Brands
ASICS Strengthens its team of athletes with top squash player Saurav Ghosal
Mumbai: ASICS, the renowned Japanese sports performance brand has announced the addition of India’s distinguished squash player Saurav Ghosal, to its team of brand athletes. The official announcement underlines ASICS’ unwavering commitment to nurturing and empowering India’s sports talent, year on year.
Saurav Ghosal made history by qualifying as the first Indian men’s squash player to break into the World Top 10, boasting exceptional skills and a record of 13 national championships so far. With nine medals at the Asian Games and a Commonwealth Games singles bronze, Saurav Ghosal’s triumphs remain unmatched. His association with ASICS signals a promising journey towards setting new benchmarks and elevating his performance.
Talking about the announcement ASICS India and South ASIA, managing director Rajat Khurana commented “We proudly welcome Saurav Ghosal to the ASICS family. His unparalleled achievements, breaking into the senior singles top 10, being the first Indian Junior World No. 1 to an Arjuna Award, and numerous podium finishes, exemplifies his discipline and dedication towards sports. We look forward to supporting him as he continues to redefine the boundaries of squash on the global pedestal.”
Expressing his thoughts on this collaboration, Saurav Ghosal commented, “I am thrilled to join the prestigious ASICS family. Their ethos of ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ resonates deeply with me, as I constantly strive to maintain the perfect harmony between mental and physical well-being. I look forward to this rewarding association with ASICS India I am committed to enhancing my performance and achieving new milestones for the nation.”
As part of this association, ASICS will be supporting Saurav with their best-in-class footwear and apparel during his training and competitions. Now with Saurav onboard, ASICS has a strong roster of athletes that includes Tennis stars Sumit Nagal, Rohan Bopanna and. Karman Kaur Thandi, Cricket star Prasidh Krishna, T. Gopi Marathon champ, Squash star Joshna Chinappa and Manpreet Singh Hockey sensation.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
