Brands
Global fashion and lifestyle brand “Smiley” to enter India
MUMBAI: Smiley, one of the most recognized icons in the world and an iconic global and lifestyle fashion brand, today announced its plans to enter India market through its anchor brand Smiley. The company’s plan is to set up exclusive Smiley stores which would have the complete merchandise of The Smiley Company – apparel, sportswear, shoes, bags, jewellery, school merchandise, accessories and even Smiley branded chocolates and confectionery.
Brandspoke is seeking Indian partners including distributors, manufacturers, and franchise partners to establish Smiley as the preferred fashion and lifestyle brand.
Smiley was founded in 1972 by creator Franklin Loufrani. Owner of the iconic smiley logo and emoticons, in 1997, Franklin’s son Nicolas Loufrani introduced the first emoticons which later became the universe of Smiley¬ World. Its products are sold worldwide with strong trademark and copyright protection.
Smiley has already registered its trademark in over 100 countries and active in more than 25 different industries. The Smiley brand and logo have significant exposure through licensees in sectors like clothing, home decoration, perfumery, plush, stationery, publishing, and through promotional campaigns.
Speaking on the Smiley Company’s strategy for India market, Mr. Nicolas Loufrani, CEO, Smiley said, “Smiley’s number one market in the digital world is currently India which represents almost 15% of our entire global fan base. Having started to seed our positive values online and seeing the tremendous interaction with our Indian fans we feel it is now time to extend our activities here and provide them with the Smiley products they all dearly wish to see”.
About “Smiley London” and Smiley “Happy Sports” product ranges showcased at India Fashion Forum 2014, Mumbai, India.
“Smiley London” is a daring revival of the Smiley heritage born out of the Brit¬ish electronic and house music scene, where Smiley ruled the dance floors. Smiley London revisits back in the day when it was about unity and togeth¬erness and revives the spirit of wearing your smiley with pride and keeping the beats alive.
Smiley “Happy Sports” delivers a colourful and vibrant alternative to an overtly branded sports fashion market, drawing from the original concept behind sports fashion and reminding people that sport and activity is about movement, teamwork, togetherness, enjoyment and making the most of your life. Happy Sports works with bold and bright colour ways to deliver a collection which catches the eye.
The ever expanding collection targeted at a young 18-to-35 years fashion audience is bang on trend stylish high quality tee’s, tops, hoodies, varsity jackets, baseball caps, beanies all with on trend print applications, such as metallic foils, urban camo’s and classic smiley prints.
The designs are positive and energetic which is both universal and accessible, appealing to all ages and sporting interests. Smiley ‘Happy Sports’ sells a philosophy of ‘Stay Active, Stay Happy’.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
