.

In 2006/07, Bajaj Electricals reported net profit of 385.3 million rupees on net sales of 10.8 billion rupees.

Shares in Bajaj were trading up 2 percent at 437.90 rupees in a weak Mumbai market.

Courtesy : THEFINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

The cola war between Coke and Pepsi is hotting up with rivals hitting out through spoofs of each other's advertisements.

After Coke recently made a mockery of Pepsi's 'Youngistan' campaign with 'Sprite', Pepsi is now hitting back with a spoof of the 'Thums Up' campaign that featured actor Akshay Kumar.

According to sources, Pepsi will break an advertisement on Thursday that starts with hospital scene with an injured Akshay Kumar look-alike lying in the bed and his girlfriend getting angry at him.

The ad shows two youngsters make fun of Akshay's look - alike by addressing him as 'uncle' and asking him how he got hurt.

In the original Thums Up advertisement, Akshay is shown injured his car crashes chasing a truck to get his bottle of the soft drink.

Pepsi mocks it with youngsters suggesting him why he kept running after one bottle every time and not drink Pepsi, which is ‘available everywhere’.

The spoof takes Pepsi's Youngistan campaign forward. According to an industry expert who did not want to be named, ‘Cola war on TV is back now’. He said in the recent past the two Companies had not indulged in such rivalry as an understanding had developed. "But with the Coca Cola's spoof on Pepsi's Youngistan ad, the war is on once again," he.

Courtesy : THEFINANCIALEXPRESS.COM