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Post Star’s exit, Star CJ Alive re-brands as Shop CJ
MUMBAI: A year after Star India opted out from the 24/7 home shopping channel Star CJ Alive, which was a joint venture between Star India and South Korean home shopping major CJ O Shopping, the channel’s name and logo has been changed to Shop CJ.
This marks the culmination of a year long exercise where in Star phased itself out of the alliance to focus on its core expertise of general entertainment channels (GEC) and sports offerings. As per the deal, despite Star’s phasing out, it was mandatory to keep Star’s branding in the logo for a year. Providence Equity Partners has replaced Star in the venture. On 16 April, 2015 besides renaming the channel to Shop CJ, the venture also launched a new tagline, ‘Shop a new trend.’
The home shopping venture, which already has presence on television and Internet, has further expanded itself and entered the fast growing mobile market with Shop CJ mobile app. Currently the channel is available on various DTH platforms like Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel, and Videocon and major cable operators.
“The re-branding initiative is to better align the company’s new philosophy with the future strategy. It plans to further improve the backend service in order to serve customers quickly and effectively. Plans are also there to get new innovative categories on board and change entire home shopping perspective and experience. The CJ group is globally known for its product quality and innovation. Our experience of various countries will prove to be useful to serve Indian consumers with world class product experience,” says Shop CJ Network CEO Kenny Shin.
On Star’s phase out and its impact on the brand, Shin tells Indiantelevision.com, “We are happy to have Providence Equity as our partners as they have experience of home shopping business. They run similar business in Germany and understand the philosophy of the adventure. When it comes to Star’s phase out, we’ve known it since a year and hence we have drawn out our strategic plans accordingly. Going forward our prime focus is to expand ourselves, reach more houses and satisfy more customers.”
Shop CJ CFO N. Ramakrishnan adds, “We will be expanding our presence in east and north-east through physical warehouses. The company is also investing to improve warehouse management system, which will enhance logistics and back end services.”
The company has launched its mobile application Shop CJ, which will be available to Android users.
Speaking about the same, Shop CJ marketing head Donald Kwag says, “Tremendous growth in mobile e-commerce industry has encouraged us to offer this service. The rate, at which Indian consumers are adopting shopping on the app, is faster than other countries. We want our consumers to shop exactly as per their convenience.”
The Indian home shopping market is pegged at $525 million and has an annual growth rate of 40 per cent, which makes it a lucrative business space. Recently entrepreneur Raj Kundra joined hands with actor Akshay Kumar to launch the home shopping channel Best Deal TV.
Speaking about the growing competition Kwag says, “Indian consumers are very smart. They understand that celebrities will come, sell the product and go away, but the product will stay with them. So getting celebrities on board won’t work if the product is not good. Hence, our main focus is on getting quality product on board and satisfying customers so that they stay loyal to us for a long period of time.”
The re-branding will be backed by aggressive marketing, which is being handled by Percept. Ramakrishnan says, “Percept will execute our marketing plans. We will be launching a 360 degree campaign with prime focus on Mumbai and Delhi. The first round of TVCs will be out in May and we will follow it strategically.”
“We will keep following the franchisee revenue model, wherein 94 per cent of our revenue comes from television and Internet contributes the remaining six per cent. With the launch of new app, we expect to grow bigger. We have already reached five million customers and we will soon be launching special packages for loyal customers,” Shin concludes.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
