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Akai plans to spend Rs 250 mn on marketing in India
NEW DELHI: Akai is in for a major brand polish in India. Global Brands Enterprise Solutions, which holds the licence of Akai brand for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal regions. has earmarked Rs 250 million in the first year to market and promote the Japanese consumer electronics brand in the Indian market.
Akai India EVP Basant Pande said the company has made a comeback in the country with a new range of ultra-slim LED, LCD, high-definition (HD) and CRT televisions ranged between Rs 2,400 to Rs 55,000.
Earlier addressing the press meet, Pande said the company is targeting a turnover of Rs 4.35 billion from India this year.
Akai has two plants in India – in NOIDA and Dehradun – where these TV sets are assembled with parts imported from overseas.
Akai has also launched a special low priced range of home theatres, between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Answering a question about the low price, Pande said Akai has not yet decided to get into the large home theatres.
Announcing the launch of the new range of TVs, Akai India MD Pranay Dhabhai said, “We are excited to re-introduce Akai in the Indian market as a part of the Global Brands‘ portfolio and are very optimistic about the resurgence of Akai in the high-growth Indian market. The fast growing LEDs and LCDs will be a key growth driver for us in the Indian market.”
The company launched three new models of LED TVs and five new models for LCD TVs. The ultra slim LEDs and LCDs TV range has special features like natural light technology with dynamic back light, brushed steel or high gloss finish, dynamic skin correction and motion compensation etc. Some models have Video USB, where without use of a DVD player, movies can run straight onto the LED TV through the USB drive.
The range of HD LED and LCD TVs has been expanded to a total of eight lineups. The edge TVs use LEDs and CCFL as their primary light source. Benefits of using LEDs include ultra-high contrast ratios, slim depths that allow for more artful designs, plus increased energy savings.
The range of CRT TVS, meanwhile, has an advanced “Heath Platform” feature, which allows users to define the distance and viewing angle. The TV automatically adjusts to the best contrast, brightness and colour. This feature has been introduced in CRT TVs for the first time in India, the company said.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
