Brands
Maruti Suzuki partners with HSBC India for dealer financing solutions
Mumbai: Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has forged a strategic partnership with HSBC India to provide dealer financing solutions, enhancing the working capital options for its vast network of over 4000 sales outlets nationwide. This new collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), empowers Maruti Suzuki dealerships with comprehensive inventory funding options to meet evolving market demands.
The MoU was signed with key representatives from both companies in attendance. From Maruti Suzuki, senior executive officer of marketing & sales, Partho Banerjee; VP of allied business, Kamal Mahtta; and general manager of Maruti Suzuki finance & driving school, Vishal Sharma. HSBC India was represented by CEO, Hitendra Dave; head of commercial banking, Ajay Sharma; head of global banking, Amitabh Malhotra; country head of business banking, Gaurav Sahgal; and head of global trade solutions, Runa Baksi.
Commenting on the collaboration, Banerjee said, “We are committed to support our dealers in ensuring their readiness as per evolving customer and market needs. Our collaboration with HSBC India will focus on innovative financing solutions for inventory funding for our dealer partners. This strategic alliance will leverage the combined strengths of MSIL and HSBC India to offer comprehensive working capital solutions for our dealer partners.”
Sharma also shared his enthusiasm, noting, “We are pleased to collaborate with MSIL, a leader in the country’s automotive sector, as a financing partner to their extensive dealer network. Our deep understanding of the business dynamics and the evolving needs of dealers coupled with our tailored product offerings will enable us to support dealers through every stage of their business growth.”
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.
